Imagine someone telling you that because you're wearing fabric woven from two different kinds of material, that you cannot possibly be saved. Sound far-fetched? It's part of the law of Moses...{Leviticus 19:19}.

Clearly, I'm over-simplifying here, but this is the topic of Acts 15, that we'll be diving into this Sunday, August 3, in our Contemporary Service.

After all of the struggle, all of the sacrifice, not to mention putting their lives in danger, [Paul even endured stoning]...some self-appointed men decided to tell anyone who wasn't circumcised, that they could not be saved. This obviously outraged Paul and Barnabas, and a great debate ensued.

In our day, I think we're living at the other end of the spectrum, where we're told that the only thing we have to do to get to heaven is...to die. The Bible makes it clear that heaven is not a foregone conclusion for everyone...

John 14:6- Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Acts 4:12 - "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

At the same time, something we can take away from Acts 15 is how they banded together to encourage the Gentiles who were new to their faith...they didn't want to put undue burdens on these new believers...

Acts 15:19, "...we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God."

The result? Verse 31 tells us how encouraged the people were. So it is with us...our mission should be like Paul and Barnabas' mission...to bring encouragement whenever and wherever we can. We have tremendous power...

Proverbs 18:21, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."