Acts 26:18

16. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen of me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17. Delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you.

18. To open their eyes, (Faith) so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, (Repentance) that they may receive forgiveness of sins (Forgiven) and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Faith or Conviction ”lived out” produces Fruit, which is Character) see - James 2:14-26 along with Galatians 5:16-25

If ever there was a "Formula" to salvation in scripture, if you can even say that there is such a thing as a "Formula" at all, it would be found in Acts 26:18.

Every day the question is asked “What must I do to be saved?” And out of the Christian community comes an answer that is usually “believe in Jesus” or “have faith in Jesus” or “Just repeat after me this prayer”. In short, they are in a sense correct, yet self-standing they are… well… incomplete. (Aside from the last one - for I have yet to find that method left for us as an example in all of scripture). So to take a topic such as “Faith”, have it stand alone and not talk about “being set apart” or likewise, to teach “Forgiveness through Faith” and not address “Godly Repentance” a picture is created that falls short... Very short, if not even an inaccurate representation of the true Gospel message!

The Bible is the inspired word of God, and we should all take note to its entire context as though God Himself was speaking to us face to face. But here... in this verse... Paul is testifying to what the Lord Himself has told him outright. More importantly, how Jews and Gentiles alike would come to a saving knowledge of Him.

The verse in Acts 26:18 (I believe) is showing us how all these elements are to come together in working order. In essence, it’s a roadmap as to what MUST take place in each one of our lives in order to be truly saved.

To be saved, we MUST:

• -Believe, or have Faith in Jesus and His work that was done on the cross, understand it, and pour over it.

• -In light of that Faith we Must see our depravity apart from God, our need for Him, and Repent or turn away from our sins and our old life, this is the correct response to true belief.

• -In order to receive Forgiveness, We Must have Jesus so working Faith in our lives that we are led to repentance, hating the very way of life from which we came out from.

Side note: (Faith in Jesus that leads to Repentance is the doorway to Forgiveness. Not just a confession of Faith alone, we must never forget this! Rarely do I ever hear this being preached in the modern mainstream church today).

• -Lastly, In order to have the fruit of our salvation appearing in our lives, sanctifying and assuring us of our place in Heaven, WE Must have first come to the place where biblical Faith, Repentance and Forgiveness have not only been birthed in our lives, but is growing (At times stumbling, at times falling down, but over all growing) and still remains today!

You see, we cannot have the one without the others. There is NO forgiveness without repentance. In the same way, there is no place reserved in Heaven for those who are living a sanctified lifestyle without the root cause of their conviction coming from faith in Jesus... All are necessary components to present a true and full Biblical Gospel.


And yet there is so much more to be said, about the doctrines of Grace, the Godhead, Regeneration, Beatitudes, Baptisms, order in the church, Love for the brethren, ex. but every one of them fits perfectly into one of these four sections of this foundational verse. It could be one of the most over-looked verses in our Bible, yet it is the center to which each one of these teachings from the Bible will gravitate and must fit into!

-Chad