Accepted In The Beloved

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. - Ephesians 1:6

    For a sinful creature such as I am to be accepted by God is one of the most amazing declarations of the Gospel of Christ. Often, to be accepted by others, we must meet and conform to certain criteria conformable to their standards and rules, and justified by their understanding and convictions. However, our Lord declares that sinners are accepted by him in Christ, according to the riches of his grace. Every sinner that God saves, he saves in Christ. Those saved are all partakers of his grace and one in Him. All are freely justified, forgiven, and members of his body. The us in the passage speaks of the oneness, which every believer enjoys in Christ.

    We are accepted because God the Father forever loved us in Christ. We are chosen in Christ, redeemed by Christ, clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and therefore accepted in Christ. Being in agreement with God, every believer accepts one another much the same way; as accepted in the Beloved; Sinners forgiven, sinners justified, sinners accepting each other because of the sovereign grace of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is Christ Jesus, our Lord. And it is as equally true that nothing can sever the body of Christ and destroy the love we have for each other because it is born of God. It is true that while we are in this flesh we will have disagreements and misunderstandings. But these things should never cause us to separate and distance ourselves from the fellowship of other sinners whom God has accepted in Christ.

    True, there can be no fellowship in the Gospel with those that do not believe and preach the true Gospel of Christ. But those who love Christ, his Gospel, and one another should seek to be ready to forgive, restore, and even give the brother the benefit of doubt. Dogmatism is a good thing, if it is not used as a weapon in the hand of pride. Compromise should be unheard of, if we are certain and understand all the facts. This I understand, all that are accepted in the Beloved are sinners saved by the grace of God. We are all just alike in the flesh—sinners, and we are all alike in Christ—accepted.