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When the level of faith grossly exceeds the level of repentance in a person, then it turns out that what appears to be "faith" may be mostly "easy believism." The consequence of this state of mind can be a slow slide into sin. In the midst of ease the hardness of heart grows stronger. When a person slides long enough, sins can begin to break out into the open and be seen by others. There can be discipline from the Lord and from his church. A slide that continues long enough can end in departure from the faith and excommunication by the church.
The reason for all this is that "easy believism" is not real faith. It is not real faith because the warfare between flesh and spirit has been forgotten. This "easy believism" is not real trust in Christ to forgive us our real and recognized sins, and to give us victory in a real war. The warfare has been forgotten in the midst of battle, the heart is hardened, and the enemy achieves quiet victories. "Easy believism" is not the gospel, because The Gospel is only the gospel in the midst of a real war.
On the other hand, when the level of repentance grossly exceeds the level of faith in a person, then it turns out that what appears to be "repentance" can become legalism, or a monk-like religiosity that cannot enjoy the gifts of God. This can be connected with self-righteousness and pride -- great sins in the midst of all that "righteousness." For the elect and the true believers it can lead to sadness, spiritual depression, and even despair. There is no relief in the midst of the spiritual warfare, which is filled with failure.
The upshot is that dividing repentance and faith, and allowing one or the other to atrophy, is in either case a route to sin. Success lies only where both repentance and faith are coupled in a Scriptural manner. The gold coin of spirituality has two sides. One side of the coin, by itself, is not the coin at all! Faith without repentance is not real faith. Repentance without faith is not true repentance. Faith is only faith when coupled with true repentance. Repentance is only possible when founded in faith.
As believers we ought to love righteousness and hate sin. We must have faith in the definition of sin found in the Moral Law and the teaching of Christ. We must recognize the evil within ourselves, and begin the fight against it, and we must trust in the total forgiveness of sin and the spiritual power against it, both given as a gift by our Savior through his sacrifice for our sins.
As soon as we come to know the Lord, a fight should break out between sin and righteousness in our souls. It is a war -- even a death struggle. In this war, the Spirit begins to give us victory through faith in Christ as he is clothed in the gospel. It is not as if we ourselves achieve victory in the fight, but the Lord gives victory while we fight. Recognition of the enemy, and the fight against him are integral to the process of repentance. This recognition of sin, and the resulting war against it, is made possible by the omnipotence of Christ, who is engaged in the battle with us and in us, and who is totally on our side! In the midst of the struggle with sin, there is the exultant knowledge of our victory in Christ, and our total acceptance, even today! There is mourning for sin, but there is even greater joy in the gift of Christ! This is the kind of life where hardness of heart begins to be put away, where sin is seen as ever uglier, and where Christ and his grace are seen as infinitely more precious. Joy rules in the midst of mourning, and victories begin, in the Name of the Lord.
I've likened the spiritual life to a coin with two sides -- repentance and faith. Another useful analogy might be to an airplane with two engines. Trying to fly that spiritual airplane on only one engine is going to lead to a crash! Things weren't meant to work that way.
As believers we ought to love righteousness and hate sin. We must have faith in the definition of sin found in the Moral Law and the teaching of Christ. We must recognize the evil within ourselves, and begin the fight against it, and we must trust in the total forgiveness of sin and the spiritual power against it, both given as a gift by our Savior through his sacrifice for our sins.
As soon as we come to know the Lord, a fight should break out between sin and righteousness in our souls. It is a war -- even a death struggle. In this war, the Spirit begins to give us victory through faith in Christ as he is clothed in the gospel. It is not as if we ourselves achieve victory in the fight, but the Lord gives victory while we fight. Recognition of the enemy, and the fight against him are integral to the process of repentance. This recognition of sin, and the resulting war against it, is made possible by the omnipotence of Christ, who is engaged in the battle with us and in us, and who is totally on our side! In the midst of the struggle with sin, there is the exultant knowledge of our victory in Christ, and our total acceptance, even today! There is mourning for sin, but there is even greater joy in the gift of Christ! This is the kind of life where hardness of heart begins to be put away, where sin is seen as ever uglier, and where Christ and his grace are seen as infinitely more precious. Joy rules in the midst of mourning, and victories begin, in the Name of the Lord.
I've likened the spiritual life to a coin with two sides -- repentance and faith. Another useful analogy might be to an airplane with two engines. Trying to fly that spiritual airplane on only one engine is going to lead to a crash! Things weren't meant to work that way.
Personally, I hear very little said about sin, sanctification, repentance, church discipline, etc. at all. Many say they're "saved" but know not from what. And as to the power to repent, we seem to have divorced forgiveness from sanctification as well. I often ask folks to tell me what 1 John 1:9 says. Most don't have a ready answer but can finish the first half of the verse if prompted. It's as if we want to seek permission to continue to sin instead of seeking to be changed.
ReplyDelete"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." ~ 1 John 1:9 (KJV)
Reviewed and retained.
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