FAITH AND REPENTANCE

Harry Ironside (1876-1951) pastor and author wrote,

“Repentance and faith are inseparable. The Gospel of John mentions the word “believe” and “believed” 85-times; but the word “repent” is never mentioned even once. In genuine salvation, one who believes on Jesus Christ has repented, and one who repents has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. 

Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.

The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past.”

“And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus