God's Grace Versus Man's Works

The Jerusalem church elders received
Paul’s report of Gentile converts; then tell
Him how thousands of Jews had believed,
Yet all kept the law of Moses as well!
They had heard reports of Paul teaching Jews
Of other lands that they need not obey
The law, if they believed in the “good news”
Of Jesus, and were members of “The Way”!
Now these thousands would hear of Paul’s return;
What could he do to prove rumor untrue?
He could join and pay for four more to earn
Purifying from the priests, to prove he’s Jew!
Paul knew then that church had perverted grace,
Putting the law of man’s works in its place!

“The Way” was the common name for Christianity during the first century A. D. Perhaps it should have been made permanent, for it is perfectly descriptive of how Jesus taught His followers to win converts from the “way of the world” to the way of living like Jesus, which is clearly shown in His Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5-7. Christians are told to live in such a distinctive way from non-Christians, that they will be noticeable; and the way is to be so attractive that others will ask about it and want to emulate it. The earliest Christian were so enthusiastic in living the Way they were given that name.

For example, during the first three centuries after Christ ascended to heaven, Christians were heavily persecuted by the Romans. Yet, Romans kept joining the movement, because they saw how they cared for plague victims when their own families deserted them to save their own lives, though the caregivers were dying themselves from the disease. By 325 Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as the official religion of the empire. To their discredit, few Christians today are so zealous in living distinctively different lives from the rest of people.

Paul knew instantly, upon hearing the elders’ response to his report that most Jews who believed in Jesus Christ and were members of the Jerusalem church did not understand what Jesus taught about God’s grace behind their salvation, not their own good works, as required under the Mosaic law. They were so attached to the ways of Judaism that they thought Yahweh (the same God they had always worshiped) wanted them to do both, good works and have faith in Jesus, to be saved. Paul was teaching the truth---salvation is given freely by the grace of God, as a result of His Son’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, to all men, Jew and Gentile; not a bit of it is due to the good works the believer does, because it is all, 100%, given by God; man cannot earn any part of it! But he knew it was useless to debate; he went along with their suggestion temporarily; however, before the ritual could be consummated, Paul was in prison anyway, so he left them in their own fog over the doctrine of grace. The Jerusalem church declined and never again had significant influence over Christian doctrine. Gentile churches were already more numerous, and they forged ahead interpreting gospel for themselves. In 90 A.D. Judaism officially rejected Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, and separated itself from Christianity. Please read the exact reporting of this incident in Acts 21:17-25.