From the desk of Pastor Ben

Great Faith Is Repentant

A Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord.”         (Matthew 15:22a)

This woman’s faith was certainly great, not because it was stronger or better than the faith of those Jews who believed in Jesus, but because it derived from so little light. Her faith turned her away from pagan idolatry and immorality and toward God, which is the essence of repentance. The woman’s plea to Jesus, rather than being a demand, is further demonstration of her repentant attitude and acknowledgement that she was unworthy of His gracious mercy.

God declared Himself to the Israelites as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7a).

Saving faith always involves repentance that derives from a deep and earnest sense of unworthiness and spiritual inability. Charles Spurgeon wrote:

“Repentance is the inseparable companion of faith. All the while that we walk by faith and not by sight, the tear of repentance glitters in the eye of faith. That is not true repentance which does not come of faith in Jesus, and that is not true faith in Jesus which does not come by repentance. . . . Faith and repentance are but two spokes in the same wheel, two handles of the same plow. Repentance has been well described as a heart broken for sin and from sin, and it may equally well be spoken of as turning and returning.”

Ask Yourself:
How have you experienced the mercy of God, not only in salvation but also in the regular workings of life? Looking back, where would you be if not for His mercy reaching down to give you hope and a future? Worship Him today for this undeserved gift, still active and in force.