Originally published March 9, 2011.

“For it was the Holy Spirit’s decision—and ours—not to place further burdens on you beyond these requirements: that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things” (Acts 15:28-29, CSB).

After arriving back in Antioch after their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas reported to the church that God “had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles” (vs. 14:27) in Asia. But some men came to Antioch from Jerusalem teaching that unless you are circumcised you “cannot be saved” (vs. 15:1).

Paul and Barnabas debated with these men about this doctrine and were unable to reach an understanding with them. So, the Antioch church sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to discuss the issue with the apostles and elders there. At this time the Jerusalem church was considered the headquarters of the Christian movement.

At the Council of Jerusalem there was much debate about whether Gentile Christians had to be circumcised and follow the Mosaic Law. After much debate Peter reminded the Council that God had used him to take the gospel to the Gentiles almost a decade earlier (see Acts 10). Peter told the Council, “we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are” (vs. 15:11).

So, the apostles and other church leaders in Jerusalem unanimously agreed that Gentile converts did not need to be circumcised or keep other ceremonial elements of the Mosaic law.

But, they recommended that Gentile believers refrain from eating food that was offered as a sacrifice to an idol. (Food could be purchased in ancient marketplaces that was used in sacrifices from pagan religious rituals.) They also recommended that Gentile believers should not eat meat that has blood in it or eat or drink blood. This prohibition was first given in God’s covenant with Noah, the ancestor of both Jews and Gentiles (see Gen 9:4). Furthermore, sexual immorality, which was common in the Greek world, was always sinful whether Jew or Gentile.

These prohibitions were not requirements for salvation, rather necessary behaviors for reducing cultural tensions and sustaining fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers. They were also indicators of an appropriate and grateful response to God’s love and mercy.

The decision of the Jerusalem Council was that salvation for both Jew and Gentile was a gift of God’s grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus. Thus, there were no membership requirements, such as circumcision, for any Christ-believer to be admitted into the Kingdom of God!

Jesus Christ, through His life, death and resurrection has fulfilled the membership requirements for all persons for all time to be admitted into God’s Kingdom. And, God loves us, forgives us, and saves us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of Who Christ is and What He has done for you!

We are not saved by obeying a list of do’s and don’ts, but by grace through faith in Christ. Yes, it’s just that simple and it’s just that extraordinary!

The only membership ID you need to possess for God’s Kingdom is the indwelling Holy Spirit. When you receive the Holy Spirit, you are identified as a child of God and have received eternal life in God’s Kingdom.

What is on you, however, is your response to God’s grace. In Christ you are free from sin but not free to sin! When God’s Spirit resides in you, you are urged to live out your faith through a life consecrated to Christ and eager to share the Gospel with others.

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift. (Ephesians 2:8, CSB)