The Deep End

The Ordo Salutis

There was a period of time, between the imprisonment of John the Baptist, and the calling of the disciples, that Jesus preached by Himself in Galilee. Mark 1:15 tells us the thrust of His message: “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

There are some Bible teachers who see significance in the order of Christ’s command. Repentance from sin must come first, they say, and then the belief in the Gospel. But this is difficult to sustain. If we take the word “repent” to mean “a turning away from sin,” we meet an impasse, for we know that sinful men – and all men are sinful in their nature, and sinful to the core – are incapable of turning away from sin.

Furthermore, a call to “repent” necessarily involves a “belief,” for toward Whom could a turning away from sin be, except toward a higher Being? Thus, we see that Jesus is calling men to turn away from their unbelief, and toward belief in Him, as the Son of God, and as the one true Mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5).

A well-known preacher relates the story of attending a prayer meeting. A man was called upon to pray, and, in a case of the unusual, this man did not close his prayer by asking the Lord to cause men to place their faith in Jesus. Rather, he prayed that men would transfer their faith from whatever it was currently in, to the Person of Christ Jesus. Everyone has faith in something. The transference of that faith into Him Who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), is the greatest need of every person.