The Choice that God Made

Wow!!!! I love it when I come upon a passage that I’ve never read in detail before and God uses it to strengthen and help me! I read this verse this morning and was so blessed by it!

“Men and brethren, ye know that a good while ago GOD MADE CHOICE among us, that the Gentiles…should hear the word of the gospel, and believe!” Acts 15:7

God choose me! 🙂 I am Gentile by birth, but God choose to “open the door of faith” (Acts 14:27) and allow me access to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled (1 Peter 1:4)! I am amazed by this! “He came unto his own and his own received Him not,”  (John 1:11) so He sought out a people for Himself among the Gentiles!

Not only did He open this door, but He allowed us access completely free of charge! We need not do anything else to gain entrance! The law kept us in bondage, but grace enables us the freedom of salvation without anything added to it!

It’s not by works of righteousness that we have done that saves us and keeps us saved because all that we have done and could ever do is but “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) in His sight. Instead He made a way, made a choice to remove the heavy yoke of bondage granting us an undeserved position in “heavenly places!” (Ephesians 2:6)

Peter posed this question to those who mistakenly believed that circumcision was needed in addition to salvation:

“Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Acts 15:10

As fleshly, sinful human beings we are completely unable to live successfully within the bounds of the law! We cannot be “good enough” to keep the commandments or live above the reproach of sin. Peter is saying that the bondage of the law didn’t accomplish anything but failure. Their forefathers couldn’t live it, they couldn’t live it, and we can’t live it! Why would salvation include elements of former bondage when Christ died to set us free? Thankfully it doesn’t! Salvation is by GRACE ALONE! (Acts 15:11)

Christ died to remove the heavy yoke of sin and guilt and give us a yoke which is easy and his burden which is light! We need not bear the yoke of the law any longer! We don’t have to add anything for we are complete because of the choice that God made! 🙂