Acts 26:20 - Repent, Turn to God and Do Deeds Consistent with Repentance.
Acts 26:20 - Repent, Turn to God and Do Deeds Consistent with
Repentance.
Acts 26:20 (NRSV) but declared first to those in Damascus, then
in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to
the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds
consistent with repentance.
Acts 26:20 (ESV) but declared first to those in Damascus, then
in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to
the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing
deeds in keeping with their repentance.
Acts 26:20 (CWR) Since that time, I have preached the good news
of salvation in Damascus, Jerusalem, throughout Palestine and in
many parts of the Roman Empire to anyone who would listen.
Everywhere I've been, I've urged people to change their ways, to repent of
their sins and to live for God.
To repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction,
to think opposite thoughts. That's why becoming a Christian
requires repentance: It isn't just a behavioral issue, it's a total
rearranging of perspective, a new way of seeing and thinking. In his defense
before Agrippa, Paul said he preached to everyone "that they should
repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their
deeds." In other words, works aren't the essence of repentance - they
are the evidence of it. One cannot repent without changing. New
birth in Christ makes us a new creation. [NIV Once A Day Bible]
The Greek word for repent literally means change one's mind.
To repent means to realize that the kind of life we are living is
wrong and that we must adopt a completely new set of values. To that
end, it involves two things. It involves sorrow for what we have been
and it involves the resolve that by the grace of God we will be
changed....
Turn to God. So often we have our backs to God. It may be in
thoughtless disregard; it may be because we have deliberately gone to the
far countries of the soul.... Paul calls on us to let the God who was
nothing to us become the God who is everything to us.....
The proof of genuine repentance and turning to God is a
certain kind of life. But these deeds are not merely the reaction of
someone whose life is governed by a new series of laws; they are the
result of a new love. The man who has come to know the love of God in
Jesus Christ knows now that if he sins he does not only break God's
law; he breaks God's heart. [Barclay Commentary]
He strives for goodness, not because he is afraid of God, but
because he loves him. He knows now that sin is not so much breaking
God's law as it is breaking God's heart, and, therefore, it is doubly
terrible....
It is not the law of fear but the law of love which keeps him
right... We are rid forever of the terror of God, but that is no reason
for doing as we like. We can never again do as we like for we are
now for ever constrained to goodness by the law of love; and that
law is far stronger than ever the law of fear can be. [Barclay
Commentary re Rom.3:31]
Paul is not here advocating righteousness by works, but the kind
of "works" that characterize a life that has attained to
righteousness by faith in Christ. He does not mean that it is possible to earn
righteousness by the performance of certain deeds, but rather that true
righteousness automatically produces deeds commensurate with, and that attest
to, the presence of the grace of God in the life.... The man of faith
establishes the law (Rom. 3:31), for he is "created in Christ Jesus unto
good works" (Eph. 2:10). Whenever there is true righteousness by
faith, that righteousness is evident in good works. "Faith without
works is dead" (see James 2:14-24). [SDA Bible Commentary]
There is constant danger of falling into sin, for Christ has
warned us to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. If we are
conscious of the weakness of self, we shall not be self-confident and
reckless of danger; but we shall feel the necessity of seeking to the
Source of our strength, Jesus our righteousness. We shall come in
repentance and contrition, with a despairing sense of our own finite
weakness, and learn that we must daily apply to the merits of the blood of
Christ, that we may become vessels fit for the Master's use. ST05-19-90
"You can say you are a Christian, but that doesn't make you one.
The true Christian will give evidence of faith by a transformed
life. The kind of faith that will take you to heaven is the kind of
faith that will produce godliness in your life here and now." Charles
H. Robinson [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary re Jam.2:14-24]
According to Gallup surveys, confirmed by other polls taken
over the past fifteen years, 33 percent of all Americans over age
eighteen indicate they are evangelical or "born again" Christians. That
translates into 59 million Christians, or one in every three adults, who
experienced a turning point in their lives as they made a personal
commitment to Jesus Christ.
This information should grip us with terror. It means that
the greatest revival in history has so far been impotent to change
society. It's revival without reformation. It's a revival which left the
country floundering in spiritual ignorance. It's a change in belief
without a corresponding change in behavior....
How did the building blocks of the gospel become glued
together with the cement of self-centeredness? The American gospel has
evolved into a gospel of addition without subtraction. It is the belief
that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a
change in belief without a change in behavior. It is a spiritual
experience without any cultural impact. It is revival without reformation,
without repentance....
The proof of religious conversion is to demonstrate that we
have both added a relationship with Christ and that we have
subtracted sin (repentance). And we multiply proof to a weary world by what
we do-our deeds, our obedience. What we do must confirm what we
say. Our deeds are the proof of our repentance....
A changed life is one that has added Christ and subtracted
sin, that attracts a world weary of worn-out words. Obedience is the
proof. (From Walking with Christ in the Details of Life by Patrick
Morley) [Inspirational SB re Jude]
ONE LINERS
Faithfulness to Christ is an evidence of true salvation.
[Wiersbe Expository Outlines]
Obedience is the proof of repentance. [Disciple SB]
None can be happy who are not holy; and to be saints in heaven
we must be first saints on earth. [Matthew Henry Commentary]
The assured Christian is more motion than notion, more work than
word, more life than lip, more hand than tongue. Thomas Brooks
[Passages Of Life SB]
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Musical Devotional On Christian Living:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcotY5K7T0c
Prophecies Decoded Sermon Series:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDY:
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Guides:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Discover Bible Studies: http://studies.itiswritten.com/discover/
Or Send Request for Bible Studies to Fred Gibbs at:
fggibbs@aBible.com
