It’s Because Of Faith

The Jewish Christians were trying to impose the law of Moses on the Gentiles, which led to an argument between them and Paul and Barnabas. Peter reminded them that God purified the hearts of the Gentiles by faith and not by works. He has no favoritism. Instead, God treats His children equally. He showed that He accepted them by giving them the Holy Spirit.

Peter simply acknowledged God’s unexplainable ways toward the Gentiles. He reminded the Jewish Christians that God saved these people not because of their deeds but because they chose to believe. And that’s the first step—faith comes first.

Sometimes, just like these Jewish Christians, we also forget that God accepted and saved us not because of our works but because of our faith. We tend to justify the good things that He did by focusing on the efforts that we exerted. We feel like He will only bless and save us if we do something for Him.  And because of this mindset, we tend to focus on our works rather than our faith. We depend on our efforts rather than rely on His mercy and grace.

This verse is a very important reminder for all of us. God purified the hearts of His people by faith. We are saved all because of His great love. And what we can do is simply accept that God is gracious and merciful. We don’t have to do anything just for Him to accept and love us. He already showed us that He can purify our hearts if we will only believe in Him. And when we put our faith in Jesus, transformation begins.

Prayer: Father God, thank you so much for this word. Thank you for saving us and purifying our hearts by faith. Thank you for giving us the chance to know you and receive your love. We pray that you will give us a heart that is willing to accept and love other people. Please teach us how to truly believe in your Name. We pray that you will continue to lead us to serve others. In Jesus’ Name, amen.