Repentance and Faith: A Relationship that Cannot be Broken
From Relationship and Fellowship
I want to talk about repentance for a moment, because sometimes the Bible presents the requirement for salvation as repentance, and sometimes as repentance and belief although, most of the time, only the word “believe” is used. Repentance and faith are often separated into two requirements for salvation by well-meaning preachers. It is better, though, to look at repentance and faith in the same way we would look at two sides of a coin. Remove the side of the penny that has Lincoln’s face on it and you no longer have a complete penny. Remove the side with the Lincoln Memorial on it, and you have only half a coin. Remove repentance from faith, and you no longer have real faith. Remove faith from repentance and you cannot have the genuine article. You see, it is sometimes said that if I believe and do not repent that I am not really saved. If we closely examine the Bible’s teaching on saving faith and what it actually is, then we will see that it is impossible to believe without repenting.
Repentance is not reformation, nor is it remorse. The word usually translated “repent” in our English New Testament is made up of two Greek words. When these words are put together, they mean “an afterthought.” To put that in plain, everyday English, the word repent means “to think differently” or “to have a change of mind.” Here are some verses that demonstrate that repentance is a change of mind.
Click to read the complete sample chapter in PDF format.