I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:20-21).
What is necessary for true biblical change to occur? In our last post, we mentioned that biblical change happens when we expose and repent of and turn from attitudes of the heart that promote self-protection over loving involvement with God and others. We then turn to Christ in faith and dependence. In this post, we will look at those two ingredients closer: repentance and faith.
Sparking Change Through Repentance
What does it mean to repent? If repentance is necessary for change to occur, then we need to know what repentance is. The dictionary defines repent this way: “[To] feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin; to view or think of (an action or omission) with deep regret or remorse.” From this definition, it might seem that repent means little more than saying “I’m sorry,” and sincerely meaning it. In fact, that’s how many people—even many Christians—view the term.
The Bible uses repent in a much deeper way. The word translated repentance is the Greek metanoia, which means primarily “a change of mind.” So, as one writer put it, we change how we are thinking about what we are thinking. We thought this way, now we change how we are thinking. I thought it was okay to tell a “little white lie,” but now I realize it’s no different than a “big dirty lie.” Repentance always has the notion of “turning from” something. I turn from that old attitude and turn toward a new attitude (or in the biblical sense, I turn to Christ in faith—we’ll discuss that in a bit).
Though some view repentance as “changing our ways” (i.e., our behavior), the change of action or behavior is simply a result of my repentance. This is why John the Baptizer told the Pharisees to “Bear fruit in keeping with your repentance” (Matt. 3:8). What he was saying to them is, “You say you have changed your mind about sin? Turned from your real sin and embraced the truth? Show it by your actions.” Our actions are simply the manifestation of what has happened inside.
Before moving on, let’s give an example of how biblical faith might work: One day, little Johnny comes to his mom and says, “Mom, I lied to you today. I told you Mark hit me first, but really, I hit him first. That was wrong, and I’m sorry. I’m going to tell the truth from now on.” Now, has Johnny repented? It certainly sounds like he repented. He acknowledged that what he said was a lie and that it was sin (he changed his mind about that), and he turned toward the truth. So, yes, he did repent of that lie.
Consider this, though. What about the underlying attitude that created the lie? Why did he lie? To protect himself from the pain of possible consequences? Because he has learned that lying is a way to protect himself or get what he wants? Has he repented of those attitudes? If not, such attitudes will remain, and he will be forced to make that decision again. Repentance, like change itself, must go to the heart of the matter.
Continuing Change Through Faith
Not only does repentance mean “turning from,” but biblical repentance always includes faith (the “turning toward”). That’s why it’s more than just “I’m very sorry.” Faith, then, is the “turning toward.” Specifically, we turn toward Christ in dependence. If sin, at its core, is our way of trying to manage life on our terms, then faith is believing Christ and coming to Him to live life on His terms.
What is faith? The Oxford Dictionary defines faith as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” Synonyms of faith include trust, belief, confidence, reliance, and dependence. That’s a good starting point. Faith is confidence in something or someone. From this definition, we’re going to talk about the four essentials of biblical faith. All of them revolve around the God of the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Submission: Biblical faith is always submitted to the will and purposes of God. What does this mean? It means that though we pray in faith, we don’t always know the higher purposes of God. When He has something different from what we ask, we are to say, “Not my will, but Your will be done.”
- Object: Many people say, “Just have faith.” But faith in who or what? Faith always requires an object. Biblical faith always has the God of the Bible and Jesus as the object. Without Him, our faith is little more than wishful thinking.
- Active: Biblical faith goes beyond mere assent. It is active, spurring the believer to act in obedience. Beyond the fact that the Bible tells us, we know that Abram believed God (had faith in Him) because he obeyed the Lord’s voice.
- Revelation: Biblical faith does not create its own reality (i.e., anything goes). Rather, it responds to the revelation of God’s Word.
We can use the acronym of SOAR to summarize true biblical faith. We believe what God has revealed to us, we submit ourselves to His will, and we act on our faith. When we do that, we will naturally move toward Him and others in love and service. In turn, we have His promise that “[T]hose who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint” (Isa. 40:31).
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