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JULY 9
do to be saved?”The apostles and elders defied efforts to impose legalism and ritualism as neces-
sary prerequisites for salvation.They forever affirmed that salvation is totally by grace through faith
in Christ alone.
The Judaizers were false teachers who were self-appointed guardians of legalism.They taught
a doctrine of salvation by works through the act of circumcision (v. 1). In answer to this, Peter rose
up and gave the first of 3 speeches at the Council that amount to one of the strongest defenses of
salvation by grace through faith alone contained in Scripture.Peter began his defense by reviewing
how God saved Gentiles in the early days of the church without a requirement of circumcision, law
keeping, or ritual—referring to the salvation of Cornelius and his household (10:44–48; 11:17,18). If
God did not require any additional qualifications for salvation, neither should the legalists.
The Judaizers could have argued that Cornelius and the others could not have been saved
because they did not meet the legalistic requirements. To thwart that potential argument, Peter
reiterates that God gave them the Holy Spirit,thus proving the genuineness of their salvation (v.8).
Peter warns the Judaizers that they are putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples—a description
of the law and the legalism of the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23:4; Luke 11:46). The legalists
expected the Gentiles to carry a load they themselves were unwilling to bear.“But we believe that
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved”(v.11).His declaration is a resounding
affirmation of salvation by grace through faith alone.

comes to consecrate himself with a young bull
July 9 and seven rams may be a priest of things that
10
are not gods? But as for us, the LORD is our
God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the
priests who minister to the LORD are the sons
2 Chronicles 13:1–14:15
of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties.
In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, 11 And they burn to the LORD every morning
13 Abijah became king over Judah. He and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet
2
reigned three years in Jerusalem. His moth- incense; they also set the showbread in order on
er’s name was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold
of Gibeah. with its lamps to burn every evening; for we
And there was war between Abijah and keep the command of the LORD our God, but
Jeroboam. Abijah set the battle in order with an you have forsaken Him. Now look, God
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army of valiant warriors, four hundred thou- Himself is with us as our head, and His priests
sand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in bat- with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm
tle formation against him with eight hundred against you. O children of Israel, do not fight
thousand choice men, mighty men of valor. against the LORD God of your fathers, for you
4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, shall not prosper!”
which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and 13 But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go
said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: around behind them; so they were in front of
5 Should you not know that the LORD God of Is- Judah, and the ambush was behind them.
rael gave the dominion over Israel to David
forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of
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salt? Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the ser-
vant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and 13:15 God struck Jeroboam and all Israel.
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rebelled against his lord. Then worthless At the time of certain defeat, with 400,000
rogues gathered to him, and strengthened troops behind and the same number in front,
themselves against Rehoboam the son of Sol- Judah was saved by divine intervention.What
omon, when Rehoboam was young and inex- God did is unknown, but the army of Israel
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perienced and could not withstand them. And began to flee (v. 16), and the soldiers of Judah
now you think to withstand the kingdom of massacred 500,000 of them in an unimagin-
the LORD, which is in the hand of the sons of able blood bath (v. 17).
David; and you are a great multitude, and with
you are the gold calves which Jeroboam made 13:17 Before the battle, Jeroboam outnum-
for you as gods. Have you not cast out the bered Abijah two to one (13:3). After the fray,
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priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the in which the Lord intervened on behalf of
Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like Judah, Abijah outnumbered Jeroboam 4 to 3.
the peoples of other lands, so that whoever

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