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La Shawn Barber has a good article discussing the issue of Race (or, as I like to express it, Ethnicity since we are all Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve) called, "Why Did God Make Different Races?"
This, I think, is what makes the Gospel so applicable- even to the issue of ethnic identity.
As I was reading La Shawn's article, my mind was drawn to Psalm 16:
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
This seems to be an apparent contradiction at first look. How can David say he has "no good apart from" God, yet he says all his delight is in the saints?
We must understand God's glory is multifaceted, in that, He can not be completely understood from one perspective. To bring home my point, let me use the Inklings as an example.
This is a paraphrase, but it's verifiable nonetheless. When Charles Williams died, CS Lewis thought and wrote, "Good! Now I can get MORE of Tolkien," but in reality, Lewis received LESS of Tolkien. Why? Because Williams was able to pull aspects of Tolkien's personality out that Lewis could never get.
This, I believe, is very applicable. What does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 15:3? "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,"
The Gospel is of First Importance which means It is the focal point of our (Christian) reality. This means there is nothing that is as important (i.e. ethnicity, skin color, hair texture/color, geographic location, etc...) as the Gospel itself.
This is why Christians from any and every ethnicity, family, etc... can come together and fellowship; not like people discussing sports or the weather, but as A people who have been saved to the uttermost! (Hebrews 7:25) because "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
So when people in churches begin to dispute about these other trivial things (tension over length of service, style of preaching and music, and even how to address the preacher) have become of first importance and have made the Gospel trivial.
This does not mean that the issues relating to ethnicity are unimportant. The Gospel puts them in their proper perspective and gives light to the answer. As a white guy, I can humble myself because of Jesus and ask sincerely, "What is really bothering my black friends, and how can I help?" "How can I understand the fundamental issues that effect both of us?" "How can I understand our great God from a different perspective?"
I, as a white man, will not understand Who God is without my black brothers and sisters to show me their perspective of Who God is- and vice versa. Because not one group of people has all the answers.
It may not be easy, but it sets us in the right direction.
This, I think, is what makes the Gospel so applicable- even to the issue of ethnic identity.
As I was reading La Shawn's article, my mind was drawn to Psalm 16:
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
This seems to be an apparent contradiction at first look. How can David say he has "no good apart from" God, yet he says all his delight is in the saints?
We must understand God's glory is multifaceted, in that, He can not be completely understood from one perspective. To bring home my point, let me use the Inklings as an example.
This is a paraphrase, but it's verifiable nonetheless. When Charles Williams died, CS Lewis thought and wrote, "Good! Now I can get MORE of Tolkien," but in reality, Lewis received LESS of Tolkien. Why? Because Williams was able to pull aspects of Tolkien's personality out that Lewis could never get.
This, I believe, is very applicable. What does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 15:3? "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,"
The Gospel is of First Importance which means It is the focal point of our (Christian) reality. This means there is nothing that is as important (i.e. ethnicity, skin color, hair texture/color, geographic location, etc...) as the Gospel itself.
This is why Christians from any and every ethnicity, family, etc... can come together and fellowship; not like people discussing sports or the weather, but as A people who have been saved to the uttermost! (Hebrews 7:25) because "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
So when people in churches begin to dispute about these other trivial things (tension over length of service, style of preaching and music, and even how to address the preacher) have become of first importance and have made the Gospel trivial.
This does not mean that the issues relating to ethnicity are unimportant. The Gospel puts them in their proper perspective and gives light to the answer. As a white guy, I can humble myself because of Jesus and ask sincerely, "What is really bothering my black friends, and how can I help?" "How can I understand the fundamental issues that effect both of us?" "How can I understand our great God from a different perspective?"
I, as a white man, will not understand Who God is without my black brothers and sisters to show me their perspective of Who God is- and vice versa. Because not one group of people has all the answers.
It may not be easy, but it sets us in the right direction.
1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.~Psalm 1
Psalm 1 is a wonderful reminder of what the life of a Christian is like; it is blessed. CH Spurgeon says,
"we may learn the multiplicity of the blessings which shall rest upon the man whom God hath justified, and the perfection and greatness of the blessedness he shall enjoy." We must realize the Psalmist is not calling us to do's and don'ts nor is he imploring us merely to stop wicked behavior and start doing righteousness. He is painting a picture of what a justified person is like.
Continue reading Psalm 1 - Blessed is the Man (Being Blessed in the Gospel).
