In the book of Matthew Jesus said that on this rock he will build his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Jesus wasn’t just saying that the church was only for one particular type of person he was saying it was open to everyone, and especially those in need of a second chance in life, making forgiveness available for whoever desired it.
Jesus set the example for all of us to love our enemies and to show us that the Gospel is open for everyone. Let’s look at an example. During Jesus ministry he walked through Samaria. It was an odd thing to do for a Jewish person to walk through Samaria as Samarian’s and Jewish people were sworn enemies. Why might you ask?
Let’s take an in the nutshell look. In the book of 1 Kings, it tells us that Israel was divided into two kingdoms, and Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom, this led to disagreements with where people from Israel should worship God, where the normal tradition was for Israelites to go to the temple in Jerusalem to worship God and to offer sacrifices. Because of these disagreements, it led to idol worship, there were also problems with intermarriage, and this led to much hatred amongst people from Samaria and Jewish people that went on for hundreds of years.
However, with Jesus walking through Samaria he was making the point that the good news to be found in him is for everyone, even old enemies like the Samarians. Jesus was basically saying there should be no discrimination, favouritism or picking and choosing who gets saved, salvation is available for whoever turns to the Lord and accepts him as saviour.
So, if someone turns up at your church remember, the Gospel is for them too, and they should be welcomed into the church to learn more about Jesus. So give them a warm welcome, go up to them and ask them how they are? This will help the church grow not being a small tribe but an ever growing family built on the values that Jesus taught and what the word of God teaches.