Laying the Foundation

by James Lee Beall

C. The forsaking...

True repentance means turning away from sin and leaving it behind. We must not only confess our sins, but forsake them. This means th...

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall h...

D. Water b...

Initial repentance prepares a person for water baptism. If the repentance is deep and thorough, and the individual has been properly instructed about water baptism for the remission of sins, he will express his repentance by submission to...

Then Peter said unto them. Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive...

The complete renunciation of our life as a sinner inclu...

It is in the waters of baptism that we make this choice final b...

3. List five means God uses to bring man to repentance. a. b. c. d.

4. What four manifestations must accompany repentance? a. b. c. d.

1. What Are the Results of Repentance?

certain results can be attributed to repentance: joy in heaven, pardon and forgiveness, the reception of the Holy Spirit, and the beginning of a whole new life style.

A. Joy in heaven.

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.... Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth (Luke 15:7,10).

B. Forgiveness and pardon.

Repentance prepares and qualifies us to receive God’s forg...

Repentance in no way earns God’s favor. In His grace and mercy, He has promised to forgive and cleanse us when we open ourselves to Him in repentance. As He does this for us, we experience a deep inner pea...

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from th...

C. Reception of the Ho...

When we repent, God pours out His Spirit upon us and gives us spiritual und...

Repentance is a part of preparing and cleansing us as a vessel to be filled with the holy presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you (Proverbs 1:23).

D. New life p...

Repentance is the beginning of an entire life of...

After our initial turning from sin to God, there is a progressive repentance which continues throughout our whole lifetime as God separates us to himself. During this process, which the Bible calls “sanctification,” we are m...

Little by little, we are changed into His image as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We are not only finished with si...

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness ...

2. Why Must We Repent From “D...

A. We must stop trusting in ourselves before we can wholly trust God.

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us (2 Corinthians 1:9,10).

B. Nothing we can do will produce life; we must draw from...

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without...

C. Reliance upon religious tradition dilutes the effective...

Throughout Scripture, dead works are contrasted with “fruit” because fruit grows as the result of union with something alive.

3. How Does God’s Grace Differ From Dependence Upon Dead Works?

Grace is the exact opposite of earning merit through works. God’s favor cannot be earned and can never be repaid. It is always a free gift, w...

And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no mor...

A. Grace justifies; works can ne...

That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of ...

for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified...

B. Grace is given freely; works make us debtors.

C. Grace imparts humility and faith to accept Christ’s salvation; works make us boastful and resistant to mercy,

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8,9).

D. Grace glorifies God; dependence upon works see...

So if, through your faith in Christ, you are dead to the principles of this world’s life,

why, as if you were still part and parcel of this world-wide system, do you take the slightest notice of these purely human prohibitions—“Don’t touch this,” “Don’t taste that” and “Don’t handle the other”? “This,” “that,” and “the other” will all pass away after use! I know that these regulations look wise with their self-inspired efforts at worship, their policy of self-humbling, and their studied neglect of the body. But in actual practice they do honor, not to God, but to man’s ownpride (Colossians 2:20-23, JBP).

E. Grace says that Christ did it all for us; dead works declare that we need Chri...

Trying to mix grace and dependence on anything else—even the law—only nullifies the ...

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosever of you we justified by the law; ye are fallen...

4. How Does Reliance Upon Dead Works Make Redemption Ineffectual in Ou...