Bible is clear - Jesus came to break down divisions - Ephesians 2:14
Worldly divisions
Race
Money
Gender
Culture
Distance
Too busy
Common barriers in the church:
Past hurts
Bitterness
Sin - yours, mine or others
Jesus broke down walls through the cross - Ephesians 2:16
Can ONLY be done at the foot of the cross
Only way a holy and righteous God can be reunited with his unrighteous enemy (us) - Romans 5:6-11
Reconcile = to become friends again
Not to politely tolerate one another or a ceasefire
The goal of Jesus is to be one - John 17:20-21
Only way Jews and non-Jews could form the church of God
What Paul had is mind when writing - Ephesians 3:20
"...him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think" Key Phrase:The only way for relationships (either with God and man or man and man) to be reconciled is through the cross