by Garrett Glende

“Just have a little faith” is a phrase we hear fairly often these days. It’s usually directed toward a downcast sports fan or a doubting friend, but the adage is generally not taken very seriously. It’s meant to provide a tiny speck of security in something that doesn’t really deserve to be trusted. The reality is that there are few things in this world that can truly be trusted after all. People, science, and the stock market are all things that we place our trust in that will at one time or another fail us. In chapter 35 of Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem develops a biblical view of the concepts of faith and repentance and how they are applied to individuals. Despite the fickleness of worldly things, we are able and called to place our faith in the person of Jesus Christ, forsake our former ways of sin, and turn towards righteousness. Grudem defines the two acts of faith and repentance as comprising the manner of conversion, “the willing response to the gospel call, in which we sincerely repent of sins and place our trust in Christ for salvation.”

In modern day American Christianity, faith is probably the most talked about aspect of a person’s spiritual life, yet many seem to have misguided views about what the Bible actually says about it. Grudem lays out three elements that construct the biblical model of faith, the first of which is understanding. For someone to be converted, it is obvious that they must have some sort of knowledge about Christ and the gospel message. How can someone place trust in something that they know nothing about? But intellectual knowledge is not enough. Many so called biblical scholars have accurate knowledge of the facts concerning the gospel, yet they are far from becoming Christians. As James tells us, even the demons believe (James 2:19). The second necessary component to faith is approval. The sinner must agree that Christ has indeed paid the penalty for sin at the cross, and that His resurrection has secured a means of salvation for all who would believe. Still, mere ascent to the data does not match the Bible’s diagnosis of true faith. In addition to understanding and approval, the individual must depend personally on the person and work of Christ. Thus, “saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God.” If the third element is not present in a person’s life, then they have placed no more trust in the redeeming work of Jesus than the fact that a minute is made up of sixty seconds. There is nothing personal about the composition of a single minute. When the Bible describes saving faith, it uses words like “come,” “received Him,” and “believe in Him.” We get the picture that a person who has faith in Jesus is fully dependent on Him and goes to Him for salvation because he trusts Jesus’ words and actions.

However, faith is not the only aspect of a person’s conversion. Along with faith, the Bible speaks of repentance as being a necessary ingredient for salvation. Grudem defines it as “a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.” As a result of the work of the Spirit in our hearts, we see the ugliness of our sin and are grieved by it. Like faith, there is true repentance and there is worldly repentance. True repentance is full of sorrow over sin because the person is found to be guilty of hating the very God who died for them. It is not sorry over the consequences of sin, such as broken relationships or loss in worldly possessions, although these may be present as well. Genuine repentance is first and foremost an understanding that sin is evil and a sorrow over that sin. A truly repentant person will then turn their lives away from this sin and towards obedience. This is literally a change of heart. A heart that once loved sin now loves Christ and wishes to obey Him. Grudem explains that “when we turn to Christ for salvation from our sins, we are simultaneously turning away from the sins that we are asking Christ to save us from.” Thus, faith and repentance cannot be separated from one another.

Many of us can remember when we first experienced conversion. There was a clear change that God worked in our hearts. This may have been quite a while ago for some, but let us not forget that faith and repentance do not stop at conversion in the life of the Christian. In reality the entirety of our lives are to be marked by these two. Especially as we grow in knowledge of our Savior, we are able to rely on Him even further and exercise even greater faith. Aspects of His character that were once foreign to us can now become great pillars for us to lean on. For example, as we grow in our understanding of His sovereignty we can trust Him more when fighting through trials. And as we come to know more of His holiness, our knowledge of how sinful we are will continually lead us to repentance. And I suppose that this should be the case whenever we open our Bibles. Each time we read of the greatness of God we are given the opportunity to have our lives changed. Whether we choose to do so is really up to us. We could just let our knowledge stay just that – knowledge – or we could have it change us. Pray that we would all deepen our faith in Jesus, as He is the only one to be truly believed in.