Chapter 6

The Substance of Faith: Repentance, Honesty, and Looking to God

We can think about the gospel in two ways. The first is to think about it as a simple message from God to his people, which anyone can understand. The second is to think about it as the most profound and inconceivable concept there ever was, which no one can fully understand. Both of these are accurate, but the first is of primary importance. It is this "simple gospel" — I am often reminded — that God sent the apostles to preach before ever having much of a grasp on it themselves. And the message they shared at the very beginning, when their understanding and delivery were elementary at best, was still entirely sufficient to bring dead souls to life. So, while I know that the gospel is unfathomably deep, I also know it is so simple that a child can receive it. In fact, to receive it, we must become like children (see Matthew 18:3).

To this point, I am certain that there are individuals who do not know the gospel in the more complex way that I present it in this book, and yet, when it comes to the simple gospel, they have been more faithful with it and become more established in it than I have. This means they know God better than I do, and they are more mature than me in the way of Christ. This will always humble me, and I pray it will keep you humble, as well. For in the pursuit of greater understanding, which is not bad in and of itself, therein lies the trap of being puffed up with knowledge (see 1 Corinthians 8:1). Thus, despite however much insight we gain, may God always bring us back like a child to the simple gospel, apart from which we would lose our way.

The Simple Gospel

What is the simple gospel, then? Well, there are many different ways of summarizing it. You can bake a sheet of cookies in many different shapes — a star, a heart, a Christmas tree, you name it — but when you bite into any of these cookies, you find they are exactly the same in substance. In the same way, give me ten minutes, and I could probably think of ten different ways to present (or shape) the gospel, which can all be found in the Bible and have the same essential ingredients. But of all the different ways I could present it, the following has helped me the most:

"Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and (or for) the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'" (Luke 24:45-48)

This passage has always intrigued me because of how concisely Jesus described the good news. They were to proclaim repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Why is this simple message so powerful? How does it change everything? Because, in it, we have both the invitation and the condition to be reconciled to God.

As for the invitation to be reconciled to God, we have already discussed why this is so important. I have made my case that God himself, joined with man is the power of the gospel, so I won't continue to beat that to death. I only want to point out here that "forgiveness of sins" is far more substantial than a ticket to heaven, or eternal security, as some have mistaken it. And it's even more than just a covenant relationship with God. It is a new type of covenant relationship in which we gain full access to God in spirit.

The "forgiveness of sins" here entails a true cleansing of our conscience, which the law could never do (see Hebrews 9:9, 14). The gift of forgiveness, if received with a child-like mind, is our freedom to put everything in the past behind us and be joyfully present with God right now, receiving from him all that we need.

A dirty conscience cannot draw near to God, let alone remain in him, let alone with confidence (see Hebrews 4:16). To be sure, God designed us to intuit that we cannot be in his holy presence if we, too, are not holy. This we can see as far back as Adam and Eve, who hid from God after their first sin — a picture of what we also do if/when we are aware of our sinfulness. Hence, there is a need for our sin to be dealt with, such that we would no longer be reminded of it (see Hebrews 10:1-3) if we are ever to be joined with God. Therefore, "[b]aptism… now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience" (1 Peter 3:21). Since our sins are forgiven — yes, even forgotten (see Hebrews 10:17) — we can "draw near [to God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience" (Hebrews 10:22).

This is a great litmus test, then, for anyone to see if they understand the simple gospel. Have you understood the forgiveness of your sins in such a way that you can present yourself to the Lord at all times — even amid temptation, even in the aftermath of sin — with a clean conscience, with no reminder of sin to hinder your enjoyment of him, with confidence that whatever you ask you receive from him (see 1 John 3:21-22)? If not, you have yet to be fully established in the life-changing truth that your sins are forgiven. For what it's worth, the same goes for me. Let us simply acknowledge this with humility and renew our minds to the word of God. Let us hear God say, with utter simplicity, "I have already forgotten." (Seriously, stop and listen now.) Let us learn to live from the place of unbroken fellowship that is the result of this gift, which, thankfully, does not require years of study but only child-like faith that you and he are on good terms through the blood of Christ.

The Surprising Simplicity of Repentance

Next, let us recognize that God gives us this mighty gift on one condition — i.e., repentance.

Some of you are probably thinking, "No, Jake, it is by faith," and you are correct. Revisiting the idea that there are many different ways to present the gospel, we must recognize that these two words — faith and repentance — share the same substance, which is why both are used throughout the Bible as a standalone condition for salvation. The Greek word for "repentance" is metanoia and means literally "to change your mind." Considering this, it is not hard to see how it requires a change of mind to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the sinless, resurrected Son of God and to place all your trust in him with every area of your life. Without question, the essence of true repentance is faith in Christ because the essence of faith in Christ is letting him change your mind about everything. Therefore, although repentance is a condition for salvation, it remains true that we receive the grace of God through faith alone, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). For repentance is faith, not a work.

