Faith and Repentance

 For tonight's Thursday night Bible Study at Bethel, the teacher was Bro. Tom Vayna. He taught on Faith and Repentance from the Discipleship Series. For the most part, he followed the notes completely. As I did last week, I will paste into my blog portions of the lesson, but not the entire thing as it is a lot of information. This is an important topic and I hope will grow in God as you read this. 

Faith and Repentance

John 3:16 –“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” 

Acts 2:38 – “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” 

 Step #1: Faith in God – believing and trusting in God is the essential first step to salvation. • Hebrews 11:6 – “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” • John 3:36 – “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

 Step #2: Repentance – asking forgiveness and turning away from sin is the next step after we have believed God and His Word. • Luke 13:5 – (Jesus said) “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” • Acts 3:19 – “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” C.

 Step #3: Baptism – being immersed in water in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins. • Mark 16:15-16 – “And he (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” • Acts 22:16 – “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” 

Step #4: Holy Spirit Infilling – being filled with the Holy Ghost; having God's Spirit living within us. • Romans 8:11 – “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” • Romans 8:9 – “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” 

Sin can be active or passive – there are sins of commission and sins of omission. a. Sins of commission (active sins) – deliberate actions that are against God’s Word: • Mark 7:21-23 – “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” b. Sins of omission (passive sins) – failing to do what God wants us to do: • James 4:17 – “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

 Faith is the essential first step in the plan of salvation. Faith means to have simple trust and confidence in God and in His Word. To have faith is simply to believe – to depend and rely upon God. • Acts 16:31-34 – “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

Faith must be in the name of Jesus Christ: • John 1:12 – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” • 1 John 5:13 – “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” • Acts 4:12 – “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (See also Acts 3:16; John 3:18)

 Repentance is a major theme of the Bible. 1. In both the Old and New Testaments mankind is called to repent. Noah was a preacher of repentance and righteousness. All the major and minor prophets were preachers of repentance. In fact, the prophet Nahum’s name comes from a root word meaning “repentance.” B. The word “repentance” is translated from several different words in the Bible. 1. Nacham (Old Testament – Hebrew): to sigh or groan, to be sorry; literally to have difficulty in breathing while one experiences intense emotion. • Genesis 6:6 – “And it repented (nacham) the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” 2. Shubh (Old Testament – Hebrew): to turn back, to make a radical change in attitude toward sin and God. This is the Hebrew word used most frequently by the prophets in the Old Testament. • Ezekiel 14:6 – “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, (shubh) and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.” 3. Metanoeo (New Testament – Greek): to think differently, to change one’s mind or purpose, a reversal of direction.  

The scriptural meaning of repentance incorporates all of these elements. • Repentance involves remorse – being sorry for our sins, regretting our failures • Repentance involves an inner change of thinking – a new mindset, a new way of thinking • Repentance involves an outward change of direction – a new lifestyle and manner of behavior.

We can experience remorse without repenting. Some people cry after they have done wrong, but they may only be crying because they got caught. While repentance always begins with regret and godly sorrow, it is important that we go beyond just mere regret to changing both our thinking and our behavior. • 2 Corinthians 7:10 – “For godly sorrow worketh (leads to) repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” 

 Repentance is not optional – it is commanded and required for salvation.

 When we genuinely repent, we should exhibit specific signs and evidence (fruit) of our repentance. repentance is our first response to God that leads us to be saved. • Acts 2:37 – “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

According to Acts 2:38, remission of sins requires both repentance and water baptism in the name of Jesus. Repentance, which is a type of death, is incomplete without water baptism. When something dies, it needs to be buried (Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12). Similarly, when we repent, the process of remission of sins is complete only after Water Baptism—the subject of our next lesson.

God is good!