Gifted to ServeSample

Acts, chapter 10, records Peter’s vision of the cloth being lowered with all types of meat considered unclean by Jewish people. A voice instructed Peter to “Kill and eat” the meat (Acts 10:13). Peter responded by saying, “Surely not Lord. I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice told Peter not to call anything “unclean” that God has made clean. That vision was the first step toward welcoming Gentiles into Christian churches. Peter later witnessed Cornelius and his family receive the Holy Spirit, proving they had received their salvation through faith.

One of the most significant problems in the Corinthian church was that Jewish Christians were in the same church as Gentile believers. The two cultures were very different, and they struggled to find unity. Chapter eight is about the struggle to live with the freedom that Christianity offered while still recognizing that being right was not more important than doing right. Paul taught the church that freedom in Christ came with the responsibility of using that freedom with Christian love.

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13).