When it comes to having unity with one another in non-essential issues, Paul reminds us that unity does not equal uniformity. While God calls us to have the same spirit and to accept one another, He does not require us to hold the same position on issues in which the Bible is silent.

In Romans 12 the apostle Paul teaches that in view of God’s gracious and merciful work of redemption in Christ, we are to be living sacrifices. He goes on in the rest of the chapter to explain what that looks like in everyday living, and what it means to be a transformed Christian. One of the implications he focuses on is how believers are to treat one another. For Paul this includes being devoted to one another, honoring one another, and living in harmony with one another.

Work and rest seem to be at odds with one another, but they are actually two complementary halves of a single life lived for God’s glory. Only when both are shaped by Scripture and based on the grace of Jesus Christ will either be fruitful and satisfying. In part II we look at the crucial role rest plays in the Christian life.

Work and rest seem to be at odds with one another, but they are actually two complementary halves of a single life lived for God’s glory. Only when both are shaped by Scripture and based on the grace of Jesus Christ will either be fruitful and satisfying.

Despite having been called and chosen by God, not even the tabernacle priests were ready to serve until they were ransomed, washed, and anointed. In the same way, God’s people today are not ready to serve until we have been ransomed, washed, and anointed through the blood of Christ and His life-giving Spirit. Once humbled, renewed, and empowered by His grace, we are fully equipped to live for His glory in unexpected and powerful ways.

The New Testament contains a number of passages which instruct us how we are to live in relation to one another. In Ephesians 4, Paul teaches that in our union with Christ, we have a new status before God. Our new status demands that we now think and act in ways consistent with who we are in Christ. This new identity forms the foundation for specific ways we are to treat one another as brothers and sisters in Christ’s family.

The tabernacle’s altar of incense showed that intercessory prayer for the nation was a key part of Israel’s worship. Today, God’s people continue to pray for the nations in which they live, but do so through an infinitely greater High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. Through Christ, we find limitless grace to help us in our time of need and abundant wisdom to live faithfully for Him within a rebellious culture.

The Lord often calls unlikely people, in unlikely places, through unlikely means to be a part of His spiritual family. Through the blood of Christ, we are all adopted by our Heavenly Father and given the privilege of welcoming and supporting one another just as we ourselves have been welcomed and supported by Him.

Because of God’s holiness and our sinfulness, an elaborate system of consecration was set up to prepare God’s high priest for service. Through the ministry of God’s ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ, every believer has now be consecrated and set apart for God’s service. Through our Lord Jesus we have become a kingdom of priests to declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.