Seder 9 Sermon: One People/Language/Accord

At Church of the Messiah on May 9, elder Rob Wilson began his sermon with Gen 11:1:  "Now the whole earth had one language and the same words."

He noted that the problem at Babel was the purpose for which the people were united:  They were united in rebellion against God.  And so God decided to divide and scatter them (v 8).

God's purpose, though, is to one day unite the world, with people calling upon God in unity using pure words (Zeph 3:9).  The miracle of tongues at Pentecost (Acts 2) was a major step toward the reversal of the events at Babel.

He contrasted unity for the wrong purpose (Mark 15:13; Acts 19:33-34) with unity for the right purpose (John 10:15-18; Rev 7:9-12).  That unity can be expressed in a diversity of languages---many languages, one devotion to God.