T. W. Parker

The Christian gospel always calls for and expects a response from those who hear it. Thus, Jesus Himself preached, “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark. 1:15, NIV). Paul declared to everyone to whom he preached, “Turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts. 2021). Through Faith, sinners receive Jesus’ sacrifice of atonement on their behalf and are thereby justified-i.e., declared righteous – in God’s sight (Rom. 3:21-26). At its essence, therefore, to have Faith in Jesus is to trust God as completely as Abraham did, “Fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised” (Rom. 4:21). As a result, Faith is to trust Jesus, to believe in Him, to rely on Him alone for our salvation.

On the other hand, Faith in Jesus does not nullify the necessity of turning away from sin to follow Him; quite to the contrary, genuine Faith in Jesus implies such repentance (Rom. 6:1-6). Also, to claim Faith while refusing to repent is to identify oneself as a false professor of the Faith, one who has the appearance of godliness without genuinely knowing its power (2 Tim. 3:5-7, Heb. 6:1-9, John. 2:19). Because those who genuinely love and trust Jesus as Savior and King will turn away from sin, keep His commandments, and follow Him even at the cost of life itself (Matt. 16:24, John. 14:15, 21, 23, 1 John. 5:3). For this purpose, it is vital that as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we must continue to preach the gospel. Those hearers must repent and live for Him in these last days before He returns for His bride! The Lord said, “Before I formed you in the womb, I know you; before you were born, I set you apart” (Jere. 1:5). The Lord calls His people to follow in His example.