by Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer
The exact and
discriminate meaning of the word grace should be crystal clear to every
child of God. With such insight only
can he feed his own soul on the inexhaustible riches which it unfolds, and with
such understanding only can he be enabled clearly to pass on to others its
marvelous, trans- forming theme. Here
is a striking illustration of the fact that very much may be represented by one
word. When used in the Bible to set
forth the grace of God in the salvation of sinners, the word grace discloses
not only the boundless goodness and kindness of God toward man, but reaches far
beyond and indicates the supreme motive which actuated God in the creation,
preservation and consummation of the universe.
What greater fact could be expressed by one word?
The
meaning of the word grace, as used in the New Testament, is not unlike
its meaning as employed in common speech, — but for one important exception,
namely, in the Bible the word often represents that which is limitless, since
it represents realities which are infinite and eternal. It is nothing less than the unlimited love
of God expressing itself in measureless grace.
The
word favor is the nearest Biblical synonym for the word grace. In this connection it may be observed that
the one thought which is almost exclusively expressed in the New Testament by
the word grace, is, in the Old Testament, almost exclusively expressed
by the word favor. Grace is
favor, and favor is grace. Thus, in considering
the Bible teaching on this great theme, equal attention should be given to all
passages wherein either the word grace is used or favor is found.
Grace means pure un- recompensed kindness and favor. What is done in grace is done
graciously. From this exact meaning
there can be no departure; otherwise grace ceases to be grace. To arrive at the scope and force of the
Bible doctrine of salvation by grace alone we need to follow consistently the
path indicated by the exact meaning of the word.
First. Grace is not
Withheld 'Because of Demerit.
This fact about grace is more evident,
perhaps, than any other. It
is the sense of demerit more than anything else which impels a soul to cry out
for the kindness and benefits of grace.
So, also, grace finds its greatest triumph and glory in the sphere of
human helplessness. Grace ceases to be
grace if God is compelled to withdraw it in the presence of human failure and
sin. In fact, grace cannot be exercised
where there is the slightest degree of human merit to be recognized. On the other hand the issue of human sin
must be disposed of forever. Christ the
Lamb of God, having taken away the sin of the world, has by His cross forever
disposed of the condemnation of sin. He has by the cross created an entirely new
relation between God and man.
Consequently, men are now either accepting or rejecting Christ who has
borne their sins. “He that believeth
on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”
(John 3:18). There is no middle
ground. All questions of demerit have
been banished. Thus God is righteously
free to exercise grace in every case. Salvation is by grace alone.
Second. Grace Cannot be Lessened Because of Demerit.
God
cannot propose to do less in grace for one who is sinful than He would have
done had that one been less sinful.
Grace is never exercised by Him in making up what may be lacking in the
life and character of a sinner. In such
a case, much sinfulness would call for much grace, and little sinfulness would
call for little grace. The sin question
has been set aside forever, and equal exercise of grace is extended to all who
believe. It never falls short of being
the measureless saving grace of God.
Thus grace could not be increased; for it is the expression of His
infinite love: it could not be diminished; for every limitation that human sin
might impose on the action of a righteous God has, through the propitiation of
the cross, been dismissed forever.
God
does not ignore or slight the fact of human guilt and sin; for He has met these
issues perfectly and finally for all men in the death of His Son. There remains
no demerit, nor degrees of demerit, to be considered or recognized. By grace
there is now offered alike to all men all the infinite resources
of the saving power of God. The grace
of God is, therefore, exercised in perfect independence of human sin, or any
degree of human sin.
Third. Grace Cannot Incur a Debt.
An
act is in no sense gracious if under any conditions a debt is incurred. Grace,
being unrecompensed favor, is necessarily unrecompensed as to obligations which
are past, unrecompensed as to obligations which are present, and unrecompensed
as to obligations which are future. Grace must always remain unadulterated in
its generosity and benefit. How
emphatically this is true of the grace of God towards sinners! Yet how often this aspect of divine
salvation is perverted! Infinite and eternal transformations are wrought by the
power of God when He exercises His grace.
He is thereby glorified and sinners are saved. Such far-reaching results cannot fail to satisfy and delight Him
eternally; but He remains unrecompensed for His salvation through
grace. What He does He bestows as a gift. Rightfully a benefit cannot be called a
gift if it is paid for before, at the time, or after. This is a fundamental
truth of the Word of God, and it is imperative that it be kept free from all
confusing complications.
