Trinity and Humanity

Audio – Full message: 29min

“https://trinityandhumanity.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/19.12.15-the-message-christ-alone-acts-15.1-35-tah-marra.mp3”

Bible Verses: Acts 15:1-35

Introduction:

The church handled a heated disagreement about the nature of salvation for Gentiles. Were Gentiles saved by faith alone or must they enter into salvation through the path of obedience to the law first? The Jerusalem Council that was convened to answer this critical question offers us a good example of how to handle disputes in the church but also was vital in preserving the gospel message of “Christ alone.”

When the sufficiency of faith in Jesus for salvation and inclusion into God’s one family was at stake, the church clearly and strongly affirmed that because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross, He alone is all we need for salvation. The early church protected the core message of the gospel. Today, God continues to call us to proclaim the message that salvation is available through faith in Christ alone, and not through additional obligations and works.

– The Gospel Project

Theological Theme:

The gospel revealed by God [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] announces that salvation is available by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Christ Connection:

The Jerusalem Council met to resolve a dispute in the early church: Was faith in Christ sufficient for salvation and inclusion into God’s family or was something else needed? The early church’s response affirmed the sufficiency of faith in Jesus for salvation. Because of His finished work on the cross, Jesus alone is all we need to be saved

Missional Application:

God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to proclaim the message that salvation is available through faith in Christ alone, not through additional obligations and works.

God’s love, so understood, should find focal expression at the Lord’s table, for such love is creative of community, for there Christ gathers his people and gives himself to them freely and unconditionally by the Spirit and lifts us up out of ourselves and our introspectiveness and social lethargy, and frees us to love him and to love all men in his name–where he converts us into being a loving, caring, believing community, members of his missionary body in the world. In the language of the older Scottish divines, sacraments are signs and seals of the covenant of grace–converting ordinances, not badges of our conversion. We are called by the word of the Cross daily to evangelical repentance through life in the Spirit, and we receive the Spirit by faith alone. –  The Unconditional Freeness of Grace – James B. Torrance Theological Renewal – June/July 1978: 7-15

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