Featured The Bible Way of Salvation

Yes MB. I was thinking the same thing. I remember J. Vernon McGee saying that repentance and faith were two sides of the same thing. So did John R Rice. From what SavedByGrace posted in the quote from Calvin he did too.

 

From reading the book of Romans we see that turning from sin is not a requirement for salvation, but faith in Jesus Christ without trust in any works of righteousness on our own part.

 

But Guido, what is this faith in Jesus Christ? It is more than simply believing that there was such a person as Jesus of Nazareth who lived a long time ago and did a lot of good stuff.
Is not true faith in Christ the understanding that one is a sinner, rightly under the condemnation of God (Luke 18:13) and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving work for the forgiveness of those sins? And would it not be the foulest hypocrisy to cry out to Christ for salvation for those sins if one had every intention of repeating them?

 

Yes, but I don't believe that actually turning from sins is a requirement for salvation. I'm sorry I didn't explain all that.

 

It's not a prerequisite for sure. You would never say to someone you better do this or that or give up this or that and fix your life and then report back and we'll see about you getting saved. But there is enough Bible references and enough writings from reliable men to insist that repentance is a requirement for salvation. If by salvation you mean the whole thing - getting saved and then living out the rest of your life in Christ. To come to Christ the only requirement from the individual's point of view is that he feels a need to do so.

 

Repentance is actually a gift of God and therefore you might think of it as a provision rather than a requirement.
Nevertheless, I assure you that no one is saved who does not repent. 'Unless you repent you will all likewise perish' (Luke 13:3, 5).

 

Romans 6:1-14 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old selfwas crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

 

Just a general caution for the casual reader of the thread.

There are some who read into this passage “sinless” or “perfection” of the believer.

That thinking is foreign to what Paul is writing.

 

Indeed. All one needs to do is read chapter 7 to see that Paul is not teaching sinless perfection.

 

If true then why does Christ say to repent and believe?.As if repent doesn't mean tp turn from your sin and focusing on Christ
MB

 

repenting of trying to save ourselves by our own good works, and trusting in the Lord Jesus only to save us!

 

Both comes from the Holy Spirit!

 

Calvinism teaches nonsense and you are the proof. To repent means to turn from your sins and focus on Christ. No one saves them selves that is not true. it's your false accusation.Making such accusations is sin
MB

 

Repenting does indeed mean to turn from your sins. If some of your sin involves trying to save yourself that needs to be repented of along with every other sin you know about. There are also sins we don't know about and as we mature and the Spirit reveals these to us we need to repent of them also. We are commanded to do this and we must do this because without repentance there will be no salvation. But we are unable to do this on our own and it still is "all of God". If you can't figure this out and you cannot see how our responsibility and God's sovereignty mesh then you are not stupid - you are like Charles Spurgeon who said he couldn't figure it out either.

 

what God requires us to do is to stop trusting at all in any of our efforts and works and totally lean upon Jesus period!

 

The biggest change in mind would be to stop trusting in anything we can do to save ourselves, and fully trust in Lord Jesus, and that is only able to be done by the work of the Holy Spirit, as our sin natures want to take some of the credit!

 

that would be works
MB

 

Everyone's story is different. A person who was a pillar in the community, a member of a church, gave money to charity, etc. and thought surely they have done enough in the sight of Heaven to justify themselves - their main change of mind would certainly be to stop trying to save themselves. But there are other people who live in gross sin, enjoy it, try to get others involved, hurt people intentionally, lie, steal, cheat etc. - their main repentance is to turn from that. They were not trying to save themselves. I stay with my original statement.

 

That sounds like trusting in one's works. Not totally unlike Matthew 7:22.

 

That may be true of your God but my God says repent of perish. I'd rather stay with what God has said rather than what you say.
Mat_3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat_4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mar_1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Mar_6:12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
Luk_13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luk_13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Act_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;
Act_17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Act_26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
MB