"No Strings Attached" [Acts 15:1-35]

The sermon explored Acts 15:1-35, where the Jerusalem Council addressed a critical question: Does God's grace require our additions? Some were teaching that faith in Jesus wasn't enough—that Gentile believers needed to follow Jewish ceremonial law to be truly saved. The apostles and elders gathered to settle this dispute, and their conclusion was clear: salvation moves us away from what we do and back to what God has done in Jesus. This passage reminds us that when the enemy whispers, "You didn't do enough," the gospel shouts back, "Christ has done everything." The implications for our spiritual life are profound—we are freed from the exhausting treadmill of performance and invited into the rest of grace-based obedience.

Takeaways:

•God always acts first. Before we obey, repent, or change, God has already moved toward us in Christ. The Holy Spirit is given before commands are issued, acceptance comes before performance, and God's initiative precedes our response. Legalism reverses this order and misrepresents the heart of God.

•Faith is received, not earned. Salvation comes through faith in Jesus alone—nothing added, nothing required beyond trust in His finished work. Our practices, disciplines, and obedience are beautiful responses to grace, but they are never the door into salvation. The Jerusalem Council protected this truth fiercely, and so must we.

•The church lifts burdens, not adds them. Acts 15 shows us a church that removed unnecessary weight from believers' shoulders. When guilt, shame, or condemnation creep in, the local church is called to remind one another of what Christ has done, to encourage rather than condemn, and to protect the freedom the gospel provides.