Repent & be Baptized IS NOT the message for today's Body of Christ

[FlyingDove]

Jesus, the Baptist & the 12 preached the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The kingdom offer required NATIONAL repentance (Matt 3:2 & 4:17), receiving the King (J 1:11) & faith in His identity (Jn 8:24).

The kingdom could not be established without the NATION receiving the King, because the Davidic kingdom is a NATIONAL covenant (2 Sam 7, Ps 89, Isa 9, Jer 23, Eze 37).

A glimpse of God's promised coming Kingdom to Israel: 2 Sam 7:12–13, 1 Chron 17:10–14, Isa 9:6–7, 11:1–9, Dan 2:44, 7:13–14, Mic 4:1–5, Zec 14:1–21, Luke 1:32–33.

All the above OT verses are coming-kingdom promises God made to Israel's fathers (Rom 15:8). They are the necessary context for understanding Jesus' kingdom message (Matt 3:2).

This kingdom message was preached only to Israel ONLY, NEVER to Gentiles. It did not include/reveal the cross, the resurrection as a saving message, the Body of Christ, or justification by faith apart from the Law, because the kingdom message was tied to Israel's covenant promises & NATIONAL repentance.

Acts 2 exposes Israel's continued rejection: Peter says, ""you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified & slain"" (Acts 2:23). That is not national repentance. That is national guilt.

Acts 10 exposes God saving Gentiles WITHOUT Israel: No kingdom, No national repentance, No water baptism, No Law, No Israelite mediation, No ""kingdom at hand"" message.

God saves Gentiles by hearing (Acts 10:44), by faith (Acts 15:9) without repentance, water baptism or circumcision

Acts 2 shows Israel rejecting the King & Acts 10 shows God saving Gentiles without Israel-proving the kingdom message depended on the nation, while the grace message bypasses the nation entirely.

The 2 messages are not the same. The Kingdom message depends on Israel receiving her King. The Grace message bypasses Israel entirely & depends on faith alone placed in the Lord Jesus' sin atoning death & resurrection.

The gospel message today is Here:
1 Cor 15:
3 That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 That he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Rom 10:
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 

[Citizen]

Acts 11:17 Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

Acts 17:30 Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent...

Acts 20:20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 26:19 “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.

 

[FlyingDove]

God saved uncircumcised Gentiles-aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world (Eph 2"12). WITHOUT the kingdom offer, without ANY REPENTANCE, without water baptism, without the Law & without any ""kingdom at hand"" message.

Jesus who knows the heart of every person (Rev 2:23, Jn 2:24-25, Matt 15:18) Baptized them with His eternal life giving salvation sealing (Eph 1:13-14, 4:30, 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5) Holy Spirit as they HEARD (Acts 10:44) purifying them by faith alone (Acts 15:9).

If repentance were a required linchpin for Gentile salvation, Acts 10 would have show it, but it doesn't. So before people smuggles in verses out of context. The real question becomes: Where in Acts 10 did God require: circumcision, repentance, water baptism, or Israel's mediation before saving Cornelius? If those requirements are not in the text, then they are not part of the Gentile salvation pattern God Himself established.

 

[Citizen]

The bible says what it says regarding repentance, and it clearly refers to gentiles, as well. Don't know what else to tell you.

Have a blessed day!

 

[FlyingDove]

Repentance Re‑Examined: Universal Faith Response, Sanctifying Transformation, and Israel’s OBSOLETE Pre‑Acts 10 Covenant Call

Pre‑Salvation Repentance (Applicable to Everyone Today)
Repentance today is the universal call for all people to turn from unbelief to faith in the risen Christ, because the only sin that condemns the world is refusing to believe in Him (Jn 16:9) & God now commands ""all people everywhere to repent” from unbelief to BELIEF in Jesus redemptive sin atoning death & resurrection (Rom 10:9-10, 1 Cor 15:1-4).

Post‑Salvation Repentance (Sanctification, Not Justification)
For believers, repentance is the Spirit-led turning from fleshly patterns back to walking in the new identity already possessed in Christ, the ongoing renewal of mind & conduct that flows from salvation. Daily putting off of the old self & putting on of the new (Gal 5:16–25, Rom 12:1–2, 1 John 1:9).

Israel's Repentance message found in the Gospels (Old Covenant, Never applicable to Gentiles)
Repentance in the Gospels is covenant return for Israel. A national call for God's covenant people to turn from unfaithfulness & prepare for their Messiah (Matt 3:2, Matt 4:17, Luke 3:3–14) & Gentiles were not part of this message, were never included in Israel's covenant obligations & cannot be placed into this conversation because Gentiles were strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope & without God in the world: (Eph 2:12). Mosaic covenant became obsolete (Heb 8:13) & under today's New Covenant this form of repentance no longer applies.

The Bible says to be saved the only repentance required to be saved is: change you mind from unbelief/denying/rejecting Jesus as Lord savior. To believing He is Lord &Savior & trusting in His Finished sin atoning death & resurrection. (Rom 10:9-10)

Acts 10:44 proves it: While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

Cornelius didn't have to repent from anything because he already believed (10:2) & when he HEARD (10:38-43) Jesus who knows the heart of every person (Rev 2:23, Jn 2:24-25, Matt 15:18) baptized him with His Forever (Jn 14:16) salvation sealing (Eph 1:13-14, 4:30, 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5) eternal life giving Holy Spirit. That's what the bible says. You have a blessed day.