How Are We Saved

The controversy was long and bitter. Martin Luther insisted on a real presence of the body and blood of the Lord.

But Zwingli held the blood and body to be present only in emblems, and that the words, "This is my body," were to be interpreted like those similar words, "I am the door," "I am the vine," or that strikingly similar phrase used of the Paschal Lamb, "This is the Lord's Passover," where, Zwingli pointed out the word "is" means represents.

This word "is" was the rock on which the Reformation split. Agreement being impossible, Zwingli turned to Luther and said:

"Martin Luther, let us confess our union in all things in which we agree, and, as for the rest, let us remember that we are brothers, with the same cause at heart. While we all hold the grand doctrine of salvation by faith, we differ on minor points."

There was an anxious pause, waiting for Luther's response, and great tears rolled down Zwingli's face as he reached out the hand of brotherly love to Luther.

But, alas! the great reformer of Saxony refused that outstretched hand, and the opportunity for a new and mighty illustration of Augustine's motto, "In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity," was forever lost.The Swiss reformers and the German reformers parted in sadness, and even yet the breach is not healed.

If any of you have been around churches for very long, you are well aware that there are occasionally disagreements that arise. This is not just a Baptist thing, but is a problem that crosses denominational lines. The early church had disagreements. The first was the treatment of Hellenistic Jews by the Jewish converts, particularly in the distribution of goods and provision of food. After prayer and seeking the Holy Spirit, it was decided to seek deacons to care for these matters. Some of those deacons were Hellenistic Jews.

That may seem like a minor matter, but I assure you, denominations as well as churches have been divided and even split over much minor issues.

However, in Acts 15, we find a disagreement which could have shipwrecked the early church and brought to a sudden end the precious work of Jesus Christ.

We find that certain men have come down from Judea and were teaching the believers at First Baptist of Antioch that to be truly saved you must be circumcised. To these devout Jews who had come to Christ, the idea of Gentiles being equal to them through Christ was just as controversial as if I were to announce at invitation time:

• “Folks, you have the privilege today of being saved just like the drunks, adulterers, harlots, liars & cheats!”

The idea of grace is foreign to most people.

Our world has made the word grace impossible to comprehend:

• There is no such thing as a free lunch.
• You get what you deserve
• You want something-work for it.
• Do unto others before they do unto you

Here was a defining moment in the early church. What they decided at this first Jerusalem Council would set the course for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the centuries to come.

Now you may be sitting there saying, Pastor this is a no-brainer. Of course you don’t have to be circumcised to be a born again Christian. That is ridiculous. But what if it they had said something else like:

• Be Baptized
• Have Communion
  
• Join a Church
  
• Stop Smoking
• Stop Drinking
  
• Stop Dancing
• Stop Going to Movies
  
• Divorce your unsaved spouse
  
• Stop Gambling
  
• Stop Listening to Ungodly Music (however you define that)
• Start Tithing
  
• Start Witnessing
  
• Start reading your Bible
  
• Get a Hair Cut
• Any other do’s and don'ts

In actuality, that is exactly the point. For when the matter got down to Jerusalem, it not only was circumcision, but the believer’s who used to be Pharisees said they also need to follow the laws of Moses.

So the Question before this early church was:

Does anything you do or stop doing have any bearing on whether you are a truly born again Christian?

Paul and Barnabus, zealous for the Gospel of GRACE and filled with the Holy Spirit, got into heated discussions with these Judaizers. But they would not change their mind. The believer’s in Antioch realized that there was a problem, and wanted advice on what the truth was from the Apostles in Jerusalem (The Mother Church). Paul and Barnabus were chosen to make the journey. As they travelled south, Paul and Barnabus gave testimony to the conversion of the Gentiles. This was a source of Great Joy to all the brethren. When they got to Jerusalem, they shared the same news with the apostles and elders. Here again in Jerusalem, some converted Pharisees stood up and said that these gentile Christians, in order to be really saved, must be circumcised and follow the law of Moses. This was a serious problem. If the Pharisees had their way, salvation would no longer be because of faith in what Jesus did on the cross, but salvation would rest on your WORKS.

You have to remember, there was no New Testament at this time. Everything the Apostles preached was a result of divine revelation based upon Old Testament writings and Direct Revelation. Some of what Paul preached was based upon his BDU degree (Backside Desert University). So these Pharisees were pointing to the Scriptures and rabbinical writing that they had studied all their life. It made sense to them. After all, Jesus was a Jew. Jesus was circumcised and followed the Law of Moses.

Praise God His Holy Spirit was still in charge of the early church. The Holy Spirit used Peter once again to set the matter straight:

⁷ And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” Acts 15:7-11 (ESV)

• The multitude was silent, for they knew that God had just spoken through His servant Peter.

The Holy Spirit Revealed these Truth's through Peter's Sermon:

1. Salvation is of Your Heart.

When Peter was preaching Jesus to Cornelius and his household, God knew what was going on in their hearts. He could see that they were opening their hearts to the truth of Jesus being their Risen Savior. He could see that their hearts longed for His forgiveness, and that they were turning from their sinful ways and wanted to follow after God. When God saw what was happening in their hearts, He bore witness to it by sending the Holy Spirit to them, before Peter had a chance to give the invitation.
2. The Holy Spirit is Proof of Your Salvation

The presence of the Holy Spirit in your life is the evidence that you are a child of God. Does He give you a desire to read God’s Word? Does He open the Word to you, does He teach you? Does He work in your heart to change the wrong things you do-friends, music, movies, television? The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God. (Romans 8)

3. You Are Saved by Faith

Peter said that their hearts were cleansed by their faith. While Peter was preaching, their eyes were opened to the amazing truth that Jesus had bore their sins on the cross, and that his sacrifice was the perfect sacrifice for their sins. By faith they believed and entrusted their sins to Jesus. Their evil hearts were cleansed and made new by faith in Jesus.

Saved by My 'Good Looks'

evangelist preach on While an English farmer was walking through his field one day with a friend, he suddenly remarked, "You know, I was saved by my good looks." He explained that he had attended a gospel meeting where he heard anIsaiah 45:22. The farmer said, "He pictured Jesus on the cross in a general way as the divine substitute bearing the sin of the world. Then the preacher pointed us to Hebrews 12:2 and told us to look again unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who saves to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25) all that come to Him. He said that everyone has to accept this personally. When I saw the Lord in this way, I received Him as MY Savior." The farmer's friend was impressed. "Now I know what you mean," he said. "It was your good looks at Christ and His cross that resulted in your conversion."

Does your faith cause you to keep looking at Christ and His righteousness, or do you have your eyes only on yourself?

DO YOU HAVE FAITH TO SEE JESUS?

• Faith opens our eyes to the Light of Jesus Christ.
• Faith enables us to see Jesus as Lord.
• Faith enables the blinders to come off our eyes

4. Salvation is Not a Burden

Peter declared: “why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? Everyone knew what Peter was talking about.” Vivid in their memories were the occasions when Jesus lambasted the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and the way they had made the law burdensome to the people.

⁷ Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ⁸ 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. ⁹ And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' " Matthew 15:7-9

Jesus Calls Everyone to Come

God never wanted His people to be under a yoke.

⁶ “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Isaiah 58:6 (ESV)

5. SALVATION IS BY THE GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST ALONE!

Salvation in the heart of God has always been a free gift. This free gift was made possible by the death burial and resurrection of God’s holy son, Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. ¹⁶ And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. Romans 5:15-18 (NKJV)

²³ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 (KJV)