What must I do to be saved?

We are saved by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus.

Text: Acts 15:1-35

"30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." -Acts 16:30-31

"8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9

"This gospel of the saving exclusivity of Jesus by the grace of Jesus will always be disputed because the default mode of the human heart is works-based righteousness, not faith-based righteousness." -Tony Merida

"27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.28 And they remained no little time with the disciples." -Acts 14:27-28

"But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”" -Acts 15:1-5

"6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

16 “‘After this I will return,

and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;

I will rebuild its ruins,

     and I will restore it,

17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,

    and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,

     says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’

19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”" -Acts 15:6-21

1) God has always been after the heart

"8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith." -Acts 14:1-7

"16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." -Psalm 51:16-17

"6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." -Deuteronomy 30:6

"4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”" -Jeremiah 4:4

"33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." -Jeremiah 31:33

"26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." -Ezekiel 36:26

2) Faith has always been the response of God's people

"7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?" -Acts 15:7-10

"6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness." -Genesis 15:6

"What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in[a] him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness," -Romans 4:1-5

"13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith." -Romans 4:13

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." -Romans 5:1-2

3) Salvation has always been a gift of grace

"11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”" -Acts 15:11

"8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." -Genesis 6:8

4) The Gospel frees us to love and good works

"19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”" -Acts 145:19-21

"28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”" -Acts 15:28-29

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" -Romans 6:1-2

"30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also." -Acts 15:30-35

1) Have I responded to the grace of Jesus?

2) We must guard against legalism

"And the reason it’s so dangerous is legalism plays to our pride, it plays to the self-righteousness of sin, it plays to that belief that somehow, someway, by my performance, by my obedience, I can achieve acceptance with God, that I could be that good, I could be that wise, I could be that faithful. And so that's the great enemy that's being addressed in Galatians. It was addressed because there was this group called the Judaizers who said, “No! No! It's not just the grace of God; it’s the grace of God plus observance of Mosaic Law.” Listen, the gospel is salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Anytime you add ‘plus,’ you’ve destroyed the gospel...Jesus is our righteousness! Jesus fully measured up, perfectly measured up to God's Law because God knew, this is very humbling, that we would not measure up. And so, He became our righteousness. Every act of obedience in Christ's life was done on our behalf. He paid the penalty for our sin so we could be adopted into God's family, sinners in the hands of a loving God of grace!" -Paul Tripp

3) What saves us sanctifies us

"2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." -Romans 5:2