Faith & Repentance

1. Faith & Repentance In Hebrews 11:1-3 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Our faith in God is something tangible, something we can rely on. I believe in God, isn’t that enough? Faith is a belief in or confident attitude toward God, involving commitment to His will for one's life.

2. In the New Testament, "faith" covers various levels of Personal Commitment . Mere intellectual agreement to a truth is illustrated in James 2:19, where even demons are said to believe that there is one God. Obviously, however, they are not saved by this type of belief. Genuine saving faith is aPersonal Attachment to Christ, best thought of as a combination of two ideas Reliance on Christ andCommitmentto Him. Saving faith involves personally depending on the finished work of Christ's sacrifice as the only basis for forgiveness of sin and entrance into heaven. But saving faith is also a personal commitment of one's life to following Christ in obedience to His commands: "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day". Faith is part of the Christian life from beginning to end. As the instrument by which the gift of salvation is received, faith is thus distinct from the basis of salvation, which is grace, and from the outworking of salvation, which is good works. The apostle Paul declared that salvation is through faith, not through keeping the works of the law.

3. Finally, in the New Testament, faith is referred to as the teachings of the Bible, the faith which was once and for all delivered to the saints. In modern times, faith has been weakened in meaning so that some people use it to mean self-confidence. But in the Bible, true faith is confidence in God or Christ, not in oneself. James 2:18-19;24 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.(NIV) At this point a clear point needs to made. Whenever we discuss our Christian walk it must be re-emphasized that we are only saved by the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and not any works we may have done:

4. Heb 10:10 And by that will, we have been made Holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.(NIV) 1 Cor 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and Righteousness and Sanctification , and Redemption .(NAS) Remember faith is not something we see with our eyes. It is a inner vision of an end result. However, if we see the end, result Inwardlythen we must move toward that vision Outwardly . In the “Faith’s Hall of Fame”, we read how men and women Actedon their faith. (Hebrews 11:4-38) Christian faith is aAbsolute Belief in the truthfulness of God’s word.

5. As we have examined the attributes of God, we realize who we are. Where it says in Isaiah, "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." It’s not good enough to recognize or be sorry for our condition, we need to change our direction. Peter preached in the book of Acts to the Jews: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel.

6. What is repentance? Repentance is a turning away fromSin, Disobedience or Rebellion and a turning back to God. In a more general sense, repentance means a Change of Mind , or a feeling of remorse or regret for past conduct. True repentance is a Godly Sorrow for sin, an act of turning around and going in the opposite direction. This type of repentance leads to a Fundamental Change in a person's relationship to God. Repentance is more than just a state of sorrow, tears or being sorry for being caught. It is an attitude towards our walk with God on a daily basis.

8. Repentance is not: 1. Being Religiouslike the Pharisees (Matthew 23:25-28) 2. Shedding Crocodiletears at the altar. (2 Corinthians 7:10) 3. New Years resolutions (Isaiah 64:6) 4. Being Convicted ,Conviction is not repentance, it only precedes repentance. Many people are convicted but refuse to repent. (Acts 24:24-25) (John 8:1-11)

9. True repentance is coming to my senses like the Prodigal son did. I’m convicted by the Holy Spirit to change my direction, then I make the decision to turn and run towards God. With this God sees me and is filled with compassion for me; He runs to me, throws His arms around me and kisses me. Then God the father says: “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate (wedding feast of the lamb). My son was lost and now he is alive again; he was lost and now he is found. The question arises, can a person backslide or fall away from the Lord. So lets approach the very important topic of eternal security. What is eternal security? The term many times associated with this question is “Once saved always saved”. So lets see what the Bible says about this topic. John 10:27-29 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.(NIV)

10. Tim 4:11 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,(NAS) 2 Pet 2:20-22 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."(NIV)

11. Heb 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.(NIV) All of us stumble or trip up at times, but we get up repent and continue on. We choose everyday whether we are going to serve God or not. It is God’s great love for us to have the free will to choose to be one of God’s chosen.

12. Rom 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.(NIV) Absolutely nothing can separate us from the Love of God. Yet God has given us a free will, we choose everyday whether we will walk in His ways or turn back to the world. If we choose to walk away from God our hearts become a little harder and we are leaving our first Love. Mark 4:14-20 The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop-- thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."(NIV)

13. What would cause a person to backslide: 1. Lack of Personal Love Relationship with the Lord (Revelation 2:1-7) 2. Lack of Spiritual Watchfulness.(Mark 13:33) 3. Lack of Spiritual Fervency.(Revelation 3:14-22) 4. Lack of Obedienceto the Word of God(Hebrews 5:9) 5. Lack of Prayer(Luke 22:39-46) 6. Lack of Spiritual Sustenance from the Word of God(Psalm 1) 7. Lack of Fellowshipwith God’s people(Hebrews 10:24-25) 8. Lack of Separationfrom the world(1 Corinthians 15:33; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18) 9. Lack of Proper Humility andBeing Lifted up in Pride (Proverbs 18:12;16:18 1 Timothy 3:6)

14. The redemptive work of Christ does not exempt us from obedience to the Word of God. This obedience is neither forced nor a non-voluntary obedience. Obedience is the very security for all created beings. There can be no such thing as unconditional security. No believer need backslide or fall away from the faith, for the Lord Jesus is our advocate and intercessor. The Holy Spirit is our comforter and indweller. The Lord is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.