Division doesn’t stop the great work
Cleansing Their Hearts
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And God, who knows the heart, has testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and he made no distinction between them and us, cleansing their hearts by faith.
Acts 15:8-9 (NET)
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I’m so thankful for passages like this.
Paul is recounting to the early church about the work of the Holy Spirit among the Gentiles.
What’s astonishing is how he sees that God is cleansing their hearts -- forgiving their sin and giving them the Holy Spirit -- just as He did for the early Jewish believers.
God offers salvation to all people.
It’s easy to forget that fact in the divisive times we live in.
Of course, most times throughout human history were extremely divisive.
Even this report with the early church came around division of whether or not Gentiles could receive salvation from God and what kinds of Old Testament laws they should follow.
The division doesn’t stop God’s work.
Though it is a shame because Jesus prayed for unity in His Church.
We know that for a season they “all met in one accord.” Essentially unified in their mission.
Despite all the many different denominations we have today, salvation is still a work of God, the Holy Spirit still dwells within His Church, and the great hope for all of humanity is still Jesus Christ alone.
As a Church we have a great mission:
Share the Good News of this cleansing work with the rest of the world.
A big job, but we’re in it together.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2026 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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