What We Should Do

 Acts 26:20 (NIV) – "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds."

There are several sentences in the Bible that tell us what it means and takes to become a Christian. John 3:16 is the most quoted of these: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (KJV)

Romans 10:9-10 is another succinct passage describing our part in the salvation Jesus brings. Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8 and 6:23 are also important, and John 1:12 says, “To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (ESV)

Acts 26:20 is not often included in lists of verses we memorize, but it is the apostle Paul’s summary statement of the objective of his ministry. He was speaking to the highest-ranking audience he ever had with both the Roman Governor Porcius Festus and King Herod Agrippa. He had a chance to explain why he had sacrificed everything to follow Jesus and answer the call to take message of Christ’s hope throughout the known world.

Paul had a rare opportunity and limited time. He had to make every word count. Verse 20 is the succinct culmination of what he asked people to do to follow Jesus in three steps that are still essential steps in experiencing the life change and eternal life Jesus can bring today: 

Repent – This is not a popular word in our culture, but it is still the first step in becoming a Christian. It means a mind, heart, and attitude change. It is a recognition that many of the things I have done and wanted to do are not good. This sin has infected each of us and cuts us off from God. (Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23) Instead of seeking my own selfish and evil desires, when I repent, I admit I need help and can’t do it on my own. That leads to the second step Paul proclaimed.

Turn to God – No other person, program, or medication can set us free from sin. Jesus Christ came to earth as fully God and fully human. His death on the cross and Resurrection from the dead set us when we believe in him. (Romans 5:8 and 6:23) Those two first steps – repenting and turning to God – enable us to receive eternal life and a restored relationship with God (John 3:16), but the process is not over.

Demonstrate Repentance by Action – Following Jesus is a lifelong journey. If we truly repent, we will hate evil things we have done in the past. We will want to live differently. What we could not do one our own, we can when we turn to God as his Holy Spirit works in us to form us into the people he wants us to be. Being a Christian starts with a decision of faith, but that is not all it involves. Our actions should show we are changed people.

Where are you on the journey? If you have not yet come to place of taking each of these steps, I encourage you to do so today. Say to God, “Lord, I know I have done wrong. I repent. I turn to you and ask your forgiveness. I believe in Jesus Christ and that his death paid for my sin. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me to live your way in all I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” When you pray a prayer like this, you will begin the life God has that billions of Christians have experienced since the apostle Paul first said these words.

Vision vs Opportunism

Acts 25:11 (ESV) – ”If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

 

For several decades, writers on leadership – both Christian and secular – have attributed vision-casting as one of the key skills of great leaders. These leaders envision a great future for the organizations they lead, share them with the people of those organizations in a clear and compelling way, then lead the now motivated people and the whole organizations forward to make vision a reality. As wonderful as this picture is, reality is usually a whole lot messier.

 

This idea of vision assumes all necessary components and resources to bring that vision to reality are available to the leader. Yet, that is almost never the case. So many people and circumstances are out of control. Some leaders have shifted away from a priority of vision-casting to opportunism: seeking to recognize and take advantage of opportunities when they appear. An extreme version of this opportunism can dismiss planning of any type as futile. Surfers cannot create they waves they love. Yet, even the surfer waiting for the opportunity of a big wave has to plan enough to be on the beach with surfboard in hand to catch that wave when it comes.

 

How Paul wound up in Rome is an interesting example of a combination of vision and opportunism. As we saw in an earlier PowerWords, Acts 23:11 describes Jesus appearing to Paul and giving him a clear vision of testifying for him in Rome. Notice that the vision Jesus gave did not include a plan on how to get to Rome or a timeline of when it would happen. Jesus also did not tell Paul to figure it out for himself. For two years (Acts 24:27) nothing seemed to happen that was making that vision any more real or bringing it any closer as Paul withered away in the Caesarean prison.

 

Then, a change of governors meant that Paul had a chance to speak to those in power and share his story. He knew, as Roman citizen, he had a right to appeal to Caesar. He knew that, as a provincial governor, Porcius Festus had the authority to grant the appeal. Luke does not tell us if Paul had been strategically planning to use this as the way to make the God-given vision a reality or if Paul spontaneously reacted to a way to avoid the risk of death at the hands of the Jews as they plotted to kill him on the way to Jerusalem (Acts 25:3 & 9). Either way, both the circumstances and the ultimate journey to Rome were out of Paul’s control. Yet, he had one thing he could do at that moment in time, and he took advantage of that opportunity. He appealed to Caesar, and he got to Rome. The vision became a reality.

 

So many things we enjoy in life today came because someone had a vision, developed a plan, and led others to make that vision happen. Yet, much of what each of us deals with is beyond our control. We cannot control everything, but we can control some things. It is important to have our plans ready, but do not miss the unexpected opportunities when they come.