GREAT GRACE
Acts 15:8-11 NKJ
8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”
This chapter is about the council at Jerusalem. The council was made up of Jewish believers and leaders in the early church. The issue under discussion was can the Gentiles be saved without being circumcised and keeping the law of Moses. It was a heated discussion, but Peter and James spoke and put the issue to rest. Our verses for today are part of Peter’s appeal.
Peter reminded the council that God chose him to be the first one to speak to the Gentiles. We looked at Peter’s interaction with Roman Cornelius in Acts chapter ten. Peter starts with the fact that God gave the Gentiles the Holy Spirit just as He did the 120 in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. And that God made no distinction between us, the Jews and Gentiles, purifying their hearts by faith.
The fact that Peter put both Jews and Gentile believers in the same category was big. The Jews had always enjoyed the distinction of being God’s chosen people. Now, Peter was saying that there was no longer a difference between Jew and Gentile to the one who put their faith in Jesus.
Peter challenged the Jews who were so set on keeping the law of Moses. He stated that no one was able to keep the law, so why would they try to saddle the Gentiles with a bunch of rules they couldn’t keep themselves? This seems normal to us today, but these declarations by Peter were a new concept to the Jews who had been strict adherents to the Mosaic law. No longer would keeping the law be the ticket to a closer walk with God—and verse eleven sums up Peter’s entire defense.
“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” And here it is. Salvation is not through being good or keeping a set of rules and regulations. Salvation is not only for people of Jewish heritage. Salvation from sin and death is through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is one of the main, if not the main, topics of the New Testament. Grace is God’s favor and power on our behalf. Grace is a gift and not based on works or the efforts of man to win God’s approval. Amazing grace does not even begin to cover what God has done for us. The gospel has been called the word of His grace and forms the foundation for what we preach.
After Peter spoke, the room calmed down, and the council listened as Paul and Barnabus told of what God had done through them to reach the Gentiles. James spoke last and showed from the Old Testament scriptures that reaching the Gentiles through grace was in God’s plan all along. And maybe the biggest miracle of all took place in verse 22 when it said that the apostles, elders, and the whole church were pleased to send letters to the Gentiles welcoming them into the family of God. The fact that the whole church agreed was a miracle indeed.
This council paved the way for the Gentile world to come to salvation by faith in the grace of God. Grace was the answer then, and salvation by grace is still the answer today.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for Your grace. By Your grace, I have been saved, and Your grace continues to work in my life today.