CLAIM Set No. 40 - Wasted Faith

FAITH WITHOUT REPENTANCE
(A sample chapter from Wasted Faith)

Many who live in the United States are familiar with the caricature of the frontier preacher coming from the days of the Kentucky Revivals in the mid-19th century. The backwoods preacher is standing on a stump, waving his Bible and exclaiming, “REPENT!” while perspiration streams down his face. This portrait, interestingly, is not far from that of John the Baptist, whose voice also reverberated, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2). Jesus spoke these same words, as did all the New Testament leaders. Why the emphasis? Because they knew that unless a person’s faith came by way of repentance it would only be wasted faith.

For a person to be saved (the word means “rescued”), would it not be necessary for him to realize that there is something from which he must be delivered? Christ did not come to bless good people, but rather to save sinners. He did not come to give people the added benefit of heaven attached to their already fulfilled lives.