Faith without religion.
Restoration and Repentance: Understanding Acts Chapter 3
repentance, restoration, true Israel
In a recent podcast episode, Shawn and Delaney delve into Acts Chapter 3, exploring the nuances of Peter’s speech to the crowd following a miraculous healing. Peter addresses the crowd, acknowledging their ignorance in the role they played in Jesus’ suffering, which was a fulfillment of prophecy. The discussion raises intriguing questions about whether those involved in Jesus’ crucifixion were aware of their actions fulfilling prophecy. Shawn suggests that while some believers might have known, the majority, including many Jewish leaders, acted out of envy or ignorance.
The conversation shifts to the expectations of the Messiah, with many Jews anticipating a material king who would liberate them from earthly oppression. However, Jesus’ mission was spiritual, offering liberation from spiritual death and sin. This misunderstanding led to confusion and rejection of Jesus as the Messiah.
Peter’s call for repentance is examined, highlighting the difference between repentance for Jews, who had the law, and Gentiles, who were called to faith. The discussion emphasizes that repentance is about a change of mind rather than actions, aligning with the concept of grace. Shawn explains that true repentance involves a heartfelt change, even if actions don’t immediately follow.
The episode also touches on the idea of restoration and the times of refreshing mentioned by Peter, suggesting a spiritual restoration that was occurring then and continues now. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the true nature of Israel, emphasizing that true followers of God, regardless of lineage, are considered part of Israel.
Overall, the podcast offers a deep dive into the complexities of early Christian teachings and the ongoing relevance of these messages today.
Podcast Transcript:
hey continuing Acts chapter 3 continuing
and I don’t get the Bible
podcast all right so uh verse 17 is
about where we left off and Peter is
talking to the crowd
about um the healing that he just
performed and he tells them friends I
realize that what you and your leaders
did to Jesus was done ignorance but God
was fulfilling what all the prophets had
foretold about the Messiah that he was
suffering these
things
um I’m wondering it’s kind of in line
with what you just said how in the last
episode how he says this is the god of
Abraham Isaac and Jacob and they like
that was something new to them I’m
wondering
if Jesus if the people people that were
Killing Jesus understood that they were
like fulfilling a prophecy like they
because he’s saying it was foretold
about the Messiah that he would suffer
these exact things these people are
making this guy suffer these things did
do you think it was known I think that
those who believed on him knew it okay
and I think the masses who didn’t know
the scripture that way didn’t know it
and then I think a very small percentage
of the Jewish leader of the saned who
were the leading governing Council of
the nation at that time I think a
percentage of them knew it and did it on
purpose for Envy all right because
Matthew supports that okay so he said
he’s saying you know you guys did this
in
ignorance and that’s to these like
innocent ones who didn’t know the
scripture sort of thing okay so and then
just to clarify like the Jews thought
that the Messiah
like you said would be like a material
King yeah would bring a material
Kingdom I don’t know how to ask this but
like he wasn’t he was spiritual so it
could it be that the suffering was it
like one to one to one like the
suffering that he did was mater that he
encountered was material and they could
recognize it or was it also that Jesus
suffered in a different way than was
prophesied or do you know what I’m
trying to say yeah I think he fulfilled
the material side for the material
Nation fulfilling the law with his life
and then giving his life as the
sacrificial lamb um blood is a is a part
of being in this world and blood is
related to the function of our bodies to
shed it is to take the life okay so
that’s why they took the life of the
animals all the way his physical death
shed his physical blood was for that but
the spiritual Victory he had was the
most Monumental thing okay yeah so like
he came and he suffered materially
exactly how it was prophesied yeah he
also like healed and did like physical
Miracles that were prophesied in a
material way but the result of it wasn’t
what was where the mistake was and that
that wouldn’t be material yeah they they
assumed that his victory would be over
all material things and it would be a
material Messiah giving them
emancipation from other nations that put
them in bondage and that he would rule
with an iron fist on the Earth forever
more stamping out anybody who messed
with the Jews but his thing was if
you’re a Jew you’re one spiritually I’m
here to liberate you from spiritual
death sin the bondage of false doct all
of that right because and we know that
because people are still dying who
believe they’ve always we’ve always died
it’s part of this material world he took
care of the law but the spiritual
victory was the thing he really did okay
that makes sense yeah the spiritual King
Of Our Lives
yeah okay I hadn’t thought of it like
that like they really should have cuz
you think like he was just misunderstood
across the board and like he spoke
aphoristically and was just confusing
and people just didn’t pick up on it but
he was actually doing the things that
