Who did it?
“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.” – Acts 15:8-9
This passage came early in church history as many who “belonged to the party of the Pharisees” were saying that Gentiles (most of you reading this) would have to conform to the Jewish customs before they could be acceptable to the church.
I sure do like Paul and Barnabas! The people who wanted the Gentiles to have to follow the Jewish ways even said we had to follow the “law of Moses” – yes that’s right the ten commandments. To which Paul reminded them not even they could keep that yoke!
My point is every believer has a choice to make – lean on their own understanding and ways OR lean on God!
To lean on your own means leaning on law, good works and customs that has “always” been followed.
To lean on Him is to rest in the knowledge and awareness that HE DID ALL THE WORK!
One BEAUTIFUL statement in here that really stands out to me is this:
“for he purified their hearts by faith” – Isn’t that a moment of Amazing Grace! HE DID IT! PAST TENSE ONCE AND FOR ALL PURIFIED!
My friend I am not sure how it could be said any clearer – I have over 707 Bible studies about this very subject from over 680 different passages of the Bible and they all point to one irrevocable fact – HE DID IT ALL!
This is Grace – not that I deserve it! This is Grace – not that I earned it! This is Grace – Jesus Christ in me – the hope of Glory!
Jesus is not a revolving door; He doesn’t come in and out with the wind, His mood or our performance! Our path is a journey, a growth of Faith and Rest that can Only come from The God – and God Is LOVE!
Look at what Jesus said and how He acted – He Loved the unlovable, welcomed the rejected and only gave warnings toward the religious leaders! Be about the Fathers business!
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