Verse 20
But I went about, first to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, and through all the country of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, preaching a change of heart, so that they, being turned to God, might give, in their works, the fruits of a changed heart.
Referenced Verses
- Matt 3:8 : 8 Let your change of heart be seen in your works:
- Acts 3:19 : 19 So then, let your hearts be changed and be turned to God, so that your sins may be completely taken away, and times of blessing may come from the Lord;
- Acts 2:38 : 38 And Peter said, Let your hearts be changed, every one of you, and have baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will have the Holy Spirit given to you.
- Matt 9:13 : 13 But go and take to heart the sense of these words, My desire is for mercy, not offerings: for I have come not to get the upright, but sinners.
- Acts 9:35 : 35 And all those living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and were turned to the Lord.
- Acts 11:18 : 18 And hearing these things they said nothing more, but gave glory to God, saying, Then to the Gentiles as to us has God given a change of heart, so that they may have life.
- Acts 11:26-30 : 26 And when he had come across him, he took him to Antioch. And they were with the church there for a year, teaching the people; and the disciples were first given the name of Christians in Antioch. 27 Now in those days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them, named Agabus, said publicly through the Spirit that there would be serious need of food all over the earth: which came about in the time of Claudius. 29 And the disciples, everyone as he was able, made a decision to send help to the brothers living in Judaea: 30 Which they did, sending it to the rulers of the church by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
- Acts 13:46-48 : 46 Then Paul and Barnabas without fear said, It was necessary for the word of God to be given to you first; but because you will have nothing to do with it, and have no desire for eternal life, it will now be offered to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has given us orders, saying, I have given you for a light to the Gentiles so that you may be for salvation to the ends of the earth. 48 And the Gentiles, hearing this, were glad and gave glory to the word of God: and those marked out by God for eternal life had faith.
- Acts 14:15-21 : 15 Good people, why are you doing these things? We are men with the same feelings as you, and we give you the good news so that you may be turned away from these foolish things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them: 16 Who in the past let all nations go in the ways which seemed good to them. 17 But he was not without witness, because he did good, and gave you rain from heaven and times of fruit, making your hearts full of food and joy. 18 And even with these words, it was hard for them to keep the people from making an offering to them. 19 But some Jews came to that place from Antioch and Iconium, and got control over the people; and after stoning Paul, they had him pulled out of the town, taking him for dead. 20 But when the disciples came round him, he got up and went into the town: and the day after he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 And having made a number of disciples through the preaching of the good news in that town, they went back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch,
- Acts 15:19 : 19 For this reason my decision is, that we do not put trouble in the way of those who from among the Gentiles are turned to God;
- Acts 17:30 : 30 Those times when men had no knowledge were overlooked by God; but now he gives orders to all men in every place to undergo a change of heart:
- Acts 20:21 : 21 Preaching to Jews and to Greeks the need for a turning of the heart to God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Acts 22:17-22 : 17 And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear, 18 And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me. 19 And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you: 20 And when Stephen your witness was put to death, I was there, giving approval, and looking after the clothing of those who put him to death. 21 And he said to me, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles. 22 And they gave him a hearing as far as this word; then with loud voices they said, Away with this man from the earth; it is not right for him to be living.
- Acts 26:17 : 17 And I will keep you safe from the people, and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you,
- Rom 2:4 : 4 Or is it nothing to you that God had pity on you, waiting and putting up with you for so long, not seeing that in his pity God's desire is to give you a change of heart?
- Rom 11:18-20 : 18 Do not be uplifted in pride over the branches: because it is not you who are the support of the root, but it is by the root that you are supported. 19 You will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be put in. 20 Truly, because they had no faith they were broken off, and you have your place by reason of your faith. Do not be lifted up in pride, but have fear;
- 2 Cor 3:16 : 16 But when it is turned to the Lord, the veil will be taken away.
- 2 Cor 7:10 : 10 For the sorrow which God gives is the cause of salvation through a change of heart, in which there is no reason for grief: but the sorrow of the world is a cause of death.
