Steve Stanley > Recent Status Updates

Repentance is fundamentally relational; it means we turn back to God, and the result of that repentance is good works. Good works are inseparable from repentance, but they should be distinguished from it. The relational nature of repentance should be emphasized, since when we repent we turn back to the Lord, and thus we turn away from sin. (130-131)

Our salvation is tied to God’s glory, God’s love, God’s plan, Christ’s death, the Spirit’s work, the gospel message, and our faith in Christ. Our faith does not save us; God saves us through Christ. But our faith receives what God has done for us in Christ. We are never the source, ground, or cause of our salvation; God is. . . . We are not the cause, but we are active as we receive salvation through faith.

Jesus’s death and resurrection are the only antidotes to the poison of sin. They saved us once and for all from sin’s penalty (Rom 8:1). When Christ returns, his death and resurrection will save us from sin’s very presence (v.5; 1 These 5:19-20).

Salvation means confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead [Rom 9-10]. Saving faith includes repentance (2 Cor 7:10), for there is no true faith without turning to the Lord and a change in life. . . . Saving faith produces good works (Jas 2:14), which aren’t the basis of salvation but its necessary fruit.

For modern Christians, the councils can serve as a reminder to extend all possible charity to those who disagree with us, but also to maintain strong views in the face of opposition.