Acts 15: 7 – 11 says: Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them (the Gentiles) by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us (Jews). He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith…. We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they (the Gentiles) are (saved)."
We believe that both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews, that is to say: us) will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 15:11)
Yes salvation is free! Yet we are called to a Christian journey, one of remaining in the Word and Spirit of God’s grace. This grace progressively sets us free from the power of sin and grows the fruit of the Spirit within us.
It happens over a life time.
And we help each other along the way. We confess our sins daily and weekly and we are encouraged by the forgiveness of God and of each other!
As we grow to know and to love God more every day, we at the same time grow to accept, to forgive, and to affirm ourselves - and others - in ways that set all of us free to enjoy the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The fact that we, “Gentiles” may share in God’s grace was made known through the Lord’s prophets so long ago, as we read in Acts 15: 13 – 17 (NLT):
“…this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:
‘Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, including the Gentiles— all those I have called to be mine’.”
May the Lord who called us from darkness to light, sustains and protects us in his grace.
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