Memorize: Unity within the church
Key Verses: 1, 4, 7, 15, 20, 26,
It is hard not living a selfish life. It is so easy to drift back to the old way of thinking and acting with personal interests in mind. The Scriptures will teach us, if we will spend time reading and studying them. Others have been through difficulties in the past, and by reading about their journey we can make it through and have hope. The accounts in the Scriptures are there to help us. Take advantage of their wealth.
If we accept each other, then prejudice will go out the window. If the archenemies of that day, Jews and non-Jews, could be in the same church, then any modern day lines of division can be bridged in Christ. When Jesus changes a life, then all those old lines break down. We are free to embrace each other.
Because the message of this kind of acceptance, all based on grace, is so radical, Paul had to write very boldly in order for his hearers, and for us, to get this radical message. We are accepted! God accepts everyone the same way. There are no preconditions to having a relationship with God. We must believe what He said, period. This belief will then lead us to obey what He said.
Paul was called to reach the unreached peoples of his day. He personally bridged the gap of historical and cultural prejudice, the Jew – non-Jew divide. His life played out the restoration of all to God. He knew he had to reach out, or others might not. He broke the mold so others could follow.
Paul has started the first missions giving program, Gentile churches sending money to support the poor believers of Jerusalem. They were giving money as a way of demonstrating their solidarity with them. They were sacrificing so that those in Jerusalem would not starve to death. A good pattern for giving today: believers supporting believers.
REVIEW: John
The Arnold Journey 