“Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’”
“‘God did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. … We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.’” (Acts 15:1, 9, 11)
The bulk of this chapter deals with a matter that should be near and dear to both believers and sinners alike. How can we be saved from sin and God’s inevitable judgment? And, if faith introduces us into God’s grace (i.e. God’s unearned and undeserved favor), how can we remain in God’s grace?
For several years Gentile believers in the city of Antioch were enjoying God’s blessings. They had been delivered from lives of immorality, drunkenness, and addiction. Through their faith in Jesus Christ they had been born again by the Spirit of God. God transformed their inner nature and now they hungered for God’s word and thirsted for His presence. Now they rejoiced in the hope of eternal life.
But then some Pharisees came from Judea. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah. But they didn’t that Jesus was adequate by Himself to save us. They preached that believers also had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses.
This teaching unsettled the faith of many believers. They had experienced so much joy from knowing God through Jesus Christ. Now they were being told that they weren’t saved at all – not until they converted to Judaism and kept the Law.
This teaching struck at the very heart of Christianity. Is Jesus Christ sufficient in Himself to save us? Or, must we add other things to Christ’s work of redemption? Should our faith be focused exclusively on Christ’s power to save us – as the Gentiles were doing, whose faith God had confirmed by giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit? Or should we also trust in our own religious deeds which we do in an effort to make ourselves righteous before God?
Peter’s answer was clear (Acts 15:8-11). God cleansed the Gentiles’ hearts by faith and proved it by giving them His Holy Spirit. We are saved – and kept – by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ – and by nothing else. From beginning to end, we are saved by grace, through faith in Jesus’ atonement and in His power (Ephesians 2:8-9).
REFLECTION
- Has anyone ever told you that it’s not enough to trust in Jesus?
- What chance do we have of becoming perfect in God’s sight (Matthew 5:48)?
- Trust in Christ alone. His blood cleanses us and His righteousness clothes us.