- Eph 4:17-5:25 : 17 This I say, then, and give witness in the Lord, that you are to go no longer in the way of the Gentiles whose minds are turned to that which has no profit, 18 Whose thoughts are dark, to whom the life of God is strange because they are without knowledge, and their hearts have been made hard; 19 Who having no more power of feeling, have given themselves up to evil passions, to do all unclean things with overmuch desire. 20 For this was not the teaching of Christ which was given to you; 21 If in fact you gave ear to him, and were given teaching in him, even as what is true is made clear in Jesus: 22 That you are to put away, in relation to your earlier way of life, the old man, which has become evil by love of deceit; 23 And be made new in the spirit of your mind, 24 And put on the new man, to which God has given life, in righteousness and a true and holy way of living. 25 And so, putting away false words, let everyone say what is true to his neighbour: for we are parts one of another. 26 Be angry without doing wrong; let not the sun go down on your wrath; 27 And do not give way to the Evil One. 28 Let him who was a thief be so no longer, but let him do good work with his hands, so that he may have something to give to him who is in need. 29 Let no evil talk come out of your mouth, but only what is good for giving necessary teaching, and for grace to those who give ear. 30 And do not give grief to the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were marked for the day of salvation. 31 Let all bitter, sharp and angry feeling, and noise, and evil words, be put away from you, with all unkind acts; 32 And be kind to one another, full of pity, having forgiveness for one another, even as God in Christ had forgiveness for you. 1 Let it then be your desire to be like God, as well-loved children; 2 And be living in love, even as Christ had love for you, and gave himself up for us, an offering to God for a perfume of a sweet smell. 3 But evil acts of the flesh and all unclean things, or desire for others' property, let it not even be named among you, as is right for saints; 4 And let there be no low behaviour, or foolish talk, or words said in sport, which are not right, but in place of them the giving of praise. 5 Being certain of this, that no man who gives way to the passions of the flesh, no unclean person, or one who has desire for the property of others, or who gives worship to images, has any heritage in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Do not be turned from the right way by foolish words; for because of these things the punishment of God comes on those who do not put themselves under him. 7 Have no part with such men; 8 For you at one time were dark, but now are light in the Lord: let your behaviour be that of children of light 9 (Because the fruit of the light is in all righteousness and in everything which is good and true), 10 Testing by experience what is well-pleasing to the Lord; 11 And have no company with the works of the dark, which give no fruit, but make their true quality clear; 12 For the things which are done by them in secret it is shame even to put into words. 13 But all things, when their true quality is seen, are made clear by the light: because everything which is made clear is light. 14 For this reason he says, Be awake, you who are sleeping, and come up from among the dead, and Christ will be your light. 15 Take care then how you are living, not as unwise, but as wise; 16 Making good use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 For this reason, then, do not be foolish, but be conscious of the Lord's pleasure. 18 And do not take overmuch wine by which one may be overcome, but be full of the Spirit; 19 Joining with one another in holy songs of praise and of the Spirit, using your voice in songs and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving praise at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father; 21 Letting yourselves be ruled by one another in the fear of Christ. 22 Wives, be under the authority of your husbands, as of the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body. 24 And as the church is under Christ's authority, so let wives be under the rule of their husbands in all things. 25 Husbands, have love for your wives, even as Christ had love for the church, and gave himself for it;
- Eph 6:1-9 : 1 Children, do what is ordered by your fathers and mothers in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Give honour to your father and mother (which is the first rule having a reward), 3 So that all may be well for you, and your life may be long on the earth. 4 And, you fathers, do not make your children angry: but give them training in the teaching and fear of the Lord. 5 Servants, do what is ordered by those who are your natural masters, having respect and fear for them, with all your heart, as to Christ; 6 Not only under your master's eye, as pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the pleasure of God from the heart; 7 Doing your work readily, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 In the knowledge that for every good thing anyone does, he will have his reward from the Lord, If he is a servant or if he is free. 9 And, you masters, do the same things to them, not making use of violent words: in the knowledge that their Master and yours is in heaven, and he has no respect for a man's position.
