What is faith in Jesus Christ?

Of repentance unto life, part 6

CONFESSION OF FAITH CHAPTER 15: OF REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE 6. As every man is bound to make private confession of his sins to God, praying for the pardon thereof;1 upon which, and the forsaking of them, he shall find mercy;2 so, he that scandalizeth his brother, or the church of Christ, ought to be willing, by a private or public confession, and sorrow for his sin, to declare his repentance to those that are offended,3 who are thereupon to be reconciled to him, and in love to receive him.4 ---------------------------------------- 1. PSALM 51:4-5 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. PSALM 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. PSALM 51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. PSALM 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. PSALM 32:5-6 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. (ESV) 2. PROVERBS 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. 1 JOHN 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (ESV) 3. JAMES 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. LUKE 17:3-4 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” JOSHUA 7:19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” PSALM 51 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar. (ESV) 4. 2 CORINTHIANS 2:8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. (ESV)

Of repentance unto life, part 5

CONFESSION OF FAITH CHAPTER 15: OF REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE 5. Men ought not to content themselves with a general repentance, but it is every man's duty to endeavor to repent of his particular sins, particularly.1 ---------------------------------------- 1. PSALM 19:13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. LUKE 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 1 TIMOTHY 1:13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 1 TIMOTHY 1:15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (ESV)

Of repentance unto life, part 4

CONFESSION OF FAITH CHAPTER 15: OF REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE 4. As there is no sin so small, but it deserves damnation;1 so there is no sin so great, that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.2 ---------------------------------------- 1. ROMANS 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. ROMANS 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— MATTHEW 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, (ESV) 2. ISAIAH 55:7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. ROMANS 8:1 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ISAIAH 1:16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, ISAIAH 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (ESV)

Of repentance unto life, part 3

CONFESSION OF FAITH CHAPTER 15: OF REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE 3. Although repentance be not to be rested in, as any satisfaction for sin, or any cause of the pardon thereof,1 which is the act of God's free grace in Christ;2 yet it is of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it.3 ---------------------------------------- 1. EZEKIEL 36:31-32 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. EZEKIEL 16:61-63 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.” (ESV) 2. HOSEA 14:2 Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips. HOSEA 14:4 I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. ROMANS 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, EPHESIANS 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (ESV) 3. LUKE 13:3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. LUKE 13:5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” ACTS 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (ESV)

What is repentance unto life?

SHORTER CATECHISM Q 87. What is repentance unto life? A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace,1 whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ,2 doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God,3 with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.4 LARGER CATECHISM Q 76. What is repentance unto life? A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace,5 wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit6 and Word of God,7 whereby, out of the sight and sense, not only of the danger,8 but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins,9 and upon the apprehension of God's mercy in Christ to such as are penitent,10 he so grieves for11 and hates his sins,12 as that he turns from them all to God,13 purposing and endeavoring constantly to walk with him in all the ways of new obedience.14 ---------------------------------------- 1. ACTS 11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” 2 TIMOTHY 2:25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, (ESV) 2. PSALM 51:1-4 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. JOEL 2:13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. LUKE 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. LUKE 15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” ACTS 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (ESV) 3. JEREMIAH 31:18-19 I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ LUKE 1:16-17 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” 1 THESSALONIANS 1:9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, (ESV) 4. 2 CHRONICLES 7:14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. PSALM 119:57-64 The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words. I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes! MATTHEW 3:8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 2 CORINTHIANS 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (ESV) 5. 2 TIMOTHY 2:25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, ACTS 11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (ESV) 6. ZECHARIAH 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (ESV) 7. ACTS 11:18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” ACTS 11:20-21 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. (ESV) 8. EZEKIEL 18:28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. EZEKIEL 18:30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. EZEKIEL 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” LUKE 15:17-18 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. HOSEA 2:6-7 Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths. She shall pursue her lovers but not overtake them, and she shall seek them but shall not find them. Then she shall say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.’ (ESV) 9. EZEKIEL 36:31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. ISAIAH 30:22 Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!” PHILIPPIANS 3:7-8 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (ESV) 10. JOEL 2:12-13 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. PSALM 51:1-4 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. LUKE 15:7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. LUKE 15:10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” ACTS 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (ESV) 11. JEREMIAH 31:18-19 I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ PSALM 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah (ESV) 12. 2 CORINTHIANS 7:11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. (ESV) 13. LUKE 1:16-17 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” 1 THESSALONIANS 1:9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ACTS 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ EZEKIEL 14:6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 1 KINGS 8:47-48 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, (ESV) 14. 2 CHRONICLES 7:14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. PSALM 119:57-64 The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep your words. I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes! MATTHEW 3:8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 2 CORINTHIANS 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. LUKE 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. (ESV)