they were to look out for it just but
they found because he wasn’t bringing
the material Kingdom they had this
reason to be like who’s this guy like
you think he’s God isn’t he supposed to
be a king and and then there’s places
too where the the leaders say he’s going
to take the Kingdom from us yeah oh wow
and they were they were they didn’t want
to lose the their power
yeah okay so um Peter continues on and
tells them to repent of their sins so
that they’re wash away and that God will
bring Jesus to return okay read that
passes directly for me
okay give me a minute to find
it why can’t I
find
then Peter said unto
them so Verse 18 but this is how God
fulfilled what he had F foretold through
all the prophets saying the Messiah
would suffer verse 19 repent then and
turn to God so that your sins may be
wiped out and that times of refreshing
may come from the Lord okay and that he
may send the Messiah who has been
appointed for you even
Jesus okay should I keep going because
it keeps going yeah he keeps going but
stop right there okay okay on this
passage alone spoken by Peter a Jew two
Jews in the temple in that day
Christians who are not Jews ever since
have said you need to be baptized to
have your sins forgiven to repent to
repent and then be baptized right it
says repent and then turn to God
whoa got the wrong different verse but
what version is that well this is the
ni that’s the website my daughter has
her own
version go to the King James and read
that I don’t think this is the verse
you’re thinking okay but I do have
questions about it I think it is the
verse I’m
thinking repent ye therefore and be
converted that your sins be blotted out
that’s what it says in the King James
mhm okay all right I won you did she’s
the wiener today the big
wiener okay now
listen re Peter is saying to Jews and
that they repent what are they repenting
of
Delaney Killing Jesus okay that and what
else they had been
given the Commandments they had been
given the law nobody else on Earth had
been given those things so they were in
a place to repent what does repent mean
it means change your mind about what
you’ve thought change your mind about
who the Messiah is what his purpose was
repent change your mind and be converted
okay and then he goes on right yeah I
mean it’s the same it’s the same as
being baptized to me like for people to
be going around and saying repent right
now is Off the
Mark it’s off the mark that is
automatically Off the Mark
it’s the same as repent and be baptized
saying repent it’s not the same I hear
but I’m just saying in principle like
they shouldn’t be even be saying repent
repent right well in other passages that
are coming up he’ll say now repent and
be baptized for the remission of sin all
right he’ll say thats huh in Acts three
in Acts yeah I don’t know if it’s in
Acts 3 or 4 or wherever but he says that
to them and that’s the passage that
Christian Jews that they’ll come to
somebody and they’ll say Jesus did this
for you and they’ll say great okay
repent and be baptized I see for the
remission of sin so it sounds like
that’s how you get your sins removed
that’s what the Mormons do Catholics
everybody does that I see but what is it
trying to say there are
different
words that mean in order to or as a
result of yeah like baptize for the
remission is baptized because you have
believed and repented that makes sense
in the face of the fact that you have
believed and had Faith now be baptized
that’s what it means through the Greek
but people try to take it because it
reads in the English repent and be
baptized for the remission of sins they
take that for which is ice and they say
it means in order to get no it means as
a result of having that’s like weird
English cuz I didn’t assume that the
fact that you’re saying that now is
surprising me that people take it that
way oh yeah big time for the remission
of sin my gosh yeah for be baptized to
get the remission of sin is what they
think that’s what they think to get it
yeah but it’s be baptized because you
have the remission that’s right that’s
right and and it’s the word is ice if on
my Mormon Mission you it’s a Catholic
Town many Catholics I mean the first
question have you been baptized have
You’ been bapt and you’ll meet
Christians have you been baptized yeah
you know or they’ll say yeah I’m a
Christian I’ve been baptized yeah yeah
yeah they’ll say that and that’s why
Catholics will send priests to go to the
hospital when babies are born to baptize
them for fear that if they die they’ll
go to hell it’s a misinterpretation yeah
it is so insane isn’t it um yeah so th
this says repent ye therefore be
converted that your sins may be blotted
out yeah that’s interesting because it’s
the same format repent be converted that
your sins may be blotted out yeah yeah
but you and that’s the thing for the
Jews of that age they had to repent for
their sins to be blotted out they had to
change their mind yes from the law they
have to change their mind we Gentiles
didn’t have to Gentiles in that time did
not have to repent but Jews did no
Paul’s call to the Gentiles is have
faith and when you have the the faith
you will repent but to the Jews in that
time yeah well in Paul’s yeah Paul
people at the same time some people had
to repent some people didn’t yeah
because Paul will speak to Jews as
having to repent Peter speaks to Jews as
having to repent why if they had
something to repent for I see the
Gentile pagans we have nothing we’ve
never had the law we’ve never had
covenants God’s never been our God you
know so it’s always for Gentiles believe
