Is Salvation by Law or Grace?

Published by Stanley Pouw in 2017 · 1 January 2017

As we come to Acts 15 the gospel has by this time begun to spread to the Gentile world. Paul and Barnabas have accomplished the first missionary journey. The Jerusalem church has already established their first church in the Gentile world in Antioch of Syria, and Paul and Barnabas went out to evangelize Cyprus and the area of Galatia in Asia Minor. They returned back to Antioch, and they stayed there for a long time with the disciples.

Now this has been a difficult journey, it established a whole new approach for the church, and a whole new ministry. That is the invitation to the Gentiles to enter into the fullness of the church of Jesus Christ, and all of the blessings promised to Israel are now theirs, equally. The Apostle Paul along with Barnabas had not only evangelized, but they also followed up. They had organized the church by appointing elders, and then they returned to Antioch to carry on their ministry there.

Now because Gentiles had been included in the church, this becomes the reason for all the disagreements we see in Acts 15. It was always difficult for Jews to allow the Gentiles to come into the church. For the most part, Jews in the early years of the church saw Christianity, only as a sect of Judaism. Christianity was considered part of the progression of Judaism. Christianity for them is a logical fulfillment because all of the promises to Israel are fulfilled in the coming of Messiah.

And the more legalistic the Jew, the more difficult it was for them to accept this. From the beginning Moses had prescribed to them all the patterns of living, and they legalistically, ritualistically and sacrificially were abiding by all of these laws, so that they had a strict life style. And here were these Gentiles who lived without restrictions, and suddenly they would enter into equal blessings with these normally strict Jews.

So the Jews began to resent the fact that Gentiles were entering the church on an equal basis, without having to subscribe to the Jewish law. And they also realized that there were a lot more Gentiles than Jews. And so these Jews decided to take a stand against what Paul and Barnabas were teaching, who were undermining the traditions of the forefathers, and as such were destroying Judaism, so they thought.

Now what they really wanted was for the Gentiles to become Jews first. Now, the question of whether God wanted to save Gentiles wasn't an issue anymore, since that was mentioned many times in the Old Testament. But how was God going to do it? What was the method of such salvation? Is it by grace alone, or is it by grace and law? Is it by faith, or is it by faith and works? That is the issue of the Jerusalem council.

And that is still the issue of the church now and with all of the sects and everything else that is false that we have within the framework of Christianity. All those false beliefs are the ones who are adding something to God’s basic method of salvation. This is amazing because the longest running heresy in the church is all these wrong modes of salvation where they are adding something else to faith.

Well this is the main issue for Christians, because if we don't know how to get saved then we don't know what basically Christianity is. I could be wrong on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, I could be wrong on the doctrine of future things, eschatology, I could be wrong on the doctrine of ecclesiology, the study of the church, and l could mess up in interpreting a few scriptures, but if I mess up on the doctrine of salvation, then I really cannot enter heaven, right?

And I will spend my eternity in hell trying to think of that doctrine. That's the critical issue.in Acts 15. Now I want to share four features, and we will take two features today and two the next time. First there was the dissension, then there was the discussion, and then next week we will discuss the decision, and after that the development.

So let us look first at the dissension in Acts 15: l, “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Now these are false teachers. 2 Peter 2:1 says, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, and bring on themselves swift destruction.”

They were trying to impose circumcision on the Gentiles. Now the brethren in verse 1 are the believers at Antioch, and the certain men came to straighten out the saints in Antioch, as angels of light. Really they are ministers of Satan, teaching false doctrine, they are self-appointed guardians of legalism. Some say that they followed the path of Paul and Barnabas and visited every city they had just come from on their missionary tour.

That seems possible because when Paul wrote Galatians, he wrote the whole book to answer this very same question. At the time Galatians was written, before the Jerusalem council, it was written back to all those churches that they had visited, to straighten out this very heresy. These false teachers were pretty zealous to travel by foot, everywhere through the Taurus Mountains.

Now here you had a potential disaster, because to impose legalism on the Gentiles, could have been absolutely destructive. Now imposing law of needing to be circumcised, is the position that is known as Judaizing. The term Judaizer means to impose upon Gentiles a ritual or ceremony that belongs to Judaism.

