Daily Devotional

Acts 15 presents TWO fights in the early church--one corporately and one personally.

Fight #1 is The Worthwhile Battle: Grace vs. Law (15:1-35). In one corner are the Legalists: "Faith in Christ is NOT enough because people need to follow the Law of Moses in order to be saved and stay saved." In the other corner are The Good News People: "Faith in Christ alone IS enough to save." The Jerusalem Council met and the true Gospel wins, in spite of our human propensity to add works to grace.

Fight #2 is The Worthless Fight: Paul vs. Barnabas (15:36-41) In one corner is Barnabas: "Let's minister with John-Mark." In the other corner is Paul: "No way. Mark deserted us last time. He isn't useful for the Gospel." Barnabas and Paul fight bitterly and part company. Barnabas and Mark spread the Gospel in one direction; Paul and his team in another. BUT, the Gospel wins in spite of the human propensity to not get along. (Note: By the end of Paul's life he had reconciled with John-Mark and wants to see him before he dies. 2 Tim. 4:11).

Let's strive to keep our battles centered on what really matters to God. Let's fight the battle against our sinful hearts that impose our human traditions and unbiblical expectations on others, corporately, like the Legalists, or personally, like Paul (in those early days.)

Onward Christian soldiers, marching off to war--the real war for souls desperately in need of the Good News of Grace and Faith in Christ alone, not another man-made religion.

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