Repentance and Faith

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Henry C. Thiessen

The Scriptures appeal to man to turn to God (Prov. 1:23; lsa. 31:6,59:20; Ezek. 14:6, 18:32, 33:9-11)...Conversion is that turning to God and it represents the human response to the call of God. It consists of two elements: repentance and faith.
Repentance

The importance of repentance is not always recognized as it should be. Some call upon the unsaved to accept Christ and to believe without ever showing the sinner that he is lost and needs a savior. But the Scriptures lay much stress on the preaching of repentance.Repentance was the message of the Old Testament prophets (Deut. 30: 10-1 2 Kings 17:13; Jer. 8:6, Ezek. 14:6, 18:30). It was the keynote of the preaching of John the Baptist (Matt. 3:2; Mark 11:15), of Christ (Matt. 4:17; Luke 13:3-5), of the twelve as such (Mark 6:12), and in particular of Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38; cf. 3:19). It was also fundamental to the preaching of Paul (Acts 20:21; 26:20).

The dispensational change has not made repentance unnecessary in this age; it is definitely a command to all men (Acts 17:30). This is what Paul said at Athens, the farthest removed from a Jewish environment. Repentance is something in which all heaven is supremely interested (Luke 15:7, 10; 24:46f). It is the fundamental of fundamentals (Matt. 21:32; Heb. 6: 1) because it is an absolute condition of salvation (Luke 13:2-5).Repentance is essentially a change of mind, taking the word in a broad sense. It has, however, three aspects: an intellectual, an emotional, and a volitional aspect1) The intellectual element – This implies a change of view. It is a change of view with regard to sin, God and self.2) The emotional element – This implies a change of feeling. Sorrow for sin and a desire for pardon are aspects of repentance.3) The volitional element – This element implies a change of will, disposition and purpose. This is the inward turning from sin.Repentance is not a satisfaction rendered to God, but a condition of the heart necessary before we can believe unto salvation. Furthermore true repentance never exists apart from faith.. Conversely we may say that true faith never exists without repentance. The two are inseparably bound together.

Faith

What then is faith? ... In conversion, faith is the turning of the soul to God as repentance is the turning of the soul from sin ... We may say that the scriptures represent faith as an act of the heart. It therefore involves an intellectual, an emotional and a volitional change. Men believe with the heart to be saved (Romans 10:9f). The scriptures emphasize the intellectual aspect of faith in such references as Psalm 9:10, John 2:23f and Romans 10:14. Nicodemus had faith in this sense of the term when he came to Jesus (John 3:2) and the demons we are told, believe, for they know the facts concerning God (James 2:19). It is no doubt in this sense also that Simon Magus believed (Acts 8:13) for there are no indications that he repented and appropriated Christ.

We conclude therefore that faith must be more than intellectual assent. A man is not saved unless his faith has all three of these elements in it (emotional, intellectual, volitional). The voluntary element, however, is so comprehensive that it presupposes the other two. Certainly no one can be saved who does not voluntarily appropriate Christ. The voluntary element includes the surrender of the heart to God and the appropriation of Christ as Saviour. The former is brought out in such scriptures as ‘Give me you heart my son and let your eyes delight in my ways’ (Prov. 23:26). ‘Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me’ (Matt. 11:28). ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sister, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple’ (Luke 14:26).

That the Greek term pisteuo (to believe or trust) is used in the sense of surrender and commitment is seen in such statements as: ‘But Jesus on his part was not entrusting himself to them for he knew all men’ (John 2:24). ‘They were entrusted with the gospel’ (Gal. 2:7). The scriptures frequently emphasize that men should count the cost before deciding to follow Christ (Matt. 8:19–22, Luke 14:26-33). The thought of surrender is also implied in the exhortation to accept Jesus as Lord. The command is, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 16:31). And we must ‘confess Jesus as Lord to be saved’ (Rom. 10:9) To believe in Him as Lord is to recognize Him as Lord, and we cannot recognize Him as Lord until we ourselves abdicate.

This note of faith is often overlooked or even referred to as a later time of consecration, but the scriptures connect it with the initial experience of salvation (Henry Thiessen, Lectures in Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), pp. 268-270, 271-273).