"And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior]."
Acts 11:21
So in this part of Acts we're in the midst of discussions over who all gets salvation- is it for God's historically chosen people only or has that net widened outside the Jews? But we're not here to discuss that right now- mainly because the answer is obvious (or this non-Jew is cooked).
I wanted to talk about something I noticed in this single verse of Acts 11:21: "...a great number who believed turned to the Lord..." The way this sentence is structured is super interesting.- because it says a there's a group of people who believe and a great number of them turned to the Lord. So that means that while a great number of them turned, not all of them turned. For that matter, why does "who believed" have to be in the passage at all?
But don't miss that it is because it gives us this simple, yet necessary prescription to salvation that we get wrong a lot. (1) Believe (2) Turn.
Believing is fairly easy upfront. Even Satan believes. And frankly, isn't it easier to believe in someone that could protect and love us forever than the alternative of what, chaos? But often when we talk to people about Jesus the conversion, the believing, is the discussion. And it is a huge part. But the thing is, if people can believe and not be Christians, then the turning is equally important. And important to note that without the turn, you're likely not a Christian. And what is the turn? Turn from who you are and be like Jesus. Let him mold you. Study scripture and learn. Pray and listen. Turn.
And I don't know about you, perhaps you're a better follower than I am, but for me, the main believing happened at first but the reminder happens daily. And the turning happens all the time. And the good Lord who bled to take away my sin defeated death so that I might have a chance to believe and turn and for that to matter enough for me to spend eternity with Him instead of what I deserve.
Believe. Turn. Believe. Turn. Turn. Believe. And keep going.
