No Us, No Them, No Division!

Introduction: Welcome/Prayer/ Opening

Questions

What are some things you are passionate about?

What are some ideas or topics you have strong opinions on?

Often our passions can divide us.

They cause us to make lines between us and them.

When your find out someone things differently then you doesn't it cause you to recoil?

Little things cause division too!

Is it right to put pineapple on Pizza?

John Deer or International?

Is cheesecake considered cake or pie?

How are you supposed to drink your coffee?

Division can be dangerous too!

Intending to raise cattle, a family from New York bought a ranch out West. When their friends visited and inquired about the ranch’s name, the would be rancher replied: “I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one of our sons wanted the Flying-W, and the other liked the Lazy-Y. So we’re calling it the BAr-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y.”

“But where are all your cattle?” the friends asked.

“None survived the branding.

We have been the most divided as a church and a nation

First with Covid and Now with politics

We have been robbed of our unity.

We have been robbed of our sense of family.

What is the answer?

Do we force everyone to see the way we do? Good Luck.

Do we just draw are lines in the sand and part ways? No!

Transition: Paul gives us a clear answer we can walk away with this morning, a difficult answer, but one that can change the world! The answer is: We will forget what divides us if we remember who Unites us.

Scripture: Romans 3:27-31 (One God, One Faith)

Boasting- Where then is boasting? What can we boast in?

Can the Jews boast in being Jewish, if its God that Justifies them? No!

Paul wants every person to understand that God’s way of justifying people—by grace—absolutely excludes any possibility that we may take credit for our salvation.

Paul reminds the Jews that they cannot brag about being superior to the Gentiles because God justifies them on the same basis!

This reminds us today that If we are boasting- it usually creates that division further. If we are boasting about what we have done, or how we have things right, we create that separation. We draw that line.

We see this in the church: Every denomination is right. If everyone is right then everyone is wrong!

Joke Baptist go to heaven, (rm 24) Pentecostal (rm 15), Quiet past rm 8 Shhh the Presbyteran think theyre only ones there.

Rather Paul calls us later to boast in Christ. Gal 6:4

One God over all! Is God just the God of the Jews? No!

Paul uses the approach from Monotheism, Where he asserts that there is one God, but that does not mean that one people group can claim the God. Yahweh is both God of the Gentiles and The Jews

Sometimes we think God is on one side or another that God is on the side of what we think is right.

We may take sides but God Doesn't! Look at this from Joshua! (Joshua 5:13-14)

Joshua 5:13–14 NIV

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

Later in Romans Paul says nothing can separate us from God’s love!

Romans 8:37-39- Why should we let these things separate us from each other.

Romans 8:37–39 NIV

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul then says: We are have one Faith vs 30 that Justifies all of us!

1 Cor 3- I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Peter... Did they die for you? Is Christ divided? NO! There is one Faith! Jesus.

Paul says we are justified by faith. Martin Luther says by faith Alone.

We are all justified by our allegiance to Christ. Christ should be our only identity. Too often we put a descriptor in front of Christian.

Jesus isnt going to ask us if what if we are a conservative christian, liberal Christian, Pre-Trib/ Post- Trib, He is going do say, Did you love me with all your heart and did you love your neighbor like I do!

Church Our Allegiance to Christ should be our highest priority! if anything comes before that we need do some serious soul searching!

Transition: Paul has argued that we have one God, One Faith, and He writes in another letter we are One Family. (Read Eph 2:11-21 from Screen)

Separated from God, but that Barrier of division was broken!

Now writing to the Gentiles! Thats us!

We were all separated from Christ

No relation to Christ

Excluded from citizenship to israel

Foreigners to the covenant

without hope

without God.

Before Christ you were in a pretty bad place, We can agree with that amen?

… destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility- This was a literal wall that separated Jews and Gentiles in the Temple.

Berlin Wall- 1961 to 1989, Separated people, families, loved ones!

What walls separate us in the church today?

Hostility broken- What hostility do you hold towards others? How can you ask God to Break it.

Story of me in the car!

Paul says that Christs work has not only broken down barriers, but made us one!

“made the two one” (2:14)

“to create in himself one new man out of the two” (2:15)

“in this one body to reconcile both of them” (2:16)

“we both have access to the Father by [in] one Spirit” (2:18)

We are made Completely one in Christ!

One Kingdom

One Family-

No one gets kicked out of the family - Think about this as you visit relatives

Temple/Church

We all are part of something bigger. We are a bigger body. There is no room for division in God’s house!

A house divided cannot stand!

Application: This main point is When we remember WHO unites us, we forget what divides us! But a saying doesn't fix us? What needs to change for us to not only listen, but live this?

Change of Mind:

We need to let go of the markers that define us that aren't Christ

Our Identity as a Christian should be simply Christ.

We are in a place where the church has followed suit with the nation and allowed our passion and affiliation to divide us. We have been robbed of our unity and robbed of our Church family. If we recognize that we were once separated from God and United in Christ, We wont let anything else divide us.

Reflect on our Passions: Do they reflect Christ?

Are they focused around Jesus?

How can we reorganize our passions?

Change our Actions:

Focus our efforts on what Unifies than what divides.

Even if we don’t all agree Christ calls us to serve and love one another.

Christ washed Judas’ feet!

Imagine if we had the same passion for reaching Newville with the Gospel as we do with our chicken.

Planning, Organization, Delivery

Change the World!

Christ says the World will know him by our unity.

In John 17, Christ says the world will know him by our Unity, not our power, or influence, not by how loud we scream or our policing of morals but our unity!

Imagine what would change if we took this seriously!

Imagine a world where there is no us, no them, no division.

Just one God

One Faith

One Family

When we remember WHO Unites us, We forget what Divides us