Peter Explains His Actions

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

February 23, 2021

Peter Explains His Actions

When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Acts 11:18

Read: Acts 11:1-18

Two things caught my attention in today’s reading. First, Peter models the importance of the witness of the church in helping us discern God’s will for our lives. Even though Jesus told his followers to go to Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, for the Jews this was thinking way outside the box, especially going to Samaria and to the Gentiles (the ends of the earth). Peter carefully replayed all the events leading him to Cornelius’ home, and emphasized the outpouring of the Holy Spirit following his message. The believers listening to Peter were able to follow the Hand of God throughout the Jewish history and to the ends of the earth.

Secondly, the believers in Jerusalem noted, “even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (v.18) It is repentance that leads to eternal life. We are living in an era where we are being called to accept everything and everybody just as they are. If we talk of change we are being accused of being judgmental. We don’t hear much about Jesus, “whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.” (v.42) I believe it is worth noting again the observations of Dietrich Bonhoeffer I shared when we were reading about Ananias and Sapphira.

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

My Takeaway: The core foundation of my faith is my affirmation that I am not my own. I belong to God. By creation and redemption, I belong to God. This truth calls me to repentance for all the ways I try to work out the meaning of my life apart from God. This truth calls me to seek to make the life in Christ my way of life.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.