Now in Galatians 2:21 Paul gives us a summary, “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” If righteousness is ours through law, then we don't need grace. In other words if I go in to the court and the judge declares me innocent, I don't need grace, right? But if the judge says, you are guilty, but you can go free, that is grace. And every man is guilty. We have all broken the law, only grace is able to save us.

So the Apostle Paul was clear, he said there is no connection between law and grace. Nobody is able to save himself by keeping the law, all the law did was to show you how bad you were. Nobody ever was justified by the law, only by grace, and if you try to mix the two you destroy grace. God declares everyone a sinner and then gives grace to those who believe.

Well, this was the issue in Antioch. Acts 15:2, “Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.” Here come supposed believers from Jerusalem, they all arrive in Antioch and you know what they won't do? The first thing they won't do is eat with the Gentiles.

In Galatians 2 Paul tells us what Peter did. Peter was at Antioch too, at the time that some of these Judaizers showed up, who believed that you had to get circumcised to get saved. Galatians 2:11-12 says, “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed. 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision.”

So the Apostle Paul really criticized Peter. Galatians 2:l4, “But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?” Paul saw the wedge that was being driven between Jew and Gentile, in fact the whole book of Galatians just shows how to correct that.

So they had to settle it, and they decided to go up to Jerusalem. Now the leaders of the church were the apostles, and the elders were the stationary leaders, and the leader in Jerusalem was James, the brother of our Lord Himself and the writer of James. Acts 15:3, “So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.”

These were the converts of Stephen and Philip, Peter and John and they didn't have any hang ups on legalism, and so they were just rejoicing and they were building support as they went. They not only had the Antioch church but now they had Phoenicia and Samaria all agreeing to receive Gentiles into the church purely by grace through faith.

Acts 15:4, “And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.” That must have been quite a report. The apostles recited the months and years of victory. But listening to all this information, the circumcision party got upset. Verse 5, “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

Well the dissension lead to the discussion, look at verse 6, “Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.” Now here you have the first of three speeches, given at the council from Peter, Paul and James. All three of these speeches are in support of grace, plus nothing, and they lay down for us, one of the most monumental passages proving salvation by grace through faith anywhere in Scripture.

Now verse 11 gives us Peter's view, “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” He is not speaking for himself only, the elders and the apostles have had a private conference, and out of that conference here is their statement. The only thing you see in there is grace, which is God's free undeserved favor.

Now with that as the proclamation of these elders and apostles, they go about to prove that grace is all that is needed. Peter makes several points, Paul adds several, and James closes it off. First point, salvation by grace is proven by past revelation. Look at verse 7, "Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe.”

Peter says, this issue was settled at least ten years ago. You know that God chose me to go to the Gentiles to preach the gospel and they believed, and that's all God asked, God did not impose circumcision then. So Peter reminds them that the basic principle of salvation by faith has already been settled with Cornelius, at least ten years before.

The second proof is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Verse 8-9, “So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” Does God give His Holy Spirit to unbelievers? No, only to believers. Does God know their intent? Yes, Peter covers that, “God who knows the heart.”

1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” Romans 8:9 says, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” The fact that they received the Spirit means that they are a true believer.

Third thing, cleansing from sin, verse 9, “Purifying their hearts by faith.” God does not cleanse people who are not truly converted, right? Because God purified their hearts by faith, means faith is enough. If God made them holy that settled it. In Ephesians 1:7 he says, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” We cannot earn forgiveness.

Then Peter points out another evidence that salvation is by free grace alone. He says in verse 10, “Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Don't challenge God and don't question God, His decision in salvation is final. Don't put a yoke (the law) on the neck of those Gentiles that we couldn't even carry.

In Matthew 23:4, Jesus said what the Pharisees did with the Law, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Contrast that with Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:29-30, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Verse 11, “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” The last proof was given in a short speech by Paul. The last great evidence for salvation by grace that we will talk about is the fact of miracles, by God. Verse l2, “Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.”

God does not confirm false doctrine by miracles. Paul and Barnabas were traveling around preaching salvation by grace and faith. And God was attesting to their message by miracles. God did not confirm these Judaizers by miracles. But everywhere Paul and Barnabas went they preached grace through faith, they had miracle after miracle.

Listen to Mark l6:19-20, “So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Let us pray.