Some can't bring themselves to stop reading into verses things that are simply not there:
Acts 26:18
“To open their eyes,”
Unsaved Gentiles to whom Paul is being sent have their eyes closed to the truth of the gospel.
This doesn't mean that the truth of the gospel does not exist, it just means that they can't see it because their eyes are closed. They can't open their eyes to it, if they don't hear it, and they won't hear it unless it is preached to them.
“and to turn them from darkness to light,"
The gospel is the light. You can't see the light when your eyes are closed.
“and from the power of Satan unto God,”
This verse explains: 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Now, so far, all we've seen is a command that salvific information is to be shared with unsaved Gentiles who have never heard the gospel. The actual person who is supposed to “open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light, and turn them from the power of Satan unto God” - is Paul.
“that they may receive”
Paul is going to give them some “good news” to be received. Good news that is addressed to these unsaved Gentiles.
Where can we find an example of the good news being delivered and “received?”
Look no further than the shortest and most concise delivery and reception of the gospel that we can reference in scripture:
1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
Paul is the mailman with a letter from God, and he is going to deliver that mail to the proper address. The addressee is going to open that mail and either accept it (receive it) or throw it in the trash.
What is the letter about?
“forgiveness of sins, and inheritance”
I don't know how much plainer it can get. Paul is delivering NEWS to be received about what has already been DONE. Absolutely nowhere in Acts 26:18 does it say or imply that God is presently “granting” forgiveness upon the news being received.
Just because some choose not to differentiate between nouns (forgiveness) and verbs (forgiving) does not change the fact of what the verse is and is not saying.
The verse in no way implies:
a. that God forgives you when you believe that He does, or
b. that until you believe that you “can be” forgiven then God won't forgive you.
That is called "circular reasoning."
“among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
When someone believes the gospel and is saved, they will be added among the already sanctified by faith, when the lost person, through faith, receives the good news (like the Corinthians did.)
The verse says:
SANCTIFIED by faith.
it does not say:
FORGIVEN by faith.
Some read it like this:
“to be forgiven of sins by faith that is in me”
The "by faith that is in me" in Acts 26:18 is referring directly to the "them which are sanctified," ie. those who were already established as having an inheritance "by faith" in Christ. There is no punctuation between the words "sanctified" and "by."
The phrase all by itself reads like this AFTER the comma, "inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
To be clear, there is no possible way that "forgiveness of sins" is the object of the phrase "by faith that is in me." The object of "by faith that is in me" is "them which are sanctified" because they were sanctified by faith -not forgiven by faith.
We can know for certain who "them that are sanctified by faith that is in me" are. Very simply put- since this was an instruction that Paul (then Saul) received from Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, at that time, there was only one "group" who was sanctified (set apart) by faith in Christ: the Little Flock. Paul was the first member of the Body of Christ; the first one to be saved by grace through faith. The inheritance of the Body of Christ is not the same as Israel's inheritance. But our inheritance is "among them."
It's a pretty self-absorbed view, to take a verse that is talking about sharing the message of what God has already FINISHED doing, and turning into something that YOU can do, somehow “meriting” God redoing what He's already done.
He didn't forget to include your belief in the finished crosswork for validation.
God doesn't seek anyone's validation for anything.
So, instead of skipping whole phrases to create false implications, how about showing God's Words some respect?
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