Unstoppable: The Book of Acts: The Jerusalem Council - Believing and Belonging - Pastor Ben Hodges

Acts 15:1-21Salvation is free.Discipleship is expensive.Jesus didn’t die just to give you a belief system—He died to give you a new life.Saved By Grace Alone; Saved to do Good Works- Some Jewish believers: “Unless you are circumcised, you can’t be saved.”- Paul and Barnabas: “No! Salvation is by grace through faith.”- James (brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church): “We should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood.” (vv. 19–20)- Saved by grace — but still called to obedience.- Grace doesn’t erase holiness; grace empowers it.- You can’t separate faith from faithfulness.The Four Prohibitions—Consideration that Builds FellowshipTogether, they protect the individual, the fellowship, and their shared mission.“Abstain from things polluted by idols.”- In the ancient world, almost every meal was connected to idol worship.- Eating food sacrificed to idols meant participating in pagan religion.- James is saying—Don’t mix Jesus with idols.“Abstain from sexual immorality.”- The Greek word is porneia. It covers every kind of sexual sin—premarital, extramarital, homosexual, pornographic, all of it.- The Gentile world said sex was just physical. God says it’s sacred.- Following Jesus means your body belongs to Him.- This is countercultural obedience—still today.“Abstain from what has been strangled.”- That’s about eating meat without the blood drained—because in Leviticus, blood symbolized life.- God was teaching His people to respect life and the Giver of life.- Even in your diet, remember—life is sacred.“Abstain from blood.”- Same idea—don’t treat life casually.- For Gentiles, this was a huge lifestyle shift. They were being told, “Live differently now, because you belong to a holy God.”- These weren’t hoops to jump through—they were boundaries for blessing.