Repentance Unto Life
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We have come to the fourth and final Bible study in the Salvation Bible Basics series. This is the study where the student will be presented with a choice. (Of course, the Holy Spirit frequently presents us with spiritual choices as He works in our hearts, but this study is built around the making of decision.) As we have discussed each week, no person can force or coerce another to choose Christ. That is a choice each of us has to make for ourselves. However, it is our job as witnesses of the Gospel to make it clear to sinners that they ARE making eternal choices, and to show them the end of their choices. That is the focus of today’s study.
Of course, the previous three studies have been building the foundation for the sinner to make an intentional choice for or against Christ. Many people in our world have rejected a church or a Gospel witness or even the Gospel itself, without a clear idea of what exactly they are rejecting. (They are still responsible to God for rejecting His work and truth in other ways, but that doesn’t mean they are intentionally rejecting Christ every time they don’t read a Gospel tract or don’t want to talk to a person at their door.) That’s why these studies are so valuable: after carefully presenting all four to a person, that lost person is aware of the Scripture teaches about sin and the Saviour; the Gospel has reached them, and the rest is between them and God. More Bible teaching and preaching is helpful, but provided they have understood the concepts already covered, they have already been shown the way to eternal life.
I. Prayer: the Witness’ Ongoing Work
I. Prayer: the Witness’ Ongoing Work
This stage can be both exciting and agonizing for the witness. It is exciting because sharing the Gospel thoroughly and carefully is exhilarating! That is what we are called to do as Christians. It is agonizing because we yearn for sinners to come to the Saviour, and we may feel helpless while they deliberate. Especially when we are witnessing to a loved one, it can be hard to step back and just let the Holy Spirit work in their heart. We want to work to persuade and convince and encourage! Often, however, this is not helpful. We must patiently wait on God to do what only He can do.
There is another thing we can and must do: we must pray. Prayer isn’t a “time filler” or some sort of “consolation work” to do when there is nothing else to do. Prayer is a mighty spiritual work that can change eternity! Prayer brings us into fellowship with God. Prayer is a medium of our prayer to Him. Prayer is the method of making requests unto God, for ourselves and others. Prayer is how we may engage in spiritual warfare for the souls of others!
Before you have begun the Bible studies with a lost person, pray! While you are conducting the Bible studies, pray! And especially after you have finished, pray. James 5:16 is still in the Bible: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
I have completed these studies before, and the person didn’t pray for salvation. In fact, they seemed largely unaffected. There was nothing else for me to do but pray. I have started these studies with several, and they refused to finish all four. All I can do is pray for them. But this is a powerful activity that I can take—it can avail much in my life and in theirs. If we only knew how much good prayer can do, we would pray a lot more! We must pray.
The Gospel witness must be busy. He must be occupied in having a burden and vision for the lost. He must be occupied in reaching out to the lost, and seeking to make contact with them. He must be occupied in preaching and giving the Gospel to the lost. And he must be occupied in praying for the lost. How often do we pray for God to work mightily through our efforts, and to continue to convict those to whom we have preached? If we seldom pray this way, should we be surprised when we don’t see many come to Christ as a result?
The prophet Samuel is a good example to us in this way. Listen to his words to the people of Israel.
Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
What can we do when the lost person seems unaffected by Bible truth? What can we do when they seem disinterested or antagonistic toward the truth covered in the Bible studies? What can we do when they hear it, and then hesitate to obey it? We pray, and then we pray some more. We pray for God’s conviction to bring the sinner to salvation, and we pray for God to give us another contact with which to start a study. Praise God for the wonderful privilege it is to take petitions such as this before the throne of God, and beseech Him to work in a lost sinner’s soul! May we be more faithful in this spiritual activity.
II. Repentance and Faith
II. Repentance and Faith
In past weeks, we’ve seen that the Bible can be trusted as God’s Word. We’ve seen that God will judge every man according to truth, the Bible. We’ve seen the the Bible records God’s law, and how every single human being—except for the Lord Jesus Christ—has broken God’s law completely. We are guilty and condemned sinners before God. It does no good to compare ourselves to each other; when we compare ourselves to God, we are hopelessly wicked. We’ve seen how God only sees two kinds of people: lost and saved, unrighteous and righteous, and so on. Consequently, there are only two places where humans may go after they die: Heaven or Hell. In his attempt to save himself, man tries to do good works and please God, but those things fail utterly. Only God can save a sinner! Last week, we saw how God’s provision for man’s salvation is His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is pure and sinless. He became our substitute, taking our sin penalty on Himself, and shedding His sinless blood on the cross, so that we wouldn’t have to die for our sin.
This sacrifice was promised and foreshadowed in the Scriptures, proving that God did indeed ordain this as our way of coming to the Father and receiving the gift of everlasting life. There is no other way; there is no other solution.
In the final lesson today, we will study what Scripture contains about the act of being saved. What do sinners have to do? How is this done? Is it accomplished as soon as we want it to happen? Are we required to muster up some sort of energy or activity in order to receive God’s salvation? How can we be sure that salvation will actually take place? We’ll answer these questions today.
