Repentance and Faith

I have been studying in my office most of the day and occasionally (actually quite often), after multiple hours of such, I find my mind a bit squishy (squishy is a highly technical term for overloaded). Such times are difficult because there usually is still plenty of day left for fruitful exercise and yet the mind is just not working with me.

So, what to do? Many times I will take up the playing and singing of a hymn or praise song. Sometimes, like today, I will simply take out a hymnal (today it was my Gadsby Hymnal) and skim the hymns until I come across a text that catches my attention. I know that does not sound extraordinarily spiritual, but it is the way it often happens. And then, by God's providence, I am, as I said, struck by some hymn text, sometimes just a line or two, that speaks to my heart, challenges my faith, or just causes me the desire of deeper communion with God.

And so, with a mind made squishy from study, I pulled out my Gadsby hymnal and sure enough, I came across a hymn that put into simple terms some of the very things I was studying. You see, I was preparing for my Sunday Evening message on repentance and faith, getting myself a bit bogged down in theological detail, when I read this text by Joseph Hart. I thought on it for some time, appreciating the straight-forwardness of Hart's thoughts, thinking why it is that we don't really have songs being written like this any more?

Faith and repentance are the great honors and privilege of the believer. While they are not solitary means of salvation, for we are saved by Christ alone through His work alone, they are nonetheless an integral part of salvation, absolutely necessary in that they reflect the work of Christ within us. The acts of repentance and faith are the believer's participation with God in the work of salvation, the work being done by God, for even these are said to be gifts from God (Ephesians 2:8; Acts 5:31). Repentance and faith are the outward manifestations and the God-required means by which a person reveals his election, calling, and regeneration from God. As John Murray wrote in his little book, "Redemption, Accomplished and Applied,":

Regeneration is the act of God and of God alone. But faith is not the act of God; it is not God who believes in Christ for salvation, it is the sinner. It is by God's grace that a person is able to believe but faith is an activity on the part of the person and of him alone. In faith we receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation.

It might be said: this is a strange mixture. God alone regenerates. We alone believe. And we believe in Christ alone for salvation.

This is well stated by Mr. Murray, a seemingly "strange mixture" as God and man "work out salvation" (Philippians 2:12) - noting however that it is ultimately not man working "for" salvation, but working "out" that which God has already wrought within him. We must embrace faith and repentance with eagerness, as they are God's means by which we may know the reality of our salvation. And understand that faith and repentance do not exists separately, as some teach today. There is no such thing, Biblically speaking, as faith without repentance and repentance without faith, or again, as John Murray put it, "penitent faith" and "believing repentance."

Let us be wary of the unorthodox teaching that someone may simply intellectually have faith in Christ as Savior while failing to repent of their sins. There is no faith in Christ as Savior without faith that He is Lord and that as Lord He commands us to "Go and sin no more." Repentance and faith are simply the two sides of the same coin - while distinct they are ever melded together. Anyway, enough commentary. And by the way, if the commentary doesn't make any sense, I will blame it on my squishy mind. Here is the hymn that I read by Joseph Hart:

What various ways do men invent,
To give the conscience ease!
Some say, Believe; and some, Repent;
And some say, Strive to please.

But, brethren, Christ, and Christ alone,
Can rightly do the thing;
Nor ever can the way be known,
Till he salvation bring.

What mean the men that say, Believe.
And let repentance go?
What comfort can the soul receive
That never felt its woe?

Christ says, "That I might sinners call
To penitence, I'm sent;"
And, "Likewise ye shall perish all,
Except ye do repent."

Those who are called by grace divine
Believe, but not alone;
Repentance to their faith they join,
And so go safely on.

But should repentance, or should faith,
Should both deficient seem,
Jesus gives both, the Scripture saith;
Then ask them both of him.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Ed