Frankly, we should find it disturbing that so many people today think God's forgiveness is unconditional. Let there be no question about it. God's love is unconditional, but his forgiveness is conditional (see John 3:16-21; 2 Peter 3:9). Don't take my word for it; it is right here in the scripture: "repentance for the forgiveness of sins" (see also Matthew 6:15; Mark 1:4, 15; Luke 3:7-8; 13:1-5; 14:33; Acts 2:38; 17:30-31; Romans 2:3-5; 2 Corinthians 12:20-13:2; etc.). Judgment is being stored up for all who do not repent.

With that in mind, though, repentance is largely misunderstood in the church, usually being conflated with works, and this is to the detriment of all believers.

It is commonly considered proof that a person has only repented adequately from a particular sin when they no longer commit the sin. If they fall back into sin, it is considered evidence that they have not repented fully. This is why people say things like: "I need to repent more," or "I guess I didn't repent enough," or "I don't think his repentance was sincere," and so forth. Because of this, many genuine believers in Christ regularly question their salvation. They know that repentance is the one condition necessary for forgiveness and eternal life, but they also know that they still sin, which leads them to believe that they haven't met the condition. Therefore, despite actually being clean in God's eyes, they are dirty in their own eyes, so they do not continually access God with confidence, which then leaves them to wrestle in their own strength, which inevitably continues the cycle of sin, which they do not want to commit, having already truly repented from it in their heart.

One of my favorite scriptures about repentance is 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."

Notice, Jesus does not say, "If he proves to you that he has repented by not sinning anymore, you must forgive him." No, he says almost the opposite. Even if your brother continues sinning against you, over and over, but if he says, 'I repent' each time, you must forgive him. So how do we determine if someone is repentant? If they say so.

First, let us recognize that Jesus' teaching here is more than just a command for us. Whatever he commands of us is a revelation of God's character. Thus, in this scripture, we see the heart of God, which is that, as long as we turn to God and say, "I repent," God considers our repentance complete, and he forgives us. Of course, God knows our heart and whether or not we meant it, but the point is that whether or not we "meant it" is not dependent on whether or not we sin again. It is solely dependent on the intent of our heart at the time we said it.

Perhaps that seems a little too easy for you, like a cheap way out of paying for what you've done. But then you do not understand the power of the truth, which is activated in our lives when we confess it, acknowledge it, agree with it, remain in it. Never forget, we are transformed by renewing our minds (see Romans 12:2), or in other words, by believing the truth. So, acknowledging the lie (i.e., sin) and agreeing with the truth (i.e., Jesus and his righteousness) is effectively abiding in Jesus and is sure to bear fruit (see John 15:5).

If you doubt how much it requires of a person to say, "I repent," consider trying the following. The next time one of your children is proven wrong in an argument, make them say, "I'm sorry, you were right, and I was wrong." My 5-year-old son has a visceral resistance to this every time I tell him to do it, and he nearly always cries. Or better yet, the next time you see a brother or sister in Christ sinning, correct them, as Jesus teaches here, with the only expectation being that they say, "I repent." Through many experiences of my own, I can assure you that you will see very quickly who is repentant and who is not. And it is as simple as this: those who are not repentant will not say, "I repent."

Now, say a brother of mine is struggling with bitterness, resentment, or unforgiveness toward someone who hurt him in the past. He confesses this to me while also acknowledging that he is required to forgive this person if he is to receive the forgiveness of God (see Matthew 6:15). He tells me that he is trying to forgive, that he wants to forgive, but just doesn't know how. This brother, you see, has already repented. He has set his heart on the ways of God. He intends to do right despite not knowing how yet. So, there is no correction, rebuke, or warning needed. I would encourage him to confidently rest in God's forgiveness, knowing that he has chosen the way of forgiveness in his heart, which will bear fruit in his feelings in due time.

Then, there is another brother struggling with the same thing. Yet, as he shares with me, he reveals that he feels somewhat justified in his unforgiveness and does not intend to forgive or move on. Each time I encourage him to put on the mind of Christ, his response is, "Yeah, but…" or, "You don't understand…" In this case, it is clear that he has not repented and is at risk of his heart being "hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13). This brother needs rebuke. But the rebuke I would give him isn't, "You must forgive!" because I recognize that the feeling of forgiveness isn't something he can produce by himself even if he wanted to (as the previous brother demonstrated). So instead, I would tell him, "You need to repent from the lie that you are justified in your unforgiveness. Remember the love of God. Agree with the Lord that you also ought to forgive, and then intend to do so with his help." Or maybe I would ask a direct question like, "Do you agree that you have no right to remain in this bitterness and that God has commanded you to forgive as he has forgiven you?" If he says, "Yes, I agree," then I would know that I have won my brother. If he says, "No, I do not agree," then I would need to get another brother involved to help resolve our difference (see Matthew 18:16).

