Knowing the Church Series Part 13
The Gospel of Repentance is not Easy Believeism in the Church
The person responsible for the development of the theology some refer to as easy believism is Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer. The person who stands in strict opposition to Chafer is Dr. Augustus Strong. Strong taught at the end of the 19th Century and Chafer at the beginning of the 20th.
Easy Believism, simply put, is salvation by faith alone, but not including repentance. The questions that should be answered Biblically are: How and why would an unrepentant sinner receive Jesus Christ as Lord of their life, giving Him total rights and ownership? The testimony of scripture is clear in Romans 1 and many other New Testament passages; sinners, by definition, take control of their lives. Repentance is the transformation that turns a self-controlling sinner into a submissive saint.
The Church You Need To Know Should Proclaim the Gospel of John the Baptist.
Matthew 3:1-6 tells us, "Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, 'prepare the way of the LORD, make His paths staight!" Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. At that time, Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins."
Nothing could be clearer about what John was doing before Christ's appearance, what kind of man he was, and what he asked the people to do. At the time of Christ, baptism was for converts to Judaism. Gentiles were regarded as sinners, and baptism was their introduction to their new faith. John was not interested in worldliness of any kind, not materialism or even the food he ate. The people confessed their sins, which is an act, even if not with pure motives of repentance. He asked for repentance and the acknowledgment of the Jews that they were living like Gentile sinners, and because they accepted him as a prophet, they agreed.
The Church Should Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We are told in Mark 1:14, 15, "Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
There is no believing the Gospel without repentance. Some will say, "All you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart. If you continue in your sins and act like the devil every day, God still saves you. James, our Lord's brother, replied to that false Gospel in 2:19-23. "But someone may well say, “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless? Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected, and the Scripture was fulfilled, which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
The point being made is authentic faith is not intellectual ascent only but includes a transformation of the heart. Abraham was made righteous when he believed God's promise that he would have a son in his old age and would even become a father of many nations when offering his son Isaac, as God had requested, proved that his faith was genuine and a gift from the God of saving grace. The Church you need to know preaches a salvation that includes repentance and not an empty belief without a transformation of the heart.
The Church, Begun on the Day of Pentecost, Preached the Gospel of Peter and the Apostles.
The Apostle Peter Preached a Gospel of Repentance and Laid the Foundation for the Church. "Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what are we to do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:37, 38.
Sometimes, the preaching of the Gospel pierces people to the heart, and at other times, they pick up stones and try to kill the preacher. The thing that makes the difference is the sovereign election of God. Any preacher who does not understand the sovereignty of God's grace, which makes salvation of grace, should not call himself a preacher of the Gospel. Peter never included belief in his response to his hearer's request, "What are we to do?" Repent and be baptized, he said, and thereby put first things first. Upon repentance, people believe, and upon believing, they are filled with the Holy Spirit. The first act of repentance is baptism.
If we are in the church, we need to get the Gospel correct, and we do not get it correct unless it includes a changed life. There can and will be back-sliding and imperfection, but without transformation, the contract was never signed by God.
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