A sermon on the "one body"
1. This morning we heard someone read one account of what we know as the Great Commission.
2. Jesus said to take the gospel into the entire world (Mk. 16:15).
3. He then became more specific about this task in Acts 1:8.
4. Jesus said preaching needed to be done in “Jerusalem and all Judea.”
5. Samaria was listed next and Jesus concluded with the “the uttermost part of the earth.”
6. By the time of Acts 8, the facts about Jesus were being preached in Samaria.
7. Most who are here know about the gospel going to Samaria.
8. People from there became Christians and then two apostles from Jerusalem came to this area.
9. Peter and John came and Luke tells us what they did: they laid hands on Christians (Acts 8:17).
10. Since the first Christians did not have a completed New Testament, spiritual gifts were given.
ALL THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE FAMILIAR TO US. WHAT MAY NOT BE SO EVIDENT IS A SECOND REASON FOR PETER AND JOHN COMING TO THE AREA OF SAMARIA.
1)
Tonight
we want to look at that second reason.
2) As we consider this reason we need to think about the Samaritans.
3) One verse that comes to mind is Jn. 4:9, a verse read earlier.
4) John recorded how Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.
5) We were also asked to hold in readiness Lk. 9:51-56.
6) Now it is time for these verses to be read – READ.
7) The “John” in Lk. 9 is the apostle John—the same character described in Acts 8.
8) John and his brother James were prepared to wipe out an entire Samaritan village.
9) Knowing about John 4 and Lk. 9 tells us something about the tension between Jews and Samaritans.
10) Jesus told His people (Acts 1:8) that those in Samaria needed to be taught.
11) This was heaven’s will, but given long standing prejudice, some may have been resistant to that.
12) Others besides the apostles might have had questions about whether or not this should be done.
13) It is true that Christians had gone to Samaria (Acts 8:1), but should the Samaritans be accepted?
14) God gave some proof that Samaritans were welcome in the kingdom.
15) When two apostles from Jerusalem came up and gave spiritual gifts, these people were marked as okay.
16) A little later in the New Testament we read about a similar thing occurring.
17) The Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius to convince people that Gentiles could also be Christians.
18) When we study the account of Cornelius, we encounter some fascinating information.
a) Some verses from Acts 10 will be read momentarily.
b) In Acts 8, Peter was one of the two apostles who went to Samaria.
c) Peter “prayed” for these new Christians and helped confer upon them spiritual gifts (verse 15).
19) Two chapters later Peter is again featured as the person saying that people are welcome in the kingdom.
20) When Peter went to see the Gentiles, he struggled on whether or not this was right
21) In fact, He needed some special help to be convinced that Gentiles were acceptable to God.
a) First, God gave Peter a “vision” (Acts 10:10-13).
b) Verse 10 introduces the story by saying Peter was “hungry.”
22)
READ
Acts 10:10-14.
23) God gave Peter a message but the apostle didn’t get it; let’s look at verse 15 – READ.
24) Verse 16 says this was done three times; the implication is that Peter rejected it three times.
25) Peter had been able to accept the Samaritans, but the Gentiles were harder to take.
26) To Peter’s credit, verse 17 says he was “perplexed” about this vision.
27) As he considered what the vision might have meant, he learned about some visitors.
28) Let’s now pick up with verse 19 – READ.
29) These men wanted Peter to come with him and God told him to go – verse 20 – READ.
30) Peter finally began to put the pieces together – verse 28 – READ.
31) The “big news” in Acts 10 is found in verses 34-35 – READ.
GOD PROVED TO THE JEWS THAT THEY WERE WELCOME TO THE BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL. HE GAVE SUFFICIENT PROOF THAT THE SAMARITANS WERE ACCEPTABLE. PROOF WAS ALSO OFFERED FOR THE GENTILES.
a) In the church created by Christ, there is only “one” body (church).
b) The only possible barrier between people is a “language” barrier.
c) If we cannot speak the same language, that poses some problems.
d) Aside from this, the Bible is very clear about equal access for all people.
2) When we look at skin color, race, class, background, etc. there are no distinctions in Christ.
3) Those who are members of Christ’s church are simply “brethren.”