When
a recompense for the gift of God is proposed, every element of salvation is
obscured, and the true motive for Christian service is sacrificed as well. The Scriptures everywhere guard these two
truths from such perversion; for, in the Bible, salvation is always presented
as a gift, an unrecompensed favor, a pure benefit from God
(John 10:28; Rom. 6:23). And, in like
manner, no service is to be wrought, and no offering is to be given, with a
view to repaying God for His gift.
Any attempt to compensate God for His gift is an act so utterly out of
harmony with the revealed Truth, and exhibits such a lack of appreciation of
His loving bounty, that it cannot be other than distressing to the Giver. All attempts to repay His gift, be they ever
so sincere, serve only to frustrate His grace and to lower the marvelous
kindness of God to the sordid level of barter and trade. How faithfully we should serve Him, but
never to repay Him! Service is the
Christian’s means of expressing his love and devotion to God, as God has
expressed His love to those whom He saves by the gracious thing He has done.
Christian service for God should be equally gracious.
It
therefore becomes those who have received His gifts in grace to be jealous for
the purity of their motives in service for Him. Unwittingly the grace of God is too often denied by well-meaning
attempts to compensate God for His benefits.
No semblance of the most vital facts about divine grace can be retained
unless salvation is, in its every aspect, treated as a gift from God,
and Christian service and faithfulness is deemed to be only the expression of
love and gratitude to God.
According
to the Scriptures, salvation is never conditioned on human faithfulness, or on
the promise of human faithfulness.
There is no payment required, past, present, or future. God saves
unmeriting sinners in unrelated, unrecompensed, unconditioned, sovereign grace.
Good works should follow; but with no thought of compensation. Christians are “created in Christ Jesus
unto good works" (Eph. 2: 10); they are to be a "peculiar
people, zealous of good works" (Tit. 2: 14); and "they which
have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works" (Tit. 3:
8). Thus, and only thus, are “good
works” related to the gracious salvation from God through Christ
Jesus. Grace is out of question when
recompense is in question.
Fourth. Grace is not Exercised in the Just Payment of a Debt.
The
fact is self-evident that the payment of an honest debt could never be an act
of grace. In no circumstances, however,
is the recognition of this truth more important than when grace is declared to
be the present divine plan for the salvation of sinners. If God should discover the least degree of
merit in the sinner, this, in strict righteousness, He must recognize and duly
acknowledge. By such a recognition of
human merit, He would be discharging an obligation toward the sinner and the
discharge of that obligation toward the sinner would be the payment, or
recognition, of a debt. “Now to him
that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt" (Rom.
4:4).
It is therefore
imperative that every vestige of human merit shall be set aside completely if
an opportunity is provided whereby pure grace may be exercised in the salvation
of men. For the sole purpose that pure
grace might be exercised toward men, the human family has been placed under the
divine judicial sentence of sin. It is
obviously true that all men are sinners both by nature and by practice; but the
present divine decree goes far beyond this evident state of sinfulness wherein
one man might be deemed to be more, or less, sinful than another; for God, in
this dispensation, which began with the cross, has pronounced an equal and
absolute sentence of judgment against all, both Jew and Gentile. Men are now “already condemned” (John
3:18); they are "children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2); not on
the ground of their own sinfulness, but on the ground of their federal headship
in fallen Adam. Men are now judicially
reckoned to be "in unbelief" (Rom. 11:32); they are ''under
sin" (Rom. 3:9; Gal. 3:22); and they are "guilty"
(Rom. 3:19). Thus all human merit has
been disposed of absolutely and forever, and there is no longer the slightest
possibility that, because of personal merit, a divine obligation may now exist
toward any individual. The sole divine
object in thus universally and judicially disposing of all human merit is
clearly revealed: "For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he
might have mercy upon all" (Rom. 11:32). Also, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that
the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe”
(Gal. 3: 22).
That
God now saves sinners by grace alone and apart from every human merit is the
teaching of His Word: "For by grace are ye saved though faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:8-10).
In
this passage the only order which can exist between divine grace and human
merit is made clear. Man is permitted
to do nothing until God has done all that His grace designs. “Good works” grow out of, and are
made possible by, the gracious work of God.
To this exact order all revelation concerning divine grace is in
agreement.