A. Preaching salvation
A. Preaching salvation
Here are two examples in the New Testament where the preacher very clearly describes what is needed for a sinner to be saved. There are 2 ingredients.
Christ’s preaching
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
This is a very simple message, preached by God Himself! There are only two ingredients to salvation: repentance and belief/faith.
Paul’s preaching
And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
The wording is different, but the elements are the same. We must repent to God, and we must put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
These concepts may be new to some, or they may have an inaccurate understanding of them. Let’s see how the Bible defines these things.
B. Repentance
B. Repentance
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
But now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent
In dust and ashes.
According to this verse, repentance is a humble response to how one sees himself. It is a result of deep sorrow over sin! Repentance doesn’t come without this sorrow.
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Repentance is a good thing—Paul rejoiced over it!
The sorrow of the world is sorrow over consequences, not over sin. This doesn’t bring repentance, and so it doesn’t bring salvation. Instead, it brings despair and death. And death brings regret.
Folks may sorrow over the consequences of their actions, and may desire to change their actions. But if they merely are wanting to be made free from their consequences, then their new choices won’t last very long, and they will return to their sin. God must make you free from your sin, and without that you cannot be truly free.
Godly sorrow brings repentance over sin, which brings salvation. No one regrets their repentance and salvation!
When we desire deliverance from our sin, we are showing a proper attitude toward it…a Godly attitude. We must repent of our actions!
Repentance not only brings a desire to change our actions, but it also brings a desire to change what we love.
For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Here are key questions for anyone considering salvation. “Are you willing to give up everything that you currently love, if that’s what God wanted for you? Are you also willing to love anything that God wants you to love?” This willingness would represent a complete change of mind! That’s what Godly repentance is.
True repentance is visible.
Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
John the Baptist doesn’t say what would prove that the Pharisees and Sadducees were repentant, but he does say that their repentance would be apparent. True repentance produces visible fruit! What fruits of repentance are visible in your life?
True repentance wants to make things right.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
I have often puzzled over the math in Zacchaeus’ plan. We don’t know how rich he was, but the Bible says he was rich. Since we believe he gained his riches by overcharging taxes from the people and pocketing the overage, how would he pay them back from only half his net worth? It’s possible that he had wealth through legitimate means, but it’s also possible that he had no idea how he was going to pay this back, short of great debt. It still didn’t keep him from committing to do so. This is a good picture of our sin! There’s no way that we can “pay God back” for our sin debt, but that’s not the point. True repentance means that our greatest desire is to make things right. That starts with being right with God.
True repentance means that a person acknowledges the truth.
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
This is why we must pray: so that God would “give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth”! No part of salvation involves sinners going out and apprehending something they need to be saved. It is always about sinners submitting and accepting what God is presenting to them. Repentance is the sinner accepting the truth about their sin, about Christ, and about eternity.
So we have seen six things about true repentance. 1) It is a deep sorrow over sin, 2) It is a sorrow that brings salvation, not regret, and not a sorrow over consequences—this often doesn’t last, 3) It is a sorrow that leads to turning from what we used to love, to what God wants for us, 4) It is a change in heart that produces visible fruit, 5) It is shown by a desire to make things right with God and others, and 6) It moves us to acknowledge the truth.
Have you ever repented? Did it look like this? If you answered “no,” then you should seek the Lord to find out whether you are truly saved. Salvation doesn’t come without repentance. Jesus Christ makes that clear.
C. Faith
C. Faith
The other ingredient of salvation is faith. Again, it is important to define what the Bible means by “faith,” because the world often uses the word with a different definition! Often, when lost people talk about faith, they are referring to an intellectual decision to consider something to be true, or they are describing a fervent hope that something is true.
“I have faith that God will see that I’m a good person, and will let me into Heaven someday.”
“I have faith that everything happens for a reason.”
It is often impossible to test if these things are true and worthy of one’s faith. And that creates a never-ending cycle in sinners’ lives: they want/hope something to be true, and they fervently hope that it’s true, and so they decide that it will come true…but they don’t ever have any proof that it will come true, and so they decide that it will. This empty structure of “faith” ends up being a crutch for us to lean on, without ever demonstrating that it is worthy of our time. People regularly put this kind of faith into all kinds of unbiblical beliefs, and the devil is pleased. It is an example of sinners in bondage! But Christ came to give us the truth, so that the truth may make us free.
What, then, is Biblical faith? Like repentance, Biblical faith will be visibly present.
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Faith is NOT works, but faith is revealed by works, because faith produces works. If you believe something so much that you are willing change how you act, that is true belief! (Even if you put your faith in a lie, actual faith will produce a change in your life. It is critical that we put our faith in the truth—in God!)
