Monday: Breaking Down the Wall
Some of the deepest divisions among people are caused by differences of race, ethnicity, and religion. In many societies, identity cards indicate the ethnicity or religion one belongs to, and these distinctions often are connected with privileges or restrictions that people have to live with on a daily basis.
Image © Rolf Jansson from GoodSalt.com
When wars or conflicts arise, these markers of identity and differences often become catalysts for repression and violence.
In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul indicates a better way for the Christian community. How does our unity in Christ affect our differences? What was broken down by Jesus’ death on the cross?
Paul invites the Ephesians to remember what their lives were like before they received the grace of God in Christ. Ethnic, cultural, and religious differences created animosity and conflicts between people groups. But the good news is that, in Christ, we are all one people with a common Savior and Lord. We all belong to the people of God. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13, NKJV).
The ancient temple in Jerusalem had a wall of separation to distinguish the sections of the temple accessible only to ethnic Jews. This wall had an inscription that forbade foreigners to go any further, under pain of death. It is this regulation that Paul was accused of transgressing when he entered the temple after his missionary journeys. When Paul was arrested he was charged with bringing into the Jewish section of the temple an Ephesian named Trophimus (Acts 21:29). In this epistle Paul argues that Christ “is our peace, who has made both [ethnic groups] one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Eph. 2:14, NKJV).
In Christ, believers are descendants of Abraham and receive the circumcision of the heart. The physical circumcision that God gave to Abraham pointed to the spiritual circumcision that believers would receive in Christ (see Deut. 10:16). “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11, NKJV).
Read again Ephesians 2:11-22. In what ways do we see in our own church the reality of what Paul has written here? What challenges remain? |
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What challenges does our church face? It would seem to be many. Are we returning to the practice of the ancient Jews? Do we expect all members to become a"Jew" in order to be accepted in God's church? Where is the variety of nature that God so loves! When can we be tolerant of differences of culture without expecting conformity?
When the focus is on Christ, cultural, ethnical, social or educational level do not matter. Christ is the key for us to get closer to God, to restore our nature to the "separate" state that we need to be, a blessing to reveal the love of God to those surrounding us. Jesus is the name to be placed first in any successful action.
I agree, in that we are to focus on growing in Christ every moment by seeking His face and with prayer intercede on behalf of others that "we all" may receive His righteousness and sweet character to bear witness and complete the work given us that we may haste our Masters coming.
Unity in Christ only exists for those who are in Christ. All others are of this world and continue to erect walls between themselves and those they oppose for whatever selfish reasons they might find. Sinfulness is the result of being self-centered, and walls of separation and opposition are only broken down in the lives of repentant believers in Jesus. Even in the church walls are being erected by any who are not yoked with Jesus, who is meek and lowly of heart.
"Only by pride cometh contention" ~ Solomon
This wall building happened in the old times.
We are being reminded not to fall into the same trap.
My thinking is either we have done it and it's time to take corrective actions or it's soon happening and we need to be cautious.
More and more people from different setups are flocking into the congregations and we ought to know how to welcome and care for each other.
It's possible that we might be claiming to be Christians yet we are only following a given way in life.
Until we are circumcized in Christ then are we able to break the walls.
Let's pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us.
Do we focus on social,ethnical,cultural and educational alone to restore unity ????
What if Gender is included ???
Our primary self identity often determine how we treat others. Do we self identify first by our race, our culture, our ethnicity, our gender, our education, our tribe, etc. As Christians if we all first self identify as followers of Christ, then our unity in Christ will draw us closer together. In Christ we all are one.
The breaking down of barriers often means stepping out of our comfort zone, and that is very hard to do. Living in Christ should encourage us, but in order to do something positive requires a plan of action.
For example, ageism is an issue in some churches. Youth and age no longer tolerate one another. Both want control of church services. How do we break down the barriers. We claim that those who live in Christ are tolerant. What should we be tolerant of? What is the balance?
We need to put “living in Christ” into practice, and that is going to take courage, commitment and patience.
Those in Christ are tolerant. So when some are intolerant, what does that mean? (Prov 13:10)
It seems to me that tolerance is a poor substitute for self-renouncing love - the law of life for earth and heaven.
Thus, I think you mean that "Those in Christ are loving," right?
What is the opposite of tolerant? Doesn't that tell us what it means to be tolerant, and the true motive behind it? Maurice mentioned tolerant specifically.
I find the word "love" to easy to misunderstand, but specific actions motivated by "agape"(whatever you wish to call it) will be seen in many ways(e.g. patient, courteous, sympathetic, kind, tolerant, etc). Without specific manifestations, anyone can say "love" without a clue to its meaning in practical ways.
Cliches are nice sounding, but actions are more convincing aren't they?
Does this quote sound like "self-renouncing love"?....
"God designed that we should be tolerant of one another, that those of varied temperaments should be associated together, so that by mutual forbearance and consideration of one another’s peculiarities, prejudices should be softened, and rough points of character smoothed. Diversities of temperament and character are frequently marked in families; where this is the case there should be a mutual recognition of one another’s rights. Thus all the members may be in harmony, and the blending of varied temperaments may be a benefit to all. Christian courtesy is the golden clasp which unites the members of the family in bonds of love, becoming closer and stronger every day."
