There are many today that teach that all you have to do is say this special prayer and you have salvation. Though this is common in the church it is not biblical. Nowhere in the bible does Jesus or any of the apostles walk any sinner through a prayer, but instead they persuade them to repent of their sin through the use of the law.
In Mark 1:14-15 Jesus teaches repent and believe the gospel. This doctrine of repentance and faith was taught by Jesus Christ. If the son of God would teach the gospel of repentance and faith, who are we to teach any other doctrine, who are we that we should pervert the gospel ((Galatians 1:6-9)
It has to become recognized that without repentance there is no salvation and the only reason a man should desire salvation is to have his sins forgiven. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ..." (Acts 3:19)).
The natural man is lost in his sin, condemned to spend eternity in hell, and not until his sin become personally exceedingly sinful in his own eyes, not until he realize that because of his sin he is an enemy of God in his own mind, he will never see his need for repentance. Rom.3:19 says all stand guilty and condemned before God, therefore unless a man repents he cannot have salvation
What then is Repentance?
By today’s standard repentance is saying you’re sorry, or for some asking forgiveness, but biblically nothing can be further from the truth. The bible teaches that there is a prerequisite to repentance and that is godly sorrow.
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:10(NIV)
With repentance there is faith, these two happen simultaneously in a sinner's heart; one does not happen and then the other. There are many so called Christians that say they are saved but have no faith in God, they have not made Jesus Lord over their lives, they don’t believe in His life, the redeeming power of His sacrifice, that He died on the cross as a substitute for us, that his blood was shed on Golgotha that our sins may be washed away, and on the third day he arose from the dead that we might receive forgiveness of sin and obtain eternal life. This is the Gospel in which we must have faith in.
And to those that do not believe, as harsh as it may seem, I can confidently say they are not saved, for there is only one way to salvation, which is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, for faith in Jesus Christ is the power unto salvation.
Now there are those that claim they have faith but have no repentance from their sin and continually transgress the law of God, they live a life in iniquity and they continually forsake the things of God for the this world; harsh as it may seem, I can confidently say they are not saved, for there is only one way to salvation, which is through repentance and faith they both happen at the same time in the sinner and one cannot happen without the other.
- Mark 1:15 “The time has come," he said (Jesus Christ). "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
- Acts 20:21 “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”
- Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a] and of faith in God,”
Repentance is a requirement for salvation and if true salvation is to take place three things must happen through God's Grace working on the heart of the unregenerate sinner. They are;
- 1. Conviction- where sin is admitted
- 2. Contrition -- where sin is abhorred
- 3. Conversion -- where sin is abandoned
Conviction
Conviction is where sin is admitted, a sinner must see himself as guilty this is the intellectual element of repentance whereby the view of sin has changed, sin becomes personal, he see himself as deserving hell because he realizes that he has sinned against God (vertical) not against man(horizontal) The bible teaches repentance toward God ( Acts 20:21) that sin is against God (Psalm 51:4) (Genesis 39:7-9)
Contrition
Contrition is where sin is abhorred, when an unregenerate man see himself as God see him, he hates the sin he has committed, and then he is brought to a place of godly sorrow. This is the emotional element of repentance whereby the feeling toward his sin has changed, thereby manifesting itself in the form of sorrow for the sin committed against a Holy God (Psa. 38:18)
Conversion
Conversion is where sin is abandoned; the sinner now turns from his sinful way toward Godly ways. It is important to stress that just forsaking sin is not enough; it is the turning toward God that is required (Acts 26:18,20). This is volitional element of repentance whereby a change of purpose of his actions goes from past lascivious affections to seeking pardon and the cleansing through Christ Jesus. (Isaiah 55:7)
It should be made clear that biblical repentance is not a human work that brings about salvation, this type of repentance is done in the unregenerate sinner by God alone. However repentance will results in works. This is because conviction and contrition are impossible without conversion. This is why John the Baptist called required of the people to bring about fruit ( works) that are consistence with repentance, or otherwise to prove their repentance with works (Matthew 3:8)
Repentance is turning from sin; and faith is turning to Christ, the two are concomitant to one another (happen at the same time)
Repentance comes about through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit of God to cause a change of attitude, action, and affection. Simply put there can be no salvation without repentance. This is not a salvation through works doctrine but a realization that faith and salvation are the natural byproduct of accepting the offer of salvation through a contrite and repentent heart.
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Your Brother in Christ
Soli Deo Gloria
Biblical Reference
1. If you answered yes to the first then, you would have killed John Wesley, one of the great evangelists in the 19th century. 