THE BEAUTY OF ACCEPTANCE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of Your name.”

Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.”

And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol Him.”

And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in Him, the Gentiles will hope.”

Romans 15:7-12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message, we saw how the way to unity was through being united with God first, the God who leads us to build up other and not tear them down, the God who leads us to focus on the fact that we are stronger together than Him than we are divided because of the matters of the world. In the end translation, if there are challenges and problems we need to work through, He will lead us through them. We just need to collectively place our trust in Him.

Well division and the adverse impact it has on society isn’t just a modern day problem. Go back to biblical times and you will find that there was a clear line of demarcation set between people. You were either a Jew or you weren’t and if in the latter category, you were referred to as a Gentile.

The Jews saw themselves as God’s exclusive people and this was grounded in the covenant God had made with them, a covenant that defines the first part of the Bible known as the Old Testament. God had chosen the Israelites to be His people and He would be their God. And while it was a special relationship, the Israelites failed over and over again to maintain their side of the agreement, consistently committing what amounted to spiritual adultery by giving other gods (lower case “g”) their faith and trust.

Further, the Jews arrogantly used their special relationship with God to disrespect and mistreat Gentiles. They made the non-Jews feel insignificant and unworthy of anything good from God. Gentiles were unclean and sinful, in a different class altogether well below the exclusively blessed people of Israel.

Unfortunately, the Jewish people couldn’t see their own state of iniquity and fallenness before God, even despite God’s judgment falling upon them over and over again.

And so God did something new. Things could not remain as they were in the old covenant because no Jew could be righteous enough to gain salvation. All were sinners before a God who despised sin and that made them no better than the Gentiles they discriminated against.

What was the new thing that God did?

He so loved the world that He sacrificed His only Son Jesus so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish in their sin but instead gain eternal life (John 3:16).

This was the catalyst for the new covenant God made with not just the Jews but the Gentiles as well. There was no longer any division needed between the two because they were on a level playing field now. Your spiritual identity was no longer Jew or Gentile but rather Christian or non-Christian. One’s relationship with God was solely based on their belief and trust in Jesus.

Given this, there was no need for divisiveness. Everyone could get along and relate to one another, living in one accord. They could accept one another just as Jesus had accepted them and do so to “bring praise to God”.

Friends, when we come together and allow God to lead us, we not only rid our society of divisiveness over matters of the world but we find our way to Jesus, the One who shows us the beauty of acceptance, the One who welcomes and receives all who believe in Him as the Savior of the world. He and He alone can keep us together in this life and in the everlasting one still yet to come.   

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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