28th June
““We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.””
Acts 15:11
As Paul and Barnabas faithfully traveled around, preaching the word of God wherever they went, they encountered a troublesome theological issue. Some of the Jewish believers thought that the Gentiles (non-Jews), needed to be circumcised, in order to be truly saved, as written in the Jewish Law. Even though Paul and Barnabas disagreed, it was decided that they would go back to Jerusalem to discuss this issue with the other Apostles and disciples.
Peter, the one to whom Jesus chose to reveal His heart, for not just the Jews but for all men, stood up among his brothers and boldly reminded them that God had saved Gentiles too and had even given them the gift of the Holy Spirit. He then said, that all men, are saved, not through their outward works, but through ‘the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus’.
Peter’s bold and courageous words remind us too, that we are saved, not because of anything we have done or deserved, but solely through the grace of Jesus. We have been blessed with the free gift of grace, that has the power to not only forgive our sins but change our lives. No outward work, circumcision or such like, can lead us to salvation. It is only through the grace and mercy of our loving Saviour, Jesus Christ, that we are saved, forgiven, and restored. This is the simple truth of the Gospel, that we all too often need reminding of. Even the great Apostles and disciples needed constant reminders of this too….
