"Being Made Whole" - 3

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36) This is really not complicated, but it does require a little thought; because before we can actually have 'Faith' we must repent! In this manner of turning, there is a turning towards God; where we are turned towards Him and gaze upon His Love. This is the 'Light of Life', which Jesus is, was and always will be; and it is in that 'Light' which all of our sin is revealed; which then creates a heart of repentance. Without the actual act of repenting from those sins, and receiving God's gift of salvation for those sins, there is no 'Faith'! 'Faith is the trustful commitment of oneself to God for forgiveness of sin, deliverance from sin, and victory over sin; but it is impossible to commit oneself thus to God without renouncing and turning away from all that is contrary to God. Faith is the condition of entrance into the experience of salvation, the enjoyment of eternal life; but repentance is the psychological and moral condition of faith. As eternal life is unattainable without faith, faith is unattainable without repentance. If repentance means to change from the self-centered life to the God-centered life, then Jesus is the Author and Inspiration of repentance. No other was ever able to reach down deep enough into human nature to effect this change.' (quoted from Zodhiates) This is a really good expression of what took place in the heart of that leper from Samaria; where there was a repentance that was made possible by what Jesus had done. And as this man was walking towards the Temple, he had realized the power of God to heal and to give life; in so doing, he had turned to Jesus, believing that it was He who had made him clean, and giving Him praise and worship for the cleansing. In essence, there must be a heart of surrender in order for true repentance to take place; which then gives way for faith to be manifested. (I am thinking that this is another good example how Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our Faith!)