"Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem . . . that they should repent, turn to God and do works befitting repentance." v 19,20
We are all familiar with the apostle Paul's teaching on salvation by faith.
When the jailor at Philippi asked him, "What must I do to be saved?", Paul had replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved . . ." (Acts 16:30-31)
And after a detailed exposition in Romans chapter 4 on the issue of justification by faith in contrast to that by works of the Mosaic Law, Paul had concluded in Romans 5: 1, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"
Furthermore, in Romans chapter 10, he had written, "If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. . . . For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:9, 13)
All these, along with other similar accounts, appear to tell us that salvation is based on only one simple step: just believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, who died in our place for our sins, and just call him Lord with our mouths.
However, when I read the account last Sunday, of Paul making his defense before King Agrippa against his Jewish accusers in Acts chapter 16, I realised that I have missed a significant statement in Paul's testimony: that in his preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere he went, he told people to do three things:
- That they should repent,
- and turn to God,
- and do works befitting repentance!
It occurred to me then, that underlying Paul's teaching about justification by faith is his call to repentance and to return to God Almighty, creator of heavens and earth! In other words, there is no justification without repentance.
I am also reminded from the Gospel accounts that calling people to repent was carried out as an essential preparation before our Lord Jesus began his ministry. Luke chapter 3 carries a vivid account of how John the Baptist called many people to repentance:
John called the crowds who came to him for baptism, "You brood of vipers!". Not a very pleasant thing to say to anyone who's coming forward for salvation! And he went on to tell them to produce fruits that befit repentance. It sounded very similar to Paul's words in Acts 16:20.
There were tax-collectors who came to John to be baptized, calling him Rabbi, and asked him what they should do. He told them not to collect any more than they were required by the Roman authorities to collect.
Others who came to John were soldiers. They too asked him what they should do. He told them not to extort money, nor accuse people falsely, but instead to be content with their pay.
But it was to those among the crowd that he gave them what appeared to be the most demanding reply of all:
"What should we do then?" the crowd asked. Luke 3:10
John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." Luke 3:11
Such were the demands made by John the Baptist. His was indeed a call to honest and total repentance. Anything less would have been insufficient in preparation for receiving the coming of their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, in Judea and Galilee.
And when I read Acts 16:19-20, I can see this very same call to honest and total repentance, the call of John the Baptist, being made by the apostle Paul everywhere he went in obedience to his heavenly vision of the Lord in Damascus.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us uphold this ministry of calling for repentance. Let us call people to repent before we ask them to sign a card, or raise a hand or say a simple prayer of acceptance. Let us call them to turn completely and honestly from their sins in the same way that John the Baptist called the tax collectors, the soldiers, and yes even the ordinary "man in the crowd" - to stop cheating, stop extorting and starting sharing with the poor!
Like the apostle Paul, let us call the penitant to turn to the Only True God, the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to receive grace from God through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And finally, like both Paul and John, let us seek the fruits of repentance from people: that anyone who says that he has faith, that he believes that God has raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead must subsequently show his faith by doing "works that befit repentance".
Brothers and Sisters, merely asking people to agree with some statements about Jesus is not enough. Instead, let us preach Christ by declaring to people:
Repent, turn to God and do works that befit repentance!