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Many people think that because they believe that God exists, then that is all the faith that God requires of them. It is important that we believe in God’s existence, but we are no different than Satan and his demons if that’s as far as we go! Yet, even though the demons believe in God’s existence, and even tremble at the thought, they haven’t put their faith IN God, in the way that God requires for salvation. That kind of faith brings a certain kind of behavior.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Let’s not get distracted by James saying that Abraham was justified by works. Eph. 2:9 says that salvation is “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” God doesn’t give us a list of works by which we may earn salvation. However, He is concerned with our works, or the things that we do, not for their own merit, but because true faith will impact our deeds! Consider Abraham’s life:
And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
Abraham believed what God had promised. This is markedly different from the world’s brand of “faith,” because unlike a fervent hope in something, Abraham had something tangible to believe: God’s Word. When God promised something, Abraham chose to believe that God would keep His promise. He was trusting that God is not a liar. God made a promise, and Abraham considered the promise as good as kept. That is real faith. And notice this: Abraham’s faith visibly affected his actions!
Let’s read now from Genesis 22.
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Isaac was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, and now God was telling Abraham to kill Isaac! How could this mean that God would keep His promise? Abraham didn’t know, but he trusted that God would keep it. And so he obeyed God.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Abraham’s faith remained in God, and it was visible in both his actions and his words. What a good example that Isaac had to observe!
And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Abraham didn’t know how, but he knew that God would keep his promise. This wasn’t merely a fervent wish; it was steadfast knowledge, because Abraham knew the character of his God. That is real, Biblical faith. And when God sees it in our lives, He counts it as righteousness.
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
If Abraham had just taken it upon himself to sacrifice Isaac to God out of some misplaced desire to please God, God would have been displeased. It wasn’t merely that Abraham was ready to kill Isaac, it’s that Abraham was ready to do anything that God asked him to do, choosing to believe that no matter what, God would keep His promises. THIS is what God values!
How do we get this faith? How can we have it? We can’t just snap our fingers and create it, and we can’t just try hard enough and have it. It comes in a very specific way.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Do you struggle with faith? Then get in the Word of God, and put yourself under the preaching of the Word of God. Do you struggle with trusting God? Then saturate your mind with the Scriptures! God’s Word has life-changing power (Heb. 4:12 tells us it is living and powerful, and “sharper than any twoedged sword,” piercing into our soul and spirit.)
Suppose we have faith; in what should we put it? In God, but is there something more specific? Christ tells us very specifically.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The sinner must believe in the only begotten Son of the Father. The sinner must believe in Christ. Jesus Christ preached, “Repent and believe the gospel.” The Gospel is the good news of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus Christ died for your sins, He was buried for 3 days and nights, and He rose again from the dead to take the victory over death. He has paid your sin debt and conquered victory. He has done everything needed to give to us everlasting life! We must believe that. And if we truly put our faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that faith will be evidenced by our actions. We will believe that Christ is truthful when He says that we must repent; we will believe God when He says that our sin shall bring death (Rom. 6:23); we will believe Christ when He says that He is the only way to the Father. And so we will act on our faith by humbling ourselves in repentance, giving ourselves completely to God, trusting Christ’s sacrifice alone to bring us forgiveness. When we do that, the Bible promises that we will be changed from being condemned by God to being justified by Him!!
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
If works could save us, salvation would come by the law. But we cannot keep the law, and so works cannot bring us deliverance. Instead, salvation must come through the grace of God through Jesus Christ. We cannot perform for salvation; we must believe for salvation. What works will this belief bring? Simply this: it will move us to admit to God that He is right about our sin. He is righteous, and we are wicked. It will move us to hate our sin, and to be grieved at our sinfulness. It will move us to desire that God free us from our bondage to sin, and give us new desires, a new direction, and a new life. It will move us to stop trying to earn God’s favor, and trust only in Christ’s shed blood on the cross to make us right with God.
Notice that I said nothing about having to clean up your life before you can be saved. God doesn’t put a sign on His door with the “cleanliness requirements” before we can enter and be saved! He saves us from our sin. He doesn’t save us after we have gotten rid of our sin. Our part is giving Him permission to take control of our lives, and change us according to His will. His part is doing the rest!
This distinction between our part and God’s part is well pictured by John 3:36.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
We have the freedom to decide if we will believe on the Son or not. The belief is our choice. The everlasting life that results from it is God’s part. He has promised to give it! Will we trust Him to keep His Word? If we refuse to believe on the Son, the Bible is very clear that we will not receive everlasting life…only the wrath of God.
At this point, it is good to draw the timeline you see on the paper, to illustrate the person’s life. That life begins with conception/physical birth. You put dots on the line to represent significant events and memories they may have. We can point to a time of physical birth, school, marriage, etc. When was the time of spiritual birth? It happens at a moment in time. Has that happened for them? They may not know the date, but when did it happen? Where were they when it happened. We cannot repent and believe the Gospel accidentally, or inadvertently. It doesn’t happen “in our sleep.” We do it on purpose, and when God saves us and the Holy Spirit comes into our heart, we are different. We notice the difference. We can’t remain the same.
When did this happen for you? If it hasn’t happened yet, it can happen today.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Don’t delay coming to the Saviour! Receive everlasting life today.