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too, that of himself he has no power to deliver himself from inward defilement. He is ashamed and
almost in despair because of his outward and inward wickedness, which becomes all the more evident
to him when he contrasts himself with the sinless Lord Jesus. Christ the light 1 of the
world has come, the Sun of righteousness 2 has risen upon that man's soul. The light
shows 3 all the ugliness and evil that lurks in man's heart and life and manifests to him
the full wickedness of his sins. He becomes conscious that he has offended very grievously against
the will and commandments of the All-Holy and loving God who has bestowed upon him so many favours
and so much kindness, since 'Every 4 good gift and every perfect boon is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights.' He says to himself, 'It was because of my sins that the Lord
Jesus Christ suffered pain and death:' and with all his heart he thanks God that of His infinite
goodness, He has given His only Son to bear the heavy weight of men's sins and to atone for the sin
of the whole world. The Christian praises God for the gift of salvation and eternal life through
Christ.
All this is the effect of true faith. Whoever, therefore, does not find in his heart this
repentance, humility, love of God and hatred of sin, let him know that his is not a true and
life-giving faith at all. From living faith in Christ springs hatred
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and abhorrence of sin and the full resolve to avoid it by God's grace. The believer loves God
with all his heart and earnestly desires and strives to obey His will in all things, for this is the
proof that his repentance is sincere. If a man has not become ashamed and despairing by reason of
his sins, has not planted by the fountain of his own heart the tree of God's love and good will, and
has not plucked its pleasant fruits and with them satisfied the hunger and quenched the thirst of
his own soul, then he has not yet attained the true faith upon which depends salvation. Even if he
lays claim to faith, his faith is as yet merely intellectual and not spiritual, and such faith
neither gives salvation, nor cleanses a man's heart, nor directs his walk aright. And since true
repentance is dependent upon a living faith in Christ, therefore many verses in the holy Scriptures
speak of repentance and faith in close union with one another. Thus in St. Mark's Gospel it is
written that the Lord Jesus preached the Gospel
(البشارة) of
God and said: 'Repent 1 ye; and
believe in the gospel.' And St. Luke tells us that Christ Jesus, after His resurrection, said to His
disciples: 'Thus it is 2 written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the
dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto
all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.' Again, when the Jews asked Peter the Apostle what they
should
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