A
striking emphasis is given to the fact that God now saves by grace alone when
the Biblical doctrines of salvation by grace and the believer's rewards for
service are contrasted. Salvation,
being always and only a work of God for man, is always and only by grace alone;
while rewards, being always and only that which is merited by the faithful
service of the Christian, are always and only based on works. Human merit is always in view in the divine
bestowment of rewards; and the grace of God is never mentioned in connection
with His bestowment of rewards (1 Cor. 3: 9-15; 9:18-27; 2 Cor. 5:10). So, also, human works are never included as
forming any part of the divine plan of salvation by grace.
An
act ceases to be gracious, therefore, when it is a recognition of merit, or the
payment of a just debt. “Being
justified freely [without cause] by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24).
Fifth. Grace is Never the Over-payment of a Debt.
Grace
is no longer grace if it is complicated in the slightest degree with the
payment of a just debt. It can never be that which is added to, or a part of, a
righteous transaction. A bounty may be
added to the payment of a debt, — an extra amount above the full measure due;
but in no case should this extra amount be considered a matter of pure
grace. The character of the bounty thus
added would, of necessity, be qualified to some extent by the relation of the
bounty to the debt. The bounty will be
either more, or less, than it would have been had it stood alone. Inevitably it
will be affected to some degree by the righteous transaction with which it is
combined. In the Word of God, as in
common usage, the word grace, in its exact meaning, precludes any
complications with other acts or issues however righteous and just. Grace speaks of a gift, not of barter or
trade however unequal. It is pure
kindness, not the fulfilling of an obligation.
An act in order to be gracious must stand disassociated and alone. Divine salvation is, therefore, the kindness
of God toward sinners. It is of
less than it would be had they sinned less.
It is not more than it would be had they sinned more. It is wholly unrelated
to every question of human merit.
Grace is neither treating a person as he deserves, nor treating a
person better than he deserves.
It is treating a person graciously without the slightest
reference to his deserts. Grace is
infinite love expressing itself in infinite goodness.
Through
the death of Christ by which He took away the sin of the world, and through the
divine decree which has constituted all to be "under sin,"
grace is free to save in every case, and only grace can save in any case. Divine grace is never decreased or
increased. It offers a standardized,
unvarying blessing to every individual alike.
The blessing is measureless since it represents in every case no less
than all that God, being actuated by infinite love, can do.
Sixth. Grace does not Appear in the
Immediate Divine Dealings with the Sins of the Unsaved.
It is probable that no point in the Gospel of God’s saving
grace is so misunderstood, and, consequently, so misstated as the revealed
truth concerning the immediate divine dealings with the sins of the unsaved. It
seems most difficult for the mind to grasp the fact that, as revealed in God's
Word, God does not deal with any sin in mercy, or leniency. The sinner is never forgiven because God is
big-hearted enough to remit the penalty, or to waive the righteous
judgments. Any presentation of divine
forgiveness which represents God as directly exercising clemency toward a
sinner is a fatal detraction from the meaning of the cross of Christ, and is a
disastrous misrepresentation of the truth contained in the Gospel of His saving
grace Those who dare to preach the Gospel should give to the cross its true
place of vital importance as given to it in the Word of God. How can God utter a more alarming warning on
this point than is disclosed in the revelation of the unrevoked anathema upon
all who pervert the Gospel of grace? “But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say
I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8, 9).
Turning from human speculation to the Scriptures of Truth,
we discover one basic fact: The Lamb of God has already “taken away” the
sin of the world (John 1:29). The fact
that Christ, as Substitute, has already borne the undiminished righteous
judgments of God against sin, is the sole ground upon which divine forgiveness
is now exercised. The forgiveness of God toward sinners, therefore, is not an
immediate act of grace; it is rather a judicial pardon of a debtor in view of
the fact that his debt has been fully paid by Another. We could not know how much He paid;
yet, though unable to measure redemption, we may rejoice in the fact that all,
even to the measure of the righteous reckoning of God, is absolutely and
eternally paid by Christ. It is not a question of the relative benefits which
might possibly accrue to the sinner under one form of forgiveness or another,
—were he forgiven graciously, or in strict justice; it is a question of the basis
upon which any divine forgiveness can be extended righteously. This righteous basis has been provided in
the cross. By Gospel preaching, sinners are to be told that they may now stand
forever pardoned before God: not because God is gracious enough to excuse their
sins; but because there is plentiful redemption through the blood that has been
shed ( Roll. 3 :24; Eph. 1 :7) .Being free to forgive at all, God is free to forgive
perfectly. On no other ground
can the marvelous statement, —“having forgiven you all trespasses” (Col.