- 1 Thess 1:9 : 9 For they themselves give the news of how we came among you; and how you were turned from images to God, to the worship of a true and living God,
- 2 Tim 2:25-26 : 25 Gently guiding those who go against the teaching; if by chance God may give them a change of heart and true knowledge, 26 And so they may get themselves free from the net of the Evil One, being made the prisoners of the Lord's servant, for the purpose of God.
- Titus 2:2-9 : 2 That old men are to be simple in their tastes, serious, wise, true in faith, in love, and of a quiet mind. 3 That old women are to be self-respecting in behaviour, not saying evil of others, not given to taking much wine, teachers of that which is good, 4 Training the younger women to have love for their husbands and children, 5 To be wise in mind, clean in heart, kind; working in their houses, living under the authority of their husbands; so that no evil may be said of the word of God. 6 To the young men give orders to be wise and serious-minded: 7 In all things see that you are an example of good works; holy in your teaching, serious in behaviour, 8 Saying true and right words, against which no protest may be made, so that he who is not on our side may be put to shame, unable to say any evil of us. 9 Servants are to be under the authority of their masters, pleasing them in all things, without argument; 10 Not taking what is not theirs, but giving clear signs of their good faith, in all things doing credit to the teaching of God our Saviour. 11 For the grace of God has come, giving salvation to all men, 12 Training us so that, turning away from evil and the desires of this world, we may be living wisely and uprightly in the knowledge of God in this present life; 13 Looking for the glad hope, the revelation of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ;
- 1 Pet 1:14-16 : 14 Like children ruled by God, do not go back to the old desires of the time when you were without knowledge: 15 But be holy in every detail of your lives, as he, whose servants you are, is holy; 16 Because it has been said in the Writings, You are to be holy, for I am holy.
- 1 Pet 2:9-9 : 9 But you are a special people, a holy nation, priests and kings, a people given up completely to God, so that you may make clear the virtues of him who took you out of the dark into the light of heaven. 10 In the past you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; then there was no mercy for you, but now mercy has been given to you. 11 My loved ones, I make this request with all my heart, that, as those for whom this world is a strange country, you will keep yourselves from the desires of the flesh which make war against the soul; 12 Being of good behaviour among the Gentiles; so that though they say now that you are evil-doers, they may see your good works and give glory to God when he comes to be their judge.
- 1 Pet 4:2-5 : 2 So that you may give the rest of your lives in the flesh, not to the desires of men, but to the purpose of God. 3 Because for long enough, in times past, we have been living after the way of the Gentiles, given up to the desires of the flesh, to drinking and feasting and loose behaviour and unclean worship of images; 4 And they are wondering that you no longer go with them in this violent wasting of life, and are saying evil things of you: 5 But they will have to give an account of themselves to him who is ready to be the judge of the living and the dead.
- 2 Pet 1:5-8 : 5 So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue, 6 And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind, 7 And love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself. 8 For if you have these things in good measure, they will make you fertile and full of fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Rev 2:5 : 5 So keep in mind where you were at first, and be changed in heart and do the first works; or I will come to you, and will take away your light from its place, if your hearts are not changed.
- Rev 2:21 : 21 And I gave her time for a change of heart, but she has no mind to give up her unclean ways.
- Rev 3:3 : 3 Keep in mind, then, the teaching which was given to you, and be ruled by it and have a change of heart. If then you do not keep watch, I will come like a thief, and you will have no knowledge of the hour when I will come on you.
- Rev 16:11 : 11 And they said evil things against the God of heaven because of their pain and their wounds; and they were not turned from their evil works.
- Matt 21:30-32 : 30 And he came to the second and said the same. And he made answer and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Which of the two did his father's pleasure? They say, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, that tax-farmers and loose women are going into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you had no faith in him, but the tax-farmers and the loose women had faith in him: and you, when you saw it, did not even have regret for your sins, so as to have faith in him.
- Mark 6:12 : 12 And they went out, preaching the need for a change of heart in men.
- Luke 1:16 : 16 And through him great numbers of the children of Israel will be turned to the Lord their God.
