Saved By Grace

Acts 15:11 “But we believe that we and they too will be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus.”

Who said this? It was Peter who stood up to speak to the council meeting with apostles, elders and some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisee group. The believers from the Pharisee group had disagreement about Gentiles being saved without being circumcised by the Law of Moses. The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this problem.

After long debate, Peter stood up and explained his side of story of how God had chosen Peter to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles according to Acts 10. From this story, Cornelius and the group had heard the first Gospel preached by Peter and while Peter was preaching, the Holy Spirit came down on all those Gentiles who were listening. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been given to the Gentiles.

Peter then explained, “They heard the Good News from me, and they believed. God, who knows the thoughts of everyone, accepted them. He showed this to us by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us. To God, those people are not different from us. When they believed, He made their hearts pure. So now why are you testing God by putting a heavy load around the necks of the non-Jewish believers? It is a load that neither we nor our ancestors were able to carry. BUT WE BELIEVE THAT WE (JEWS) AND THEY (GENTILES) TOO WILL BE SAVED BY THE GRACE OF THE LORD JESUS (Acts 15:7b-11 NVC).

The representatives meeting there concluded that Gentiles were saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, who forgave them of sin and made them a new creation. Grace comes to a person when he or she repents of sin and believes in Christ as Lord and Savior. This response to God’s grace enables him to receive the power to become a child of God (John 1:12).

Thank you, God for the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Dorothy