We give thanks for your burden for souls who seek salvation, and for setting forth so plainly that precious promise in Romans, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
This is the plain gospel of salvation by divine grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Salvation is of the Lord in the planning of it, in the execution of it, and in the application of it. It was older than creation, and Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit, hath provided everything. No man hath helped to provide it, God hath done it all himself, and the ultimate perfection of it is of the Lord also. We hang our soul's salvation upon his being anointed of the Lord to be the Saviour of men.
You have done well to join together confession and turning from sin, for faith and repentance are inseparable graces. Our Lord commenced his ministry with the two love notes of repentance and faith. True repentance is repentance unto life, a gift of God, wrought by the Holy Spirit, whereby we hate sin with a perfect hatred because it pierced the Lord, and mourn that we have grieved his heart. It is not a perfect knowledge of our guilt, nor a trust in our own sorrow, but a turning from sin unto Jesus Christ himself. We must not trust to our repentance, nor even to our faith, but only to the finished work of Jesus Christ upon Calvary's tree. If you believe on Jesus, he will give you true repentance and deep self abhorrence, but you must come to Jesus for these things.
How sweetly does Jesus our Lord sound to the believing soul. He was of the seed of David, truly man, and he rose from the dead as the acceptance of his sacrifice, evidence that he hath fully endured the penalty due to human guilt. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ is as free from the guilt of sin as Christ is, for he took the sins of his people and died in the sinner's place.
We join you in prayer for all who are now seeking. May the Lord make the unwilling willing and bring the vile rebel to the feet of Jesus. May he grant to each seeking heart that godly sorrow which glorifies God, and that simple faith which trusts in Jesus alone, who is our Lord forever in a marriage bond that shall never be dissolved. May they indeed confess him as Lord, believe that God raised him from the dead, and follow and obey him all their days.
Your counsel to read and study Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, beginning in the book of John, is wise. There they shall see the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus upon which our salvation hinges. Let us pray that as they read, the Spirit will open their eyes to behold Jesus our Lord and to trust him wholly.
Lord, we pray, give repentance unto life and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ to every seeking soul, that they may believe on him and not be ashamed, for whosoever believeth on him shall be saved. Help their unbelief, cause them to quit their sin for Jesus sake, and to give thee glory. Amen.
