Acts 15:7

Acts 15: 7 says, And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.  While they were disputing, Peter stood up and told them that God had revealed to him that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles.  In any church dispute, we need to look to what God says, and that should settle it. Verse eight adds, And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;  There was a lot of discussion about the need for new Gentile believers to be circumcised. This was really a question of the Pharisees trying to place restrictions on the gospel.  They were saying simple faith in Christ was not enough.  We today may attempt to put restrictions on new believers, feeling that they must take certain additional actions to truly be saved.  Verse nine continues, And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.  Peter declared that there was no difference between the Jewish Christian and the Gentile Christian.  Both were saved through faith in Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit.  We may not all look the same or worship the same, but as Christians we are all saved the same way, and that is through faith in Christ alone, with no other requirements. Verse ten states, 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?  Peter asked them why they were tempting God by putting an unnecessary yoke on the Gentiles, since neither they nor their fathers were able to live up to it.  Verse eleven adds, But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.  Peter said that by the grace of God, all could be saved.  This is still true and always will be.  God does not save just a certain group of people and exclude other groups.  Verse twelve continues, Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.  At least the crowd got silent to listen to Paul and Barnabas.  Then, Paul and Barnabas gave testimony of God's work with the Gentiles.  They were just as much a part of God's Kingdom as any saved Jew.  Why do we attempt to add our own requirements to the gospel?  I think for the Pharisees it was an attempt to feel superior to the Gentiles.  They had always felt that way and were not going to give up that feeling easily.  They were saying that even if Christ had redeemed the Gentiles through His grace, to be fully accepted the Gentiles had to obey earthly rituals.  Though circumcision had always been an identifying mark of God's people, the new identifier was the cross and Christ's death there for all sinners.  Nothing needed to be added to salvation that was given freely on that cross.