True Proof of Repentance

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRUE PROOF OF REPENTANCE

Acts 26:19-23

19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."

NIV

The continued testimony of Paul before King Agrippa and Festus had some interesting points. First, Paul says that he was faithful to the vision from heaven. Because King Agrippa is of Jewish descent, he must believe in Yahweh who sits in heaven. Of course, the dispute is not about Yahweh, but about Jesus, the Christ. Even today we find many people who say they believe in God. The question regarding simple believing in God is how they define who God is. Whatever their definition they may not believe that one needs to repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This was the problem with the Jews that wanted Paul dead. They believed in Yahweh and the Law of Moses but refused the words of the prophets in regard to Jesus being the Messiah they spoke about. However, what is somewhat troubling is what Paul said about proving their repentance through their deeds. First, understanding that repentance means a change of mind, or changing the way a person thinks, that it would include acknowledging a life of sin and seeking and finding forgiveness through faith in Jesus, that a person would also change their deeds. They would change from deeds of evil, to deeds of good. This would not be simply doing good work but living in a good manner. We will never be totally free of all sin, that is we will still make mistakes and yield to a temptation of whatever sort it may be. We could become jealous, or envious for a moment until we realize our feelings are wrong. We could gossip, even unknowingly, or knowingly until we are convinced that is not right. We could yield to some sensual area, gratifying our physical senses, either overindulging ourselves with food or of a sexual nature. We could fall into the trap of pride or feeling more highly of ourselves than we should, regarding our achievements in this life, and maybe even in our church. But the idea is that we have changed our way of thinking and we are proving that by turning from a life completely dedicated to self-fulfillment and now seeking to live in a manner that pleases God. But we cannot confuse faith in Christ with good works. The works will follow because of our faith in Christ, and those works could be many things, even different for each individual, in fact, the works could be seen as our calling, what we are meant to do. But the greatest of all the works that God requires of us is to believe in the one he sent, Jesus. This is the true proof of repentance.