A Note from Our Pastor:

“That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”

Ephesians 3:6

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

The Apostle Paul was a unique minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here was a man who was of the highest Jewish training and standard that was called to be the preacher to the Gentiles. A people which you might remember were called dogs and worse than dogs by the Jewish people. Not only that, but here was a man who at one time persecuted the church of God and now was called to not only minister but spread the church into new lands.

If there was ever a man that understood that unity among the people of God is not the same as conformity it was the Apostle Paul.

Through much of the Apostle Paul’s writings a key message is that the Gentiles have now been given the things of God and are equal with the Jews. That is in fact the message in the verse we are considering today. The Gentiles had been made fellowheirs with the Jews and were now part of the body of Christ.

Within that message though was a key concept that the Gentiles did not have to conform to the Jews nor did the Jews have to conform to the Gentiles. The Apostle clearly teaches that circumcision was not necessary in the New Testament, but that message could have been applied to numerous cultural traditions that did not impact doctrine.

This lesson should be one we continue to pay attention to today. Conformity is not a requirement for the family of God. Certainly, we are fellow believers and in regards to doctrine there should be unity. But not every member has to look the same way, eat the same foods, or view the world through the same spectrum. The church is about unity in Christ, not conformity in this world.

May the Lord bless us as the church to come together around the Gospel of Christ and love one another as Christ loves us.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah