We Desire Unity

The Church today is the evolutionary result of the seed that was planted by Jesus, watered by His disciples and fertilized by Paul for the benefit of all mankind. Each generation since has been held accountable to God for rightly passing on the tenets of the Church and for teaching each successive generation how to live according to the revelation of God in His Word. We have been at this work for some time now and overwhelmingly we hear people say they want the truth, but when asked to demonstrate their love for God by living it, fall far short.

1. The Jews were God’s chosen people

A. They were descendants of Abraham. God promised to the effect that his offspring would bless all the people of

the earth. He was not a perfect man, but he loved God and honored Him.

B. God made them into a great nation. He gave them land and wealth and power. He raised up a shepherd who

became a king. His name was David. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he loved God and honored Him.

C. David’s son Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. He was not a perfect man, but he loved God and

honored Him.

D. Israel forgot God’s promise and continually tried His patience by living by their wits instead of God’s Word.

Each time they got into trouble they cried out to God who heard them and restored them until about 600 BC

when God allowed them to fall into captivity and lose the land.

2. The Gentiles were looked down on by the Jews

A. They were the descendants of Ham and Japheth. They were the people who had forgotten the God that saved

Noah from the flood. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he loved God and honored Him.

B. They had settled in lands far and wide after the confusion of tongues at Babel. Their record of the creation story

became confused They substituted what sounded good for the truth.

C. Japheth’s children were the early inhabitants of Europe. They were the forerunners of the Roman empire who

ruled most of the earth in Jesus’ day.

3. Jesus came to make all people into God’s people

A. Jesus fulfilled the messianic prophecy. He is the seed of Abraham who came to bless the world.

B. He called the people of the world to look honestly at their position before God and in repentance, make Him

Lord of their lives.

C. The Roman’s ignored Him until the Jewish leaders cried out to them to kill Him for His crimes against their

traditions.

D. The Romans in charge crucified Him in order to maintain the peace and status quo.

E. When He rose from the dead He proved to everyone that He was indeed the living Son of God.

F. Paul met the Lord on a dusty road while in pursuit of believers who defied the Jewish leaders. He learned the

truth and became one of the most important characters in Scripture having written at least thirteen epistles

which form about half the New Testament.

Paul taught the same thing wherever he went. He taught salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and not by works. He preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son who died so that our sins could be forgiven. He preached to everyone who would listen and in fact was the founder of many of the fellowships which became what we call the early church. He gave people from every background the opportunity to know that God loved them all the same, and that He loves us too, and that’s the essence of the message I‘ve shared with you today. Will you receive it and ask Jesus to be your lord today? Amen?