Answer: Paul preached to Jews and Gentiles "that
they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by
their deeds," (verse 20).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Jeremiah 18:11: "Now therefore say
to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, 'This
is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and
devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one
of you, and reform your ways and your
actions.'"
Jeremiah 35:15: [God said,] "Again
and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said,
'Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your
actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live
in the land I have given to you and your fathers.' But you
have not paid attention or listened to Me."
Matthew 3:8: "Produce fruit in
keeping with repentance."
Acts 3:19: "Repent, then, and turn
to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of
refreshing may come from the Lord..."
From
The Acts of The Apostles From Jerusalem to Rome by Wayne
Jackson:
The thrust of Paul's preaching was that men should
"repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of
repentance." Again we must emphasize that, in this
context, repentance is distinguished formally from the act of
"turning" to God. One actually turns to the Lord
at the point of baptism in the conversion process....Moreover,
the penitent life is characterized by "doing" (present
tense) "works," i.e., a changed-life mode of conduct
that is reflected in zealously pursuing the Will of God.
There is a sphere of activity that is "worthy" of
repentance. The action is to correspond to the
penitence (Thayer, 52). The notion that one can
"repent," and yet continue his wrongful conduct, is
absolutely false.