Do you see how this clarity about repentance changes the ministry of the gospel? It is quite revolutionary.

Repentance is not complicated at all. Yes, it is all-encompassing. You must confess Jesus' authority over every part of your life. But this is something you can do, completely and totally, right now. You do not need to thoroughly examine your past moments, carefully weighing your successes against your failures to judge how sincere your repentance actually was. You do not need to inflict upon yourself long periods of grief and punishment to prove that you've repented "enough" this time. Nor do you need to predict the future and promise you'll never do this or that again. For the love of God, please don't do any of these things, for they are all traps laid by Satan, the accuser, to keep you out of the life of God. To repent genuinely and thoroughly, you need only to look to Jesus, acknowledge you have sinned, and set the intent of your heart on him.

Here is an example of how I often pray in repentance: "Father, I'm sorry for [fill in the blank]. Thank you for being faithful in waking me up and reminding me of the truth. Thank you for your kindness and mercy. Thank you for leading and teaching me. You are what I want. Your love and your kingdom are better than everything. My life is yours, so I submit it to you right now, the best I know how. I trust you to help me walk in righteousness, always. Thank you!"

Or, if you want to keep it as simple as possible, just say, "I repent!" knowing that you've fulfilled the requirement given by Jesus himself.

There is no magic in the words themselves, so don't get too caught up in trying to say things the "right" way. My goal here is to convey the intention of the heart to follow Christ in all things. If you have set your heart on him in this simple way, you have completed all that is necessary to walk in perfect fellowship with God today, fully confident in your salvation. Even while knowing you still may stumble, even while feeling selfish desires that you're still battling with, the question is, do you intend to do your best to follow Christ and rely on him when temptations come? If yes, then by definition, you have repented and can rightfully rejoice in the grace given to you through Jesus Christ, your Savior!

If you ever doubt your salvation, you need only to let God examine whether you have met this one condition. And if his Spirit testifies with your spirit that you do not intend to sin, and you intend to carry out his will, then you can be sure you have received the forgiveness of sins.

But if not, if there is something in your life that is "off limits" to God, if there is something with which you do not intend to submit to him, then in this case, you have not repented and should not expect to receive the grace of God in your current state. The warning to you is the coming destruction; the fear of God is needed, and the invitation (and condition) to join God remains. In this state of unrepentance, no matter how you try to convince yourself you are forgiven, your own heart will condemn you, your conscience will be unclean, and you will be unable to abide in God truly. No matter what you do for God in this life, if you do not pay the costly price of surrendering your life to him, Jesus will ultimately say to you, "I never knew you; depart from me, you worker of lawlessness" (see Matthew 7:21-23).

Therefore, "repentance for the forgiveness of sins" –- costly as it is — is good news for those of us who are in Christ, not because there is no condition but because there is only one condition, which is neither complicated nor burdensome. It is so simple, so immediately attainable, and so well worth it that we may as well call God's gift "free" (see Romans 6:23), for we have done nothing but place our faith in him.

How Grief and Honesty Work With Faith

With all that I teach about repentance and mind renewal, you may be wondering if there is there any place in the spiritual life for sadness, grief, acknowledging our failures, etc. So, to clarify, I am not saying there is never an appropriate time for a believer to "[b]e wretched and mourn and weep" (James 4:9). When we have veered off-course, godly grief may be useful. But let us also be leery of the other kind of grief — that which is worldly — so that we may avoid it at all costs. How might we know the difference between the two? As Paul says, "…godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:10). The main takeaway here is that godly grief has only one purpose: repentance. Therefore, it is not grief that produces salvation without regret but repentance that produces it. Take that in for a second.

This is a profoundly important point. Once the purpose of grief has been fulfilled (i.e., once repentance occurs), grief should come to an end. Once someone has acknowledged sin as sin, turned away from it, and set their intention toward Jesus, there is no longer any reason or use for grief. To put it more bluntly, to continue grieving after you have repented is worldly and unfruitful. It is to deny the gospel and to subject yourself to death. It is no wonder so many Christians are not producing the fruit they desire.

