Gospel Wednesday: Acts Chapter 17: Repentance

Acts Chapter 17

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go. And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timothy abode there still. And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy for to come to him with all speed, they departed. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Acts 17:1‭-‬34 KJV
http://bible.com/1/act.17.1-34.KJV

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 17:30 KJV
http://bible.com/1/act.17.30.KJV



God commands everyone to repent. It's the the third step to obeying the Gospel. Repentance means to turn away from sin; to stop doing it. Not just be sorry over sin.
Without repentance, there is no salvation.
Repent. Turn from your sins today.


For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
2 Corinthians 7:10 KJV
http://bible.com/1/2co.7.10.KJV


1 HEAR


14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?


17 So faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Romans 10:14;17 ESV


2 BELIEVE


24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in

your sins.

John 8:24 ESV


3 REPENT


The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent

Acts 17:30 ESV



4 CONFESS THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD



9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Romans 10:9-10 ESV




5 BE BAPTIZED


38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 2:38 ESV



16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.

Acts 22:16 ESV


6 REMAIN FAITHFUL


10 Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

 Revelation 2:10 ESV



11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

Revelation 3:11 ESV


Read the Bible for yourself. You'll see that these, indeed, are the steps to salvation.


Consider these sobering words in the Bible:


“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:21-23‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/mat.7.21-23.kjv


“And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

‭‭2 Thessalonians‬ ‭1:7-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/2th.1.7-9.kjv


Please, dear readers, obey the Gospel before it's everlasting too late.


For more information on obeying the Gospel, call your local church of Christ, the one true church.



What Must I Do To Be Saved?


Why Be Baptized?


1. It's a command


“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2:38‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/act.2.38.kjv


“And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭10:48‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/act.10.48.kjv


2. Imitates the example of Christ


“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/1pe.2.21.kjv


“John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:4-11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/mrk.1.4-11.kjv


“And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭3:15-22‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/luk.3.15-22.kjv


“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭3:1-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/mat.3.1-17.kjv


Jesus was baptized though He never sinned. Seeing as He submitted to baptism we should as well.


3. Puts one in Christ


“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/eph.1.3.kjv


“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3:26-27‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/gal.3.26-27.kjv


“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:3-4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/rom.6.3-4.kjv


4. Allows one entrance into the one true church, church of Christ


“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12:13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/1co.12.13.kjv


5 Baptism saves


Jesus' blood saves. But baptism is when we are saved. Through the act of baptism, one comes into contact with Christ's saving blood.


“The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/1pe.3.21.kjv


“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭22:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/act.22.16.kjv




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