Grace4You

When Peter went to the home of Cornelius the Gentile, he was not quite sure as to why God had sent him there. Eventually, God's purpose was revealed to him, salvation for his entire household. Peter began his sermon by saying something that appears to contradict Paul's message of grace. Acts 10 vs 34 – 35 reads: Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. Are we saved by works of righteousness in the present dispensation of grace?

Let us take a look at Paul's revelation of the mystery otherwise known as the dispensation of the grace of God. Titus 3 vs 4,5: But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. This is where knowing how to rightly divide the Scriptures comes into play.

Peter was laboring under Israel's kingdom program, where salvation was not by faith alone, it had to be accompanied by good works, as an expression of their faith. This is the theme of James' letter to his countrymen. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? Again James was not writing in the dispensation of grace but under the kingdom Gospel. In fact, Peter, James, and John, only came to see Paul's gospel of grace to the Gentiles at the Jerusalem council. Galatians 2 vs 7 – 10: But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. We need to see and acknowledge that there has been a dispensational change. Paul makes a clear distinction between the gospel that was committed to him for the Gentiles and what was committed to Peter for the Jews. Israel has been set aside in unbelief and only one Gospel is acceptable in the sight of God today. It is salvation by grace through faith in the person of Jesus Christ. Jews and Gentiles reconciled into one body through His Cross.