Project Description

2016/05

It’s Done… So Do!

The statement of Jonah from the belly of the whale: “Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:9) should never stop the sinner asking the question that comes from the belly of a prison: “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30)

God has, from all eternity, chosen to save a multitude of sinners that no man can number. Christ willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice for sin to secure that salvation.  (See John 6:37-40) Thus salvation is provided in full; the sinner need provide nothing. Yet this does not mean that the sinner need do nothing! When the Saviour began His public ministry, He preached the responsibility of sinners: ‘Repent ye, and believe the gospel’ (Mark 1:15)

Repentance and faith are gifts that God gives the sinner
Paul reminds the believers in Philippi that their faith was a gift from God, just like their sufferings (Philippians 1:29; see also Ephesians 2:8).  So the Jerusalem church responded to Peter’s report of his visit to Cornelius’ house with the words: “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” (Acts 11:18) We receive the salvation that God has provided by the grace that God works in us. Yet we must also recognise that:

Repentance and faith are duties that God requires of the sinner
Paul preached how God commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).  In response to the jailer’s question Paul replied: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).  At times the New Testament preachers emphasise faith, and at other times repentance. In future articles we will look at faith and repentance separately. This can help our understanding of how we receive the salvation provided but it should not cause us to think of these truly existing the one without the other.  Remember Christ preached: “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  A faith that rests in Christ is a faith that runs from sin.  A repentance that turns from sin is a repentance that trusts in Christ.  The Scriptures know nothing of an unrepentant faith or an unbelieving repentance. The believer repents and the penitent bwelieves. They are rightly looked on as two sides of the same coin. Paul summarised his ministry in Ephesus: “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21)

The united note of Scripture is that salvation is provided for us in full, while we are responsible to receive it freely.  It’s done, so what will you do?

Dr. Stephen Pollock.