"May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ...be
with you all."
(2 CORINTHIANS 13:14)

Acts 15:1-11
It is fascinating to me that the Apostle Paul ends 12 of his 13 letters with benedictions, or blessings. Each benediction summarizes what Paul labored so hard to proclaim: we all need God’s blessing, and we can’t earn it. It has to come from God to us.

In today’s reading, a debate went on about the conditions necessary to receive God’s blessing. Some were arguing that it was necessary to keep the law of Moses and be circumcised in order to be saved. You might as well say you must jump across all 21 miles of the English Channel to be saved! Some may jump farther than others (the world record is just under 30 feet!), but we all fall short of the goal. No one can perfectly keep the law of Moses. The debate in Acts ended with this: we are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It seems that each day we try to earn God’s favor, and each day we fall short. Paul doesn’t end his letter with “keep the law.” He ends with the sweetest refrain we can ever hear: “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”



Scripture Focus

Acts 15:1-11

Insight

AMAZING GRACE,
HOW SWEET THE SOUND,
THAT SAVED A WRETCH LIKE ME.
(JOHN NEWTON, 1779)

Bible In A Year

  • Jeremiah 51-52
  • Psalm 127
  • 2 Corinthians 8

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