4) Someone once expressed the thought this way:
a) Humanity has come from dirt.
b) There are different types of dirt. Some is hard and some is soft. Today some of it is mud.
c) Dirt comes in different shades (colors).
d) Dirt it dirt, and no one can envision one pile saying to another pile,
i) “I am a better pile of dirt than you.”
5) This sounds so simple, but prejudice is still often a major stumbling block for many in our world.
6) This past week I read about someone who was studying in a Kentucky seminary.
7) A day came when students were studying the gospel of John, the 4th chapter.
8) The professor said Jesus and His words could not be any clearer: racial prejudice is wrong.
9) A young man in the class was from a very southern section of Alabama.
10) He stood up, his face was very red, and he said, “I cannot accept that.”
11) He believed in prejudice, and he was not going to change his belief.
12) When the professor made his point the young man dropped out of seminary school.
13) Prejudice is alive and well in today’s world, but it has no place in the church.
14) Yet, we find that in the church people have sometimes struggled with and even been guilty of it.
15) Prejudice or discrimination is simply incompatible with the New Testament.
16) Anyone who believes in it must alter significant parts of the Bible.
a) Rom. 3:23 says “all have sinned.”
b) Is one race more guilty of sin than another? If yes, how is that to be explained?
c) If all races are equal with respect to sin, then this is a point of equality.
17) In Jn. 3:16 we are told that God “loves the world.”
18) Does God love one section of the world (nation/race/skin color) more than another?
19) Does the Bible say one race is superior to another?
20) Both questions must be answered as “no.”
21) Beyond this the Bible says Christ died for all (2 Cor. 5:15).
22) Jesus does not want “anyone” to perish (2 Pet. 3:9).
a) These two verses imply that all races are equal.
b) The value of an American soul is no more important than one from Africa.
c) There is no skin color that elevates us above someone else.
23) Acts 2:39 refers to those who were “afar off.”
24) Similar wording is found in Eph. 2:13, and there Paul said those “afar off” are “made nigh.”
a) In the past God had a special relationship with Israel.
b) This was done to get Jesus into the world and create the New Testament.
c) Now that both actions have been accomplished, all people (nations) are totally equal.
d) Christ died for all because all sin.
e) All have access to salvation.
f) And all will be raised when the resurrection comes (Jn. 5:28-29).
25) All will stand before the judgment bar of God (2 Cor. 5:10).
26) In this life, men have often used race to divide people into classes.
27) Even now we sometimes hear words like “segregation.”
28) In the New Testament, however, we find something else.
29) God describes two categories of people.
a) It is not the white and the black.
b) It is not the American and the people from Mexico.
c) It is not the Westerners and the Easterners.
d) It is the righteous and the unrighteous.
30) The righteous enter into eternal life (Mt. 25:46), and the unrighteous enter into spiritual death.
31) Those who are righteous will all have the same accommodations.
32) The same is true for those who are lost.
33) Jesus said He would build His “church.”
34) We have rightly argued that church is singular and it thus cannot include denominations built by men.
35) We are either part of the church Christ built or part of a group founded by a human being.
36) Beyond this the singular word church points to another fact.
37) God does not have one church for this race and another for that race.
38) Think again about Acts 8 and the gospel going to Samaria.
39) Who worshipped together? Jews and Samaritans.
40) Under Judaism those from a Jewish background said, “We will have no part of you.”
41) Under Christ and the New Testament that all changed.
42) Jews and Samaritans got together.
43) Then it increased to Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles.
44) With the New Testament the message was, “We are all one; we are united in Christ.”
45) We can find prejudice in our world without looking too hard.
46) One of the ways we distinguish ourselves from the unsaved is to believe all people are equal.
47) We then take that belief and act up on it (put it into practice).
48) We have lots of laws on the books that deal with this topic.
a) I find that a bit odd given a common reaction to the scriptures.
b) Many think the scriptures are out of date, restrictive, and a poor guide.
c) God’s law condemns discrimination much more severely than any law.
d) If people followed the New Testament, we wouldn’t need discrimination laws.
e) Once again we can hold up the Word of God and say, “this is the right way to live.”