“R” Bible Doctrines Acts 26:20 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

There are a number of Bible doctrines that start with the letter “R.”  Today, we’ll study these doctrines since some of them may be unfamiliar to you and since there may be some confusion about the others resulting from bad teaching.  These Bible doctrines are:

Repentance – Acts 26:20 – a change of mind that leads to a change of action.  There is no question that the Lord demands repentance. In 2 Peter 3: 9, we find that the Lord “is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” When Jesus described one of the purposes of his earthly ministry, he said, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” (Matthew 9:13). Jesus said, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,” (Luke 13:3). In describing what goes on in heaven when a soul gets saved, the Lord said, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth,” (Luke 15:10). When Paul described his evangelistic preaching, he said, “testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Acts 20:21).

So, repentance is clearly a change of mind. That change of mind results in an action.  In the New Testament, when Paul says, “…that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance,” (Acts 26: 20) he is not defining repentance as a work. He is showing you that if there is real repentance in the heart or mind, eventually, there will be evidence that the person has truly changed his mind because he will change what he is doing.

In order to be saved, then, a person must repent of his sin and self-righteousness, which is his repentance toward God, and trust Jesus Christ’s finished work on Calvary, which is his faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remission – the forgiveness of or pardon for sins.  Remission is why Jesus shed his blood on Calvary [Matt 26:28].  We are to preach both repentance and remission of sins [Lk 24:47].  Though baptism was required for the Jews in Acts 2:38 and will be required for Jews saved in the Tribulation [Mk 16:16-18] you can plainly see that it was not required for the Gentiles in Acts 10:43.  God forgives our sins on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus [Rom 3:25-26].  And once these sins are remitted there is no more offering for sins Heb 10:18 [i.e., there is no need for Catholic confession or the offering of the Eucharist].

Reconciliation – the making of friends out of enemies.  The Bible says, “be ye reconciled to God,” [2 Cor 5:18-20].  Because we were ungodly, sinners, and enemies before we were saved we needed to be reconciled [Rom 5:6, 8, 10].  See Col 1:21 where we were enemies but now we are reconciled to God.

Redemption – making sinners free by paying a ransom [1 Tim 2:4-6].  Redemption is the deliverance from sin and its penalties by the sacrifice of Jesus [Heb 10:10-14].  Redemption gives us justification now [Rom 3:24] because it delivers us from the penalty of sin.  Our redemption will be complete when Jesus returns and we receive our glorified bodies [Rom 8:23] in which we will forever be totally delivered from the presence of sin.  In the meantime we have the earnest of the Spirit [Eph 1:14].

Restitution – the giving back to the rightful owner of something that has been lost or taken away; restoration, Acts 3:21.  The devil is currently the god of this world.  Jesus, the rightful owner of the earth, is going to get full control of the earth when he returns.  And then nature will be restored, peace will be restored and Israel will be restored.  We will be joint heirs with him in this restored earth if we are willing to suffer with him now [Rom 8:16-18]