We Believe We Will Be Saved By Grace

“But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (Acts 15:11).

I love this verse. It is a brilliant turn in the discussion at the Jerusalem Council. The question of Gentile salvation is being discussed. Do Gentiles need to become Jews in order to be saved? Must the Gentiles keep the Law in order to be declared right with God? At least that seems to be the issue.

Peter turns that thinking all upside down. The issue was not Gentile salvation versus Jewish salvation. There is no such thing. The issue was how anyone, regardless of  their ethnicity, will be delivered from sin.

Peter makes clear that Jews will not be saved by keeping the Law. If anyone at the council was confused, Peter makes it clear. “We Jews will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as the Gentiles will.”

All are under sin. All are in need of deliverance from sin. Deliverance from sin is found only in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile in this regard. Romans 3:22b-25a “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith…”

What I love about this verse is it’s universal nature. It applies to anyone. It applies to the self-righteous or the self-despairing. It applies to Jews or Gentiles. It applies to the educated and uneducated. It applies to the religious or non-religious. We are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus or not at all!

Where is your confidence for salvation found? Deliverance from sin is only found in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.