Introduction: In most of our lessons in this series, we discussed
what we could do to be more unified. Is there a “grace” aspect to the
question of unity? Has Jesus already handled the problem? Has He
done what is necessary for us to be unified? Let’s dive into our
study of the Bible and learn more!
- Unity in Jesus
- Read John 11:45-48. The members of the Sanhedrin
considered Jesus a threat. Why? Why would He cause the
Romans to take away their nation? (Read Acts 1:6. Jesus’
disciples, even after three years of teaching by Him,
believed that He was going to set up an earthly kingdom.
The Pharisees believed it too, and thus thought the
revolution would destroy their nation.) - If they believed Jesus was the Messiah, would the
Jewish leaders have this same view? (No doubt they
thought the true Messiah would defeat the Romans.
This tells us one of two things. First, the Jewish
leaders did not consider Jesus to be the Messiah.
Or, if they did, they had the serious problem that
Jesus did not endorse them.) - Read John 11:49-50. Why does Caiaphas say that Jesus must
die? (So the nation will not be destroyed by the Romans.) - What is the irony in this? (The nation was destroyed
by the Romans not too long after that.) - Read John 11:51-53. Why does this text say that Jesus
died? (To bring the people together and make them unified.
Caiaphas spoke correctly, he just did not understand the
full import of what he was saying.) - How does Jesus’ death bring unity?
- Read Ephesians 2:11-14. What additional light does this
shed on the idea of Jesus bringing the people together by
His death? (He brought the Gentiles together with the
Jews. He destroyed the “dividing wall of hostility.”) - Read Ephesians 2:15-16. What other hostility did Jesus
reconcile – other than between Jews and Gentiles? (He
reconciled us to God!) - How did Jesus reconcile us to God? (He abolished the
law.)
- What do you think this means – the statement that
Jesus abolished the law and regulations with His
flesh? He just threw them on the scrap heap and
burned them up? (Read Matthew 5:17-19. Jesus explains
that He fulfilled the law. That is, we do not have to
keep the law to be saved, because Jesus already did
that on our behalf. That is the way in which He
“abolished” the law and regulations. That is how He
reconciled us to God.) - Read Ephesians 2:17-18. What is our point of access to
God? (The Holy Spirit. Notice what this verse says: Jesus
reconciled both Jews (“those who were near”) and Gentiles
(“you who were far away”) to God. We all need
reconciliation to God and to each other. Jesus is the way
in which this unity is achieved through the Holy Spirit.) - Read Ephesians 2:19-22. To what does the Bible compare
this unity among Christians? (To a house! This gets back
to the word picture we recently studied in which we
learned that members collectively constitute a “temple.”
This is a temple in which the Holy Spirit lives.) - Gospel Unity
- Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-19. If you are a Christian, what
is your message? (One of reconciliation!) - What reconciliation are we presenting? (Jesus
reconciled us to God – “not counting men’s sins
against them.” What great news this is!) - Does reconciliation bring unity?
- Would this include the message of reconciling
Christians to each other? (If we are reconciled
to God, why would we not be reconciled to each
other?) - Read Romans 14:1-3. How does gospel unity apply in the
practical day to day events of life? (We realize that God
is the Judge, we are not.) - This past week, I preached at one local church for
the first time. On one hand I was impressed by the
spirituality of the church, and wondered if my own
local church needed to improve in that area. On the
other hand, I noticed that this church suggested that
we use the Thanksgiving time (an American holiday) to
promote the gospel by talking about our good diet.
Who is the “weak faith” person in our text? (The one
with the limited diet.) - Read Mark 7:14-23. What does this suggest about marketing
the gospel through what we eat or don’t eat? (It suggests
that this is not how we should do it.) - What does it say is the true battle front for
spirituality? (Our mind!) - Let’s look at this from a practical point of view. If
you want to attract new members based on diet, you
would hold cooking classes, right? What would you
hold if you wanted to improve minds? (Perhaps you
would hold entertainment classes. You might suggest
ways for the family to have fun without a screen
being involved.) - Read Romans 8:5-8. What does this suggest is the best way
to improve our thoughts? (Having our mind controlled by
the Holy Spirit, as opposed to it being controlled by our
sinful nature.) - Read Romans 8:9-11. What does this suggest instead of a
cooking class? (A class on the Holy Spirit!) - Let’s get back to the message of unity in Romans 14. Read
Romans 14:13-15. How does this tell us to handle
disagreements about diet? (It tells us to avoid creating
problems. Don’t pass judgment, and don’t flaunt the fact
that you have a different view.) - I’ve been a vegetarian for over fifty years. I recall
during the early years how hard it was to eat well
when I was traveling in rural areas. This morning I
read a complaint that “vegans are as bad as
homosexuals, they won’t keep quiet.” Think about that
complaint. Apparently it is now popular in some
circles to be a vegan! We say that people should not
define themselves by their sexual views – it seems so
odd in the abstract. Is it just as odd to define
yourself by your eating habits? Does the Bible
(Romans 14) condemn that as being judgmental and
divisive? - Consider the related bigger issue – should we
evangelize on what makes us different? - Read Colossians 3:12-14. What does this suggest promotes
unity? (These virtues combined with love. Love “binds them
all together in perfect unity.”) - If I described someone as being compassionate, kind,
humble, gentle, patient and forgiving, would you
expect that person to evangelize on the basis that
they worshiped on a better day, had a better diet, or
had a superior understanding of the future? - Read Matthew 3:1-2, Matthew 4:17 and Acts 2:38. John the
Baptist, Jesus and Peter evangelized by calling people to
“repent” – to change their attitude! To turn away from sin
and turn to God. Doesn’t this suggest a superior
understanding of how to live? - Let’s continue with the message of Peter. Read Acts
2:40-41. What is Peter saying about people being
corrupt? Isn’t he suggesting the people should come
out of corruption and into the light of the gospel?
Isn’t this a suggestion that the people are corrupt
and Peter is not? - Are you now totally confused about how to evangelize?
About unity? (Read Ephesians 5:8-14. God calls us to point
out the difference between light and darkness. He approves
calls for repentance, for that is what Jesus did. At the
same time, Jesus calls for love and compassion, and He
calls for us to avoid disputes over minor matters.) - Friend, Jesus reconciled us to God the Father. His grace
gives us unity with God. The compassion that Jesus showed
to us we should show to others. Will you ask the Holy
Spirit to guide you in calling the world to repentance? To
guide you in showing love, compassion, and humility
towards others? - Next week: Unity and Broken Relationships.