- Luke 3:8-9 : 8 Make clear by your acts that your hearts have been changed; and do not say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father: for I say to you that God is able from these stones to make children of Abraham. 9 And even now the axe is put to the root of the trees; and every tree which does not have good fruit will be cut down and put into the fire. 10 And the people put questions to him, saying, What have we to do? 11 And he made answer and said to them, He who has two coats, let him give to him who has not even one; and he who has food, let him do the same. 12 Then tax-farmers came to him for baptism and said to him, Master, what have we to do? 13 And he said to them, Do not make an attempt to get more money than the right amount. 14 And men of the army put questions to him, saying, And what have we to do? And he said to them, Do no violent acts to any man, and do not take anything without right, and let your payment be enough for you.
- Luke 13:3 : 3 I say to you, It is not so: but if your hearts are not changed, you will all come to the same end.
- Luke 13:5 : 5 I say to you, It is not so: but if your hearts are not changed, you will all come to an end in the same way.
- Luke 15:7 : 7 I say to you that even so there will be more joy in heaven when one sinner is turned away from his wrongdoing, than for ninety-nine good men, who have no need of a change of heart.
- Luke 15:10 : 10 Even so, I say to you, There is joy among the angels of God, when one sinner is turned away from his wrongdoing.
- Luke 19:8-9 : 8 And Zacchaeus, waiting before him, said to the Lord, See, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone wrongly, I give him back four times as much. 9 And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, for even he is a son of Abraham.
- Luke 24:46-47 : 46 And he said to them, So it is in the Writings that the Christ would undergo death, and come back to life again on the third day; 47 And that teaching about a change of heart and forgiveness of sins is to be given to Jerusalem first and to all nations in his name.
- Ps 22:27 : 27 All the ends of the earth will keep it in mind and be turned to the Lord: all the families of the nations will give him worship.
- Isa 55:7 : 7 Let the sinner give up his way, and the evil-doer his purpose: and let him come back to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for there is full forgiveness with him.
- Jer 31:19-20 : 19 Truly, after I had been turned, I had regret for my ways; and after I had got knowledge, I made signs of sorrow: I was put to shame, truly, I was covered with shame, because I had to undergo the shame of my early years. 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he the child of my delight? for whenever I say things against him, I still keep him in my memory: so my heart is troubled for him; I will certainly have mercy on him, says the Lord.
- Lam 3:40 : 40 Let us make search and put our ways to the test, turning again to the Lord;
- Ezek 18:30-32 : 30 For this cause I will be your judge, O children of Israel, judging every man by his ways, says the Lord. Come back and be turned from all your sins; so that they may not be the cause of your falling into evil. 31 Put away all your evil-doing in which you have done sin; and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit: why are you desiring death, O children of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him on whom death comes, says the Lord: be turned back then, and have life.
- Hos 12:6 : 6 Even the Lord, the God of armies; the Lord is his name.
- Hos 14:2 : 2 O Israel, come back to the Lord your God; for your evil-doing has been the cause of your fall.
- Matt 3:2 : 2 Saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin; for the kingdom of heaven is near.
- Acts 9:15 : 15 But the Lord said, Go without fear: for he is a special vessel for me, to give to the Gentiles and kings and to the children of Israel the knowledge of my name:
- Acts 9:19-29 : 19 And when he had taken food his strength came back. And for some days he kept with the disciples who were in Damascus. 20 And straight away, in the Synagogues, he was preaching Jesus as the Son of God. 21 And all those hearing him were full of wonder and said, Is not this the man who in Jerusalem was attacking all the worshippers of this name? and he had come here so that he might take them as prisoners before the chief priests. 22 But Saul went on increasing in power, and the Jews in Damascus were not able to give answers to the arguments by which he made it clear that Jesus was the Christ. 23 Then, after some days, the Jews made an agreement together to put him to death: 24 But Saul got knowledge of their design. And they kept watch day and night on the roads out of the town, so that they might put him to death: 25 But his disciples took him by night and let him down from the wall in a basket. 26 And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear. 28 And he was with them, going in and out at Jerusalem, 29 Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death.
- Matt 4:17 : 17 From that time Jesus went about preaching and saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin, for the kingdom of heaven is near.