SALVATION FIRST, WORKS FOLLOW!
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.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. —Acts 15:1-2
“No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” —Acts 15:11
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. —Acts 19:19-20
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. —Acts 15:29
Salvation was never meant to be difficult and yet there are those who will add to the simple message that “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. As it is written—
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” —Ephesians 2:8-10
No, it is only by God’s favor upon us that we are saved and not by any works that we do. Then out of gratitude of our hearts for Him saving us, we desire to serve Him. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Oh, may we be faithful in that work you and I have been called to!
After conference with the leadership of the church in Jerusalem, it was decided that “we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” So it is true of us as well… we are not to make it difficult for people by adding other things they have to do beyond calling on Jesus to be saved from their sin. So…
“If you declare 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 profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes 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
But followers of Jesus are to abstain from:
- Food polluted by idols
- Sexual immorality
- Meat of strangled animals
For us today, here in the U.S., sexual immorality is what is permeating our culture and believers are not to be involved in it. Surely, “among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” (Ephesians 5:3). May we, Dear Father, as followers of Jesus, be faithful in these areas and also with the work You have called us to do. May this be so by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son Jesus and all for Your honor and glory. Yes, may it be so! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLDEt9KP2O0&list=RDBLDEt9KP2O0&start_radio=1