Who can be saved? That is a question Christians have sought to answer for millennia (Mark 10:26). When Cornelius and his house received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-45), God provoked a major controversy within the church. Can uncircumcised Gentiles inherit the Kingdom of God? “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 15:1). It’s amazing how many times preachers of the good news of Christ try to prohibit God’s outpouring of grace. For some Jewish believers, confession in Christ and baptism (water and Spirit) were not sufficient. To their way of thinking, to be saved the Greeks must become Jews. Peter witnessed the Spirit’s outpouring upon the Gentiles, and the Spirit had prepared him through a visionary experience (Acts 10:9-16). Peter declared, “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him” (Acts 10:34-35).
Continue reading “Food, Sex, and Idols: Who can be Saved?”