have faith and when you do the spirit
comes and then your heart starts to
repent change that’s all it is it
doesn’t mean change your actions it
means change your mind about
things so wait I’m not done with this
yet okay so when a Believer a Christian
believer has had
Faith they’ve changed their mind okay
they know who God is they know who they
are and they want in their heart to have
a holy
life but they go out and they have sex
with their boyfriend
right the question isn’t you had sex
with their boyfriend the question is
what does your heart say and your heart
says well I changed my mind about it but
it was a weak moment you see if someone
says oh yeah it’s fine I’m good I you
then you know there’s a problem so it’s
the changing of the mind that matters to
the Christian not the changing of the
action so as long as you have in your
mind known what is good and bad in what
God expects of you and that that abides
over your life but you’ll have weak
moments of sin that’s irrelevant you’ve
changed your mind you’ve repented that’s
what metanoia means change of mind not
change of action Christians focus on the
change of action and so they’ll find out
that somebody slept with their
girlfriend or boyfriend or they got
drunk or something and they say you need
to repent they’ve already changed their
mind the Christian already knows I know
I shouldn’t get blasted I shouldn’t go
out I shouldn’t do this I know that it’s
just time got weak and that’s called
Grace you see the difference yeah yeah I
would I would think that a Christian a
levelheaded Christian’s response to that
would
be that a change of mind would
eventually turn to a change of action
you would hope that a Christian would be
mature enough to know that after enough
not changing your actions the Christian
would hear from the spirit that says you
got to do something about we don’t give
them time yeah we discipline them we we
hover over them we make sure they
believe the right and live the right way
it’s just not going back to the law so
the the correct response is to just
encourage them in the spirit yeah
continually absolutely okay so when
people come to me because I was once a
person to come to yeah and then confess
I said what’s your heart toward God
sometimes you would meet people go well
he’s okay with it it’s just the people
are I don’t think that’s the attitude
you want yeah but if your if your
attitude is man I I just keep messing up
in my flesh but I love him I want to
follow him and even Paul says this he
says what I do I don’t want to do and
what I don’t do I do that is how we need
to see people what do
you I have two questions
how about I know you’ve seen people who
have maybe have that in the moment they
feel sorrowful but like are belligerent
and continuing on for a decade and you
have been encouraging encouraging and
nothing’s changing is there a point
where you talk straight or what yeah
there would be a point I would talk
straight with him and say you know the
way you show that you know God is by
love and love is selfless and it’s not
self-indulgent and for 10 years all I’ve
seen you is being self-indulgent and I
never see any fruit of the spirit coming
from you so it makes me wonder about
your state you know and what I typically
find hand to God is that most of them
haven’t been in the word they won’t get
in the word they can’t stand getting
into it because reading it always
convicts them the conviction is not God
saying I got you it’s saying you’re
you’ve been LED astray a bit but they
don’t want to read that so they love
their sin more when you get into those
things it’s it’s God who’s going to
judge I just use longsuffering with him
and keep telling him the solution is
more of him less of you but never judge
him
yeah and then what about people who are
extremely proud of what they’ve been
doing like they aren’t aren’t repentant
or sorrowful oh well I mean again God is
their judge uhhuh because we aren’t in a
place to know all the nuances of their
makeup genetics anything now I know I
don’t like proud people and I know in my
heart I’d be going dude you got some
some things going on but bottom line God
will judge and we trust that our job is
to love them okay
yeah make sense it does make sense I
like
it
um give me a sec I lose my place
sometimes okay
well so people now really my question
was kind of what you said was that
people take that very seriously that he
says repent like we’re doing
that
currently and but he
says it the timeline of this statement
was confusing to me because it says
repent be
converted for when the time comes or
when the times of refesh refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord
and He Shall send Jesus Christ which
before was preached unto you it’s hard
for me to read the King James but there
was something where it was like the
times of refreshing needed to come for
Jesus to come back that’s what it felt
like he said yeah um and the times of
refreshing were people being were people
repenting and stuff is that right it
seems like that there could be a deeper
meaning to it but I can’t remember it
but that is a confus
passage yeah it’s very difficult because
it sounds like this has to happen before
the Messiah will be given but he’s
already told us the Messiah was put to
death so we know that application’s
off yeah to return though it talks about
his return that might be talking about
this his second Advent where he comes
back as promised so now we’re getting
the time of refreshing so that he can
come back I think that’s probably the
better interpretation yeah and then
