Acts 15:1 While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question.

From the inception of the church there has seemed to always be a group of people who desired to make different conditions necessary to receive the gift of God, which is salvation in Jesus. I have noticed that conditions added can vary in nature. Some of the conditions are outward physical conditions such as the ones in this chapter. Other times you will see that it is more about works that must be done to live up to a specific expectation. As a matter of fact, the only consistent trait that I can find is that the people who are requiring such additional requirements have already exhibited that one requirement at the expense of other convictions that Jesus said should be present in the life of a believer.

Why would anyone want to make salvation harder? There are a host of answers to that question. The conviction of the apostles in Acts 15 was that we “should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” In other words, we should not require people to jump through hoops but rather we should do all we can to introduce people to the free salvation of Jesus. Faith in Jesus plus nothing equals salvation.

Today’s Challenge: Remember that you did nothing to earn salvation. It is a free gift that has been presented to your life through His Son, Jesus. Recognize that every person you meet is also a candidate for salvation. When they come to Jesus, He will do the needed work in their life. Pray and ask the Lord how you can share His free gift with others.