2:13), be understood. This Scripture is
addressed to Christians and it exactly defines the scope of divine forgiveness
which is theirs. It likewise indicates the measure of forgiveness which is
offered to the unsaved.
When God thus forgives, absolutely and eternally, through
the cross of Christ He is acting as Judge. By this judicial decree, He sets
aside forever all condemnation. Such judicial forgiveness, which guarantees an
unchangeable standing and position in sonship, should not be confused with the
Father's forgiveness toward His sinning child, which is wholly within the
family relationship, and which restores lost fellowship and joy to the child of
God.
Every unsaved person is under the three-fold sentence of
sin. He is a sinner by practice, a
sinner by nature, and a sinner by divine decree. God deals with this three-fold aspect of sin by a three-fold
achievement in grace. There is forgiveness
for man in view of the fact that he is a sinner by practice; there is imputed
righteousness for man in view of the fact that he is a sinner by nature; and
there is the divine decree of justification for man in view of the fact that he
is a sinner who, by divine decree, is “under sin.”
Judicial forgiveness itself is not an act of grace, nor is
judicial forgiveness a mere act of divine clemency for some particular sins of
present moment to the sinner: judicial forgiveness covers all sin, and
by it the sinner is, as to possible condemnation, patrolled forever. This pardon covers all sins past,
present, or future. God the Righteous Father will, in infinite faithfulness,
correct and chasten His sinning child, and the sinning child will need to
confess his sin in order to be restored into fellowship with his Father; but
the Father will never condemn His child (John 3:18; 5:24; Rom. 8:1 R.V.;
I Cor. 11:31, 32). The forgiveness of
God toward the sinner is, then, made possible only through the cross and is never
an act of immediate grace, and, when it is free to be extended at all, it is boundless. It contemplates and includes all sin. It forever absolves and acquits the sinner.
Though divine forgiveness results in a position for the
sinner wherein there is no condemnation, this fact should in no wise be
confused with the deeper aspect of God's saving grace wherein He justifies the
sinner. Forgiveness cancels every debt
before God, but justification declares the sinner to be forever judicially
righteous in the eyes of God. One is
subtraction, the other is addition; and both are righteously made possible
through the cross.
Of the various divine undertakings in the salvation of a
sinner, some are acts of divine justice, and some are acts of the immediate, super-abounding
grace of God. Those acts which deal
with human unworthiness and sin are acts of justice. These include forgiveness, justification, death to the law,
freedom from the law, and the whole new creation. All this is made possible
through the cross of Christ and, therefore, is not accomplished by an act of
immediate grace. On the other hand,
those aspects of salvation wherein God is revealed as imparting and bestowing
His benefits are said to be immediate acts of grace. These include the gift of eternal life, the imputed righteousness
of God, and every spiritual blessing.
Limitless grace is seen in the love of God which provided the cross; but
when that cross is provided, every saving act that is based
upon it becomes an act of justice, rather than an act of immediate grace.
“That he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in
Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).1
Seventh. Grace
does not Appear in the Immediate Divine Dealings with the Sins of the Saved.
The divine dealings with the
sins of the saved are similar to the divine dealings with the sins of the
unsaved in one particular, namely, what God does in either case is done on the
ground of the cross of Christ. By that
cross all sin, whether it be that of saint or sinner, has been
righteously judged, and the ransom price, which satisfies every demand of
infinite holiness, has been paid. By
His death, Christ provided the sufficient ground for both the salvation of the
unsaved, and the restoration of the saved. It is because of what has already been
accomplished in the cross concerning the sin of the world, that the
unregenerate are freely forgiven and justified. This is a part of God's saving grace, and is wrought on the sole
condition that they believe; while the regenerate are forgiven and cleansed
on the sole condition that they confess. These two requirements
indicated by these two words, it will be noted, are wholly different. The human obligation as represented by each
word is exactly adapted in each case to the precise relationships which, on the
one hand, exist between God and the unsaved, and, on the other hand, exist
between God and the saved. The salvation of the sinner is unto union with
God: the restoration of the saint is unto communion with God. Believing and confessing are
two widely differing human conditions, or obligations, and should never be
confused or interchanged. The lost are
never saved by confessing, and the saved are never restored by believing.
