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Ask FGBC #17: What does it mean to repent and believe?

Jim Butler · 2024-07-04 · 866 words · 6 min

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Okay, yeah, next question is, 
what does it mean to repent and believe? And I guess the focus 
on this question was on the repentance. What does it mean to repent? 
What does that look like? Go ahead. So repentance and believe 
obviously are two words that are found in scripture. And there 
are many different kind of ways it's described in the scriptures, 
but especially in the New Testament, the word self for repentance 
is used as a change of mind. A lot of people look at the change 
in one's life and sees the fruit of repentance, but actual repentance 
is actually a change of mind. Our confession in chapter 15 
describes it as a sorrow over sin. So we have this changing 
of mind concerning sin And so it is this recognition that we're 
sinful. And so there's a change of mind 
concerning that. Faith, on the other hand, then 
is believing and resting and accepting and looking to something 
else, looking to someone. It really is an act. really of 
the, can we say it's an act of the whole soul in knowledge with 
the intellect and the will that God gives it as a gift, but it's 
believing, being spiritually persuaded by the Lord Jesus Christ 
and concerning the Lord Jesus Christ of who He is and what 
He has done. So the principal act of salvation is faith, but 
faith and repentance do go hand in hand. And certainly even in 
the scriptures where we sometimes just see repent and be baptized, 
it's not necessarily, the writers aren't necessarily making a theological 
claim there, but really the whole act of conversion is implied 
in repent and be baptized. And certainly there are other 
places in Acts where there's repent and believe or just believe, 
but believe is that principle act, but we turn from our idols 
to the true and living God. Yeah, and then in the writings 
of the Apostle Paul, he often underscores that it's justification 
by faith alone, apart from the works of the law. So, I think 
it's important with repentance not to turn it into a work and 
say, you know, you need to clean up your act and then come to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. So yeah, these are two sides 
of the same coin. They're absolutely connected, 
but justification is by faith alone in Christ alone. Again, 
when I say that, people say, well, you don't believe in repentance. 
Yes, because true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, it's faith 
alone that brings justification, but that faith is never alone. It is accompanied by all other 
saving graces. Recently, I found a quote by 
David Dixon, in his commentary on the Westminster Confession, 
he says, because faith is one thing and repentance, especially 
so-called, is another thing, and it is evident likewise that 
faith is the cause of repentance. So, I don't know that everybody 
would be on board with that, but I think it is a good help, 
a good distinction. So, you don't have true repentance 
without faith, and real faith has repentance. But again, the 
emphasis in Scripture is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. In 
the book of Acts, the terminology is used synonymously and interchangeably. The passage that Mike mentioned 
earlier, repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins, dropping down just a little bit further, 
we see now all who believed were together. So, you see those instances 
of those emphases, repent, and then those people are called 
believers. So, faith and repentance are connected. The emphasis on 
justification is by God's grace through faith alone. And so I 
would just say, you know, one of the problems that we face 
in the church, obviously antinomianism, which is an against the law mindset 
or no law, but neonomianism is an issue as well. We call that 
legalism sometimes. So if we make an appeal to a 
sinner that he needs to clean up his act before he comes to 
Jesus, that I think is a wrong emphasis. So, you know, if you 
repent, you stop doing this, then you can go to heaven. That's 
not the proper way that we see the gospel preached. So, you 
know, making sure that we uphold faith and repentance, but leaving 
the emphasis in terms of, you know, coming to Jesus, believing 
on Him, and of course, repentance will be joined alongside of that. 
And to add that to that, I mean, Acts chapter 10, when the salvation 
of Cornelius is being reported, the repentance is called a gift. And God has also granted to the 
Gentiles repentance to life. So it is not a work, it is a 
gift. And certainly that what precedes repentance is regeneration 
as well. And I do believe in that saving 
act, regeneration, repentance, faith, justification, adoption, 
the beginning of sanctification, all of those happen, I do believe, 
all at once. Yeah. Yeah, we speak with them 
in a logical order, but it's not a chronological order. Yeah, 
that's right. And not like we're regenerated 
one day or the one year and then saved, justified later, yeah. 
Good.