HAB-069 and 070

HAB-069 and 070

The Armor of God:

The Boots and the Gospel

The Boots

• “Also having put combat boots on your feet, with the equipment of the Gospel, specifically peace (reconciliation)” (expanded trans., Eph. 6:15).

• In Scripture, feet become synonymous with service; but there can be no effective service apart from constant training and preparation along the road to super-grace.

• Just as it was the combat veteran of the Roman army who served his country best; it is the spiritually mature Christian who can serve the Lord to the maximum!

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The Boots

• Paul introduces the equipment for the feet with the phrase, "And your feet shod."

• "And" is the adjunctive use of the conjunction KAI and literally means "also."

• "Your feet" was correctly translated from the accusative plural direct object from POUS and from the definite article in the accusative plural, which has been used as a possessive pronoun.

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The Boots

• The aorist middle participle of the verb HUPODEO means "to tie," "to bind beneath," or "to put on footwear"; here, it refers to the putting on of shoes or CALIGAE: "also having put combat boots on your feet.”

• The wearing of spiritual combat boots indicates readiness to serve our supreme Commander wherever and whenever He directs.

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The Boots

• The preposition EN (with) plus the instrumental singular from HETOIMASIA signify "readiness," "preparation" or, as documented from Arndt and Gingrich's Greek Lexicon, "equipment."

• What type of equipment is essential to effective witnessing?!

• It is the "equipment of the Gospel” (Good News)• A genitive of description from the noun

EUAGGELLION, (compounded from EU-"good" and AGGELIA - "news”.

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The Boots

• The equipment for full preparedness in witnessing is the knowledge of Bible doctrine pertinent to salvation, described here as "the gospel (good news) of peace."

• The phrase "of peace" (genitive singular of apposition from the noun EIRENE) must be corrected to read ”specifically peace" and refers to the doctrine of Reconciliation.

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• But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost [Spirit] is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).

• Who is responsible for the declaration of the Gospel - the good news of Salvation - to the unbelieving World?

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• The duty and privilege of witnessing reserved solely for ministers, missionaries and evangelists? Far from it! Personal evangelism is the responsibility of EVERY believer in the Lord Jesus Christ!

• Before He returned to heaven, the Lord Commissioned born-again believers to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

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• His command is repeated in several of the epistles; thus the Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that they were to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20).

• An ambassador is a high-ranking minister of state, often a member of royalty or nobility, sent to another state to represent his sovereign or official business.

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• Ambassadorship exists in the spiritual as well as in the temporal realm.

• Like earthly ambassadors, we did not appoint ourselves but were appointed by Our Savior to represent Him on earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords while He is at the right hand of the Father.

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• As children of God by faith in Christ Jesus we were born again into a high and noble Position; we are not only citizens of this country, but also "fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Eph. 2:19).

• As the heavenly King's personal representatives on the earth, we are in full-time Christian service, regardless of our vocation or profession.

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• We do not act in our own interest but in the interest of our Lord. Like earthly ambassadors, we receive our instructions in written form, and we must remain at our post of duty until the Lord recalls us.

• Every perfect provision is made for us by our Sovereign; yet our effectiveness as ambassadors depends upon our understanding of our mission.

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• Like all functions in life, particularly spiritual functions, witnessing requires proper motivation, adequate preparation and knowledge of pertinent doctrines.

• Apart from the divine appointment of each individual believer as an ambassador, there exists the spiritual gift of evangelism (Eph. 4:11).

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• Both functions coexist in God's Plan, but because their simultaneous operation is not correctly taught, personal witnessing is frequently distorted into a merit system or is set aside entirely in favor of mass evangelism.

• As a result, there prevails today a non-biblical pattern: an evangelist is invited to some church to conduct a "revival," and members of that church bring their friends to hear him.

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• If a few people are saved in this "revival," believers often think that their personal obligation to witness has been fulfilled.

• Consequently, the erroneous concept has developed that evangelism should be confined to a local church or public building.

