What the Bible Says about Grace (2)

Acts 15:1-2, 11, 22-29 (KJV from www.biblegateway.com)
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1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

11 But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.
24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
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The temptation of fixing-up things on the old church shows in this passage that some men were trying to take away the simplicity of the Gospel message. They were insisting that the rite of circumcision was necessary to Christian salvation. They were trying to place the Grace under Mosaic Law. First the gentiles needed to become Jews and then, Christians. A conference was called among the elders in Jerusalem and the conclusion was that the gentiles as well as the Jews are dependent on the Grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Therefore circumcision was not necessary for salvation, because Grace alone assures us of salvation.
The letter goes on mentioning reasonable restrictions for the new gentile Christians and they were valid also to the Jews, as they would aid the new Christians to avoid contact with any pagan worship in any form.
“Salvation is through grace and grace alone, and anything added to that is heresy.” Barbara Brokhoff
Grace is not what we do, but what Christ has done!