Sermon for 7/12/2009
Ephesians 2:11-18
Introduction:
A. “In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag. We have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people." Theodore Roosevelt - (1858-1919) 26th President of the United States
WBTU:
A. It is the same way in the church. Either we are Christians or we are not. There can be no divided allegiance here. (Phil 3:20 NIV) But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
C. I love to read the story of Jacob’s marriage. Jacob was a man who felt that the rules were to be broken. He spent much of his life trying to make things work his way, rather than the way they were supposed to work. When Jacob saw Rachel at that well it was love at first sight. And after seven years spent working for this woman, the day of his marriage arrive. As was their custom, Jacob took his bride into his tent. At the marriage ceremony in those days, the woman was heavily veiled, so that she couldn’t be seen. I guess the bride never removed her veil. Their sexual union consummated the marriage. What a shock it was for Jacob to wake up in the morning, with the sun streaming into his tent, illuminating the face of his wife—Leah, the older sister of Rachel! (Gen 29:25 NIV) When morning came, there was Leah!
D. With the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the church was born. Suddenly, Jewish Christians found themselves “married,” as it were, to Gentile believers. It was as much a shock to them as it was for Jacob to wake up and find Leah at his side.
E. In our Scriptures this morning Paul talks to the Gentile Christians in Ephesus. He is basically telling them that they are not second class citizens. Don’t let anyone tell you that you are not on equal footing with them because they are Jews. There are no second class citizens of the church. Either we are a citizen of heaven or we are not.
Thesis: Let’s talk about our citizenship in heaven.
For instances:
1. We grow in our appreciation of our citizenship by remembering our past.
A. One word that describes that former life is alienation- from God and others.
B. People in this world do not get along. Strife exists between nations. In our big cities, gangs mark off their boundaries and kill those who cross them. In our homes, struggles abound. The divorce rate gives evidence of this. Even in the church, lines are drawn and some people are cut off from others.
C. Paul addressed this problem by tackling the biggest of divisions: the Jews and the Gentiles. It is said that a prominent rabbi, when asked why God created so many Gentiles, replied, “So there might be fuel enough for the fires of hell.” It was unlawful for a Jew to help a Gentile who was giving birth, thus helping to bring another Gentile into the world. If a Jew married a Gentile, the Jewish family had a funeral service for them and the one who married a Gentile was dead to them. For Gentiles, the feeling was mutual; they despised Jews.
D. Paul sent this letter to let these Gentile Christians know that they had become part of a new nation which included both Jews and Gentiles. Within this new nation, all racial hatred, dislike, and mistreatment should end.
E. This begins by making things right with God. Ephesians 2:12 gives 5 descriptions of the Gentile alienation from God.
1. Separate from Christ- Without spiritual blessings Without light Without peace
Without rest Without safety Without a Prophet, Priest, or King
2. Excluded from citizenship in Israel- The Gentiles did not receive the natural citizenship rights that belonged by birth to the descendents of Abraham.
3. Foreigners to the covenants of the promise- on the outside looking in.
4. Without hope- Over a hundred years ago, a 16 year old lad was singing happily at his work on his father’s fishing boat. Some time before, he had become a Christian. He loved to sing of Christ and His precious love. Now, he was singing: “I’ve anchored my soul in the haven of rest, I’ll sail the wide seas no more; the tempest may sweep o’er the wild stormy deep; In Jesus I’m safe evermore. Just as he finished singing the last line, “In Jesus I’m safe evermore,” the heavy sail swung round, knocking him overboard, and he disappeared without a trace. After searching in vain, the father, sad at heart, turned the vessel round and headed back to the port where the family was staying for the summer months. The poor mother was grief stricken. Although the family members were filled with sorrow, their hearts were comforted that the boy had Jesus Christ and because of that he would be fine.
5. Without God- No real relationship with Him.
F. Notice vs. 13. in Christ Jesus makes all the difference. “In Christ Jesus” describes the new nation. It is a community of people brought into being “by the blood of Christ.”
G. (Rom 10:12 NIV) For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
2. We owe our citizenship in the Kingdom of heaven to our Lord.
A. Examine the verbs in vs. 15 and 16.
1. Abolishing-
a) Jesus did away with the Jewish religion. He came and fulfilled the Old Testament. He did away with all of the rules and regulations concerning separation between Jews and Gentiles. The separation now is between those who are in Christ and those who are outside of Christ. He even changes that separation in that we are not to hate those people but we are to try to win them over.
b) We are to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ. We are to be different from those outside of Christ. We have to watch against being led back into a life of sin. However, an ambassador does not separate himself from whom he was sent. He tries to get to know them. Why? So he can be an effective ambassador. (2 Cor 5:20 NIV) We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. Jesus did not come to bring division.
2. Make- vs. 15. He created something. What did Jesus intend to create? One new man. Could also say a new nation. He came to create a new race of men.
3. Reconcile- vs. 16. He reconciled this new race to God. He brought God and man back together. Jesus also brought men back together with men in the church.
B. There were two unmarried sisters who had such a bitter fight that they stopped speaking to each other. Unable or unwilling to leave their small home, they continued to use the same rooms and sleep in the same bedroom. A chalk line divided the sleeping area into two halves. The chalk divided rooms so that both sisters could come and go and get her own meals without trespassing on their sister’s space. In the black of night, each could hear the breathing and snoring of the other. For years they coexisted in grinding silence. Neither was willing to take the first step to reconciliation. Then one night a sister got up to go to the bathroom and fell, breaking her hip. The other sister awakened by the fall and the scream of pain jumped out of bed, crossed the chalk line and came to her sister’s side. After a jab on why she would do such a foolish thing as trip over her own feet, the sister held her foe of the past few years until the paramedics came and carried her to the hospital.
C. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall told this story and added these words at the end: “The legal system can force open doors, and sometimes knock down walls, but it cannot build bridges.” That is the job of Christ.
C. That happens not only in literature; it happens in real life. I have even seen it in churches. We might not actually draw chalk lines on the floor, but the lines are still there. People who wear the name of Christ have little or nothing to do with one another.
D. This should not be. It goes against everything for which Jesus died. Jesus came to reconcile- to create a new, unified Kingdom and nation. (1 Pet 2:9 NIV) But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.
E. John 17:20- 21 I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one.
Conclusion and invitation:
A. This world is a place of division, alienation and hostility.
B. In contrast the church needs to be a place of peace, unity and love.
C. Two things we need to be concerned about:
1. The church is the hope of the world. Ephesians 3:10- Through the church
2. We cannot let barriers exist in the local church. Erase the chalk lines.
D. What Theodore Roosevelt said about the US, should also be said of the church: When someone becomes a Christian, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact a Christian, and nothing but a Christian...There can be no divided allegiance here.
E. I pledge allegiance to the Lamb With all my strength With all I am
I will seek to honor His commands I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