That there is no greater demand
imposed upon the unsaved than that he believe, and no greater demand
imposed upon the saved than that he confess, is due to that which Christ
accomplished on the cross. He wrought
in behalf of sinner and saint in bearing the sin of the world, and every
requirement of infinite justice is met for all in the finished work of Christ.
In the one case, there is nothing left to be done but to believe; while
in the other case, there is nothing left to be done but to confess.
The revealed attitude of God
toward all men is that of grace alone.
Therefore He does not need to be coaxed or persuaded. With His hand out- stretched to bestow all
that His grace can offer, it is highly inconsistent to plead with Him to be
gracious, or to coax
Him to be good. By the unvarying
teaching of God 's Word, and by the inexorable logic of the accomplished value
of the cross, the forgiveness and blessing of God to the unsaved is conditioned
upon believing, and to the saved it is conditioned upon confessing.
1 John 1:1 to 2:2 is the central passage in the Bible
wherein the divine method of dealing with the sins of Christians is
stated. A portion of this most
important passage is as follows: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…. My little children, these things write I
unto you, that ye sin not [be not sinning].
And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world.”
According to this Scripture, four vital elements enter
into that divine forgiving and cleansing which constitutes the restoration of a
sinning saint: (1) Confession is the one and only condition on the human side;
(2) Absolute forgiveness and cleansing is promised on the divine side; (3) The
Christian, while sinning, has been safe as to divine condemnation, because of
his Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and (4) Divine
forgiveness and cleansing is exercised toward the believer in unchallenged
faithfulness and justice because Christ is "the propitiation for our
sins."
In this transaction, as it is thus disclosed, the believer
makes no disposition of his own sin; that has been made for him. So, also, the Advocate makes no excuses for
the sinning Christian, nor does He plead for the clemency of the Father in
behalf of the believer who has sinned.
The Advocate presents the sufficiency of His own blood to meet the
condemnation of every sin. The Father
does not act in gracious kindness when forgiving and cleansing the believer: He
acts in strict faithfulness to His covenant and promise of eternal
keeping, and in strict justice because of the shed-blood. Such is the unchanging value of the
propitiation which Christ made in His blood.
It should also be noted
that, according to this revelation, the sinning saint is never before any
tribunal other than that of his own Father.
The eternal relationship between the Father and His child can never be set
aside. The Father may correct and
chasten His erring child (1 Cor. 11:31, 32; Heb. 12: 3-15), and through
confession the child may be restored to the place of fellowship; but all of
this is wholly within the inner circle of the family and household of God. Condemnation, which would expel the child
from the place of a son, is forever past.
Nor does the sinning Christian draw on the mercy and favor of God when
he is restored to fellowship in the household of God. How easily mercy and favor might be exhausted and overdrawn! On the contrary, the Christian, sheltered
under the blood of propitiation, and standing in the merit of his Advocate, is
on a basis where no past offences have accumulated against him; for he is
cleansed and forgiven under the legal justice of the Father. The justice of God is made possible and is
righteously demanded in view of the shed-blood of His own Son.
Let it not be supposed that this divine plan of
restoration of the child of God to the Father's fellowship will react in an
attitude of carelessness on the part of the Christian. The sufficient answer to this challenge is
three-fold: (1) True confession is the expression of a very real repentance, or
change of mind, which turns from the sin.
This is the exact opposite of becoming accustomed to the sin, or
becoming careless with regard to it.
(2) This very revelation is given, we are told, not to encourage, or
license us to sin; but rather that' 'ye sin not" (be not sinning). According to the Scriptures and according to
human experience, the believer's safety in the faithfulness and justice of the
Father and the advocacy and propitiation of the Son, is the greatest incentive
for a holy life. It is clearly revealed
that God has, by other and sufficient means, guarded against all careless
sinning on the part of those whom He has eternally saved through the merit of
His Son. And (3) God can righteously
deal with sin in no other way than through the absolute value of the blood of
His Son; but when sin has been laid on the Substitute, it can never be laid
back on the sinner, or on any other. In
the cross of Christ, the question of a possible condemnation because of sin is
adjusted forever. Mercy and grace can
never be co-mingled with divine justice.
Boundless grace is disclosed in the provision of a perfect propitiation
for the sins of the believer; but the application of the propitiation is never
gracious; it is none other than the faithfulness and justice
of the Father. Therefore grace does not appear in the forgiving and
cleansing of the Christian's sins.
