Simple Guidelines

Scripture: Acts 16:1-5

4 Then they went from town to town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day. (Acts 16:4-5 NLT)

4 As they traveled from town to town, they presented the simple guidelines the Jerusalem apostles and leaders had come up with. 5 That turned out to be most helpful. Day after day the congregations became stronger in faith and larger in size. (Acts 16:4-5 MSG)

The simple guidelines they presented were most helpful. These were the simple guidelines that were spelled out at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15: “Don’t get involved in activities associated with idol-worship, don’t engage in sex outside of marriage, don’t eat meat with blood in it.”  Observe these simple guidelines in the context of loving God and loving others under the direction of the ever-present Holy Spirit. That will pretty much do it. Result: The congregations grew stronger in faith and larger in size.

The earliest believers and churches had only the Jewish Torah and writings to work with. The Gentile churches may not even have had those resources. Yet day by day, the congregations grew in faith and size. They told the Jesus stories and his teachings. The Holy Spirit guided them. Then later, in some cases years later, apostolic teaching teams came through to fill in the blanks and to adjust their doctrine if things had slipped a bit. And where necessary, Paul wrote letters to them. Eventually. But in the meantime, day after day the congregations became stronger in faith and larger in size.

Do we over-complicate it? What really matters? How much is enough? How much and what kind of teaching is needed to help a congregation grow stronger in faith and larger in size? What sort of church culture must we create for this to work in 2026? Or is it only the Holy Spirit who can truly create healthy church culture?

The Simple Guidelines: Tell your Jesus story, win souls, and make disciples. Preach and teach what Jesus preached and taught. Live your faith. Love God and love people. Respond to the Holy Spirit and use common sense. The simple guidelines they presented were most helpful!

Prayer:

Father, I want some insight on this. I want revelation about simple guidelines and about the culture that allows congregations to grow stronger in faith and larger in size. How does this work in 2026 and beyond? Amen.