The Gift of Faith and Repentance

 

Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God. Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ. The word conversion means “turning”, a turning from sin to Christ. The turning from sin is called repentance, and the turning to Christ is called faith. They are the two sides of the one coin of conversion. And the Word of God teaches us that the saving faith and repentance are gifts of God.

Faith is a gift of God

1.     Ephesians 2:4-9: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

§  What exactly is the “gift” (v. 8) of God?[1]

§  Some will say that it is the “salvation” or “grace”, not the “faith”, that is the gift of God. But such understanding is somewhat odd.

§  What is the point in saying that “salvation by grace” is the gift of God and is not from you! “By God’s grace” means it is a “gift of God.”  It is obvious in itself when he said “by grace you have been saved.”

§  Therefore, it is clear that the gift of God definitely includes “saving faith.”

 

2.     Philippians 1:29: “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake”

§  What may have been difficult to understand in Ephesians 2 is inescapably lucid here.

§  So Paul had seen this saving faith in the members of the Philippian church and he says, "it has been granted to you” to “believe on him.”

§  Our salvation and the faith by which we receive it, it’s all God’s gift.

 

3.     1 Peter 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

 

4.     2 Thessalonians 1:3: “We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.”

§  Why should Paul give thanks to God for the faith of the Thessalonians? It is because “faith” is a free gift of God. He is the author of our faith.

 

5.     Hebrews 12:1, 2 (KJV): “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

 

6.     Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”

§  Some may argue that it is not the saving faith that is mentioned here. However, it is clear from the passage that God is the author of our faith.

 

7.     Acts 18:27: “And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace”

§  Luke does not say that he helped those who by their own unaided free wills had believed.

§  “Through grace” (i.e. by grace), they believed.

8.     2 Peter 1:1: “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ”

 

9.     Acts 3:16 (Darby’s literal translation): “And, by faith in his name, his name has made this [man] strong whom ye behold and know; and the faith which is by him has given him this complete soundness in the presence of you all.”

 

10.  Luke 17:5: “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!””

 

Repentance is a gift of God

1.     2 Timothy 2:24-26: “And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

§  By repentance "a sinner out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience"

§  Repentance is a gift of God as much as saving faith is. Both the positive turning to Christ and the negative turning from sin are gifts of God.

 

2.     Acts 5:31: “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

 

3.     Acts 11:18: “And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

 

Why is it Necessary for God to give us Faith?

Then we must ask the question why is it necessary for God to give the gift of faith. Why doesn’t a person simply exercise his will and believe in Jesus? One answer the Bible gives is that in the heart of every sinner there is an enormous hostility to doing that. Men love darkness rather than light, Jesus said, because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). Man has will of his own. But, he does not have autonomous will. Using their will, humans chose what they “desire” or what their heart is “inclined into”. Their nature dictates their selection. All sinners has lost their desire for seeking God. Bible clearly teaches that the sinners have no desire for God. There is no one who seeks God. Therefore, using their will (which is influenced by their desire), sinners rebel against their Creator.

Romans 8:7, 8: “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Romans 3:10, 11: “…..it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.””

1 Corinthians 2:14: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

In Romans 7:18 Paul says, “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.”

To what is the heart of the natural man compared? To a stone (Ezekiel 36:26). In order for a sinner to trust in Christ, the heart of stone must first be changed to flesh. Sooner an oak tree grow out of a pebble than saving faith come out of a heart of stone. The heart of flesh is a gift of God.

Ezekiel 36:26: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Jeremiah 32:39, 40: “I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them…….. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”

 

GOD ALONE gives Faith: We alone BELIEVE

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. God gives the gifts of faith and repentance. We alone believe. It is the sinner who repents. And we believe in Christ alone for salvation.

Romans 10:10: “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

It is “with the heart” (a heart of flesh, not a heart of stone), one believes in Christ Jesus. God gives us faith and repentance when he gives us a heart of flesh. God changed our nature and created in us a desire for Him. He put the fear of God into our hearts. With that heart, we trusted in Jesus Christ.

 

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

(Revelation 7:10)

 

References:

1.     Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology

2.     https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2002/faith-is-a-gift-of-god/

3.     https://www.samstorms.org/all-articles/post/faith-and-repentance

4.     https://www.desiringgod.org/labs/is-faith-a-gift-of-god

5.     https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/is-faith-the-gift-of-god-reading-ephesians-28-10-with-the-ancients/


[1] For a detailed study, listen to Ephesians 2:8-10, Part 1, Is Faith a Gift of God? by John Piper.

Link: https://www.desiringgod.org/labs/is-faith-a-gift-of-god

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