This being the case, how can we know when we have repented (at which point we can quit grieving over our sin)? Consider that the conditions required for repentance today are the same as when you first believed in Christ. Consider this deeply. At that initial point of faith, when you first put your faith in Jesus, had you produced any fruit, done any works, or demonstrated any external obedience as a result of your faith? The answer to this question for all of us is "no." And despite not performing a single act of righteousness in Jesus' name, we could still repent, forgetting what lies behind, receiving God's gift with great joy, and trusting that he would redeem every mistake we ever made (i.e., no regret). We merely believed God, turned away from our sin, put our trust in Jesus, and intended to follow him without any hard evidence that our repentance was "sincere" or "complete." And yet, it was, or else you were never saved and are not a Christian.

Again, I make this point because many Christians, when they fall back into sin, will thereby judge their repentance as insincere or incomplete and then subject themselves to grief for much longer than necessary as a sort of tool to reach "true" or "full" repentance this time. They will spend inordinate amounts of time wallowing in their supposed wretchedness, reflecting on the awfulness of their actions, filling their minds with hatred of themselves and/or their sin and all the damage it has done. They will do all of this, believing that it holds the power to finally produce righteousness in their lives. Or they will do none of it because who can bear that load over and over again? But if repentance is as simple as it was when we first believed, then all this extra grief is neither godly nor useful. In fact, we might as well define it as "regret," which is all the proof we need to judge it as worldly, demonic, and a source of death (see, again, 2 Corinthians 7:10).

So if we mourn, let it never be for too long, but only as long as is needed to remember our heart's deepest desire, that is, the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Let us quickly replace our mourning with the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit, which is the product of faith in God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us never mourn in deception, as if we have not already been given everything by God, as if he did not already deliver us from sin. Let us never call it "humble" to refuse to walk boldly and gratefully in the new life he has given us. To be sure, there is nothing that will keep us more honest and humble, nor that will produce more godly grief and repentance than agreeing with God about what he has done for us, what he has done to us, who we are in him, and who he is in us.

On a similar note, others will wonder: if we are always to pray with such faith and confidence, such joy and thanksgiving, is there ever a time to cry out to God? Of course there is! One only needs to read the Psalms to find this type of prayer exemplified in scripture. When we feel troubled, confused, weak, fearful, anxious, angry, or lost, we should cry out to God! We do not need to conceal these feelings from God or act strong under the pretense of "faith." Faith and honesty are never opposed to one another. Being nakedly honest before the Lord is actually a demonstration of our trust in him, allowing him to help us sort through our thoughts like we would if we were confiding in a loving father, a wise counselor, or a trusted friend.

That being said, let us also pay attention to the overwhelming majority of the Psalms that begin with crying out in honesty but end with proclamations of faith. Psalm 22 is one of my favorite examples of this, but here are many others: Psalms 2, 6, 10, 28, 42, 43, 54, 55, 69, 77, 86, 102, 109, 130, 142, 143. If you have time, I encourage you to read each of these and pay attention to this Spirit-inspired pattern of raw sincerity followed by absolute faith. Learn this way with God, and you will be mightily blessed.

The truth is, if we seek God's counsel, then every time we present our struggles to him, we can count on him to present something back to us that is meant to replace the thoughts in our mind. And we should not be surprised if what he tells us is directly opposed to what we see or feel in the present. Knowing this, do not be so determined to remain "honest" with God that you only make for a one-way conversation and end up denying his word. Instead, let us be honest with God about our weaknesses, opening a two-way conversation where he can clothe us in his strength.

Failing to understand this, many Christians feel that they must choose between faith and honesty, and each person will tend to gravitate toward one over the other. Thus, we have two large groups of Christians today. The first group — the "faith" group — can hardly admit that life is quite difficult sometimes or that they're struggling with sin. Ask them how they're doing, and they have no response but "I'm blessed and highly favored!" Meanwhile, they are just as angry or anxious as most other people. Yet they do not know how to acknowledge any earthly reality without throwing faith out the window, so they choose not to acknowledge it at all, neither before people nor before God. As a result, their relationship with God (and people) is somewhat plastic, for they have learned to put on a face before him, although it is not necessary.

The second group — the "honesty" group — so highly values their senses and emotions, their pain and struggles, their observations and experiences, that they cannot accept a truth beyond any of this. Ask them how they're doing, and they'll tell you exactly how they're doing. What they won't tell you is the good news or a higher truth that sets them free. They won't tell you they're blessed, even though they are. They won't tell you it's a good day (unless circumstantially it is), even though, from God's perspective, it always is. They do not know how to acknowledge the spiritual reality without throwing the earthly out the window, so they choose to remain on earth and call it spiritual. As a result, their relationship with God is somewhat futile concerning their spiritual growth. God is glad they can be honest with him, but he cannot help them if they don't learn to listen to him and think like he does.

