Acts 3:19-20

PETER’S APPEAL TO THE JEWS

‘Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sius may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send Jesus Christ.’

Acts 3:19

There is a mis-translation in this passage. It is in one word, and that a monosyllable; and the error, to all appearance, seems absolutely insignificant. But insignificant as it seems, it is really grave enough to change the whole meaning of the speaker, and to deprive us of a very important piece of instruction which it gives us concerning the will and purposes of God. The word is the word ‘when’; it ought to be, ‘in order that.’ ‘Repent ye, and be converted, in order that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.’

I. Let us notice, then, as our first point, that the Lord Himself is encouraging us to expect a very different state of things—a far brighter and happier state of things—than that in which we find ourselves at present placed. There has been, ever since the world began, a long chain of prophets—men Divinely empowered to declare the Divine will; and these men with one unanimous voice, from the very first day until the time when all prophetic utterance died away in silence, have spoken of what is coming. But for this expectation, which they have helped to create and keep alive, it would, perhaps, have been impossible for the people of God to retain heart and hope in the face of the powerful and continuous opposition with which they have had to contend.

II. In the second place, it is part of real religion to be dissatisfied with the present state of things, and to aim at making it better. Of course on such a subject as this, there is division amongst those who profess and call themselves Christians. There are some, for instance, who do not care. With others it is different. They cannot rest when within sight and hearing of the disorganised condition of the human race without making some earnest attempt to remove, or at least to mitigate, the mischief. Which of the two classes most resemble our Lord Jesus Christ?

III. Next in order comes the question: How shall we each of us play our part in this great contest between good and evil?—What are we to do? There are various ways: this opens to some, that opens to others. Perhaps we might classify them as indirect and direct methods of doing good. But when all is done we yet need those who are prepared to grapple with the very centre and core of the difficulty, by bringing into it the personal Christ, and the Gospel of the grace of God.

—Rev. Prebendary Gordon Calthrop.

Illustration

‘All the mischief, and sin, and sorrow from which the world suffers, may be traced to one single cause, which we may venture, I think, to term “moral dislocation.” The world is like a machine, which somehow or other has broken loose from the central controlling and guiding principle, and is gone awry. The parts are all there—the wheels, the pistons, the cranks, the bands, the pulleys; but they are in antagonism with each other, instead of working harmoniously together, and the result is confusion and disaster. Or to drop the metaphor: the source of our trouble is the collision of the human will with the Divine will.’