A September to Remember…You Were Once Gentiles, But Now…

    Last week, we took time to remember, recall, and meditate on our Creator, because no matter our age, if we have breath in our bodies, we have opportunity Today to remember Who created us and we have ability to seek God and find Him (Acts 17:26-17), and to find out what is acceptable to the Lord and understand His will (Ephesians 5:8-10, 15-17) so we can do His will (James 1:21-25).  

    This week, let’s take time to remember that we were once without Christ, so that we can renew our appreciation for God’s loving gift of grace toward us when He sent His Son to die in our stead (John 3:14-18, 1 John 4:9-10), so we could have access to Him (Hebrews 4:14-16, John 16:23-24), have help in this life (ex: 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Philippians 4:6-9), and hope in the one beyond (Romans 8:18-25, 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:11).

“Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh – who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands – that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:11-13 NKJV)

Remember You Were Once Gentiles

    The New Testament term “Gentiles” comes from the Greek word ‘ethnos’ (Strong’s Greek #1484) which means a group of people (a tribe) joined through the practice of similar customs; customs and a culture distinct from those of the Jewish people of Israel. Often used to describe all people who were non-Jewish; Gentiles were considered strangers, foreigners, and heathen/pagan (not having faith in the one, true God).

    If you are now a Christian, at some point in your life you heard the gospel message and believed it. You realized your spiritual state before your Creator, and you confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10, Acts 8:36-38), you repented of your sins (make the necessary changes to not return to them) and you were baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:37-38; 22:16).

    All Christians have a past, and only by God’s grace can we declare: ‘But now in Christ Jesus, we who once were afar off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.’    

    Look at what we now have in Christ:

• He Himself is our peace, who broke down the wall that separated the Jew from the Gentile (Ephesians 2:14)
• In Him, one new man was created in which both Jew and Gentile can be at peace – both can become members of Christ’s body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-29, Ephesians 1:20-23, Colossians 1:18, Romans 12:5) – both can be ‘Christians’ (Ephesians 2:15-18)
• We are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19)
• Together, we can align ourselves with Christ Himself (the chief cornerstone), having learned from the teaching of the apostles (gospels, epistles/letters in the New Testament, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Thessalonians 1:13), and be fitted together and built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit – we are growing into a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:20-23)!

    Remembering where we once were, how we once lived, should reinvigorate our praise and thanksgiving for all that God has brought us through, all that He has provided so we can grow, develop, and overcome! It should motivate us to keep making strides forward on the narrow path and it should encourage us to want to gain more knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding each and every day we are blessed with (Colossians 1:9-14)!

    Please take time right now to read Ephesians 4:17-24. Read it as though Paul is writing directly to you. Reread it and consider it throughout your day. Other excellent passages to read and consider in this same way: 1 Peter 4:1-4 and 1 Peter 3:13-17.

    We were once afar off; we were strangers and foreigners. We practiced the customs of the world, we were “under the sway of the evil one” (1 John 5:19b)…

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:57-58 NKJV)

    Remember from where you have come, remember God’s grace, and remember Jesus’ sacrifice. It was so you could be brought near and have access to God the Father; it was so you could know the truth and do it, so you could live for Christ and share it, so you could have help in this life and hope in eternity! Keep going! God’s way is the best way – your labour and efforts are not in vain! We are all in this together!!

You can do it! So can I!!