• The entire concept of biblical witnessing is that believers should go outside the local church in order to disseminate the Gospel.

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• The cause of Christ would move forward rapidly if we but followed the principles of evangelism as they are set forth in Scripture.

• The point is that although not every believer is an evangelist, every believer is responsible for witnessing!

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• It is a well-known fact that you cannot communicate what you do not know!

• If your knowledge of the good news of salvation is fuzzy, so will be your presentation.

• As a result, the person to whom you witness will have no clear understanding of the Gospel or the issue in salvation.

• Often, there is too much zeal in witnessing and too little knowledge.

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• For example, zealous but ignorant Christians have a mistaken idea of what constitutes genuine conversion; usually, they want everyone to give up his sins and change his wicked ways.

• Yet salvation is entirely the work of God! Therefore, if you want to be effective in witnessing, it is imperative that you understand your subject.

• In order to tell others of God's Plan of salvation; you should at least know what that Plan is all about!

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• Furthermore, you should be cognizant of where your part in witnessing ends and that of the Holy Spirit begins; you should master the prerequisites for successful personal evangelism.

• What, then, is the minimal knowledge standard for effective witnessing?

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• 1. Witnessing is the responsibility of every believer.

• There are two areas in which you may witness - your life (2 Cor. 3:3; 6:3) and your lips (2 Cor. 5:14-21; 6:2).

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• 2. Witnessing involves knowledge of Bible doctrines pertinent to salvation, including:

• Christology, • Soteriology, • Reconciliation, • the Judgment of Human Good • and the Last Judgment.

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• CHRISTOLOGY: That branch of theology which concerns the Person and work of Jesus Christ, particularly as they were revealed in the Old Testament.

• SOTERIOLOGY: That branch of theology which concerns the Plan of God in salvation and the saving work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

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• HUMAN GOOD: Of the believer: the energy-of-the-flesh production while in the status of carnality; i.e., out of fellowship; of the unbeliever: a sincere but misguided attempt to do good or to right the wrongs and injustices of the world.

• Both are unacceptable to God for salvation (Isa. 64:6).

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• 3. Clarity of witnessing demands your accurate understanding of the two deaths - spiritual and physical of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

• 4. The challenge of witnessing comes from the Doctrine of Unlimited Atonement (1 John 2:2). Christ died for all mankind!

• 5. The dynamics of witnessing are determined by your mental attitude and are related to your spiritual growth or maturity.

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• 6. The effectiveness of witnessing depends on the ministry of God the Holy Spirit.

• 7. Confidence in witnessing comes from your own assurance of eternal security.

• 8. The reward of witnessing is a part of your blessings in time and in eternity.

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The Boots

• In metaphors of Scripture, the Roman soldier's Caligae become analogous to witnessing.

• As these heavy hobnailed leather sandals carried the Roman legionaries to their posts of duty in the far-flung corners of the empire, so his witnessing takes the Christian Warrior to unsaved mankind throughout the world with the Gospel of salvation.

• Personal evangelism is the responsibility of every member of the Royal Family of God and functions apart from mass or church evangelism.

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The Boots

• Note that the command to put on these combat boots is not restricted to the pastor behind the pulpit; it is given to all members of the Royal Legion!

• EVERY BELIEVER is in full, time Christian service, of which witnessing is a part!

• Therefore, it is imperative that all of us be shod and ready for action AT ALL TIMES (1 Pet. 3:15)

• Inured to long and hard marches with full pack, the Roman soldier with the CALIGAE on his feet was flexible enough to meet any situation.

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The Boots

• Likewise, the Christian soldier's effectiveness depends upon his mastery of certain doctrines and his flexibility in their use.

• Not only does he need to have correct information about the Gospel, he also must KNOW his subject.

• The objective in witnessing is the accurate and clear communication of salvation.

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The Boots

• RECONCILIATION: The sum total of all that Christ did on the Cross in removing the Barrier between God and sinful man.

