There is a difference between feeling left out and actually being separated.

In Ephesians 2, Paul uses some painfully strong words to describe where we once stood: separated, excluded, strangers, without hope, and without God.

Then come two words that change everything: “But now…”

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13

The Gospel is not the story of people finally becoming good enough to get close to God. It is the story of Jesus crossing the distance we could never cross ourselves.

But there is another side to this truth.

If Jesus has brought us near, how should that change the way we see people who are still far away? Have we ever received grace for ourselves while quietly building walls around it for someone else? Have we decided certain people are too messy, too broken, too different, or simply too far gone?

Jesus didn't come to reinforce those walls. He came to tear them down.

Join us this Sunday at Transformation Church for “From Excluded to Included” as we walk through Ephesians 2:11–22 and discover what Jesus does with people who are far from Him, and what that means for those of us who have already been brought near.

Maybe you feel like you're standing on the outside looking in.

Or maybe you've been inside so long that you've forgotten what it felt like to be outside.

Either way, Ephesians 2 has something to say to us.

Because the church should never make it harder for someone to come near to Jesus than Jesus does.

No perfect people allowed.