If you were ever asked “What must I do to be saved?” how would you answer? Someone might say, “Just believe.” Although many people in America “believe” in Jesus, but what does that mean?
Let’s look at what Jesus preached at the beginning of His ministry in Mark 1:15 and Matthew 4:17:
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.
The gospel is not a suggestion, but a command. A command that requires a response. A response that is not content with half-heartedness. Will you answer the correct response? Do you know the biblical response to the gospel and why it’s necessary? In the past, we’ve discussed what the gospel is and why we need to defend it. Now we will address another important facet to a proper understanding of biblical evangelism. In view of God’s mercy, grace, patience, faithfulness and steadfast love demonstrated at the cross and resurrection of Christ, it requires a response. Before we can begin to see that the cross was done for us leading us to faith, we have to see that the cross was done by us leading us to repentance. Repentance and faith are really two sides of the same coin. One side is tails turn tails from sin and the fruit of unbelief. The other side is heads head straight for Jesus and trust in His promises. You can’t have the one without the other any more than you can face two ways at once or serve two masters. Repentance is the turning away from sin, hating it and forsaking it. Genuine repentance is more a matter of the heart’s attitude toward sin than it is a mere change of behavior. Faith in Christ always involves a radical change of heart. It’s not just acquiring intellectual knowledge and agreeing with it. Satan has good theology, but he is still disobedient to God. So the mark of genuine faith is obedience unto the Lord Jesus. Putting your faith in Christ means that you utterly renounce any other hope of being counted righteous before God. You trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ as though your life depends on it because frankly, it does.
Many people “believe” or “ask Jesus into their hearts” or “commit to Him” on their own conditions. It’s as if we try to haggle or barter with Jesus on the terms of agreement like we’re at a rummage sale. Systematically, throughout the New Testament we can take notice of a list of prescriptions and/or descriptions of ‘what must someone do to be saved?’ Please consider some of the following:
Acts 16:31: And they said, ”Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
John 3:36: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Matthew 18:3: Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of God.
Mark 8:34-35: If anyone would come after me, let he deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
Matthew 10:37: Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Luke 14:33: So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Acts 20:21: …testifying both to Jews and to the Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The summation of “to believe” is repentance and faith which is in full agreement with orthodox Christianity for 2000 years. God’s work is regeneration. Our work is conversion. Remember this when you share your faith.
When someone hears of the Great News of what God has done for them in Jesus Christ, by His life, death, and resurrection to set them free from sin, death and satan, it should compel us to something. The Good News is not good advise; it demands a response, our full attention. The Gospel is a command that is to be responded by rejecting it, or yielding to it.
Today, in Modern Evangelicalism, the responses would hardly agree with each other. Most of what you might hear is unbiblical. Unbiblical responses to the Gospel would be: recite this prescribed prayer, join a church, ask Jesus into your heart, make a decision for Christ, just have a personal relationship with Jesus, make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Except Jesus would have something different to suggest.
In John 3:16 Jesus tells Nicodemus, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” What does it mean to believe in the Son of God? Is it to believe like believing in George Washington? Or does it mean to agree with Jesus and His ideas? Knowledge and approval are not enough. Jesus is not asking you to agree with Him or to acknowledge Him. So what does it mean to believe in Him? To “believe in Him” could almost be translated “believe into Him” with the sense of trust or confidence that goes into and rests in Jesus as a person. That would make sense since the New Testament uses the phrases “in Christ” or “in Him” or “in Whom” at least 150-160 times. Holy Scripture tells us that “to believe” is explained by faith and repentance. They are two sides of the same coin; the two wings that fly you to the Savior. Even though they cannot be separated, they ought to be distinguished.
The first side of the coin is Faith. Throughout the Bible we can find four kinds of faith, but only one of these can provide assurance:
1) Historical Faith – a persuasion to the historical, moral, and spiritual truths of the Bible with the mind only. Even though it is orthodox and Scriptural, it is not rooted in a regenerated heart.
2) Temporary Faith – a persuasion to the truths of Biblical Christianity which are accompanied by conscience and emotions, but is not permanent because it is not rooted in a regenerated heart.
3) Miraculous Faith – a persuasion wrought in the mind that a miracle will be done by us or for us. Answered prayer does not reveal that we have faith because it is not rooted in a regenerated heart.
4) True Saving Faith – Scripture would define true saving faith this way: Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God. Not simply a belief that carries an intellectual assent, but wherein the believer cleaves to his Savior with all his heart. Faith is the attitude whereby a sinner abandons all reliance in his own efforts to obtain salvation and casts his sole confidence in Jesus Christ and His finished work. This is the faith that pleases God.
The other side of the coin is Repentance. A thorough examination of Scripture would define genuine repentance this way: Genuine repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ. The Hebrew word for “repentance” is derived from conversion or return, the Greek word means to have a change of mind or intention. Simply, repentance is to turn your back on sin and turn your heart to God. Thomas Boston gives us six parts for sound Biblical repentance. If any ingredient is left out, it loses it virtue:
1) Recognition for sin. 2) Sorrow for sin. 3) Shame for sin. 4) Confession for sin. 5) Forsaking of sin. 6) Hatred of sin.
In trying to be faithful, we have simply created lingo that has a grain of truth in Scripture, but it is so open to interpretation that the unconverted understand it in ways that lead to false conversions. Instead of using the language of modern evangelism that produces false conversion, we should use Biblical language that assures faithfulness to the Gospel command. Faith is static with repentance; they come together. Repentance is complimentary with faith. They are two different sides of the same coin. If some is to come to Christ, they will turn from sin and this will make itself evident by a change of mind, heart and will. So a Christian is one who is actively repenting of their sin and continually trusting in Christ as their only hope. The question is: Do you demonstrate true saving faith and genuine repentance?