One Nation Under God?

we were by nature objects of wrath.

+HORIZONTAL: Alienated from ONE ANOTHER (2:11-12a)
- 2:11-12: Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Our vertical separation from God affects our relationships with one another.

In Paul’s day: Jews vs. Gentile
In our day, what is it?
·Blacks vs. Whites
·Haves vs. the Have-nots?
·Ridge-runners vs. Flatlanders? (in our county)

II. Bringing Together the Races (2:11-18)
God’s intention has always been to bring peoples together in a bond based upon truth and love.

A. Some people look at the legacy of the US as The Great Melting Pot as fulfilling God’s purpose for people

1. One children’s song captures the essence of America this way :
"My grandmother came from Russia
A satchel on her knee,
My grandfather had his father’s cap
He brought from Italy.
They’d heard about a country
Where life might let them win,
They paid the fare to America
And there they melted in.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
America was founded by the English,
But also by the Germans, Dutch, and French.
The principle still sticks;
Our heritage is mixed.
So any kid could be the president.
You simply melt right in,
It doesn’t matter what your skin,
It doesn’t matter where you’re from,
Or your religion, you jump right in
To the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
Ooh, what a stew, red, white, and blue.
America was the New World
And Europe was the Old.
America was the land of hope,
Or so the legend told.
On steamboats by the millions,
In search of honest pay,
Those nineteenth century immigrants sailed
To reach the U.S.A.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
What good ingredients,
Liberty and immigrants.
They brought the country’s customs,
Their language and their ways.
They filled the factories, tilled the soil,
Helped build the U.S.A.
Go on and ask your grandma,
Hear what she has to tell
How great to be American
And something else as well.
Lovely Lady Liberty
With her book of recipes
And the finest one she’s got
Is the great American melting pot
The great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot.
The great American melting pot."

2. As Christians, we should be proud of our nation and the history and legacy that it stands for. But, as Christians, let not be confused about the real melting pot.

B. The Church: One New HUMANKIND (2:14) is the greatest melting pot.

1. We have been brought into a relationship with one GOD through the blood of Christ (2:4-10, 13).

a. 1 Peter 1:18-19: For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

b. Rev 5:9: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals,