In Acts 15, the early church was experiencing division from both Jews and Gentiles. Both groups were being challenged to step out of their familiar culture and change to meet together and build something new.

The Jews were being asked to come out of their past “religious culture” and relinquish their demands and expectations on others to follow the Law and be circumcised. The Gentiles were being asked to come out of their past “religious culture” that included sacrifices to idols and sexual indulgence as part of idol worship.

The new believers were spared from RELIGION, without being given LICENSE to do whatever they desired. Both of these exist within the “church” today, and and to function in community we must not let our pendulum swing into either LICENSE or RELIGIOSITY.