“Conversion (Faith and Repentance)”
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Welcome:
Announcements:
Open with Prayer:
Questions that we will look at tonight =
-What is true repentance?
-What is saving faith?
-Can people accept Jesus as Savior and not as Lord?
-What is Lordship Salvation?
-Once someone is saved do they continue to trust in Jesus and repent of their sin?
Over the past several weeks we have begun to understand what the doctrine of application of redemption is all about. This means that God through men preaching and teaching of His Word issue a gospel call to men and women, and by the work of the Holy Spirit who regenerates us, imparts new spiritual life.
Question = What is conversion? Conversion is our willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of our sins and place our trust in Christ for salvation.
I think that it is extremely important to remember that conversion means turning. It is a turning away from our sin and and turning toward Jesus and trusting in Him. But what exactly does that mean or look like?
Turning from sin = is called repentance. This means that there is a change of mind, change of will, change of emotions, and a change of direction. We are no longer the same person because we are a new creation in Christ. We no longer have a love or even a desire to walk in the old way of things.
Turning to Jesus = is called faith. In other words we trust in what Jesus has done for us on the cross. Because of his life, death, and resurrection we can be saved from our sin. We would say that both repentance and faith must come together when true salvation or conversion takes place.
Question = What is true saving faith? There are several different aspects of saving faith. There is knowledge, approval, and personal trust.
1. What is knowledge, and knowledge is not enough by itself.
When we think about personal saving faith, the way that Scripture tells us, we clearly see that it is not just about knowing a bunch of facts. However, it is necessary that we do know and believe in who Jesus is and what He has done for us.
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
But know that Jesus lived a sinless life, died and rose again is not enough unless we turn from our sin and live in obedience to Christ. There are many people who know about God and have even read the Bible but they have never trusted in Christ and turned from their sinful ways. Even the demons believe in Jesus.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
At the end of the day there is much more to conversion than just know the facts about Jesus.
2. What is approval, and knowledge and approval are not enough by themselves.
What we mean by approval is that we agree that the facts that we have come to understand about Jesus are true. However just believing that they are true does not mean that someone has come to a saving knowledge.
2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”
27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”
Both of these men believed, but they still had to put their trust in Christ for salvation. They still needed to turn from their sin and then turn toward Christ in faith.
3. The final step is that we must decide to depend on Jesus to save us personally. Grudem explains here that in addition to knowledge and approval there must also come a time in our lives that we decide to personally depend on Jesus to save us. What happens is that we move into a personal relationship with Jesus as a living person.
What is saving faith? Here is how we can define it. Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God. Saving faith is not just a belief in facts but personal trust in Jesus to save me.
Grudem explains that the main lesson here is that an unbeliever who comes to Jesus understands that their sin has separated them from the fellowship with God for which we were made. The unbeliever comes to Christ seeking to have sin and guilt removed and to enter into a genuine relationship with God that will last forever. The two major concerns are forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God.
When speaking about saving faith, the word trust is closer to the Biblical idea, since we have an idea of what it means to trust people as we live out our lives. The more we come to know people and watch their lives the more we begin to trust them. So, when we think about this definition of trust we actually see this in God’s Word.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
When we believe in Jesus and what He has done for us this helps us to have trust or confidence that can rest in Jesus as a person. We come to Jesus and trust in what He has done for us. What has he done? He gave up His life so that we may have life.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
*Read the last paragraph on page 309. What we come to learn here is that when a person comes to trust in Christ, all 3 elements are present. Again the three elements are knowledge, approval, and trust in Christ.
Question = What is repentance? Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake sin and walk in obedience to Christ. Walk away from sin, and walk toward Christ by trusting in what he has done for us.
Repentance like faith, is an intellectual understanding that our sin is wrong, an emotional approval of the teachings of Scripture regarding sin and a sorrow and hatred of it. There is also a personal confession or decision to turn from our sin and then to live a life of obedience to Jesus. The natural outflow of true genuine repentance is that we begin to love God and serve him and bear fruit in keeping with repentance. This means that repentance leads to a changed life. Repentance is much more than sorrow or deep remorse or sadness that one was caught in their sin. Genuine repentance is a godly grief over sin and that our sin has offended a holy and righteous God. Here are a few helpful verses for us to understand this.
21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
It is important to remember that God’s word puts repentance and faith together as different aspects of the one act of coming to Christ for salvation. It is as if both of these occur at the same time. When a person turns to Jesus for salvation and turns from their sin, they are doing this simultaneously by asking Jesus to save them. The fact that repentance and faith are simply two different sides of the same coin. We must drop our sin and turn from it and then come to Jesus in faith. This is what salvation or conversion is.
*It is important to remember that one cannot have true saving faith without having any repentance for sin. This means that you can’t just pray a prayer and walk the aisle of your church by accepting Jesus as your Savior, but not as your Lord and turning from your sin. You must forsake your sin and be obedient to Jesus from that point on.
*At the top of Page 311 Grudem explains that Conversion is a single action of turning from sin in Repentance and turning to Christ in faith. I find that his is very helpful. Here are just a few verses to help us better understand this.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
When we come to the New Testament and learn about what it meant to be a Christian we see a pattern. Turn with me to the book of Acts.
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Question = So why is repentance or turning from our sin such a big deal? If we do not take time to explain repentance to people that we share the gospel with they might only hear about believing in Jesus in order to be saved. They believe in Jesus, but they also continue on in sin because they have never repented of their sin and therefore are not truly converted. Without any mention of repentance all people get is a watered down gospel that does not ask for a wholehearted commitment to Jesus. A true and genuine saving faith must include a commitment to turn from sin.
So, can someone accept Jesus as Savior and not as Lord. No. Either Jesus is Lord and Savior of your life or He is not and this means that people continue to live in sinful patterns and behavior the rest of their lives never surrendering to Christ as Lord.
*Another important aspect to remember here is that both faith and repentance continue on throughout a believers life. (Top of page 313)
Faith and Repentance are two aspects of conversion that happen at the beginning of the Christian life, however these are both things that will continue on in a believers life as well. So, where do we see this in Scripture?
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Therefore, we know that it is true that initial saving faith and initial repentance happens only once in our lives, we also know that as believers these same attitudes should continue throughout the course of our Christian lives. This means that each day we should have heartfelt repentance for sins that we have committed, and faith in Christ to provide for our needs and to then empower us to live for Christ.
(Questions)
(Close in Prayer)
