Chapter 2—How to Be a Born-Again Christian
Faith—Belief and Trust
When God pardons the sinner, remits the punishment he deserves,
and treats him as though he had not sinned, He receives him into divine
favor, and justifies him through the merits of Christ’s righteousness.
The sinner can be justified only through faith in the atonement made
through God’s dear Son, who became a sacrifice for the sins of the
guilty world. No one can be justified by any works of his own. He
can be delivered from the guilt of sin, from the condemnation of the
law, from the penalty of transgression, only by virtue of the suffering,
death, and resurrection of Christ. Faith is the only condition upon
which justification can be obtained, and faith includes not only belief
but trust....
Many concede that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world, but at
the same time they hold themselves away from Him, and fail to repent
of their sins, fail to accept of Jesus as their personal Saviour. Their
faith is simply the assent of the mind and judgment to the truth; but
the truth is not brought into the heart, that it might sanctify the soul
and transform the character....
Can I Repent Without Help?
Many are confused as to what constitutes the first steps in the
work of salvation. Repentance is thought to be a work the sinner must
do for himself in order that he may come to Christ. They think that
the sinner must procure for himself a fitness in order to obtain the
blessing of God’s grace. But while it is true that repentance must
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precede forgiveness, for it is only the broken and contrite heart that is
acceptable to God, yet the sinner cannot bring himself to repentance, or
prepare himself to come to Christ. Except the sinner repent, he cannot
be forgiven; but the question to be decided is as to whether repentance
is the work of the sinner or the gift of Christ. Must the sinner wait
until he is filled with remorse for his sin before he can come to Christ?
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