I have written numerous times about the necessity of obedience as a part of true faith. (See related posts) I noticed something in Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders that reminded me of another aspect of saving faith: repentance. No one who reads the Bible with any sincerity will claim that naked faith is saving faith. James makes this point by saying that even demons believe God exists. That is not going to save them from eternal damnation. It’s not enough to believe; saving belief demands obedience, and the first step of obedience is repentance.
The nature of a believers repentance is critical, and it
takes two forms.
Paul told the Ephesians that he, “Did not shrink from…. testifying both to
Jews and to Greeks with respect to repentance toward God and faith in
our Lord Jesus.” (Italics mine.) The repentance he spoke of had a particular
object in mind: God. Paul
expanded on the nature of saving repentance in his speech to King Agrippa
telling him, “I proclaimed that they should repent and turn to God,
doing deeds worthy of repentance.” The worthy deeds to which Paul referred are
the second aspect of saving repentance that mark true belief.
Let me begin by defining repentance as it is used in the New
Testament. The Greek word for repentance, metanoia (μετάνοια), means a
change of mind. We most often think of repentance as changing our mind
about sin resulting in a turning away from sinful thoughts. What Paul makes
clear is that not only are we turning from something, but we are turning toward
something when biblical repentance takes place. A person without knowledge of
or concern for God may turn from sinful behavior for any number of reasons.
Anyone might turn away from stealing because it carries potential negative
consequences for example. That is not biblical repentance; it does not involve
a turn toward God.
Repentance toward God, as Paul puts it, is clearly a change
in the direction of our thinking. The first form this takes is very broad in
nature as it involves the direction of our lives and our eternal destiny. To
repent toward God is to realize that our only hope for salvation is found in
God’s gracious provision of His Son, Jesus Christ. Many people are of a mind
that their good deeds will put them in favor with God when it comes time for
judgment. There are many people who claim to be Christians who think this way.
They are wrong. The repentance required of these people is a turn from a type
of works salvation toward the grace-gift from God granted through faith alone.
Works are a result of saving faith, not the cause of it.
The second form of repentance necessary to saving faith is
almost a continuous act. Because our minds, even after regeneration, are
constantly drawn toward sin by the world, the flesh, and the devil, true
believers must make the effort to repent, to change the mind by renewing it
daily. Paul’s
instruction to avoid conformity with the world and to seek a renewed mind
is another way to say repent toward God. It’s not enough to say I repented on
such-and-such a day and got saved. If that initial repentance was genuine and
effective, it will be followed by a continual desire to set our mind on things above – heavenly things – not on things of earth. The things of earth include
anything that would draw our minds away from God’s glory and ultimately into
sin.
Paul adds one more thing to his description of repentance
toward God in his speech to King Agrippa: “Do deeds worthy of repentance.” Paul
is not preaching works salvation. What he is saying is that worthy repentance,
worthwhile repentance, effective repentance toward God involves good deeds done
toward men. Jesus said that the entire law and the prophets (all Scripture)
hang on two things: love for God and love for your neighbor. He shared the
famous parable of the Good Samaritan to demonstrate that by neighbor He meant
anyone in our sphere of influence who has a need, and love for that neighbor
involves doing good deeds on his behalf.
Sadly, there are too many people who occupy a pew on Sunday
who give little serious thought to this second aspect of repentance. The idea
that everything exists for our entertainment is endemic to our society. Watching
an athletic contest or a movie or a preacher is supposed to give us pleasure. Far
too many churches have fallen prey to the idea that their services must be
entertaining if they are to attract people. That approach models the things of
earth rather than things above. A. W. Tozer laments that, “Cultivation of a
spirit that can take nothing seriously is one of the great curses of society,
and within the church it has worked to prevent much spiritual blessing that
otherwise would have descended upon us.” [1]
Too many believers do not take repentance seriously. They
have grown comfortable with earthly things, and they have forgotten that the
new earth God is preparing for His own requires their attention now. If one
does not turn from the pleasures of this world and turn toward God now, that
one’s eternal home may not be as secure as it should be. The price of admission
to that glorious New Earth was paid on the Cross of Calvary. To be admitted one
day, we must get in line and stay in line. Now it’s your turn.
Related Posts: Necessary
Obedience; Understanding
Salvation; I
Don’t Believe in God
[1]
A. W. Tozer and Gerald B. Smith, Evenings with
Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers,
2015), 357.
No comments:
Post a Comment