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Acts 15

[1] Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

[10] Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? [11] On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."

This passage is one that I think of often when people say "You can only be a Christian if you " Whether it is "speaking in tongues" or "believing in creationism" or "the five fundamentals" those are understandings of what it means to be Christian and what saves us is not those understandings but the grace of our Lord Jesus.

It is not how many good deeds I can do that will save me. It is not saying the right prayer that will save me. It is not having the right beliefs that will save me. It is not understanding God correctly that will save me. It is through God's grace that I am saved.

This is what Paul is talking about when he says that we are no longer slaves to the law. The law is not made unimportant, but it is in the proper place. The law is from God, but is not God. We are saved not by our adherence to a set of rules, but through grace and love. The sacrifice on the cross becomes more than just an offering for sin but a love that transcends all time and space. The law may have convicted me and convinced me of my need, but my needs aren't met in the law. My needs are met through God's grace and in that my burden is lifted and my heart set free to sing God's praise.