Acts chapter 15: verses 6 – 11 (NIV)
The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 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. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
These verses pulled me up today. We are being blessed in these days by seeing God bringing people to church seeking to know Him. Some of these people have no experience of church, and maybe not even what to expect. For those of us who’ve been on the Christian walk for a while, we need to be careful not to impose our ideas and habits on them. Our role is to set an example by the way we behave. If there are habits and views they need to change, then God will deal with that. We need to use the same wisdom and discretion as Peter did here.
Nicky Gumbel wrote about this chapter that, “The lesson here is that we need to be very careful about putting unnecessary obstacles in front of people who are exploring faith in Jesus and we need to be careful about defining the church too narrowly.” (Bible in One Year – 22 June 2025.)
We want lives to know the grace and forgiveness of God first and foremost. The rest will fall into place if we led God direct.
Dear Lord,
I’m grateful for the grace and compassion you showed to me over all these years. As a follower of Jesus help me to extend that grace and compassion to those who are seeking to know Him. May they see Him in me and not be influenced by any opinions that I may have that are not directly from You. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.