Feb 10, 2011 Why God Put Grace Community Church in Nashville, Part 5
Originally posted on July 17, 2008
Churches Show the Power of the Cross By Living In Peace
Churches have the opportunity to show the power of Christ by living together in unity, peace, and mutual service. Where else besides a local church do sinful humans come together and admit their need of forgiveness, trust Christ for it, rejoice that they have it, and extend it to others? Where else besides a congregation do people of different age, personality, economic status, ethnicity, and education level relate to each other as one family because they know the ground at the cross is the place where all knees must bow? The church is unified in her diversity and at peace with one another through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul writes that Jews and Gentiles who come to faith in Christ are now “one new man.” He says that Christ has established peace by “reconciling both to God through the cross.” The power of the cross is to reconcile us to God and to each other.
When a reconciled, unified, and serving congregation is in a city there is a testimony to the power of the cross to deal with everyday human conflicts. The church shows how being forgiven by God leads to forgiving others. It shows how being adopted into God’s family humbles us to receive others into the church family. Humility, patience, and mercy are seen in a church when the people are aware of God’s grace in their own lives.
The people of every local congregation are human, and problems arise in every church. But we are called to deal with our problems and the difficulties of our humanness with the wisdom and grace that comes from knowing the gospel. When we do, we show our surrounding community the power of the cross to bring peace to people. That’s another reason God put Grace Community Church in Nashville.
Pastor Scott