Faith and Repentance Are Inseprable

[RJ]

When the gospel is proclaimed, it seems at first sight that two different, even alternative, responses are called for. Sometimes the summons is, “Repent!” Thus, “John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matt. 3:1–2). Again, Peter urged the hearers whose consciences had been ripped open on the day of Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). Later, Paul urged the Athenians to “repent” in response to the message of the risen Christ (Acts 17:30).

Yet, on other occasions, the appropriate response to the gospel is, “Believe!” When the Philippian jailer asked Paul what he must do to be saved, the Apostle told him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

But there is no mystery or contradiction here. Further on in Acts 17, we discover that precisely where the response of repentance was required, those who were converted are described as believing (Acts 17:30, 34).

Any confusion is surely resolved by the fact that when Jesus preached “the gospel of God” in Galilee, He urged His hearers, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14–15). Here repentance and faith belong together. They denote two aspects in conversion that are equally essential to it. Thus, either term implies the presence of the other because each reality (repentance or faith) is thesine qua nonof the other.
In grammatical terms, then, the wordsrepentandbelieveboth function as a synecdoche—the figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole. Thus, repentance implies faith and faith implies repentance. One cannot exist without the other.
bySinclair Ferguson

 

[B-A-C]

Jas 2:19; You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Jas 2:20; But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Mark 1:23; Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
Mark 1:24; saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"

It seems believing is not the same thing as repentance, even the demons believe and know who Jesus is.

 

[RJ]

Jas 2:19; You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Jas 2:20; But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Mark 1:23; Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,
Mark 1:24; saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"

It seems believing is not the same thing as repentance, even the demons believe and know who Jesus is.

• Yes,that logic is ridiculous! Ferguson's article is talking about true, born again, believers. Sure, the demons know scripture better than any of us but they reject Christ and certainly have no faith and certainly have no repentance, the comparison is not valid and sincerely, would be foolish..
• The demons belief have nothing to do with them having faith and repentance....silly!