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B.--You must remember that there is another word translated repent, namely
metameleomai, which means "to be concerned about something after something has been
said or done", and ametameletos, which is the same word with a negative.
#7.
Faith as a fruit, a gift, and inwrought.
pp. 92 - 94
A.--May I re-open the question of faith? There seems to be a phase of the subject that
does not conform to the presentation you made when last we spoke on the subject.
B.--By all means; one point of view rarely gives a full presentation of any Scripture.
A.--My new problem arose out of Gal. 5: 22, 23, where we read:--
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance,"
B.--Your point is that this hardly conforms to the idea that faith is the reception of
accredited testimony.
A.--That is so; it is said to be part of the fruit of the Spirit, which cannot be produced
before the person producing it has believed on the Lord Jesus. Besides, it is classed with
long-suffering, meekness, temperance and the like, which removes it still further from
that idea.
B.--If you turn to Rom. 12: 3-6 you will find faith used in a somewhat similar way.
A.--I notice that the apostle addresses the believer, and tells him not to think more highly
of himself than he ought, "but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man a
measure of faith".
B.--You notice also in verses 4 and 5 references to the body and its members, and then
verse 6 returns to the subject saying:--
"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether
prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith."
A.--The allusion to the body and its members, together with gifts, makes me think of
I Cor. 12:
B.--If we turn to that chapter we shall see more clearly this phase of faith which is before
us:--