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Grace Saves Us; Love Keeps Us Family
Paul and Barnabas returned from their missionary journey with news worth celebrating: God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles (Ac. 14:27). Men and women who had never lived under the Law of Moses had heard the gospel, believed in Jesus, and received new life. But the celebration soon gave way to controversy. Some men from Judea insisted that Gentile believers had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved (Ac. 15:1, 5). What sounded like a disagreement over tradition was really a question about the sufficiency of the cross. If the Law had to be added to faith, then grace was not enough. So, the church had to answer two urgent questions: Is the grace of Jesus enough? And can people with deep differences truly become one family? We still face those same questions today. Churches can add their own expectations to grace, let conflict distract them from the mission, or protect personal freedoms at the expense of fellowship. Today, we will see that God knows the heart, that grace; not the Law, saves us, and that love teaches us to lay down our freedoms for the good of one another. We will learn how to guard the gospel without letting conflict steal the mission and how to make room at the table for everyone God has received. Grace saves us; love keeps us family.