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REFLECTION

“What about the Gentiles?” is the theme for our reflection. The Gentiles refer to people who were not Jews. What about the Gentiles means the salvation of Jesus is not only for the believing Jews but for the Gentiles who are willing to repent and be saved. In Acts 15:22-29, the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with the entire church, decide to send a letter to Gentile believers in Antioch and other areas, along with special messengers Judas and Silas. The letter, approved by the Holy Spirit, declares that Gentiles are not required to follow the Mosaic Law, especially circumcision, for salvation. Instead, the letter instructs them to abstain from certain practices: food sacrificed to idols, blood, meat from strangled animals, and sexual immorality.  

Beloved in the Lord, salvation is the gift of God to humanity through faith in Jesus Christ. In the New Covenant, the only requirement is the circumcision of the heart and not of the flesh. The Council’s letter to the Gentiles stated that “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” (Act 15:28-29). Genuine repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, is all we need; nothing else is needed! The Gentiles were saved because they believed in Jesus Christ. There was no need for circumcision as proof of their salvation. Paul also re-emphasised this fact when he wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9). In other words, circumcision does not qualify a person for God’s salvation and grace. What qualifies us for God’s grace and salvation is repentance, regeneration through the power of the Holy Spirit, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is important to reiterate that faith and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ are sufficient for our salvation. African Christians do not need any form of additional ritual cleansing ceremony, and the adornment of herbs, beads, and the application of anointing oil and the consumption of special concoctions before our salvation will be made complete in Jesus. Dear friend in Christ, apart from repentance and faith, Jesus never mentioned any other means of obtaining salvation. When we come to Jesus, we must have nothing to do with our former ways of disobedience or sin.

In summary, we have been reminded that salvation is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, repentance and faith are the only requirements needed for salvation under the New Covenant.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, thank you for saving us and also making our salvation unburdensome through the gift of repentance, regeneration, and faith. May the Holy Spirit grant us deep insight and knowledge of the Scriptures so that we will not be misled. Amen.