In the Tabernacle and Temple there was a wall that separated the Gentiles from the Jews. The Jews looked down on the Gentiles and felt morally superior. And the Gentiles looked at the Jews with similar prejudice. But in Christ, through his death for our sins, God broke down that "wall of hostility". Now all nations can come together in Christ and worship and serve together. In Matthew 13:47-50 Christ told the Parable of the Net, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind." Just like that large catch of fish, from the very start of the church, people have come in from all walks of life. Grace means that there are no preconditions to be saved, that we do not need to "measure up" to some standard of goodness before God can save us. He loves us even in our failure and includes all in his family who believe. In our text today we are examining the great unity we share in Christ. Though outwardly we are different from one another, it is what we have in common in Christ that binds us together. As believers we share Christ, and he is enough to overshadow all of the other things that might separate us. Christ draws us to himself, and by doing so he also draws us to each other. – Pastor David Packer
