As a Christian I am called to "Repent and Believe" to be saved, as well as to repent from the sin I commit (by thought and deed), and believe throughout my whole life, after being saved. This is what the sanctification process is all about. We are told to repent, to name the sin or sins that we are repenting from, and ask God to forgive us. This is the Christian walk.
This is excellent:
And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.. (Luke 24:46-47)
Notice that following repentance is the remission of sins, which baptism signifies, being a symbolic dying to sin and resurrection to a new life (Romans 6:1-12). This is why on Pentecost, AD 31, Peter instructs the assembled crowd, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38)
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Likewise, Paul teaches the men of Athens:
"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
(Acts 17:30-31)
Repentance is a prerequisite to belief. What is repentance? Its basic meaning is "to change" or "to turn." Once a person hears the gospel and is convicted that his way of life is wrong, he must change his present behavior and "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:" (Matthew 3:8). Repentance is not merely feeling sorry or remorseful, but being so stricken in one's heart that one seeks the cleansing of baptism and begins to live according to God's standards—according to God's law. Remorse without a corresponding change in conduct is not repentance!
The fruits of repentance are visible actions—often called "works"—that show that a person has indeed changed. When John the Baptist preached repentance to prepare the way for Jesus' ministry, his audience asked him what they should do to repent. He answers: And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
"He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.(Luke 3:10-14).
In general, these actions are either obeying God's laws or showing love for one's neighbor.
Jesus says, "If you want to enter into [eternal] life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17).
Later, when requested to name the greatest commandments, Jesus answers, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart. . . .' And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:36-40).
When we put all these things together, bearing fruits worthy of repentance is simply living as God does!
Believing the gospel is closely related to having faith. When one believes something, he has faith, trust, and confidence that it is true. This confidence leads him to begin to act in accordance with what he believes, and the result is obedience to it or following it.
Notice how the apostle Paul shows this in Romans 10:8-10:
But what does [Scripture] say? "The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
Verse 10 provides the balance to verse 9. It is not enough just to confess Jesus verbally and believe in the resurrection as an intellectual exercise. Paul explains that heartfelt belief leads to righteousness, which is simply right doing or godly behavior (Psalm 119:172). Faith, then—living faith (II Corinthians 5:7)—is trusting God's Word and practicing it, whether in the face of hardship, sacrifice, the contrary opinions of friends and family, or even death.
The author of Hebrews commends the "Heroes of Faith" to us for just these reasons (Hebrews 11).
Thus, Jesus' urgent command for us to repent and believe the gospel provides us with the negative and positive sides of a single, godly action. He tells us to rid ourselves of the evil we have been doing ("repent and . . . be baptized") and to begin doing what God expects of those to whom He has revealed His way of life ("believe"). This will lead to righteousness and salvation and—God promises!—entrance into His Kingdom (II Peter 1:2-11).
Sincerely,
Walter
Leo_Grace wrote:
Repentance is turning away from something (not necessarily sin). In this particular verse, I would interpret it to mean (from its context) turning away from spiritual death towards spiritual life in Christ. Turning away from spiritual death would of course entail faith in God and repentance to sin.To summarize: God has also granted the gentiles the same grace of redemption and salvation, through faith, that he had given the Jews.