• God is propitiated; man is reconciled. • Reconciliation is on the Manward side of the

Cross.• SOTERIOLOGY: That branch of theology which

concerns the Plan of God in salvation and the saving work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

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The Gospel (Good News)

• "It is likewise asserted that salvation is through Christ alone, and that it is secured, on the human side, by faith alone uncomplicated by any works of merit." - L.S. Chafer

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• L.S. Chafer:• "Outside The Doctrines related to the Person and

work of Christ, there is no truth more far-reaching in its implications and no fact more to be defended than that salvation in all its limitless magnitude is secured, so far as human responsibility is concerned, by believing on Christ as Savior.

• To this one requirement no other obligation may be added without violence to the Scriptures and total disruption of the essential doctrine of salvation by grace alone.

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• “Only ignorance or reprehensible inattention to the structure of a right Soteriology will attempt to intrude some form of human works with its supposed merit into that which, if done at all, must, by the very nature of the case, be wrought by God alone and on the principle of sovereign grace.

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The Gospel (Good News)• But few, indeed, seem ever to comprehend

the doctrine of sovereign grace, and it is charitable, at least, to revert to this fact as the explanation of the all-but-universal disposition to confuse the vital issues involved.

• It is the purpose of this section to demonstrate that the eternal glories which are wrought in sovereign grace are conditioned, on the human side, by faith alone."10/19/08 33H&B-069 070


• A moment’s attention to the transforming divine undertakings which enter into salvation of the lost will bring one to the realization of the truth that every feature involved presents a task which is superhuman, and, therefore, if to be accomplished at all, must be wrought by God alone.

• Such a discovery will prepare the mind for the reception of the truth, that the only relation man can sustain to this great undertaking is to depend utterly upon God to do it. That is the simplicity of faith. - L.S. Chafer

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• 5. Believe and be Baptized • Only 1 verse (Mark 16:16) joins these

together. • This verse is not included in the oldest

manuscripts. • It is evident from the final statement, "he

that believes not shall be condemned", that baptism is not the essential element, anyway.

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The Boots

• Now THAT IS GOOD NEWS! Christ solved the sin problem on the Cross; and it is for you to deliver God's message of grace:

• “Also having put combat boots on your feet, with the equipment of the Gospel, specifically -peace (reconciliation)” (expanded trans., Eph. 6:15).

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• The Gospel (Good News)• John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him."

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From our Statement of Faith

• We believe that salvation comes to the sinner only by faith alone in Christ alone; that there is no other means of salvation afforded to the human race, including baptism, church membership, emotional guilt over personal sin, good deeds, philanthropic activity, so-called 'repentance', communion, or any other physical or emotional act or state. Salvation is based solely on the spiritual death of Christ on the Cross and can only be received through reliance on the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ (Isa. 64:6; Jn. 3:16, 18, 36; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Rom. 3:10-17; Eph. 2:8, 9).10/19/08 38H&B-069 070


• There are distinct steps in the process of Salvation:

• Recognition • Repentance • Reliance • Regeneration

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• Recognition noun • a learning process that relates a perception

of something new to knowledge already possessed.

• Theological definition: The point at which the unbeliever is "convinced" by the Holy Spirit that he is unable to meet God’s Standard, and requires Christ, who is able, as his Substitute.

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• Recognition • And when He [the Comforter] is come, He

will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. (John 16:8)

• No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him. John 6:44

• "He shall convince the world of sin. ”

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• In Acts 2 we are told that when the Spirit came on the apostles the crowd mocked them saying: "These men are full of new wine;" and yet, when Peter preached, the Spirit "convinced", through his preaching, the hearts of these very mockers.

• They were convinced in their hearts, and cried: "Men and brethren, what must we do?"

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• "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

• The key to understanding this is what prompted their cry?

• Acts 2:36 - "Therefore, let all the House of Israel know assuredly, that God has made this same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ (Messiah)."

• That is what they needed to repent.

