The Debate
In the book of Acts we see a debate within the early church as to what a believer must do upon being saved.
At this time Christianity was part of Judaism and some of the Pharisees who had become believers in Christ Jesus said that Gentile (non-Jews) who believed in Jesus had to be circumcised. In order to settle the debate the apostles and leaders of the early church convened a council to address this issue.
The book of Acts states,
“Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:5-11.
Thus after the discussion the book of Acts tells us the elders sent a message to the churches that read,
“...The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.
So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell. Acts 15:23-29.
Notice the council at Jerusalem made things very easy for the new convert. Peter makes it clear that,
“...We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:11.
The apostle Paul writing to the church in Ephesus said,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans states,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Romans 10:9-13
Salvation is an act of faith. It is believing by faith that Jesus is indeed is the Son of God, The Saviour of mankind, The Messiah.
Do you believe this?
Please think about it.
In the book of Acts we see a debate within the early church as to what a believer must do upon being saved.
At this time Christianity was part of Judaism and some of the Pharisees who had become believers in Christ Jesus said that Gentile (non-Jews) who believed in Jesus had to be circumcised. In order to settle the debate the apostles and leaders of the early church convened a council to address this issue.
The book of Acts states,
“Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:5-11.
Thus after the discussion the book of Acts tells us the elders sent a message to the churches that read,
“...The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.
So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell. Acts 15:23-29.
Notice the council at Jerusalem made things very easy for the new convert. Peter makes it clear that,
“...We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:11.
The apostle Paul writing to the church in Ephesus said,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
The apostle Paul writing to the Romans states,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Romans 10:9-13
Salvation is an act of faith. It is believing by faith that Jesus is indeed is the Son of God, The Saviour of mankind, The Messiah.
Do you believe this?
Please think about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment