SCRIPTURE
Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. Instead I preached to those in Damascus first, and to those in Jerusalem and in all the region of Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance. (Acts 26:19-20)
OBSERVATION
Paul is on trial before King Agrippa. He has just retold his conversion story and commission by Jesus to preach the good news to the Gentiles. This verse summarizes his message. "Repent and do works worthy of repentance."
Repent means to change your mind. Paul told the Gentiles they should change their mind about their life and the direction it was going. Once they changed their mind they would turn to God. He is the one who can save them.
If repent means a change of mind, repentance means a state of mind. There is the initial decision to change (repent) and the lifestyle that follows (repentance). How do we know if we've repented? Our lifestyle will back it up with works. John the Baptist called it fruit (Mt. 3:8). True repentance is more than lip service. Deciding to change and living the change are two different things. The decision moves from a change of mind to a change of lifestyle.
APPLICATION
There are a lot of things I want to change. I find it easy to repent, change my mind about something but a lot harder to live in the state of mind...repentance. I can know a lot in my head but getting it to impact my life is the true test of any decision. I can change my mind and decide salt is bad for me (repent). But it's not until I start eating without picking up the salt shaker (repentance) that my decision produces fruit (and lower blood pressure).
PRAYER
Lord, I don't just want to change my mind but I want to live with a new state of mind about my relationship with you. I want the fruit of repentance to be evident in my life. Amen.
