the gospel and the heart

And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Acts 15:8-9

Peter’s observation about the undeniable salvation of the Gentiles WHILE they were clearly still Gentiles shows that salvation is a matter of a transformed heart. The legalistic requirement being proposed by some to demand circumcision of Gentile converts was too much, and was NOT in keeping with the change that the gospel brings. Peter’s point is clear: salvation is a matter of the heart.

Peter clarifies this in three ways. First, God knows the heart. And in Peter’s story of witnessing the very first Gentile conversion, when God sent Peter to the household of Cornelius, God already knew that Cornelius was a man who feared God and had a heart ready to receive the gospel. God had prepared for the Gentiles to enter the church. How dare anyone add to what God already had known and done! God never instructed any apostle to demand circumcision of any gentile. It is because God already knows the hearts of those who are His own. 

Secondly, the Holy Spirit comes into the heart. God chose to pour down His Spirit on gentile converts without them being circumcised, indeed, without any commitment from them to any part of the covenant with Israel. It was enough for the Holy Spirit that the gentiles believed the gospel. And nothing should add to that.

And finally, Jesus cleanses hearts by faith. God cannot make holy what should never be holy. So the fact that their hearts were sanctified by Christ means that nothing else need be added. Belief in the gospel made them new creations! To add anything is to say that Jesus’ blood was not good enough. It makes the Law a co-redeemer. And it is a hellish demand to add to the finished work of Jesus.

Lord,

Thank You that You know, change, and reside in hearts that will repent, believe, and trust in Your great salvation! Keep me from every adding my own works to that pure, beautiful, saving, gospel truth!

Amen