Paul in Ephesus
When Peter preached to the humble Jews on the Day of Pentecost, they were "cut to the heart" and asked, "What shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). They were repentant. But when he preached to proud Jews they were "furious and plotted to kill them" (Acts 5:33). When Stephen told proud Jews that they had violated God's Law (see Acts 7:54), they were also "cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth." It seems the mere mention that they had transgressed the Law brought conviction of sin to their proud hearts.
The apostle Paul also caused "a great commotion" when he preached (see Acts 19:23). He wasn't generally a popular preacher based on how the crowds reacted to his words:
Acts 13:45: The crowd began "contradicting and blaspheming.”
Acts 13:50: Paul and Barnabas were persecuted and thrown out of the region.
Acts 14:5: The crowd plotted to stone them, forcing them to flee.
Acts 14:19: Paul was stoned and left for dead.
Acts 16:23: Both Paul and Silas were beaten with "many stripes" and thrown in prison.
Acts 18:6: Paul's hearers "opposed him and blasphemed."
Acts 19:28: His hearers were "full of wrath" and seized Pau's companions.
Acts 20:23: The Holy Spirit warned Paul that chains and tribulations awaited him wherever he preached the gospel.
Acts 22:22: His listeners called for his death.
Acts 23:1,2: As soon as Paul began to speak, he was smacked in the mouth.
Acts 23:10: After Paul spoke, there was "great dissension" in the crowd and he was nearly "pulled to pieces."
Acts 23:12,13: More than forty Jews conspired to murder him.
Acts 24:5: He is called a "plague," a "creator of dissension," and a "ringleader" of a "sect."
Why was there such an uproar about his message? Because of its uncompromising content. Listen to what his hearers said of its substance:
"Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands.” (Acts 19:26)
These people were idolaters, so it makes sense that he preached the heart of the First and Second Commandments, as he did in Athens. Some maintain that he simply preached the gospel, but saying that there are no gods made with human hands is more than a message of "Christ crucified." It is clear that Paul preached the fundamental nature of God's Law, in order to bring his hearers to the knowledge of sin and true repentance.
When Paul left the elders of Ephesus, he said that he was "testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Those who preach that repentance is merely a change of mind about God need to change their minds themselves about what God says on this issue. The Bible declares, "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity [lawlessness]" (2 Timothy 2:19).
If sinners are told to merely name the name of Christ (to change their mind about Him), and they therefore fail to depart from iniquity, they will end up in that great multitude who will cry out to Jesus on the Day of Judgment and hear the horrifying words, "Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Mat-thew 7:21-23). Those who refuse to depart from lawlessness will be commanded to depart from the Lord. We cannot serve both sin and the Savior. To "repent" means to confess and forsake sin:
He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)
Obviously, we are not saved by repentance. We are saved by grace, through faith in Christ alone, and repentance is the out-working of saving faith. While it is correct to say that New Testament repentance speaks of an inner change of attitude and heart, this results in a change of conduct. The root of grace produces the fruit of repentance.
God is deeply affronted by sin—the cross provides ample evidence of that fact. But because many within the Church today have disregarded the moral Law, they think lightly of sin and so they believe repentance is merely a change of mind about God. However, when sin is seen in the light of the Law (that it is "exceedingly sinful"), it can be understood why we must forsake that which is an offense to God.
Jonathan Edwards states,
The only way we can know whether we are sinning is by Knowing His moral Law.
Paul yearned to see true conversion among his listeners. He wanted them to experience genuine repentance, and to enable sinners to understand what they must repent of, he had to preach the Law. For Paul to do so would have been an outworking of his own teaching. He practiced what he preached.
