This week we continue to look at what was accomplished when Jesus said, “It is finished.” For me, learning to rest in the finished work of Jesus is an ongoing journey. My mind has to be renewed daily so I can walk in freedom from a works-based righteousness.
Today we are going to look at how some of the apostles in the New Testament had to grow in this as well. Peter was right there in the trenches with Jesus. Yet due to his culture as a Jew he continued to struggle with the purpose of the law after Jesus left. Therefore, God gives Peter a vision three times to prepare him to go to the house of a Gentile, Cornelius. Once He is there God puts the seal of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles. God falls on them and they begin to speak in tongues while Peter is still preaching. It takes both a vision from God and an outpouring of the Spirit to shift Peter’s paradigm.
When Peter shares this encounter with other Jewish believers back in Jerusalem, they have the same struggle Peter had. Some of them still say the Gentiles need to be circumcised per God’s covenant with Abraham.
Later on we have another situation in Acts 15 when Paul and Barnabas were seeing Gentiles believe in Jesus. Here it says in verse 5, “Then some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed (emphasis mine).” This should give those of us who struggle with legalism great hope. These were believers who had put their faith in Jesus. But like us, their faith journey was messy and they had to shed some baggage.
Some of these Pharisees said, “It is necessary to circumcise these new converts amongst the Gentiles and command them to keep the law of Moses.” Do you see where this is going? It’s not just about circumcision, but the entire law. So Peter speaks up in verse 10 and in summary says, “Why would we put the law on others when we couldn’t keep it ourselves?”
In our discipleship of others, let’s not put the law on people so they get to belong to our group. “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” (by faith) Acts 15:11
This week continue resting in the finished work of Jesus and in who He has created you to be!
