Acts 15: Are the circumcision saved the same way as the UNcircumcision?

Question: Acts 15 Are the circumcision saved the same way that the uncircumcision are?

* Acts 15:7. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9. And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

It sounds to me like Peter is saying there is no difference a phrase Paul himself uses when speaking on salvation " there is NOW no difference" etc. peter says both are saved by grace and faith.. we could not bare the law just as our fathers could not..

* I know other scripture points out explicitly that the circumcision believers could lose there salvation, so what am i missing here?

Answer:

1. In Acts 15:11, Peter may seem to be saying that they were saved the same way as we are, but that is true only partially. We can see three things that are the same if we consider some of the content of both gospels.

In every dispensation people are saved by God’s grace.

1. In every dispensation people are saved by Jesus Christ’s faithfulness in going to the cross to die for our sins.

2. In every dispensation people are saved by their belief/trust in what God says.

3. But Peter’s message has something in addition to these three points. What did Peter preach as far as his sermon content? In his first sermon after Christ ascended, he showed that water baptism was necessary to these men of Israel to be saved on Pentecost in Acts 2:22-24,30-38:

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know; 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ 38 Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

4. Also, what did Peter preach when he went to Cornelius in Acts 10:34-43? Works of righteousness. Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. 35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. 36 The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ; He is Lord of all; 37 that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. 40 Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

5. God stopped Peter right there, before he could command them to be water baptized as part of the method of salvation. I believe God did that because He had started the new dispensation of grace with the salvation of Paul in the previous chapter.

6. Then, later, when Peter was at the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:7-11, after there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they [we believe to be saved in the same manner as they].

7. The means of our salvation is the same as theirs. Christ died for our sins as well as theirs. We have to believe. So do they. It is God’s grace in every dispensation. Those three things are necessary in every dispensation, but the method is different. The method is what changes from dispensation to dispensation. Now, let’s look at the method of salvation in that dispensation when the circumcision gospel was preached.

8. In Acts 2:37,38 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”; [After they were water baptized, they received the Holy spirit, not before.] and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

9. In Peter’s first epistle, he continued with the water baptism as one point necessary for salvation under that dispensation. 1 Pet 3:21 There is also an antitype which now saves us; baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, (This shows us this was water baptism. The water washing off the dirt from the body had no significance.) but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

10. They had to do certain things to make their election sure in 2 Peter. 2 Pet 1:10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 (If they endure in these things they will get an entrance into the everlasting kingdom. We have already been transferred into the kingdom of His dear Son, Col 1:13.) for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

11. They can lose their state of salvation if they are entangled in their sins again. 2 Pet 2:20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

12. In contrast, what method of salvation did Paul preach as far as content? In Acts 13:38,39, Paul preached, “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” Similarly in Acts 16:30-32 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

13. No rituals of circumcision or baptism for salvation, just, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” He wrote the same way in Romans. Rom 3:21,22 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference.

14. The gospel in a nut shell is in Rom 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

15. Now, when we get to the method, in contrast to Peter’s “be even more diligent to make your call and election sure,” Paul wrote in 1 Co 3:15, “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” There are no works necessary for salvation. Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

16. Paul also was the one who received the stewardship for today. Eph 3:1-9 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles; 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you (The dispensation of grace/mystery was given directly to Paul. He then told the Circumcision Apostles, and the Holy Spirit revealed it to them.), 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ.

17. So, much of the content is the same, but there is a rite of water baptism and endurance unto salvation that will be revealed, if they endure, for the circumcision believers.