Today we're reading Acts 26. Agrippa said to Paul, you have permission to speak for yourself. Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews, especially since you are acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen to me patiently. Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem. They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion. And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers, the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to realize as they earnestly serve God day and night. It is because of this hopoking that I am accused by the Jews. Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead? So then, I too was convinced that I had to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests, I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I cast my vote against them. I frequently had them punished in the synagogues, and I tried to make them blaspheme. In my raging fury against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them. In this pursuit, I was on my way to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, O King, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. Who are you, Lord, I asked. I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, the Lord replied. But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, and that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in me. So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance. For this reason, the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. But I have had God's help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen, that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles. At this stage of Paul's defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, you are insane, Paul. Your great learning is driving you to madness. But Paul answered, I am not insane, most excellent Festus. I am speaking words of truth and sobriety. For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak freely to him. I am confident that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do. Then Agrippa said to Paul, can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian? Short time or long, Paul replied, I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am except for these chains. Then the king and the governor rose along with Bernice and those seated with them. On their way out, they said to one another, this man has done nothing worthy of death or imprisonment. And Agrippa said to Festus, this man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar. This is God's word. Our reading from chapter 25 ended last time just as Paul in prison in Caesarea was about to speak to Festus, a Roman governor, and Agrippa, a Jewish governor slash client king over the same area as Festus. Here in Acts 26, we read what Paul said to these men and how the men responded. In his speech, Paul followed the same pattern that we've seen before in his speeches. He simply recounted his personal testimony of salvation in Christ, that's verses 1 through 21, and then tied his experience to Old Testament prophecies, that's verses 22 and 23, and applied all this truth to his listeners in verses 25 through 29. After Paul's speech, Festus and Agrippa agreed that Paul was being held and charged unjustly. We saw that in verse 31, and that Paul could have been released, according to verse 32, had he not appealed to Caesar. Verse 18 of our text today contains one of the most concise descriptions of the Christian gospel and of our mission once we become Christians. It says, "...to open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me." Let's unpack this powerful verse. Remember that Jesus is the one speaking these words in verse 15. First, Paul was sent to open their eyes. That refers, of course, to spiritual vision. It's a way of describing one who understands the truthfulness of the gospel. This is a reference to the doctrine we call regeneration, the giving of spiritual life to the spiritually dead. It is the only way anyone ever becomes a Christian. Unbelievers may understand the facts of the gospel, but until God opens their eyes, they will not believe it. Becoming a Christian is, first and foremost, a spiritual act that God unilaterally does for the sinner he has chosen. Second, after a person has his or her eyes open, that person turns from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. This turning is the doctrine of repentance. Repentance isn't really being sorry for sin, although sorrow often accompanies repentance. Rather, repentance is a change of mind, not necessarily great sorrow. Once God opens a person's eyes, that person chooses to think differently about everything spiritual, God, himself, his sin, and so on. At that moment, the unbeliever is extracted from the power of Satan by God himself. That makes a person want to follow God and to begin following Him instead of living obediently to Satan's wicked ways. So next, the result, the so that in this verse of the spiritual transformation described in verse 18, is that they may receive the forgiveness of sins. This is the point at which the blood of Christ His sacrifice as our substitute is applied to the believer by God. God credits the person who believes the gospel message with the perfect obedience of Christ. And he treats us as if we were actually perfectly obedient ourselves, even though, of course, we aren't. Next, in addition to receiving the forgiveness of sins, Jesus gave the person described in this verse a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. The word sanctified means set apart. Once we receive all this spiritual work and transformation in salvation, then we have a place. That refers to our new state of belonging to God and waiting for his kingdom to arrive. So then how does a person become sanctified? Verse 18 says, by faith in me. Faith in God's word about salvation sets us apart for Christ. It sets us apart in the sense that we now belong to him and to his mission. That's where salvation happens. This is how a person becomes a Christian. It seems unlikely, but it is possible that someone listening to this devotional today isn't even a Christian yet. Do you believe that Jesus died for you? Have you received his free gift of eternal life? That is a vital question, one every person needs to consider. And so I hope if you're not a Christian, or if you're not sure you're a Christian, You'll look back at this verse and look at the elements that it describes and turn to Jesus Christ alone and ask him for the free gift of salvation which he provided for when he died on the cross for your sins. 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