Reading: Acts 14-16
And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear (Acts 15:7-10)?
As we discussed yesterday, Salvation is from grace alone. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation by grace is one of the basic tenets of our faith. The concept is beautiful in its simplicity: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Rom. 9:10). Despite the straightforward nature of the definition, however, the reality of salvation by grace alone, the receiving of unmerited favor by God, is still hard for many of us to grasp. But why?
We live in a world that is merit-based. In general, the more effort a person is willing and able to expend, the more that person is likely to succeed and prosper in life. A student who studies hard and puts forth his best effort in all of his endeavors is much more likely to be rewarded with a scholarship than one who doesn’t even make an effort to attend class. The worker that meets his deadlines, supports his co-workers, and generally goes above and beyond to see that the job is done right has a greater chance at a promotion or raise than the one with little interest in the position beyond the paycheck it provides. Day after day, in every aspect of our lives, we are shown proof that what we ‘do’ is the deciding factor in what we ‘have.’
It is difficult for us to accept that this is not the case with God. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John. 3:16). God does not just love the motivated; He loves the world. His grace is freely offered to each and every one of its inhabitants, and there is nothing that we can do or say that will change that. This is the concept that the Jews were struggling with. They couldn’t accept that God considered men who weren’t putting in the same level of ‘effort’ as they were to be their equals, so they sought to rebalance the scales in their favor.
When it comes to the dissemination of His grace, God does not want or need our input. It is His to give and ours (individually) to receive. We have no say in who it can be gifted to or what they must do to be worthy of it. Any attempt we make to regulate their behavior or force them to prove their right to be counted as one of us flies in the face of God’s promise. Such restrictions and constraints cast doubt, not on their acceptance and understanding of grace, but on ours.
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they(Acts 15:11).
Thought for Today: In the eyes of the Lord, no man stands above any other; those who seek to distinguish themselves from their peers will only succeed in distancing themselves from Him.
Cross Reference:For Acts 15:16-17: See Amos 9:11-12.
Word Studies:14:2 made their minds evil affected = influenced them to be hostile; 14:8 impotent = weak, helpless, crippled; 15:10 yoke = burden.
Pray for Staff:Rep. Debbie Lesko (AZ), Rep. Greg Pence (IN) • Staff: Judy McCrary • Country: Haiti (7 million) Caribbean • Major Languages: French, Creole • Religious Freedom • 80% Roman Catholic; 16% Protestant; 1% None; 3% Other • Prayer Suggestion: Praise the Lord for His wonderful blessings (Ps. 150:2).