PODCAST
Repentance Leads To Life
January 26th, 2013
Acts 11:1-18
The gospel of Christ is for everyone. This is no surprise to us on this side of the New Testament Church. But to the fledgling Church in the book of Acts it was a bit of a shocker. The Jewish traditions poised the Hebrew people to be “God’s Chosen People.” So when Peter began socializing with Gentiles he was soundly challenged by the Jewish Christians. When he told them how God showed him that the Gentiles could also be believers they agreed: “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life” (v. 18).
What a surprise, Jews were not the only chosen people! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, emphasis added).
This was an amazing discovery for the Jewish Christians and an important tenet of the Christian faith today. Peter’s explanation, however, reaches yet a little higher. Not only is the Gospel all inclusive, it is the source of salvation–for life now and life for eternity.
Author: Richard H. Neiderhiser
January 26th, 2013 at 8:47 am
Our sins are our downfall (Hosea 14:1) and the acceptance of Jesus as our savior is our white sheet (Acts 11:5) whereas God gives us a blank white sheet to start over in our life. Therefore, daily repentance keeps us spiritually clean.
We’ve heard that cleanliness is next to Godliness, but that’s not in the Bible. However, spiritual cleansing and repentance is all over the Bible.