Rules and Regulations

For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell. (Acts 15:28-29 NET)

This was part of a letter that was put together by the Jerusalem Council (a groupd made up of the apostles and elders) during the first century. The reason for this was the Jewish converts were imposing their laws and traditions on to the new Gentile converts and this was causing unnecessary burdens on the Gentile converts. The Council came together, got direction from the Holy Spirit and put together this letter (Acts 15:23-29) which states that the only rules that need to be followed were abstaining from meat that has been sacrificed to idols, meat with blood still in it, meat that has been strangled, and sexual immorality. That was it! However, we humans, doing what we do best, started making up our own rules on how to be a Christian, such as what we can and can not watch, do, say, or whatever. Jesus didn't come to place burdens on us, He came to give us freedom. If we followed what the apostles and elders and the Holy Spirit decided during the first century, there would be freedom in the followers of Christ, and most likely a lot more followers of Christ. If we stop placing our human regulations and rules (albeit some with good intentions but still humanistic) on ourselves and others, and we let God direct our conscience and hearts on what we as individuals should and should not do beyond the letter of the Jerusalem Council, we would be walking in such freedom and have a more intimate relationship with Jesus.

Take Away: start allowing God to guide your heart and your conscience by allowing Him into more and more of your life...it is then you will experience the freedom He willingly died for.