Reflections from February 10, 2010

From Acts 15: 10-11, "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? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they."

Peter was settling a dispute among the early Christians regarding the need for Gentiles to be circumcised in order to be "saved." Circumcision was required by Jewish law. However, Peter saw right through this and reminded his fellow church elders that the only thing required is belief in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Grace only comes from Jesus, not from the various doctrinal requirements of different faiths. These subtle differences (sometimes not so subtle) between Christian faiths such as Baptist, Methodist, etc., don't make the difference in being saved or not, it's a method for us to agree with other Christians in how we want to serve the Lord. As Peter said, it's through the Grace of Jesus that we are saved.

Proverbs 10:31 states, "The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, But the perverse tongue will be cut out."

That seems pretty clear! By walking with God, dwelling in His word, and growing in righteousness, we'll grow in wisdom and as we speak, that will become evident. By remaining ignorant, we'll grow in perverse ways and what we speak will not be listened to by anyone. By growing in wisdom and building our relationship with God, we'll be considered as wise since we know the right time and the wrong time to say anything.

Blessings to all.