Description
In Acts 26:19-20, Paul makes a strong point to King Agrippa: true repentence leads to demonstrable change.
Acts 26:19-2… (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Today’s meditation is something that struck me in my morning devotional from Acts 26 verses 19 to 20. This is Paul speaking and he says, "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 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."
And it was especially the last part of that that struck me. So Paul is now giving his defense to King Agrippa, and he’s given his account of how he was converted, and that the salvation that Jesus brought was for everyone. But then he says he wants everybody to repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.
Now there’s sometimes been this supposed tussle between faith and works and people have said that Paul was all about grace and James was all about works. But here we see Paul saying, no, what I expect is that when people repent and turn to God, there’s going to be evidence of that.
Is that true of me? Is that true of you? Is it true that people can see that what we do lines up with the life that should be expected of a follower of Christ? True repentance means turning away from the works of evil, turning away from the desires of the flesh.
You can see why it’s important to meditate on a passage like this, can’t you? Are my deeds truly in keeping with repentance with the commitment I made to Jesus all those years ago?
Father, please help us to consider our own lives with sober judgment. God, we know that we’re saved. We know that you love us.
But we also want to be obedient and faithful to that commitment that we’ve made to you. Faithful to the commitment. Knowing that you are faithful to the commitment you’ve made to us. Amen.
