The world is in a tailspin. So many are frantic and disillusioned by the nonsensical nature of racialized politics and social norms of exclusion. It is unnerving but not unexpected. This world is in a downward spiral of depravity that seems to intensify daily. Yet, this world is not without hope. Christ is that hope, and His Bride is the visible expression and vehicle of that hope.
Yesterday I preached a sermon on revelation 5:9 as we walk through the book of Revelation. This link to the sermon is blow. The focus was on the picture of the church that Jesus showed John in the room where everything in this universe is being controlled by God. The Lord is in control and, therefore, nothing is meaningless. Jesus has conquered and, thus, nothing can harm the saint's eternal life. But John was shown a picture of the church that stands around the throne of the Lord and He describes it this way,
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for
you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language
and people and nation, (Revelation 5:9, emphasis added).
Racial harmony is essential to the gospel because unity is at the heart of what Jesus died to produce. He died that we might be one with God and with one-another. The reach of the love of God extended beyond His chosen people (Israel) to every people group on the planet regardless of color or culture. Every group is represented in the picture John saw and, therefore, every group being represented in our churches must be our like purpose.
Certainly, we cannot have every group in our church because they are not all around us. John saw the make-up of the universal church - the church around the world. Yet, what we are compelled to do because of the cross of Christ is to see every people group within our surrounding area, converted and in fellowship with us in the local church. This is the calling of the community of faith, a community I identified as a crucified community - expressing, daily, the re-enactment of the death of Jesus by our death to self and culture for the glory of God. I also described it as a contrast community - a community whose existence, life and communal make-up stand as a rebuke to the worldly and divisive exclusion we are seeing in society and, sadly, in far too many churches and Christians.
It is not merely that we need to be committed to being diverse churches, however. We need to be committed to harmony - this connection to one-another that is seen as we do life together. It is not enough to see diversity on Sunday morning if it does not translate into relationships that are encouraging and growing every day in friendship and Christ-centered love. This picture will take a crucified church and Christian who is committed to living their lives as a contrast church or Christian. It is these concepts that form a portion of the book I am working on as a follow-up to Christ Above Culture. One might call it Christ Above Culture 2.0. May God be glorified.
Jesus is worthy of the praise of the whole cosmos precisely because His death created a multiracial people, united in the love of Christ and love for one-another all for the honor and glory of God the Father. Therefore, racial harmony - our relational oneness with one-another regardless of race or culture - is the visible expression of the glory of God.
It starts, now and it starts with each of us individually. If a church is to reflect this glorious picture of the Kingdom of God, every blood purchased saint must have this as their personal passion and be intentional about it. If we desire for the fame of the Lord to be global it must be rooted in His glory being our personal passion, expressed in our crucified and contrasting pursuit of being relationally connected with brothers and sisters across racial lines.
May the Lord make it so.
Listen to the sermon at tbf21.org Scroll down to "Sermons"
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