One of Paul's last acts as a free man was to bring a financial gift from the predominantly Gentile churches in Asia minor and Europe to the predominantly Jewish church in Jerusalem. Paul knew he faced danger in Jerusalem, but he -- guided by the spirit -- considered this ecumenical act that displayed the oneness of the church (as well as the economics of the church) to be worth the risk. Indeed, it was acts such as this that were testaments to the grace of God, and were there no such concrete acts of unity and hospitality as the embodiment of his proclamation, Paul would have seen his mission and ministry as a failure - as a form of godliness without the power; as unfaithfulness to the very gospel he proclaimed.
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