It may be concluded that the
word grace, as used in the Bible in relation to divine salvation,
represents the uncompromised, unrestricted, unrecompensed, loving favor of God
toward sinners. It is an unearned
blessing. It is a gratuity. God is absolutely untrammeled and unshackled in
expressing His infinite love by His infinite grace (1) through the death of His
Lamb by whom every limitation which human sin could impose has been dispelled,
(2) through the provision which offers salvation as a gift by which human
obligation has been forever dismissed, and (3) through the divine decree by
which human merit has been forever deposed.
Grace is the limitless, unrestrained love of God for the lost, acting in
full compliance with the exact and unchangeable demands of His own
righteousness through the sacrificial death of Christ. Grace is more than love; it is love set
absolutely free and made to be a triumphant victor over the righteous judgment
of God against the sinner.
Having examined into the meaning
of the word grace, the three-fold divine ministry and undertaking in
grace should be considered. It will be observed that:
I. God saves
sinners by grace,
II. God keeps
through grace those who are saved, and,
III. God teaches
in grace those who are saved and kept how they should live, and how they
may live, to His eternal glory. g
1 Under
grace, the salvation of a sinner is declared in about 115 passages to depend
only on believing, and in about 35 passages to depend on faith, which is
but a synonym of believing. The
Scripture everywhere harmonizes with this overwhelming body of truth. Without due consideration of the precise
bearing of this revelation on the doctrine of grace, zealous workers have
proposed to add certain conditions to the plan of salvation other than believing. (1) It is not, "believe and
pray." In view of His grace, it is in no wise necessary, or fitting, to
implore God to save. (2) It is not
"believe and confess sin,." Confession of sin, which is the one
condition upon which a saint may be restored to fellowship, is never imposed
on the unsaved. Confession is foreign
to the ground on which they stand. (3)
It is not "believe and confess Christ before men." This condition,
though imposed in the kingdom teachings of Christ (Mt. 10: 32), is not, and
could not be, a condition of salvation under grace. Romans 10: 9 is given its
final order and force in verse 10. There confession is seen to be the
expression of salvation which has been received by believing. It is primarily the voice of the
new-born babe in Christ speaking to its Father, —"Abba Father."
Multitudes have been saved w were deprived of any opportunity of a public
confession. (4) It is not "believe
and be baptized." Mark 16: 16 is
the one instance in Scripture where these two conditions are linked together.
Not only is the context—Mark 16: 9-20—0mitted in the oldest manuscripts, the
omission of the word baptized from the negative statement, "he that
believeth not shall be damned," is evidence that baptism is not the
essential condition in the positive statement.
(5) It is not "believe and repent." About six times these two conditions are thus joined in the
Scriptures which are addressed to the unsaved in this dispensation, and for
obvious reasons. Over against this, it should be considered that believe, or
faith, is used, apart from the word repenta.1tCe, no less than
150 times; the Gospel by John which was written that men might be saved,
does not use repentance in any form of the word; and the Book of Romans,
which was written to unfold the whole doctrine of salvation, like the Gospel by
John, does not once condition salvation on repentance, or anything other than believing.
Repentance, which means "a (change of mind," is never excluded
from the terms of salvation; it is included as an essential part of
believing. There is no Scriptural warrant for the grace-confusing practice of
some who insist that repentance and believing are separate obligations to be
imposed on the unsaved. It is impossible for a person to believe who does not
repent. In believing, he will experience that change of mind which turns from
all else unto Christ as the Object of trust. Measureless harm has been done to
souls when it has been taught that a self-imposed repentance must precede faith
in Christ. Such insistence ignores every vita] aspect of saving grace.
Saving
faith is more than a belief in historical facts concerning Christ; it is to rely
on Christ, to depend on His saving grace, and to receive Him;
it is to believe the record God has given concerning His Son. In preaching the Gospel, emphasis should
not fall on the mere human act of believing; it should fo.l1, rather, on the
precise message which is to be believed.
Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952) trusted Christ alone as Saviour at the age of 6 under the tutelage of his parents during his father's (Thomas Franklin Chafer) first pastorate in Rock Creek, Ohio. Dr. Chafer later served as a church soloist and song leader, before entering the Gospel ministry as an evangelist. In time, he would serve as a bible conference president, become a staff member at the New York School of the Bible, help start the Philadelphia School of the Bible with Dr. C.I. Scofield, pastor the Scofield Memorial Church of Dallas, Texas, and found Dallas Theological Seminary. He also wrote numerous books, most of which are still in print today including his "Systematic Theology" and "True Evangelism."