(Act) 26:16-18, 20 CJB “But get up, and stand on your feet! I have appeared to you to appoint you to serve and bear witness to what you have already seen of me, and to what you will see when I appear to you in the future. I will deliver you from the People and from the Goyim. I am sending you to open their eyes; so that they will turn from darkness to light, from the power of the Adversary to God, and thus receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who have been separated for holiness by putting their trust in me.’ On the contrary, I announced first in Dammesek, then in Yerushalayim and throughout Y’hudah, and also to the Goyim, that they should turn from their sins to God and then do deeds consistent with that repentance.”

Paul’s testimony in Acts 26 gives us a powerful picture of salvation and its purpose. Jesus didn’t simply reveal Himself to Paul so Paul could know that Jesus was real. Christ appointed him to serve, bear witness, and call others to deeds consistent with repentance.

That same pattern should characterize every Christian man’s life.

God reveals Himself to us so that we will reveal Him to others.

Jesus told Paul: “I have appeared to you to appoint you to serve and bear witness to what you have already seen of me.”

Paul had encountered the risen Jesus. Now he was being sent to tell others what he had seen and learned.

That’s Christianity.

We encounter Christ through the Gospel, receive forgiveness through faith in Him, and then become witnesses to others.

From Darkness to Light

Jesus described Paul’s mission in dramatic terms.

People needed their eyes opened so they could turn “from darkness to light, from the power of the Adversary to God.”

Scripture doesn’t describe humanity as spiritually neutral.

Apart from Christ, we are spiritually blind, dead in sin, and under condemnation. We don’t simply need better information or improved behavior.

We need rescue.

Only the Holy Spirit can open spiritually blind eyes. We cannot regenerate another person, forgive their sins, or bring them from death to life.

But God has chosen to use His people to proclaim the Gospel through which people hear about Christ.

Therefore, we speak.

We testify about what God has done through Jesus. We explain His death and resurrection. We call people to repent and trust Him.

God opens eyes.

We proclaim Christ.

Deeds Consistent With Repentance

Paul’s message didn’t end with intellectual belief.

He proclaimed that people should: “turn from their sins to God and then do deeds consistent with that repentance.”

That’s critically important.

Even the devil knows Jesus exists. James tells us that demons believe—and tremble.

Saving faith is more than agreeing with facts about Jesus.

Yet we must keep the order straight.

Our obedience doesn’t earn God’s forgiveness. Jesus did everything necessary to secure the salvation of His people. We receive that salvation by grace through faith.

Then genuine repentance produces a changed life.

We turn from sin.

We turn to God.

And increasingly, our lives produce deeds consistent with repentance.

Disobedience should decrease.

Obedience should increase.

Not perfectly. Not instantly. But increasingly.

A man who claims Jesus as Savior while remaining comfortable in deliberate, ongoing rebellion against Jesus as Lord has biblical reason to examine whether his profession of faith is genuine.

Grace doesn’t leave us where it found us.

Saved—and Sent

There’s another truth in Paul’s testimony we shouldn’t miss.

Jesus saved Paul and immediately gave him an assignment.

“I am sending you.”

Christians aren’t merely recipients of God’s saving work. We become participants in God’s mission.

We have been bought with a price. We belong to Christ.

Therefore, our purpose isn’t simply building careers, providing for families, accumulating possessions, or enjoying comfortable lives.

We are Christ’s witnesses.

God places us in homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, churches, and relationships where people desperately need Jesus.

We don’t save them.

But we know the One who can.

Run Today’s Play

Ask yourself two questions today:

What evidence of repentance can I see in my own life?

Where is sin decreasing and obedience increasing?

Then ask:

Who am I intentionally helping see Jesus?

Choose one area where you know God has commanded obedience and act on it today.

Then identify one person who needs Christ. Pray for God to open his eyes, and look for an opportunity to tell him what Jesus has done.

Men, Jesus didn’t save us merely to get us into heaven.

He turned us from darkness to light, changed the direction of our lives, and sent us back into the darkness to testify about the Light.