    The Gentile Christians- that is the Greek Christians- at the time Paul wrote to the Ephesians were often looked upon by some of the Jewish Christians of the day as second class Christians. This was because those Gentile Christians did not believe that they had to adhere to the laws that governed the Jews before they could become Christians, especially the laws regarding circumcision. It turns out that the Jewish Christians who held this view were very wrong, and their condemnation of the Gentile Christians for failing to adhere to those laws was ultimately refuted.
    Often, it is too easy for Christians to condemn one another simply because they belong to different denominations. This is not to say that the differences between one denomination and another may not be substantial or that those differences do not need to be addressed, debated, and corrected when wrong, but the truth of the matter is that we- that is those who believe that they are sinners and that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins and rose again to grant us eternal life- are all part of the one Body of Christ. If we are all part of one body, then how can the desire to correct become condemnation?
    Indeed, the desire to address, debate, and correct is the Grace of the Gospel put into action in our Christian lives. We are commanded to love one another, and that love must be expressed even in disagreement. Such love is not an expression of blind unity, but rather a focused, thinking concentration on that which is most important, namely the salvation of people’s souls and thereby the assurance that they will reach Heaven. It is this love and this desire that unites us into the body of Christ by our commonly held faith, and it is this love that will ultimately bring us into Heaven together by one Salvation by Grace.
    Yet, in the mean time, each of us must strive to understand the Gospel- perhaps more importantly to understand how the Gospel applies to our lives- and to live that Gospel every day. In doing so, each of us brings ourselves closer within the Body of Christ, away from the nature of sin and toward the nature of our Savior.
DLH