Both of these groups know something, and both have missed the mark. We do not need balance between the two; we need harmony. We do not need more of one and less of the other but full honesty and full faith.

For example, you may confide in God that you feel wildly anxious and are struggling to overcome. It is a fact that you feel this way, and you need not hide it from him (nor can you hide it from him). In this weakness, you may cry out to God for help, and he wants you to, for he knows that you need it (see Hebrews 4:15-16). But then, you must not stop there, for then you would only be walking by sight, which never produces strength. You must trust that he has heard your prayer and is faithful to answer, prepared to believe whatever he tells you. Be ready, for there is a greater reality that he has given you, a Spirit he has put inside of you, a life hidden in heaven, in which there is no such thing as anxiety. While it is a fact that your flesh is feeling anxious, the truth is that Jesus has given you his peace (see John 14:27), just as he is in you. While you have various reasons to feel anxious, God has far more and far better reasons not to be anxious. Upon which will you set your mind, and according to which will you live? The facts or the Truth, the flesh or the Spirit, the wisdom of man or the wisdom of God?

The Object of Our Faith

One of the key themes in this book is the primary importance of faith for spiritual growth. It is good and necessary that we understand its significant role in our lives, but I have witnessed how this emphasis on faith has led many people into the same trap. I call this trap "putting faith in your own faith."

We rightfully acknowledge that we must renew our minds and believe in God and that this is the way to realize his promises in our lives. But then, as we set out to do it, it is easy to start analyzing and measuring how well we are doing it. We start thinking to ourselves, "I just need to have more faith." We devote all our spiritual energy to thinking about how we can believe better or beating ourselves up for not believing enough. And none of it actually produces more faith. Why? Because we're fixated on ourselves and not on God/Christ, who is the author and finisher of our faith. In a way that is almost imperceptible, our faith altogether loses its substance, ceasing to be faith at all. As a member of my church put it, trusting in your own faith is like taking out your eyeballs to look at yourself. It is self-defeating, to say the least.

In Luke 17, we have the only example in all the Gospels where the disciples ask Jesus, "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5). I think, at this point, they were learning how important faith was, just like we are, and they genuinely wanted Jesus' help and instruction for increasing their faith. The way Jesus responds is very insightful:

"If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you" (Luke 17:6).

For most of my life, I thought this was Jesus' polite way of telling them that their faith was so small and pitiful that it was not even comparable to the smallest of all seeds — the mustard seed. Perhaps this is what the apostles initially thought he was saying, as well, but we do not have that detail in the story. Either way, what Jesus meant is far more profound and life-giving than it may initially appear.

There is something about the disciples' request — to increase their faith — that is misguided. For in doing so, they reveal that the true object of their faith is their own faith, as opposed to God's faithfulness. They show that they are measuring or judging their ability to [fill in the blank] based on how much faith they see in themselves, whereas it should be based on God, his love, his goodness, his promises, his word, his power. Faith — the kind that saves, the kind that heals, the kind that overcomes, the kind that manifests the kingdom of heaven on earth — is only and always faith in God, not ourselves.

This is why Jesus said, "If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed…" because he wants them to stop focusing on the size of their own faith and instead focus on what God can do with even the tiniest amount of faith. On a practical level, it is as simple as turning the eyes of your heart toward God and disregarding how much faith you feel like you have right now — whether it feels like enough or not. Thank him that everything you need is in him, and he is in you. What a gift.

To demonstrate again how practical this is, let's look at how it applies to the following instruction in James:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8)

A lot of times, when people ask God for wisdom, they think, "I know God is faithful, but I've never been any good at hearing him." But do you see how that statement reveals where their confidence truly lies? Doubt in themselves is actually proof that they are putting their faith in themselves. For if their trust was in God, then they would consider their own abilities to be irrelevant. So then, God speaks to them, but every time he does, they're inclined to think, "That's probably just my own thought," or, "That's just a coincidence." Because of this doubt, they can receive nothing, according to the scripture.

In our effort to make God the object of our faith, I have found the following mindset to be supremely helpful: Trust more in God's ability to get through to you than in your own ability to hear. Trust more in God's ability to teach you than in your own ability to learn. Trust more in God's ability to lead you than in your own ability to follow. Trust more in God's ability to sanctify you than in your own ability to live a holy life. Trust him as your Good Shepherd, and rejoice that we get to be dumb sheep who simply know his voice (see John 10:4).

Jesus is the author and perfecter of your faith, not you. Keep your eyes on him. (See Hebrews 12:2)

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