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• Recognition • I. The first work of the Spirit is to convince of

sin. • 1. Who it is that convinces of sin: "He shall

convince the world of sin, because they believe not in Me."

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• Recognition • 1. An awareness of an absence of a relationship

with God. • It’s not enough for one to have a sense of need,

but of a particular need—the need for the establishment of fellowship with God; a need to know God.

• It is an intolerable relationship to remain in, and so a recognition springs up that, whatever the cost and on whatever terms, it must be changed.

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• Recognition • 2. Conviction of God’s Perfection: a sense

of one’s complete inability to meet the standard of God’s Righteousness and one’s consequent need of the new birth (John 3:3).

• True conviction evidences itself by the desire to end reliance on our own Human nature.

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• Recognition • "Every man therefore that hath heard and learned

of the Father cometh unto me." John 6:44, 45. • The same truth is repeated in another form in vs.

65 of the same chapter of the gospel according to John: "And he said: Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto me of my Father."

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• Recognition • The first step the unbeliever takes in coming to

Jesus is the Recognition, whereby the unbeliever beholds Christ as the God of his salvation, as the fullness of his own emptiness, the righteousness that is able to blot out his own unrighteousness, the life that overcomes his death.

• And corresponding to this act of spiritual Recognition on the sinner's part, is God's act of spiritual illumination, whereby He reveals His Son unto the unbeliever.

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• Recognition

• When He convicts a man of his need, He does not leave him in the despair of his condemnation: He shows him Jesus in all the fullness of His salvation.

• This spiritual illumination is not the same as that natural enlightenment by which the unbeliever knows all about Christ, recognizes and acknowledges, to an extent, by his natural powers the beauty of Christ as the best of men, as one that was deeply God-conscious.

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• Or, that Christ was a great teacher and wonderful example.

• All, without grasping the concept that He is the righteousness of God, but the cross is still foolishness to him.

• The natural man does not understand the things of the Spirit; "they are foolishness to him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I Cor. 2:14.

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• Nor does the mere sharing of the gospel give him this spiritual knowledge of Christ.

• The Lord Jesus, reviewing the result of His own preaching gives thanks to the Father that He has hid these things from the wise and from the prudent, and revealed them unto babes, Matt. 11:25; and he emphasizes that no man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him, Matt. 11:27.10/19/08 51H&B-069 070


• But when the Father draws us, He reveals unto us Jesus in all His power of salvation.

• He so illuminates our understanding that we behold Him as the One that is desirable above all things, as the One we need as our Redeemer and Deliverer from sin and death.

• He opens our eyes so that we behold Him in all the riches of His grace, in all the fullness of His righteousness and life.

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• He opens our ears, so that we hear the Word of the cross as the power of God unto salvation.

• The drawing power of God causes us to seek Him as the Only Savior, the God of our salvation!

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The Gospel (Good News)• The carnal mind is enmity against God.

• His will is perverse, and all his desires are impure.

• He does not hunger and thirst after any righteousness but his own.

• Nor can mere preaching of the gospel alone open the understanding in the Natural Man of the Spiritual Truth of the need for a righteousness greater than his own.

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• But when the Father draws, and by the power of His grace marvelously operates upon the soul of the sinner through the convincing ministry of the Holy Spirit, He makes clear the Spiritual Truth of the inability to meet the standards of God’s Essence and Justice.

• And as he Recognizes Jesus Christ as the only way to meet the standards of the Father, he has the free choice of "Believing" or "Choosing" Christ as his substitute.

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• And so, it is also due to the drawing power of the Father, through the Spirit of Christ, that the Flesh and Blood Unbeliever finally Recognizes his need for the last step to come to Jesus, that of Appropriation.

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• John 16:8-11 When the Helper comes, he will reveal to the people of the world the truth about these things: about sin, about being right with God, and about judgment.

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• The Helper will reveal that people are missing the mark, because they don't believe in me.

• He will prove to them about {my} being right with God, because I am going to the Father.

