Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks
repentance toward God and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (20:21).
In this segment of our study, we are considering Paul’s example as an able and faithful preacher of the Scriptures. In the last chapter we looked at Paul’s claim concerning the scope of his preaching, as described in the words: “I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable” (20:20), “I shrank not from declaring unto you the whole counsel of God” (20:27). In this chapter, we come to . . .
The Foci and Recurring Themes of Paul’s Preaching
At verse 21, Paul speaks of his “testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” In these words, he identifies a primary focus and recurring emphasis in his preaching, i.e., the companion themes of repentance and faith.
The basis of gospel preaching lies in the great facts that God has revealed concerning our condemnation in sin and salvation by grace. The basis of condemnation is that we are sinners, transgressors of God’s law, under its just condemnation, and deserving of eternal damnation. On this point the Scriptures are emphatic, as we see, for example, in Rom. 3:9-20, where we learn that there is “none righteous,” that all are “under sin” and “under the law,” and that “all the world is guilty before God.” And the conclusion which the Apostle derives from this circumstance is that therefore “by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight.” Viewed simply as sinners, we could not be in a worse situation. And yet, in the gospel we freely are offered salvation from our sins, beginning with a justification of our persons, so that we are regarded as perfectly righteous in God’s sight. The basis of this free offer, of course, is the person and work of Jesus Christ, whom God sets forth as the Savior of sinners. His death atones for our sins (which were put to his account) and his perfect righteousness (put to our account) is the righteousness for which sake we are justified. These facts (concerning the basis of condemnation and the basis of salvation) are the foundation of what Paul calls “the gospel of the grace of God” (20:24). Without these foundational realities, the gospel makes no sense. On the one hand, if there is no condemnation due to our sins, we do not need a Savior. On the other hand, if there is no Savior, there is no “good news.”
As Paul here describes the gospel focus of his preaching, he assumes the factual basis of his message. The doctrine of “repentance towards God” presupposes that we already understand that the repentance in view has reference to the sins for which we are condemned by God’s law. The doctrine of “faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” likewise presupposes that the faith in view is in the person and work of Christ. Now, while the twofold factual basis of the gospel was preached as part of the apostolic message, here Paul assumes that this is understood, and so he directs our attention to the means through which we may be saved from our sins’ condemnation (i.e., through our repentance and faith). Paul thus says that he “testified both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (20:21). Again, these words express the essence of two great complimentary exhortations contained in true gospel preaching. Assuming that the great facts of condemnation for sin and salvation in Christ have been laid out, what does the gospel preacher exhort men to do? If he is a preacher after the apostolic model, he exhorts men to repent of their sins and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the heart of what is profitable for men’s souls (20:20). Had Paul excluded these themes, or distorted them in such a way that they were not preached with proper balance, he would not have been “pure from the blood” of his hearers (20:26).
Paul here says that he “testified,” i.e., according to the meaning of the word diamartu,romai, he declared these things solemnly, earnestly, and emphatically. He did not preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the flippant way that characterizes so much current preaching. He preached earnestly and solemnly, as is befitting a message that concerns eternal life and death. Moreover, he did not offer his hearers suggestions or advice about how to be right with God, but emphatically told them that God commanded all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) and that they must believe on the Lord Jesus if they would be saved (Acts 16:30-31).
Some years ago, Pastor Albert N. Martin preached a wonderful message on our text (Acts 20:21) as part of a series entitled Simple Signposts to the Celestial City. I want to borrow the image that my friend used on that occasion, that of a signpost that points the way to heaven. On this signpost are two arrows.
The first arrow points to God and on it is written: “Repentance toward God.” Assumed by the message on this arrow is that sinners are going in the wrong direction, i.e., that living in sin, living in violation of God’s law, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, walking contrary to the revealed will of God in conscience and in Scripture, does not lead to heaven but to hell. But the signpost reads,
If you wish to go to the celestial city, Repent!
Turn around in the road and go the other way!
In other words, sinners must make a 180 degree reversal, turning away from serving idols to serving the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9).
The Shorter Catechism (Q. 87) defines repentance this way: “Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.” By this definition, true repentance is made up of several things. First, it is marked by a biblically accurate sense of our sin, i.e., of its nature and source and its magnitude and consequences. If this is missing, there can be no real repentance. Regarding our sin lightly, as though its evil is not great, tracing it only to our circumstances but not to our hearts and our native depravity, treating it as an annoyance but not as a deadly pestilence–this is not real repentance. True repentance comes only from a (biblically informed) regard for what our sin really is. Further, it is marked by an understanding of the mercy of God in Christ, i.e., of his willingness to save us for Christ’s sake. This perceiving of God’s mercy in his Son, as with our understanding of our sin, may be elementary, but it will be present in a significant degree wherever true repentance is found. Without it there is no hope for us in turning from our sins, i.e., we will perceive no divine mercy such as will result in our forgiveness, cleansing, and future departure from sin. And, of course, true repentance is marked by an actual turning from our sins and a following after holiness. If conversion has brought with it no change in our conduct, it is a conversion without repentance, which is to say that it is no conversion at all.