Heaven Must receive him until until the
time comes for God to restore everything
as he promised long ago okay and restore
it to what the Garden of
Eden right which is where we are now
yeah which is spiritually
about like the definition of the Garden
of Eden the spiritual Garden of Eden
that we’re in is Choice yeah love and
choice and then that’s the restoration
he’s talking about back to where God is
reconciled this world but there isn’t
some like Adam maybe just to clarify the
Garden of Eden then was choice and they
made a choice that had a permanent
effect but that’s not the case anymore
no uh the choice they made was in the
material world uh and so that has a
perent effect yeah there’s death right
and there was also spiritual death there
was there’s material spiritual effects
of Adam’s fall okay the second Adam he
overcame all the effects of the fall but
it’s always played out in a kind of a
spiritual way Heavenly way like he
overcame death physical because we will
be given new bodies in the in the heaven
okay he overcame spiritual death by
giving us new spiritual life so it’s but
that’s where the world has been returned
to is that that restored back to that
place
prior to the uh fall where sin fell upon
us and our carnal minds and everything
we are all restored by Christ’s work to
now say you’re back in the garden what
do you want to do and there’s no
repercussions for those choices now
there’s just lack of Rewards or more
rewards which Your Glory which is kind
of a
repercussion it’s kind of a repercussion
but it’s not a punishment okay it sounds
like a punishment but it’s not how could
it be a punishment if you’re getting
what you’ve earned is the point
everybody is getting what you what you
uh SED to right so it would be unfair if
you live your life as a
Believer and someone else lives their
life as an unbeliever they do all sorts
of selfish things you do selfless things
and you die and you’re rewarded the same
that’s not a just God but if you store
up Treasures in heaven I know a lot of
people don’t like this concept but it’s
very biblical that’s what Jesus said
don’t put Treasures on Earth store up
Treasures in Heaven where moth and
thieves can’t B break in and steal it
and it will Rust store those up and
you’ll be rewarded based on what those
were but they will be tried is what the
scripture says by fire they will be
tried and what is left is what you get
not what is put on the altar so he says
if it’s hay wood or stubble that’s put
on the altar it’ll be consumed but if
it’s of precious metals and rock stone
it will last and you’ll be given a crown
for what was real so you can’t Fain The
Works is the point if you put up a bunch
of religious periphery stuff and it’s
not from the heart and real that’s the
authenticity we talk about God’s going
to put it on the thing T it and say oh
look what’s left a
nugget that’s awesome a mhm okay so be
authentic in your faith guys be
authentic
um okay so we are living in restoration
times they were we
are is that right it’s saying the times
of restoration were happening then it
would be completed when he returns and
it’s done everything’s restored that
yeah that’s that is what I meant we’re
living in fulfilled times fulfilled time
restored restored no because it was
being restored to them then that’s that
overlap it was being restored to them
buying through the apostles the bride
Jesus coming back in but it hadn’t
happened yet I know I just mean like
this is all dumb I meant that time it
was being restored it was restored we
are in restored time s post restoring
okay yes
fine I just want to make sure I have
only my
children okay so verse
23 um anyone who does not listen to him
will be completely cut off from their
people that scared me yeah I mean it’s
radical what they threw down people are
reading it today still think it’s in
play no but it’s radical what they threw
down on them you’ve had the law he’s
been your God you’ve killed his son so
you’ve got one shot here believe on what
he did we’re Witnesses he rose from the
grave will you change now will you
repent now if they didn’t they were
going to get their heads handed to them
by the Roman
armies um should we finish this chapter
CU we’re at 23 minutes sure 23 we’ve got
lot loads of time um I thought we were
doing 20 minutes people have complained
that they want more of
us just kidding okay so he’s it kind of
contradicts this ending though where he
says
indeed beginning with Samuel all the
prophets who have spoken have foretold
these days You’re Heirs of the prophet
and the Covenant of God who made you
fathers um he said to Abraham through
your Offspring all people on Earth will
be blessed when God raised up his
servants he sent him first to you to
bless by turning each of you Fe your
Wicked Ways that’s not what I meant to
say um sorry my question to that part
isn’t isn’t Abraham the father of all
Jews but Peter’s talking to
Gentiles yeah and and this is an
important thing to
understand there are Jews uhuh and
they’re the nation of Israel right uhuh
Abraham Isaac Jacob Jacob was renamed
Israel he had 12 sons okay but not
everybody who’s a Jew is a Jew is what
Paul says not everybody who’s from that
line is from that is of
god and so the people who are true
Israel true Israel are not those who
have been circumcised and have the
bloodline true Israel are those who
follow God W and love him that’s true
Israel and you’re adopted in that’s what
that’s talking about I see okay okay you
called I am
turn the heat back on all right uh yeah
that’s good for chapter three bye guys
on to chapter four bye
