Jesus didn’t just save you from. He saved you to. Through faith, Christians have received Christ’s victory over sin and death. And they are saved into a new family of the redeemed.
There are no ifs, ands, or buts. Jesus’ blood bought you into the household of Christ, and He did the same for the next Christian—no matter their political beliefs, background, ethnicity, personality, or life stage.
The entire point of the gospel is that despite our differences, weaknesses, and sin, Jesus saw something better. Through eyes of grace and mercy, He saw a family to redeem and a people worth uniting. He saw individuals going in ten thousand different directions apart from Him and ached to gather them for the sole purpose of knowing and being known by Him together.
In Paul’s final thoughts to the Philippians, he shares how saved people truly act: that all believers welcome one another, especially those deemed least likely to welcome and be welcomed (Philippians 4:22).
This reality flies so directly in the face of both ours and Paul’s cultural context that it is only possible through the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Living in this kind of community with this kind of welcoming mindset is an argument against cultural lies, proof of the gospel’s transformative power, and a sweet aroma to those entrapped by division and skepticism in a world broken by sin.
Paul’s mention of greetings from other brothers in Caesar’s household is like Syrian Christians receiving special greetings from former ISIS members. These people once committed ultimate allegiance to Caesar, meaning ultimate hostility to anyone opposing him—including Christ. But the gospel got to them. Those who once persevered against the church were now building up the church through greetings and prayers.
Now, the trickiest part of welcoming someone into the family of Christ isn’t always who they once were. It’s often who they still are. If you’ve followed Jesus for any period of time, you know that surrendering to Him doesn’t change your life overnight. It doesn’t even automatically smooth out differences with other believers.
The Holy Spirit is sanctifying your soul every day, and He’s doing the same for your brother and sister. There may be old habits of their former life that He is still undoing, and you’re just called to be patient. There may be ways you need to grow in humility and surrender, letting go of your idea of what following Jesus should look like.
The point is, are you hopeful for their spiritual growth? Are you excited about what God is doing in their lives, no matter how different or slow it seems? Do you speak to them in a way that builds them up in spiritual flourishing, or do you tear them down because of their differences?
The astounding thing about salvation is that we don’t just belong to God—we belong to one another. That means we reach across any dividing lines and value every person whom God decides to bring int family.
From the beginning, Jesus called many different people to Himself, knowing they would struggle to get along. His disciples included a Jewish tax collector who worked for Rome and a zealot who was trained to be trigger-ready to kill tax collectors.
God’s grace is powerful, and Christ’s blood is fully redemptive. The gospel transforms a person entirely, and having experienced this reality, Christians are called to live in community with other believers in light of it.
Christ has welcomed you into His family. Every day, He brings more in—from different backgrounds, cultures, and political persuasions. Some you will never meet. Some you will see over meals every day. How will you welcome them as Christ welcomed you?
Want to dive deeper? Check out our sermon series guide on the book of Philippians, or watch the most recent sermon from our Philippians sermon series.
