No Distinction

“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.  He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith” Acts 15:8-9.

The closer we walk with Christ the more we are shown what attitudes no longer fit our lives.  It becomes clear that certain behaviors and motivations are no more welcome than a round peg in a square hole.  So what do we sometimes do as we are becoming more like the character of Christ?  We take our newly appointed knowledge and condemn others.  We measure our own spiritual growth against another’s faith.  Our spiritual posture seems to be a little straighter and we look down our spiritual noses at the faith of others and how they lack what we posses.  Our spiritual elitism is no different than the attitudes back in the early church. 

We can be intentional in our efforts to build a stronger faith and take on the character of Christ.  But what is it worth when the motivation of our heart is pride?  God called Christ to climb up on that tree for everyone.  If Christ scanned the crowd as He dragged the cross through the streets He wouldn’t have found one of us who was worthy of His sacrifice.  That is the point… not one of us is worthy of receiving our salvation.   Our salvation is not determined upon what we have or have not done but rather what Christ accomplished for us.

‘Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?  No!  We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are’ Acts 15:10-11.