James was killed by Herod (Acts 12), and Herod thought killing Peter would also appease the Jews. So, what we have here is Peter under wrath and condemnation, chained between two soldiers, guarded to be executed soon. The Lord sent an angel, a messenger of salvation for Peter, and here is an excellent example of salvation by grace through faith. Please notice the facts of grace and faith.<\/p>\n
“And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Passover to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. <\/em>And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him<\/em>” (Acts 12:2-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Saved by Grace<\/h2>\n
When Peter was under condemnation, he was saved by grace. There is no doubt that Peter was not saved because he earned it. There was nothing meritorious about saving Peter because he earned this favor from God. Out of the goodness and mercy of God, Peter was granted the grace that saved him. But grace demanded faith participation. God could have instantly and unconditionally zapped Peter from the prison and instantly transported him to a safety zone away from the prison and danger of execution. But God has a right to do things anyway He sees fit. If He wants to require faith actions, He has the right to require them, and if He requires them, faith has no right to ignore the required actions.<\/p>\n
Saved Through Faith<\/h2>\nThe angel of Peter’s salvation told Peter several things to do. Doing these things did not change the situation from grace to works. Peter was told to “arise quickly.<\/em>” If Peter does this, does it now become “works salvation?” No! There are some kinds of “works” that nullify the need for grace, and there are some kinds of works that do not. If I work the law perfectly, I earn my way and need no mercy. So, works of perfect law keeping are a specific kind that nullifies grace. Works of obedient faith in appeal for mercy and grace are not the same.
\nWhen Peter obeyed the angel and arose, he was participating by faith, but he was not earning by work. His “arising” as commanded did not earn his deliverance. His putting on his sandals as commanded did not earn him his deliverance. His putting on his garment and following the angel did not earn him deliverance.\u00a0These were all obedient actions of faith, not works of merit to earn.\nNow, any failure to have faith enough to do these things would surely be “failing of the grace of God<\/em>” and “receiving the grace of God in vain.<\/em>” It would cause him to fall from grace. It is by grace through faith, but disobedient faith that would not follow the angel or do what he said is defying what grace called him to do.<\/p>\n
Disobedience is not faith! It is lack of faith! If Peter said, “I don’t have to put on my shoes and follow you”, he would not be saved by grace through faith. It was by grace through faith that he was saved. Putting on his shoes and following the angel was faith. It was not works that made it no longer of grace. It was simply works or actions of faith. No obedient action that is wanting the mercy of grace is such an action that cancels grace.<\/p>\n
This is the same with the 3000 on Pentecost. Repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus are not “works” that cancel grace, but faith obediently appealing for mercy and grace (Acts 2:37-41). They too were saved by grace through faith. Failure to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus would have been a lack of faith, pure and simple. Peter’s physical salvation illustrates the principles of grace and obedient faith and shows that obedient actions of faith are not “works” of the nature that would be “no longer of grace.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton Daily Points of Light from Heaven James was killed by Herod (Acts 12), and Herod thought killing Peter would also appease the Jews. So, what we have here is Peter under wrath and condemnation, chained between two soldiers, guarded to be executed soon. The Lord sent an angel, a messenger of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[49,48,47],"class_list":["post-97103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-faith","tag-grace","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42638,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/incorrect-paradigms-on-grace-works-righteousness-and-believes-in-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":97103,"position":0},"title":"Incorrect Paradigms on Grace: “Works Righteousness” and “Believes in Him”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jonathan Perz \"Then Peter opened his mouth and said: \"In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ-He is Lord\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65101,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/irresistible-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":97103,"position":1},"title":"Irresistible Grace","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 23:34-39 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Calvin and his followers believe that God is so totally sovereign in His will that no one can change His creation. He is all powerful and irresistible \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Westminster Confession of Faith states, \u201cGod from all eternity, did ... unchangeably ordain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93426,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-faith-cause-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":97103,"position":2},"title":"Does faith cause salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Mr. Hamilton, Thank you for sharing the article \"What Saves a Person.\" I've read it carefully and wanted to follow up with a sincere question. I noticed the article lists many things Scripture associates with salvation - God, Christ, grace, faith, repentance, baptism, obedience, etc. - and then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":95979,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-one-work-toward-his-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":97103,"position":3},"title":"Can One Work Toward His Salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Charles Spence via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 21 No. 2, June 1995 \"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone\" (James 2:17). One of the most misunderstood teachings of the Bible is grace through faith. People have often cited Ephesians 2:8-9, excluding verse 10. The text is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28534,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-comparison-of-romans-4-and-james-214-26\/","url_meta":{"origin":97103,"position":4},"title":"A Comparison of Romans 4 and James 2:14-26","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim Sasser Recently, we have been listening to a speaker on this radio station discussing the 4th chapter of Romans as compared to the 2nd chapter of James. It was obvious, from some of his statements, that he was trying to make Paul teach salvation by faith only and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63421,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/salvation-by-grace-through-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":97103,"position":5},"title":"Salvation by Grace Through Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 2:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we read Ephesians 2:8-10, there are four important words which stand out: grace, saved, faith, and works. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The gift mentioned in verse 8 is the gift of salvation given to us by God\u2019s grace. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Grace is an unmerited favor. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}