• You will not see me then. And the Helper will prove to the world the truth about judgment, because the ruler of this world (the devil) is already judged.

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• In the NT there are 115 declarations that the lost are to depend ONLY on believing.

• In another 35 they are to depend ONLY upon faith. • Yet millions of Christians (really "Relig-ians"),

from legalistic individuals to entire legalistic denominations, attempt to coerce those whom God calls into their box, requiring some religious activity to stamp the process of salvation "legitimate".

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• Their legalistic 'religionism' negates the Grace of God, and deny untold numbers their salvation.

• There are numerous additions to the simple but accurate Faith, Believe, Trust, or Rely means to salvation:

• 1. Believe and Pray • 2. Believe and Confess before men • 3. Believe and Confess your sins • 4. Believe and Repent of your sins• 5. Believe and be Baptized

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• 1. Believe and Pray • Invite Christ into your heart. • Repeat a prayer formula. • Pray to tell God you are sorry. • Pray to ask God to save you.

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• 2. Believe and Confess before men. • Found only in the Kingdom teachings of Mt.

10:32. • 3. Believe and Confess your sins. • An erroneous application of the 1 John 1:9

verse addressed to Believers.

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• 3. Believe and Confess your sins. • An erroneous application of the 1 John 1:9 verse

addressed to Believers. • "But a moment need be devoted to this error which

prevails among certain groups of zealous people. The Scripture employed by advocates of this error is that which applies only to Christians. The passage reads: “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).

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• This declaration, as has been seen, is addressed to believers who have sinned and presents the ground on which such may be restored to fellowship with God.

• The notion that restitution must be made before one can be saved is based on the God-dishonoring theory that salvation is only for good people, and that the sinner must divest himself of that which is evil before he can be saved.

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• In other words, God is not propitious respecting sin; He is propitious toward those only who have prepared themselves for His presence and fellowship.

• Over against this, the truth is ignored that the unregenerate person cannot improve his fallen condition and, if he could, he would be bringing merit to God where merit is wholly excluded to the end that grace may abound and be magnified through all eternity.

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• The preacher must ever be on his guard to discourage the tendency of the natural man to move along lines of reformation rather than regeneration.

• Those who are serious regarding their lost estate are best helped by that body of truth which declares that God, through Christ, must save and will save from all sin; that He must and will deal with the very nature which sins; and that He must and will rescue men from their estate under sin.

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• There are various ways by which the natural man proposes to be saved and yet retain his dignity and supposed worthiness, and one of these is the contention that sin must be confessed and restitution made as a human requirement in salvation.

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• It is God who justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5); it is while men are "enemies, sinners, and without strength" that Christ died for them (Rom. 5:6–10); and all their unworthiness is accounted for by Christ in His death.

• There is a duty belonging only to Christians—to set things right after they are saved—and there should be no neglect of that responsibility. It therefore remains true that those who are saved are saved on the one condition of believing upon Christ." - L.S. Chafer

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• 4. Believe and Repent of your sins. • 6 verses can be found that couple

repentance, believing and salvation. • However, the book of John that repeatedly

reveals the plan of salvation never uses the word repentance.

• Romans, the advanced exposition of the doctrine of salvation omits repentance at every prescription.

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• Repentance: • (Defn) • Metanoeo - Meta = change; and Noeo =

thinking. • To change your thinking.

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• There are 150 salvation statements with "Faith" or "Believe", but without "Repentance".

• When the true meaning of repentance is known, it is obvious that repentance is a part of the believing process, and a direct result of the Recognition process.

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• Too often, when it is asserted—as it is here—that repentance is not to be added to belief as a separate requirement for salvation, it is assumed that by so much the claim has been set up that repentance is not necessary to salvation. Therefore, it is as dogmatically stated as language can declare, that repentance is essential to salvation and that none could be saved apart from repentance, but it is included in believing and could not be separated from it. - L.S. Chafer

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• When one recognizes that nothing BUT Christ will do, we are forced to change our mind (metanoeo) and believe.

