Salvation by Faith and Repentance

[Randy Kluth]

Is repentance from sins necessary to receive eternal life? What is Salvation by Faith? Does it require repentance or not?

I don't believe it is just *believing* that God exists, nor even that Jesus is the Messiah. Demons have believed this. They just don't believe that Jesus' role enables him to do for sinners what he promised to do. They hold sins against people so that they can't obtain eternal life. They want people to be eternally cursed as they themselves are.

So true faith in Christ is believing in his eternal atonement, which allows us to have eternal life. The Law pointed the way, but could not get past the record of human sin. But Jesus' atonement allows men past the obstacle of sin to inherit eternal life.

The Law was only a temporary path that brought temporal salvation until death. But believing in Jesus' atonement allows us to benefit from the life of Jesus, who forgives us our sins, and gives us resurrection from the dead.

Believing in Jesus is not just believing that he forgives our sin. Anybody can believe that, whether it's true or not. More, it is believing that forgiveness is conditioned on repentance, and that we are to live in obedience to the righteousness of Christ. As the Law was a path of righteousness, bringing temporary forgiveness, so the Gospel is a path of righteousness that brings eternal forgiveness.

So believing in Jesus is believing in his righteousness and in his requirement that we choose to live by it. In doing so we also receive eternal pardon for our sins.

Temporal Salvation by the Law:

Deut 28.1 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.

Eternal Salvation by the Gospel:

Mark 1.15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

 

[marks]

Believing in Jesus is not just believing that he forgives our sin. Anybody can believe that, whether it's true or not. More, it is believing that forgiveness is conditioned on repentance, and that we are to live in obedience to the righteousness of Christ. As the Law was a path of righteousness, bringing temporary forgiveness, so the Gospel is a path of righteousness that brings eternal forgiveness.

So believing in Jesus is believing in his righteousness and in his requirement that we choose to live by it. In doing so we also receive eternal pardon for our sins.

Hi Randy,

For me it's more a matter of trusting that Jesus' death and resurrection is enough. That trusting Him for life is enough.

My understanding of repentance is that it's the repudiation of our life without Christ, and the receiving of the new Mind of Christ, that happens when we are born again.

If salvation is contigent on our continuing obedience, would that make it "earned"?

Again, for me, the key is, as you say, not just the mental acceptance of a fact - Jesus saves - but the reliance on that fact, trust.

Much love!

 

[justbyfaith]

If salvation is contigent on our continuing obedience, would that make it "earned"?

When we read Romans 11:20-22, it appears that salvation is dependent upon our "continuing in His goodness."

This is not to say that salvation is earned; but rather that if one has been truly made into a new creature in Christ, they will continue to be a new creature in Christ all of their days (Hebrews 10:14 (kjv)).

It is not that we maintain our salvation by staying good; but that our salvation maintains our goodness in the Lord.

For we have been regenerated and renewed on the inside; and the Holy Ghost has come to shed abroad His love in our hearts. This is the gift of the Lord; and the gifts and calling of the Lord are without repentance (Romans 11:29).

So then, if someone is truly born again, they will continue to abide in Christ for all of their days (1 John 2:17). And of course, abiding in Christ means walking in His goodness (1 John 3:6).

 

[marks]

When we read Romans 11:20-22, it appears that salvation is dependent upon our "continuing in His goodness."

It is not that we maintain our salvation by staying good; but that our salvation maintains our goodness in the Lord.

These seem to contradict each other.

?

 

[justbyfaith]

These seem to contradict each other.

?

In one place I said what the Bible appears to say and in the next part I said what I believe it to really be saying.

Hope this helps.

 

[marks]

In one place I said what the Bible appears to say and in the next part I said what I believe it to really be saying.

Hope this helps.

I understand, thank you!

:)

 

[marks]

When we read Romans 11:20-22, it appears that salvation is dependent upon our "continuing in His goodness."

So then you don't think this is the real meaning of the passage?

Much love!

 

[justbyfaith]

So then you don't think this is the real meaning of the passage?

