May 29, 2026 Keeping the Gospel Pure – Words of Grace Blog – May 29, 2026
This Sunday at Grace Community Church, the sermon text will be Acts 15, one of the momentous chapters of the Bible. It is here that we find the apostles and early leaders of the church thinking clearly, disputing passionately, and advocating forcefully to keep the gospel of Jesus Christ pure. We have every reason to be grateful that, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, they got it right.
It’s worth remembering what the gospel is. Short statements of the gospel are given throughout the New Testament. We can piece them together and say that the gospel is the good news that, by the grace of God, through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross and through repentance and faith in him, we will be saved. This salvation includes many gifts from God that bring us into a right relationship with him.
It’s also worth remembering that if the gospel is not kept pure, and works, traditions, or cultural requirements are added to it, then we are left without a true gospel. The same can be said if any of the true gospel requirements of God’s grace and our repentance and faith in the cross-work of Jesus Christ are subtracted from the gospel. If that happens, we have no gospel at all.
What’s at stake if various forms of human works, ceremonial traditions, or cultural practices are added to the gospel as requirements for someone to be saved and incorporated into the people of God? The short answer is everything.
When the gospel is corrupted, we are left without a way of being saved, for salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. A corrupted gospel means we have no lasting joy that comes from assurance, for we will forever be anxious with the uncertainty that we have attained salvation. When gospel purity is not maintained, neither is unity in the church, for we will each have our own requirements and make our own judgments about the standing of others before God. And if the gospel is not pure, it will not spread to the nations and redeem a people for God, for there is no life in the graceless message of works-based righteousness.
This weekend, as you reflect on the purity of the gospel maintained in the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, do so with gratitude and a sense of responsibility. Be grateful that God brought the gospel to you to hear and believe. And let’s together take responsibility to keep the gospel pure and to spread it to others.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday,
Scott