Brothers and sisters, we are free in Christ! In Acts we find the major turning points in the story of the early church. Acts 15 is the story of the early church coming to a common understanding about the law and grace. The good news is that grace and freedom won!
Christ had told the apostles: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 6:19). He was speaking about the decisions the apostles would make as they were led by the Holy Spirit, about rules of the Christian life, which would permanently influence the church.
They affirmed the freedom of the believer for all ages living under the Lordship of Christ. As God led them, they "bound" and "loosed" the right things. All followers of Christ are "bound," in the sense that we are to obey the moral laws of the Old Testament that forbid us from telling lies and falsehoods, disrespecting our parents, murdering, stealing, committing sexual immorality, coveting and being jealous, and other moral sins. But we are "loosed" in the sense that we are not required to be circumcised, nor to not eat certain foods, to wear only certain clothes, to cut our hair a certain way, or to follow other restrictive ceremonial laws. This is our freedom today! We are to live responsibly and morally under the Lordship of Christ, as the word teaches us, and as the Spirit leads and enables us.
