Scripture – “First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.”
Acts 26:20 NIV
Observation – Paul said that he preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. In this verse Paul provides resolution to the tension between Ephesians 2:8-10, which states, ““For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” and James 2:18, “But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” Protestants believe that a person is saved by grace through faith, which is a gift from God, it cannot be earned, good works count for nothing in God’s plan for salvation. As Titus 3:5 states, “He saved us not because of righteous things we have done but because of his mercy”. Catholics believe that a person is saved by grace combined with good works. They will refer to James 2:18 as support for this position, that grace and good works are both necessary. It is not one or the other, but both.
Application – In Acts 26:20 Paul provides clarity on this debate. Both Protestants and Catholics believe that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. Both Protestants and Catholics believe that we should live a good life and the evidence of this good life should be witnessed by others and by God through the good deeds we do. Paul states that a person should demonstrate their repentance by their deeds, not earn their repentance and salvation by their deeds. This is a very important distinction and shouldn’t be resolved with a shrug accompanied by, “well we are basically saying the same thing”. All that matters is what the Bible says and the Bible is clear that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The good deeds we do are evidence that we are new creations in Christ, that the person we were before we were saved by Jesus is dead and a new person, that has been born again, is now living in that body, they are not the same, they look the same, they live in the same house and drive the same car, but they are new. Because we are new and we think differently we also act differently. Because we love God and God loves people we are called to love people, not with words or tongue but with actions. Our good deeds come from us now being in Christ, not as a way to get to Christ. Just as a bird flies and a fish swims, a follower of Jesus lives a life of good deeds. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus and you have no desire to help others and live a holy life something is wrong. You should examine yourself to determine why you are living a selfish life. If you are a believer you should repent. You may find out through this self-examination that you believe in Jesus but haven’t received him as your Lord and Savior. If this is the case, praise God you found out today. Repent of your sins, accept Jesus death as payment for your sins and give your life to him today. You will never regret it!
Prayer – Lord I pray that people who identity as your followers would read your word everyday so that they could know the truth and the truth would set them free. Amen.
What are you doing? Do it better 