Articles
Repentance that leads to Life - Acts 11
Repentance that leads to Life - Acts 11
When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life” “ (Acts 11:18).
One of the problems with many bible studies is to want to take one passage and make it all that the God says about a subject. Jesus quoted Deut. 8:3: "Man shall live by EVERY word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). The Psalmist had declared: "The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever” (Ps. 119:160). To know what God reveals about any particular biblical topic, one must consider all that God said about that subject. While any scripture is true with what it deals with, it may not be the WHOLE of the truth.
So it is here in Acts 11:18. Repentance leads unto life. That is true. Without repentance one cannot come to God and find forgiveness. God desires that all men repent (2Pet. 3:9). God commands all men to repent (Acts 17:30). Unless we repent we shall perish (Luke 13:3).
Conspicuously absent in this verse is the need of faith in God and Jesus. When the angel instructed Cornelius on what to do, he said that Peter would “declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household” (Acts 11:14). This message is the word of God that is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16-17). This message has the power to produce faith/trust in God and Jesus. Later Peter would state: "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe” (Acts 15:7). He then concluded that God had “cleansed their hearts by faith” (15:9).
Yet we see from our verse in Acts 11:18 that such cleansing was not done on the condition of faith alone. This saving message includes the teaching concerning repentance. The Great commission as stated in Luke was that ‘repentance and remission of sins would be preached” (Luke 24:47). However, such repentance is produced by faith. This same message commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 10:48).
Again, putting it together we see that Peter preached, they believed the message and put their trust in Jesus, they repented of their sinful lives, and they were baptized in water in the name of Jesus unto the remission of sins. THIS is what they understood when they understood that God had granted them repentance unto life. Is this happened in your life?
Hugh DeLong
