Repent and Believe by Pastor Abidan Shah

REPENT AND BELIEVE by Pastor Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction: Help me finish – Peanut Butter and Jelly; RC and Moon Pie; Chips and Dip; Mash potatoes and gravy; Salt and Pepper; Pork and Beans; Mac and Cheese. Let’s get out of the food family – Abbot and Costello; Tom and Jerry; Batman and Robin. We can go on forever. So also, when it comes to our salvation, it is Repent and Believe. They are two sides of the same coin.Repentance without belief will only lead to perpetual guilt and belief without repentance will only lead to perpetual carnality. If all you do is repent, you will never see the grace of God. If all you do is believe, you will never see the holiness of God. One more thing, you can’t truly repent unless you truly believe and you can’t truly believe unless you truly repent.

Mark 1    14Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Acts 20    20how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,21testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Question: Have you repented of your sins? Have you placed your faith in Jesus and his cross and resurrection? Are you saved?

Context: This is our final message in our series on the gospel. Many of you have shared with me how much the messages in this series have impacted your life. Some of you have even passed on the messages to others. That’s amazing! All I can say is “To God be the glory. It’s his gospel anyways!” In this last message, we’re going to learn how salvation is both a result of repentance and belief. They go together. They are the final steps of following Jesus. We are going to look at each of them briefly:

 I. REPENTANCE

What is repentance?In Greek, the noun form is “metanoia,” which is found 24 times; the verbal form is “metanoeo,” which is found 34 times; then, there is “metamelomai,” which is found 6 times. There is a reason I’m giving you all these statistics. The core idea behind all these words is a “change of mind” or a “change of thinking.” For some reason, we have inserted the idea of sorrow or regret. It may have come in through the Roman Catholic translation of “penance” and “penitence” but this was not part of the original biblical understanding. Don’t misunderstand. There may be some tears involved in repentance but they are the right kind of tears. 2 Corinthians 7:10 “For godly sorrow produces repentanceleadingto salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” There’s a big difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. Godly sorrow feels personal guilt against the holiness of God but worldly sorrow only feels regret and remorse. Godly sorrow leads to salvation but worldly sorrow only leads to death. Crying or feeling sorry or feeling ashamed do not guarantee salvation. The key thing is that there’s a change of thinking regarding sin, self, and Savior.Prior to repentance, you were okay with sin. Now, there is a disdain for sin. Prior to repentance, you were the center of the universe. Now, God is the rightful center of the universe. Prior to repentance, you didn’t think you needed a Savior. Now, you want a Savior who can rescue you from the power of sin and self.

How important is repentance? It is a must for being saved.Listen to what Jesus said to the self-righteous people in Luke 13   3“. . . unless you repent you will all likewise perish. . . 5I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” He repeated it twice. A salvation without repentance is no salvation at all. I repented when I got saved at the age of 4. I didn’t have any tears but there was a definite change in my thinking. I knew that I was not good in myself and I needed Jesus to come into my life.

Who does the repenting? In a sense, we (the unbelievers) do the repenting but, in another sense, repentance is the work of the Holy Spirit. Listen to what Jesus said to his disciples in John 16   7Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” Ultimately, repentance is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Application: Have you repented of your sins? Has the Holy Spirit led you to a change of thinking regarding sin, self, and the Savior?

II. BELIEF

What is belief? Just like for repentance, the Greek word for belief is also very significant. It is mainly found in John’s gospel as the active verb “pisteuein,” which is found as many as 96 times. It is found in the epistles as the noun “pistis.” The meaning of both the verb form and the noun form are lot stronger than the words “belief” or “believe.” It’s like “I believe the package is coming today” or “I believe it’s going to rain today.” It has the idea of “I hope.” The Greek has the idea of “trust.” It’s like trusting in a life jacket or a safety harness. When it comes to salvation, belief or trust is having confidence in Jesus that he can remove the guilt of sin and give eternal life. As a 4-year-old, I believed in those facts. It involves committing my whole life to him. That is true trust.

How important is belief? It’s a must for being saved. Listen to John 1:12“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Then, John 3:16“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”Now listen to John 3:36“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” And,John 8:24“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I amHe,you will die in your sins.” Bottom Line: No belief, no salvation.

Who does the believing? We do. When the Holy Spirit opens our eyes of faith, we have a choice to make. Are we going to place our test in him or are we going to reject him? Some people falsely think that faith is also a gift. It is a gift to the believer but to the unbeliever, the eyes have been opened and the choice is left in our hands. We have to decide. By the way, we are constantly demonstrating faith and trust. We do it when we go through a traffic light. We do it when we use water that comes out of the tap. We do it when we go in for a surgery or even take a pill that has been prescribed. So also, we need to believe and trust in Jesus that he is our Savior and King. Ultimately, belief is your choice and commitment.

Application:Have you believed in Jesus? Have you trusted in Jesus not just with your sins but also with your life?

So, what is the gospel?

1. Declaration:

• Jesus brought God’s kingdom into the world.
• He is Christ, God’s Anointed King.
• He died on the cross for our sins, according to Scriptures.
• He was buried but rose again on the third day, according to Scriptures and was seen by many.

2. Demand:

• Repent – change of thinking about sin, self, and Savior.
• Believe – trust that Jesus is God’s Son who has paid the penalty of our sins and he can remove the guilt of sin and give eternal life.
• Follow – as our King, we are to obey and follow him no matter the cost.Without this element, the gospel is not the true gospel. First, the decision and then, one day, the test.

Invitation: Are you ready to follow Jesus your King?