Acts 20:21

"testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ"Testifying": As Peter did (Acts 2:40). "Stressing" (Rieu). "I insisted on" (NEB). "Repentance toward God": See Acts 17:29. Notice that the gospel Paul preached included repentance,. Christianity that pats people on the head, tells them they are OK, even while they are in sin, or that one's personal life can be separated from their faith, is not the Christianity found in the N.T. "Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ": Faith must be expressed towards the proper object in order to please God. Faith in Mohammed or Buddha does not save and neither does faith in self (Romans 10:9). The fact that Luke puts repentance prior to faith in this verse has confused some people, but remember that Paul often spoke to. Jewish audience. Since Jews already believed in God, they needed to repent (admit their sins), which would put them in. better mind to have faith in Jesus Christ. McGarvey notes, "because, if they are brought to repentance toward God in whom they already believe, they are in. better frame of mind for hearing the gospel of Christ" (p. 187).