Much love!

I believe that when we compare this passage to Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5, we will find that Romans 11:20-22 does not mean that the genuine believer can lose his salvation. It is speaking to those who think that they have faith in Christ; but their faith is nominal, shallow, lukewarm. It is telling them that when they fall away from "the faith", they will not continue to have salvation.

 

[marks]

I believe that when we compare this passage to Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 2 Corinthians 5:5, we will find that Romans 11:20-22 does not mean that the genuine believer can lose his salvation. It is speaking to those who think that they have faith in Christ; but their faith is nominal, shallow, lukewarm. It is telling them that when they fall away from "the faith", they will not continue to have salvation.

OK. It sounds like what you are saying here is that they have salvation, and then lose it?

Much love!

 

[justbyfaith]

OK. It sounds like what you are saying here is that they have salvation, and then lose it?

Much love!

It is a tiny bit complicated.

If you believe that even those who have a mental assent to faith have salvation (i.e. Ephesians 2:8-9), then it appears that a person can have salvation by faith and then lose it (Luke 8:13).

But if mere mental assent to the faith does not produce salvation, then there are many who think that they are saved but really aren't.

Such people, when they fall away, prove either that they never had salvation in the first place or else that, their mental assent saved them but was not enough to keep them in the faith and therefore their salvation was only an "experience" that they had in life (of being set free from sin for a season) and not sufficient to obtain for them the salvation of predestination so that their salvation translated into them going to heaven when they die; because they did not endure to the end and this would be the proof that they were never sealed by the Holy Spirit.

 

[marks]

It is a tiny bit complicated.

If you believe that even those who have a mental assent to faith have salvation (i.e. Ephesians 2:8-9), then it appears that a person can have salvation by faith and then lose it (Luke 8:13).

But if mere mental assent to the faith does not produce salvation, then there are many who think that they are saved but really aren't.

Such people, when they fall away, prove either that they never had salvation in the first place or else that, their mental assent saved them but was not enough to keep them in the faith and therefore their salvation was only an "experience" that they had in life (of being set free from sin for a season) and not sufficient to obtain for them the salvation of predestination so that their salvation translated into them going to heaven when they die; because they did not endure to the end and this would be the proof that they were never sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Only those who are born again have eternal life.

Much love!

 

[justbyfaith]

Only those who are born again have eternal life.

Much love!

So, the question is, are those who have mere mental assent, born again? For that can be identified as faith (see Luke 8:13). Therefore are those people saved who have mere mental assent (see Ephesians 2:8-9)? Or, is a more profound faith needed to procure real salvation?

 

[Randy Kluth]

Hi Randy,

For me it's more a matter of trusting that Jesus' death and resurrection is enough. That trusting Him for life is enough.

My understanding of repentance is that it's the repudiation of our life without Christ, and the receiving of the new Mind of Christ, that happens when we are born again.

If salvation is contigent on our continuing obedience, would that make it "earned"?

Again, for me, the key is, as you say, not just the mental acceptance of a fact - Jesus saves - but the reliance on that fact, trust.

Much love!

Yea, I've been motivated to focus on *righteousness,* because in our concern not to "earn our way to heaven," we tend to depreciate the importance of righteousness, which is a free choice. Unless we choose to be righteous, how is it that we've chosen Christ to be our Savior? Or, thinking that there's nothing we have to do to be saved, we place no importance on exercising our choice to "live by the Spirit," and not "by the flesh."

I completely agree that we can never earn our way to heaven. But a choice to be saved is also a choice to live in *his righteousness.* It is his righteousness that indicates we are not saving ourselves. It is our choice to live in that righteousness that proves whether we've really chosen to be saved or not.

Choosing to be saved is, for me, a choice to live in partnership with Christ such that nothing we do earns our salvation. What earns our salvation is our choice to live in partnership with him. We simply embrace his righteousness for our own, and thus prove that we have chosen his salvation and his righteousness. That indicates we don't earn salvation, but freely choose it. If we don't repent, we haven't really chosen salvation.