Faith, Simplified

The non-Jewish believers get a welcome letter from the Church leaders in Jerusalem, clearing a dispute on how they were to act out their newfound faith. The invitation that God extended through Peter is now being extended by the Church as a whole. The way that Peter and Paul and Barnabas have experienced the boundary-breaking grace of God has filtered into the Church as a whole and brought unity and faith in God’s grace and the work of Jesus.

Read: Acts 15:13-35 (NLT)

Explore the Theme: Ever since the beginning of Christianity, there are those who have wanted to make it complicated and attach extra rules. In order to follow Jesus, you have to do this, this, and this, they say, just as can be seen in this passage. But Jesus himself tells us that his “yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Imagine that you are James, or one of the other early Christians sitting in on this meeting. How might it have been to move away from obedience to God through the letter of the law, to obedience in accepting his grace, not just for you, but for people who are different from you?

Ask God: Are you ever tempted to make your faith about following a set of rules or doing certain acts instead of following Jesus and just trying to be more like him? Sometimes it can be hard to see our own tendencies to follow rules instead of following Jesus. We can get caught up in trying to check off all the boxes of what it means to be a “good Christian.”

Think about how you define your salvation. Is it made up of all the things you can do to please God? What rules are you tempted to think you have to follow in order for God to accept you? Ask God where he might challenge you to rely instead on what Jesus has done for you, on his work, his grace and his love.

Live it Out: Spend some time this week really analyzing your thoughts and actions. When you go to do something that a “good Christian does,” think about why you are doing it. Love is far more freeing than laws and faith in Jesus is far simpler than following religious rites. In this moment, how can you practice walking more closely with Jesus and receiving his love?