Page 40 - TH200 Abundant Life A4 Final

Abundant Life in the Son: A Study of Salvation

Jesus. According to John, “To all who received him, to those who
believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God”
(John 1:12). In this chapter, we’ll consider these receiving and believing
aspects of conversion. We’ll note that as people turn from sin to God,
they put their whole trust in the Lord Jesus for pardon and for the great
change that is brought about in their hearts by the Holy Spirit.

The Relationship of Faith and Repentance

Every aspect of our salvation is a supernatural work that God alone
can do. Some examples of these aspects are election, the sacrifice of a
Savior, the provision of common and saving grace, the drawing of the
sinner by the Holy Spirit, the keeping work of God, the empowering by
the Holy Spirit, and the final perfecting and presenting of the redeemed
in glory. The only way we can receive God’s marvelous provision of
salvation is to accept it by faith. The eternal treasures provided for us by
God’s sovereign grace are available to us by faith alone.

We see then that in addition to our salvation experience, every aspect
of our Christian life depends on the exercise of faith. Our actions to a
large extent are determined by what we believe. We believe that God
knows everything we say, do, and think, so we try to do those things
that please Him.

In Chapter 2, we learned that repentance begins a chain reaction. The
event of salvation that is set in motion includes repentance, faith, and
other aspects of salvation, and we should consider these as occurring
at the same time. For convenience in discussing each aspect, however,
we have adopted the following order: repentance, faith, conversion,
regeneration, justification, and adoption.

Turning from sin (repentance) and turning to God (faith) are the
conditions for salvation. There is no saving merit to repentance and
faith. God has already provided all that is necessary for salvation. But by
repentance, we remove the barrier to receiving the gift of salvation, and
by faith we accept the gift.

Repentance concerns sin and the misery it causes, while faith dwells
upon the mercy of God. Faith is the means by which we receive salvation

::: 32 :::