HR August 1, 1877, par. 6
Point taken, Robert. I like the quotation you offered. It demonstrates that tolerance of differences is an inherent component of self-renouncing love. However, tolerance alone is not what Jesus asked of us. We can tolerate annoying neighbors without loving them, for instance.
We are not just to tolerate differences among us, but we are to love as Christ loves. That means being willing to die for those who are very different from us and may hold ideas we deem to be wrong - not just outside the church but within it as well. (I mention this because sometimes we tend to be harder on people the closer they are to us.)
Inge, I believe Maurice's original point of being tolerant vs intolerant is about being a true follow of Christ vs not, which will be seen in practical ways.
It is just one aspect of living a Godly life. Godly = being like God. Does God practice self-renouncing love? (In what ways does God renounce Himself while still being God?)
Can an intolerant person be considered "in Christ"? That was the point of my original question.
Doesn't Prov 13:10 provide a clue?
On the other hand, how does one determine if another's tolerance is lacking self-renouncing love? Isn't tolerance the expression of this love? If not, is there such a thing as fake tolerance? Who decides? Is Ellen calling for a certain kind of tolerance that is different from this unloving tolerance? I guess I'm not sure what you are driving at.
True unity in diversity is revealed in your statement posted from HR August 1, 1877, par. 6! We ALL come from different backgrounds, have diverse temperaments, characters etc. BUT regardless of such we ARE to be united on one thing - THE TRUTH! Truth is what truly unites God's people, NOT an experience as suggested in the Sabbath afternoon study of October 27th! I find this statement pretty clear re unity in truth.
A Device of the Enemy—We are to pray for divine enlightenment, but at the same time we should be careful how we receive everything termed new light. We must beware lest, under cover of searching for new truth, Satan shall divert our minds from Christ and the special truths for this time. I have been shown that it is the device of the enemy to lead minds to dwell upon some obscure or unimportant point, something that is not fully revealed or is not essential to our salvation. This is made the absorbing theme, the “present truth,” when all their investigations and suppositions only serve to make matters more obscure than before, and to confuse the minds of some who ought to be seeking FOR ONENESS THROUGH SANCTIFICATION OF THE TRUTH. —Preach the Word, p. 4 (1891)
Mrs. White calls error SIN! We are NOT to be united IN SIN but in the Truth!
In a world like ours, where truth and falsehood are so closely mingled that it is difficult to discern between them, it is a perilous matter to neglect to seek wisdom from on high. Those who will now take heed and turn to the Lord without delay, taking their position on the true foundation, will receive pardon. All error is mixed with truth, and this makes the deceptions of Satan harder to see. But when the time of test and trial comes upon us, there will be seen the difference between the righteousness of the righteous and the wickedness of the wicked. {TDG 163.2}
Every error is sin, and every sin has its origin with Satan. Wrong practices have blinded the eyes and blighted the perceptive faculties of men and women. We need now to be guarded on every point. . . . {TDG 163.3}
"...is there such a thing as fake tolerance?"
Yes, sort of. This word is variously used in the English language to refer to two different phenomena. There is the meaning you are talking about, Robert, to practice genuine acceptance of something that isn't your preference. And, as you have said, this is an expression of self-renouncing love.
And then there is the meaning of begrudgingly 'putting up' with something on the outside, but inside retaining a hostile attitude towards the other person. No self-renouncing love in this expression of 'tolerate/tolerance'. I believe this is what Inge was referring to. I grew up in church environments where this was present and I know of churches currently in existence where there are subgroups that 'tolerate' each other in this way - it's not a pretty atmosphere in those churches.
I wonder which tolerance Maurice and Ellen were referring to?
I would also suggest that fake tolerance, like fake meat, isn't tolerance at all, but masked intolerance. God doesn't acknowledge fake righteousness, only what is seen in Christ and those yoked together with Him. The path to genuine righteousness is clearly marked isn't it?
Just some thoughts as I relate some of the modern concepts of tolerance.
What is "tolerance"?
Tolerance is an attribute of allowing, or not fighting against, something that one does not agree with or particularly like.
It's not synonymous with love. When you love something, you don't have to "tolerate" it, because you love it and want it.
It's not a healthy church where youth and aged simply tolerate each other. Something is definitely missing.
Now we may need to tolerate some things we don't like, because we love the person. There is definitely a need for tolerance and patience in our interactions with people.
However there seems to be a big problem developing in the world today, in which intolerance is practiced in the name of tolerance --
It comes as the word "tolerance" itself is turned into meaning "love". And we are expected to like and agree with the things we dislike or disagree with, or we are branded as "intolerant".
If I disagree with a person's lifestyle am I intolerant, even if I love the person?
Has the concept of "Love the person but hate the sin" become the definition of being "intolerant"?
Though I think the lesson is looking at our relationship with people. We all stand on equal footing before the cross. Our worth is Christ, and He died for all! And yes, as was pointed out, we need more Christ-like love for others!
We live in a sinful, fallen world, and as followers of Jesus, we will need to exercise tolerance. Loving your enemies requires the tolerance born of agape. Jesus exercised this throughout His mock trial and cruel execution to redeem all who have sinned against Him. The unconverted cannot show true tolerance, and will censure those who do not agree with them.