It was a conversation that had to be had. How “Jewish” did a Gentile need to become in order to be “really saved?” That was the question on the table. How much ritual was required for full redemption? How much practice was needed for proper salvation? How much uniformity was needed to have real unity? You can ask the question in any number of ways. In Acts 15 it was asked like this, “Is it necessary for Gentiles to be circumcised and to keep the law of Moses?” (15:2) It was a conversation that had to be had . . . and as “I listen in”, I am struck again with awe and adoration at the wonderful grace of Jesus.

Without being too harsh, it was probably a legitimate question. After all, the Jews’ world was being turned upside down . . . what, with a suffering Messiah rather than a reigning Messiah . . . and salvation through faith and not by the works of the law . . . and now, the Gentiles being preached to and welcomed into a common fellowship . . . it was a lot for someone who grew up in a long-standing “religious tradition” to take in and fully understand all the implications of.

So . . . really? . . . just repent and believe and receive Jesus substitutionary death on your behalf, and you’re in? Just like that? That’s it? Yeah, was the answer, pretty much!

After much deliberation and debate, Peter sums it up, “God determined that the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit . . . having cleansed their hearts by faith. And we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” (15:7-11) That’s it . . . God’s determination . . . the power of the gospel . . . the exercise of faith . . . the sealing of the Holy Spirit . . . the transplanting of new hearts . . . all through the wonderful, matchless grace of Jesus.

To require anything else . . . to link salvation to conformance to the law of Moses . . . was to place a yoke on the neck of Jesus’ disciples. It would constrain . . . it would seek to control . . . it would attach a burden. But the salvation offered by Jesus was freedom from bondage . . . the only control prescribed was the control of the indwelling Holy Spirit . . . and the burden of the limit of human efforts was to be lifted as Jesus once for all carried that burden.

Not to say there wouldn’t be instruction on how to walk worthy of the calling to be “a people for His Name.” Not to say there wouldn’t be teaching on the manner in which a disciple of Christ should live . . . and how they should be transformed in their thinking. But this would be about living for Jesus . . . not about securing additional favor with God . . . and “sealing the deal” on their salvation.

And as I linger over this discussion, there is a warning here for me . . . a “watch out for” . . . a “be careful” about attaching man’s works to Jesus work on the cross. When the Son declared, “It is finished” . . . it was. We are saved by grace . . . and grace alone. And that, that it is by grace alone, is the other refreshed realization as I noodle on this conversation. Saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus . . . infinite grace . . . grace greater than my sin . . . all sufficient grace. It brought to mind an old hymn . .

V1. Wonderful grace of Jesus, Greater than all my sin; How shall my tongue describe it, Where shall its praise begin? Taking away my burden, Setting my spirit free, For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. V2. Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching to all the lost, By it I have been pardoned, Saved to the uttermost; Chains have been torn asunder, Giving me liberty; For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. V3. Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching the most defiled, By its transforming power, Making him God’s dear child, Purchasing peace and heaven, For all eternity; For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. Chorus: Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, Deeper than the mighty rolling sea; Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
All sufficient grace for even me; Broader than the scope of my transgressions, Greater far than all my sin and shame; O magnify the precious Name of Jesus, Praise His Name!

Indeed . . . Magnify the precious Name of Jesus . . . Praise His Name . . .