The Burning Bush - Far Eastern Bible College

REPENTANCE IN SALVATIONIt is clear that the Church in times past did teach that repentance andfaith must be evident in a man’s salvation, that repentance and faith gohand in hand.Repentance in the Preaching of the GospelWhat is the place of repentance in the proclamation of the gospel? Afew things will be noted about repentance from a brief study of itsoccurrences in the gospel preaching of John the Baptist, the Lord JesusChrist, and the Apostles.Preaching of John the BaptistA survey of the Gospels and the book of Acts will show that the ideaof repentance is one that is central to the preaching of the gospel. WhenJohn the Baptist began his ministry, his clarion call to all was, “Repentye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2, Mark 1:4). It is clearthat the call is for repentance from sin, for he rebuked the Pharisees andSadducees and called them a “generation of vipers”, and because of theirsins, they were in danger of the “wrath to come” (Matt 3:7). Thereforewhat he exhorted them to do was to show forth true repentance bybringing forth “fruits meet for repentance” (Matt 3:8), for those who didnot show forth such fruits would be cut down and cast into the fire. Onlyafter this message did he in verse 11 bring forth the message of JesusChrist, of the one who “is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthyto bear: he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matt3:11).Preaching of ChristWhen Christ began His public ministry of preaching, the first wordthat He preached was also clearly the message of repentance. In Matthew4:17, after He had been baptised, and suffered the temptations of thedevil in the wilderness, He “began to preach, and to say, Repent: for thekingdom of heaven is at hand.” Again it is clear that the emphasis ofChrist was for all men to come to repentance, for “except ye repent, yeshall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). This was the same message that Hedesired His disciples to preach, for in Mark 6:12, it is seen of thedisciples, that “they went out, and preached that men should repent.” Notonly was it the first, but repentance was also what Christ called for afterHis resurrection in His closing address to His disciples before leaving theearth: “And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ13