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Acts 15:11, "But
we believe that through the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ we
shall be saved, even as
they."
This morning, there is one
concept that is very
misunderstood. That concept is
grace. We are told
that grace and works do not mix.
If it is of works,
then it is no more of grace and
vice versa. However,
many people are out trying to
mix their works with
grace. Many times folks ask me
what the difference is
between Primitive Baptists and
"Regular" Baptists? My
most common response is, "We
believe in salvation by
grace, and they believe in
salvation by works,
eternally speaking." That
statement brings howls and
discussions, "But you don't
understand, we do believe
in salvation by grace." Then,
after some discussion,
it is easy to distinguish that
they do not have a
proper hold on the concept of
grace in their minds.
Here, the Apostle Peter is
addressing one of the
first problems that ever plagued
the early church.
Many of the Jews in the church
were enforcing the
service of circumcision on the
Gentiles after they had
received the gospel and joined
themselves to the
Lord's church. The apostles and
elders in Jerusalem
met together to address this
issue, and Peter here is
trying to resolve it. This verse
concludes the
thought of his speaking by
saying that circumcision is
not the answer, just as the Old
Testament law was not either.
Rather, the only way that man is
saved is by the grace
of God. That is it plus NOTHING!
Whether Jew or
Gentile bond or free, there is
only one way in which a
man is saved, and that man has
no choice in the
matter. This is
the concept of grace.
The best
definition of grace I have ever
heard explained is by
the acronym G.R.A.C.E. It means
God's Riches At
Christ's Expense. Grace is the
blessing of a home in
heaven (God's Riches), and the
way that we enjoy it is
by the sacrifice of Christ on
the cross of Calvary
(Christ's Expense). If you add
anything to that, then
you are crucifying the Son of
God afresh and putting
Him to an open shame. Every deed
that someone adds as
necessary for eternal salvation
is another way of
saying, "Jesus, we appreciate
what you did, but we'll
take it from here and finish it
for you." Either one
believes that Christ told the
truth when He declared,
"It is finished," or one does
not. That is the
difference between grace and
works. Whether one is
circumcised or not, all of God's
children will get
there solely on the
righteousness of Christ and the
justification by His blood and
GRACE. What a
wonderful blessing it is to know
about God's grace, and
may we ever pray that He would
continue this blessing
upon us and continue to reveal
this and other truths
to babes in
Christ.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
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