• The New Testament call to repentance is not an urge to self-condemnation, but is a call to a change of mind which promotes a change in the course being pursued.

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• The son cited by Christ as reported in Matthew 21:28–29 who first said "I will not go," and afterward repented and went, is a true example of the precise meaning of the word.

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• This definition of this word as it is used in the New Testament is fundamental.

• Little or no progress can be made in a right induction of the Word of God on this theme, unless the true and accurate meaning of the word is discovered and defended throughout." - L.S. Chafer

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• Repentance does NOT mean "Give up sinning", it means "Change your mind".

• Not one verse has in the context the hint of personal sins as the object of repentance.

• It is clear that the object of repentance is the Lord Jesus Christ, and to "give Him up" would be ludicrous to all but the most legalistic of cults.

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• "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." Mark 1:15.

• "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus." (Acts 19:4, ESV)

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• In Acts 20, Paul tells the Ephesian elders in his farewell address to them that the message he preached was of "repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ" (the same Greek word is used for faith here and belief in the other two passages).

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• One further passage makes the connection. • The author of Hebrews says his recipients

don't need to keep laying the basic foundation but need to move on to deeper things.

• That basic foundation is “of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God".

• Dead works is "Religion", Legalism, Human Good - NOT SINS.

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• Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Romans 10:1-3

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• We are saved by 'coming to a knowledge of the truth about God’s Righteousness', not our righteousness; so that if we do not have that knowledge, we cannot be saved.

• Note well that Paul does not pray that they would give up their personal sins to be saved, as is commonly presented as "Repentance", today!

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• "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out...," said Peter (Acts 3:19).

• Repentance is part of the process of Believing.

• It is the result of Recognition in the Appraisal Process on the part of the hearer who then is faced with the decision to choose Faith in Christ.

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The Event

Perception

Appraisal

The Representation

I Agree I DisagreeThe Volitional

Interlude

Faith UnbeliefOR

SAMBAK

The Good News

God The Father Calls

The Holy Spirit Convinces

Believe in Christ


• L.S. Chafer: “To believe on Christ is one act, regardless of the manifold results which it secures.

• It is not turning from something to something; but rather turning to something from something.

• If this terminology seems a mere play on words, it will be discovered, by more careful investigation, that this is a vital distinction.

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• To turn from evil may easily be a complete act in itself, since the action can be terminated at that point.

• To turn to Christ is a solitary act, also, and the joining of these two separate acts corresponds to the notion that two acts—repentance and faith—are required for salvation.

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The Gospel (Good News)• “To turn to Christ is a solitary act, also, and the

joining of these two separate acts corresponds to the notion that two acts—repentance and faith—are required for salvation.

• On the other hand, turning to Christ from all other confidences is one act, and in that one act repentance, which is a change of mind, is included.

• The Apostle stresses this distinction in accurate terms when he says to the Thessalonians, "You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (1 Thess. 1:9).

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• This text provides no comfort for those who contend that people must first, in real contrition, turn from idols—which might terminate at that point—and afterwards, as a second and separate act, turn to God.

• The text recognizes but one act—”Ye turned to God from idols”—and that is an act of faith alone.

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• Conclusion:• "As before stated, repentance, which is a

change of mind, is included in believing. • No individual can turn to Christ from some

other confidence without a change of mind, and that, it should be noted, is all the repentance a spiritually dead individual can ever effect." - L.S. Chafer

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The Gospel (Good News)• That change of mind is the work of the Spirit (Eph.

2:8). • It will be considered, too, by those who are

amenable to the Word of God, that the essential preparation of heart which the Holy Spirit accomplishes in the unsaved to prepare them for an intelligent and voluntary acceptance of Christ as Savior—as defined in John 16:8–11—is not a sorrow for sin. The unsaved who come under this divine influence are illuminated—given a clear understanding—concerning but one sin, namely, that “They believe not on me.”- L.S. Chafer

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HAB-069 and 070

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Transcript of HAB-069 and 070