Acts 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.
Paul and Barnabas were making great strides for the Kingdom of God. Everywhere they preached the Gospel, people were Saved and the Church grew throughout the region. However, the Church in Jerusalem had drifted off into some false doctrine that would prove to be detrimental.
James, Jesus’ brother, was the Pastor of the Jerusalem Church and cared deeply for the Church family but he failed to stand against the false doctrine that was being introduced in the Church. It wasn’t long before some of the false teachers came to visit Antioch and preach their false doctrine to the Church there. And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. (Acts 15:1)
Salvation is a free Gift of God and comes by faith in Christ Crucified. There is no need to do anything except believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Finished Work on the Cross of Calvary. As Paul would later write to the Ephesians, For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the Gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)
The false teachers were adding circumcision to the criteria for Salvation. This was part of the Law of Moses but no longer required for one to be Saved. Jesus fulfilled that Law on the Cross but those with Jewish background just couldn’t let go of the Law because it had dictated every aspect of their lives for generations. They were literally bound by the Law and in bondage because of it.
These people just couldn’t come to grips with the fact that the Gift of Salvation is absolutely free. Nothing is required of the person to be Saved except to have faith in Christ and His Finished Work on the Cross. This is the Freedom that comes with being Saved and born again.
The Old Covenant was all about what the people did. The Law required them to do and not do hundreds of things. Although no one was able to keep the Law, it totally controlled every aspect of their lives and held them in the bondage of condemnation continually. They had no joy in their lives because they couldn’t do enough to please God. No matter how hard they tried, they failed.
God loves the people of the world so much that He did not want to see them in this bondage of sin, guilt, and condemnation. To set people free from all this, He sent His Son to go to the Cross as the final Blood Sacrifice for all sin. In doing so, Jesus would once and for all fulfill the sin debt owed to God by humanity.
When Jesus gave up His Spirit and said, It is finished. (John 19:30) that was it! The Law had been fulfilled and was no longer required of anyone to receive Salvation. Jesus had paid it all. The Work was done. Jesus told the people He was going to do this. Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)
A New Covenant had been established between God and humanity. The Old Covenant was no longer in effect. Jesus had sealed the deal on that. There was no longer anything for anyone to do to be Saved except believe in Christ.
Jesus went to the Cross to…...….turn the tide……….in this world.
Praise God He did! Doreen
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