No Distinctions...

“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? … We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. Therefore we are sending…to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing…” Acts 15:8-10; Acts 15:24

The Book of Acts is one of those books in the Bible that I have scanned through with minimal concentration…until now. I have always perceived this book as a book of politics within the church. God led me to the Bible Study of James, the brother of Christ, who was a leader in the church. What I am finding in Acts is a parallel to what I see occurring in 2011…Christians drawing lines in the spiritual sand in attempts to define who is chosen by God. These invisible lines are man-made and not God-drawn.

It is the work of the enemy to set up man-made divisions within the children of God. We view others who may not go to church as less than ourselves ‘in the name of God.’ We criticize people who contradict our view of a perfect Christian ‘in the name of God.’ We proclaim our belief that it is by faith we are saved and not by works, all the while judging what he or she is not doing. We assign faith to those who look like our design of a Christian and discredit those who do not.

God did not sacrifice His only Son to cover some people. His Son hung on the cross lifeless for that man who doesn’t go to church but believes in God. He took on the sins of the addict, the prostitute and the sexually immoral. God is God for all once a child is brought into the family through the acceptance of Christ Jesus.

We must realize that putting other Christians to the test is the same as putting God to the test as in the early church. Just as in the early church, we as Christians must stand up and right the wrongs of the stinging judgment of others. We must encourage those who are new to the faith by reminding them of the truth. When our actions as Christians discourage, cast judgment upon or tear down the attempts of others trying to build their faith we become stumbling blocks for them. 'We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.' 2 Co. 6:3.

The only spiritual lines drawn by God are the intersecting lines of the cross – those whom accept salvation through Christ Jesus and those who reject the cross.