Mark reports that when Jesus came into Galilee, “preaching the gospel of God,” he said, “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (1:15). He commanded his disciples that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations” (Luke 24:47). In obedience to Christ’s command, Peter exhorted the Jews, “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19) and Paul told the Greeks that “God commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent” (Acts 17:30). The preaching of the necessity of repentance was an integral part of true gospel preaching.
The Signpost to the Celestial City reads:
Repentance toward God!
Ignore this arrow and you cannot be saved.
This must be a focus and recurring theme in our gospel preaching. Without it, our preaching is not apostolic in its character and little by way of God’s blessing may be expected. In recent times much has been said against preaching repentance as part of the gospel–supposedly from a concern to guard against substituting an alleged “lordship salvation” for the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. But Christ and the apostles did not believe that preaching repentance was an invitation for us to save ourselves by a kind of negative legalism (i.e., not by producing good works but by abandoning our bad works). As the texts cited above show, preaching repentance is part of preaching the gospel. Shall we omit it? Then we will not be preaching like Christ and Peter and Paul.
There is also another arrow on the signpost. It points to Christ! And on it is written: “Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” The message on this arrow also assumes that unbelievers are going in the wrong direction, i.e., in this case that they are trusting in themselves that they are righteous, or trusting in their heritage or privileges–saying (in whatever form is customary in their tradition), “we have Abraham for our father.” But the signpost reads,
If you wish to go to the celestial city,
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Turn around in the road and go the other way!
In other words, unbelievers must make a 180 degree reversal, turning away from their faith and confidence in their own righteousness, etc., to faith and confidence in Christ alone. Again, as with repentance, so the Shorter Catechism (Q. 86) gives us an excellent definition of faith in Christ: “Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel.” This definition may be confirmed by a great many texts. For example, Jesus preached that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). John the Baptist said, “He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). Paul preached, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (16:31).
The Signpost to the Celestial City reads:
Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ!
Ignore this arrow and you cannot be saved.
This was the message that Paul preached “both to Jews and to Greeks.” It was as applicable in a Gentile market as it was in a Jewish synagogue. It had as much relevance for a Roman centurion as for a Jewish rabbi. And it has as much relevance today as it did two thousand years ago. Notwithstanding all the differences between people (variations of nationality, culture, class, gender, age, education, religious tradition), this signpost points with equal relevance to all who pass by. From the fornicator to the philanthropist, all stand on equal ground. Whoever you are, this signpost, placed in the way by God himself, says,
If you wish to go to the Celestial City,
Repent of your sins!
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!
Turn around in the road and go the other way!
If you do turn around and go the other way, it is not, of course, so that you can rest in your faith and repentance as if these were your hope. Christ is the Christian’s hope. The Savior is your salvation. He suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. And yet, his word says to you . . .
Repent of your Sins and Believe on God’s Son!
Turn around and go the other way!
This was a vital, recurring theme in Paul’s preaching–a central part of “the whole counsel of God” by which sinners are profited. Any preacher who does not imitate Paul in this has diverged from the apostolic gospel and is greatly in error. The churches need men who can say with Paul, “Ye yourselves know, from the first day . . . after what manner I was with you all the time, . . . testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Dear pastoral brethren, are you preaching a whole gospel, including repentance? For a variety of reasons, it seems that many men are not. And yet, as John MacArthur has rightly observed,
No evangelism that omits the message of repentance can properly be called the gospel, for sinners cannot come to Jesus Christ apart from a radical change of heart, mind, and will. . . . There are many today who hear the truth of Christ and immediately respond like the son who said he would obey but did not. Their positive response to Jesus will not save them. The fruit of their lives shows that they have never truly repented. But there are some who turn their backs on sin, unbelief and disobedience, and embrace Christ with a faith that obeys. Theirs is true repentance, manifested by the righteousness it produces. They are the truly righteous (1 Peter 4:18). And that is the ultimate aim of the gospel according to Jesus.
This article is an excerpt from a lecture on Paul by Dr. Robert Martin. It was part of a series of lectures delivered this year in a Pastor’s Conference hosted by Iglesia Bautista de North Bergen in New Jersey. We are looking forward to the publication of Dr. Martin’s commentary on the book of Acts, which will include these lectures.
© 2013, All rights reserved.