Faith in Action

The first words of Jesus reported in Mark’s Gospel are these:  After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (1:14-15).  The gospel message says, “Repent and believe.”  The coming of God’s reign through Jesus issues a call to humanity:  trust and turn; turn and trust.  Repent and believe.

Faith and repentance are two sides of one coin.  We cannot turn TO Jesus in faith without turning FROM other “gods” we’ve previously trusted (e.g., idols such as power, pleasure, fame, or wealth).  It’s true, of course, that we’re saved by faith alone, not by works—yet faith is never alone.  And just as faith shows that it’s real by gener­ating good deeds (Gal 5:6; Jas 2:14-26), so too faith is authenticated as its heart of sorrow for sin is exposed—that is, its repentant spirit.

Notice how the New Testament associates salvation with repentance:  Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in [Jesus’] name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).  “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19).  “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repent­ance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18).  “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Cor­inthians 7:10).  And this is because repentance reveals genuine faith; repentance is the necessary fruit of the faith that alone saves.

As Pastor Kevin DeYoung says, “The gospel is more than posi­tive self-talk, and the gospel Jesus and the apostles preached was more than a warm, ‘don’t let anybody tell you you’re not special’ bear hug.  There’s a word missing from the presentation of our modern gospel.  It’s the word repent…  You can’t really believe without also repenting, and you haven’t really repented if you don’t also believe.”

Author Trevin Wax concurs:  “God’s compassion doesn’t do away with His com­mand. God’s compassion is the basis for His command. God com­­mands us to repent not because He is an angry tyrant who wants to squash our fun, but because He is a loving Father who wants our best.”

Do we keep faith and repentance together this way—in how we live, in what we say?  Or are we settling for a shallow (and false) gospel that doesn’t reach the heart and doesn’t lead to changed living?