38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 ESV [one_half]In the Gospel according to Luke, In Chapter 13, while some men come to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He rebukes them by ordering them to repent twice. See v3 and v5.The gospel which is not distorted convicts the soul to repent. [/one_half][one_half_last][quote]The gospel requires repentance and faith and produces obedience.[/quote][/one_half_last] As Voddie explains further, This is also the message Paul proclaimed at Mars Hill: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
It’s absurd to expect obedience from men who are “dead in the trespasses and sin” (Eph. 2:1) -men who “are in the flesh” and who consequently “cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8). This is the heart of Paul’s argument in Galatians. There he makes it clear that we are “justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16). It is not our good works, our righteousness, our obedience that triggers the gospel’s effect in our lives; rather, the gospel calls simply for our repentance and our trust in Christ. This distinction must mark our understanding and proclamation of the gospel.
The gospel produces obedience
Nowhere is it clearer than in the epistle of 1 John.
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:4-6).
Make no mistake, to understand that these are not the works of men. Obedience is produced by God, not by us. It is the work of the spirit! “It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). All this is for his Glory, not to the Glory of the man so that we may not boast.
Salvation belongs to the LORD (Ps 3:8). A sinner, when encountered with Good news, responds with repentance, and faith and is justified by faith. A genuine believer lives his or her rest of their lives in obedience in view of God’s grace and mercy he displayed. This obedience is the fruit or the evidence of the work of the gospel in our lives. Those who love the Lord keep his commandments (John 14:15, 21).