The Burning Bush - Far Eastern Bible College

The Burning Bush 16/1 (January 2010)us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Tit3:5). Because man is so utterly depraved, he has absolutely no part evenin his own salvation. It is only through the Holy Spirit that he can havethe faith to believe, and the desire to repent from his sins.Thus when the gospel is preached to an unbeliever, the unbelievercan do nothing but oppose it, “because the carnal mind is enmity againstGod: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Rom8:7), and “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, becausethey are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14). It is only when man isquickened is he made spiritually alive, and can comprehend the truth ofthe gospel, be convicted of his sin, and know that it is such a greatoffence to God. Such godly repentance would cause him to confess hissin before God, have a hatred for sin and a desire to turn away from sinby turning to Christ in faith, believing that the forgiveness of sin can onlybe had through the finished work of Christ for him. Note that this desireto repent comes from God Himself and not from man (Acts 11:18). Thusman is justified by faith alone, declared righteous by God, and begins hisnew life in Christ. The repentant sinner who has believed in Christbecomes “a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all thingsare become new” (2 Cor 5:17).However, there is a need to realise also that at the point of salvation,one does not become sinlessly perfect. The believer must grow inholiness through sanctification. He must grow in his knowledge of God’sWord. Thus, whilst we have repented from sin at the point ofregeneration, we must continue to repent of sin in our lives, that we mightbe further sanctified and increasingly Christlike.Repentance Will Bear FruitTrue repentance would definitely bring about the fruits of atransformed life (Matt 3:8). There is absolutely no scriptural warrant forone who has been converted, regenerated, and filled with the Holy Spiritto continue living a life no different from his past life as an unbeliever.Joseph Alleine, in describing the nature of true conversion, stressed that aman truly regenerated would most definitely turn away from sin andproduce the fruits of righteousness:When a man is converted he is forever at enmity with sin; yes, with all sin,but most of all with his own sins, and especially with his bosom sin. Sin is18