The Blacksmith's Fire and Shaping: Gospel Call, Faith, and Repentance by Pastor Paul Becker

John 3:1-8, Eph 2:1-10

We return to the Master Blacksmith’s shop.  In his shop, there are rusted, bent, broken, and dull implements that He has chosen from scrapyards of many lifeless implements. His purpose is to redeem and restore the chosen implements to their original design, intended purpose and glory.

The Blacksmith prepares a fire in the forge. The purpose is to make a bed of hot coals. The coals will be made hotter by using a bellows to blow air deep into the coals.  The volume of air delivers an increased amount of oxygen. The coals burn hotter. In the wise judgment of the Blacksmith, he determines that the coals are right.  He takes an implement from among those he has chosen and buries it in the coals.  The implement begins to change under the influence of the heat. It's as if it is coming to life! Surface impurities burn off. Any additional impurities deep in the iron are also released by the heat. With time, the implement is red-hot and yields to being transformed by the Blacksmith.

The work of the Blacksmith is a metaphor - or parable - of God’s work in our salvation.  We were once dead in sin. Our wills were corrupted by sin inherited from Adam. Our salvation from this state begins with God’s choice to redeem and restore us to our original design in God’s image, His intended purpose for us to worship and enjoy Him forever, and all of this for His glory. We explored the biblical evidence of His act of choosing in last week’s sermon on “Election.”

Just as the Blacksmith uses the fire and bellows in his forge, God works through our Calling, Repentance, and Faith in our salvation. The coals and the bellows are like the Gospel Call in preaching that produces conviction of our sin and need for a Savior. Conviction is a work of the Holy Spirit, enlivening us to become spiritually red-hot! In this enlivened state, we are empowered to respond with repentance and with faith in Jesus.

Let’s look at the Forge again by understanding that the preaching of the Gospel (the Call), empowered by the Holy Spirit, brings conviction of our sin. This conviction enlivens us, enabling us to repent from our sin and, by the same work of the Spirit, to place our faith in Jesus as the risen Savior and our Lord. This response of repentance and faith is the "spiritual breath" of new life produced in us.

Just as the heat of the forge brings about a deep transformation in the implement, so too does the Word and Spirit of God work in our lives. Let's examine several biblical passages that illustrate this process of God's calling, our repentance, and the birth of faith:

Romans 10:17: Paul asserts, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.” The initial call of the Gospel awakens faith.

Acts 2:37-38: Peter calls for repentance and baptism for forgiveness after the Gospel is heard, demonstrating the immediate response of faith.

John 3:5-8: Jesus emphasizes the Spirit's crucial role in spiritual birth, enabling our repentance and faith.

Ephesians 2:4-5: Paul reminds us that God's grace makes us alive, the foundation for our calling, repentance, and faith."

Having seen how God's Word reveals His work in our calling, repentance, and faith, the takeaway for us is clear: our election, calling, repentance, and faith are all works of God in salvation. We contribute nothing to our salvation. We are in the hands of the Blacksmith, who is working out our salvation until the day it is complete. When will our salvation be complete? When we stand before the throne of grace, in the glory of Christ, in resurrected and glorified bodies like Christ’s. So, hold fast to Jesus, don’t let go, and remember, there is more of your salvation to be revealed!

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

(Eph 2:10)