Latest / HBCWestminster / 6.21.20 Ephesians 2:11-16 Pastor Danny Gardner

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6.21.20 Ephesians 2:11-16 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, our text this morning is Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, verses 11 to 16. And I would ask church that if you are able to stand in honor of God's word that you do that now, I will read our text, pray for us, and then begin. It says in Ephesians chapter 2, beginning in verse 11. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember.
• 0:29
  that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself
• 0:59
  One new man in place of the two, so making peace. And might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. Allow me to pray. God, I do ask for grace and mercy as I preach your word this morning. I pray that it would be preached with conviction and passion. But also, God, I pray that it would be preached with gentleness and understanding.
• 1:31
  So that we, the people of God, could genuinely be united in Christ because of your blood. And Lord, our world has expected and maybe even almost demanded the fracturing of humanity along ethnic and racial lines. But Lord, we, the church, will not bend the knee to such humanistic, such fabricated expectations.
• 2:02
  Lord, may we, the church, live differently and act differently toward one another for the glory of God and for the good of your kingdom. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, church. You can be seated. Well, the Lord knows I did not want to preach this sermon. I have, in fact, been wrestling with the Lord the last several weeks about whether I should preach this sermon.
• 2:28
  actually kind of determined that I would not preach it until I was gently rebuked by one of our members this week. I was having a conversation with a couple from our church whose hearts are breaking over the state of our country and the civil unrest that seems to be running rampant. In the middle of that conversation, the wife stopped us and said, Pastor, you asked us at the beginning of this year to make this our prayer. Lord,
• 2:55
  Break my heart with what breaks yours. And for you guys who have been around Highland for several years, you may recall that every January, at the first Thrive session of every January, we do a worship night, and I challenge the church with kind of a theme for the year. And I ask the Lord, I do, November, December, I begin praying, Lord, what would you have for us in the coming year? 2017, who can stop the Lord Almighty? 2018, I'm the vine, you're the branches. 2019.
• 3:21
  was his church, his way. 2020, Lord, break our hearts with what breaks yours. And she continued. She said, and pastor, I've been praying that. I've cried more times than I can count in the last several months. And I believe the Lord's heart is breaking over the race wars raging in our country. And pastor, you have not addressed it. You've given us no direction from God's word and how to process these events. Now, two things stood out to me. First,
• 3:51
  If you ever have to call out your pastor, that's how to do it, okay? Honestly, church, I was so honored. I really did. I felt lifted up. I felt encouraged. And then about halfway through, I thought, wait a minute, I'm being rebuked, right? But I was honored by it. I was actually encouraged, exhorted. That's how to do it. If you ever have to rebuke your pastor, that's the way to do it. Secondly, I thought, you know what? She's absolutely right. And so the sermon this morning will be titled, Welcome Back.
• 4:21
  Race wars are raging. Happy Father's Day. Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 says, The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe, Jews and Gentiles. Now, I'm not an anthropologist, but I know that the phrase Jews and Gentiles means everyone. God's design includes only two groups of people. There are those who are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, what the Bible calls the Jewish people.
• 4:50
  Then there were those who were not descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That's everyone else. And do you recall the apostle's statement at the beginning of that same verse, Romans 1, verse 16? He says, because the power, I'm sorry, because the gospel is the power of God for salvation, he said, I will not be ashamed of it. Church, I think we know this already, but it bears repeating.
• 5:19
  It's not shouting matches, nor is it politics or governmental reform. It's not reparations. It is certainly not the defunding of police departments. It is absolutely not a war against the police. It's not posting black squares on Instagram. It's not even peaceful protests. Not even peaceful protests that will bring about the change that is needed and that our hearts desire.
• 5:50
  It is the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. It is Jesus who will bring the change. Because racism, church, is sin. And sin is the result of the fall. And Jesus is the answer to the fall, and therefore the answer to sin, and therefore the answer to racism. On February 19, 1945, American forces invaded the island of Iwo Jima.
• 6:21
  It was just a spit of land 750 miles from mainland Japan that they believed could be used as a staging point for an eventual Japanese invasion. Because of Japanese defensive positioning and because of U.S. resolve, the battle lasted for months. But only four days in, the famous Mount Suribachi was captured and claimed by the United States Marines. That was when this now iconic photograph was taken.
• 6:51
  The photograph that became the inspiration for the Marine Force Monument in Washington, D.C., that photograph is of six Marines erecting an American flag on the top of that mount. Erecting a flag in the ground is symbolic, as we all know. Flags represent territory claimed and land captured. My hope and prayer is that the passage before us this morning will become our battle cry for racial unity.
• 7:21
  in the church, that God's word will become our flag in the ground, that this sermon will become our Mount Suribachi moment. My hope and prayer is that our thinking on this issue and every other issue will be enlightened by and gloriously conformed to the word of God, that we would be quick to recognize that our opinions on racism don't matter and that only God's opinion matters.
• 7:49
  And so let me just ask a question that I will answer for the remainder of the sermon. What must we understand about racism? What must we understand? We as the church must understand first is that our concept of race is false. Our concept of
• 8:12
  that the human race, that humanity is divided into different races, is a fabricated, human, sinful notion that began at the fall and has been used since then by the enemies of our souls to fuel hatred, to justify the killings of millions and millions of humans who bear the image of God.
• 8:38
  It's still, in fact, being used to ensure that we as human beings view ourselves as fractured rather than unified. Racism is used to instill fear and division. Racism is an enemy to the gospel. In fact, in all of God's word, in all of scripture, Old and New Testament, you will never find the concept of race. There are, however, ethnicities.
• 9:08
  The Greek word ethnos, where we get the English word ethnicities, is a people group with a distinct culture and language and oftentimes a boundary for their dwelling place. Jesus commanded his church in the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. That word for nations is the Greek word ethnos. It is not the word race because Scripture teaches that although there are many peoples, there is only one race.
• 9:38
  The descendants of Adam, the human race. Race is fake. Second thing we must understand is that racism exists in our country. Now you can try to deny its existence, but you'd be wrong. Whether this racism is actually systemic, I think is difficult to prove. But racism as sin and as dwelling within the hearts of people does exist.
• 10:07
  You can try to say that the problem is black and white, but even to define it this simply is in itself racist, since first and foremost, I have never met a white person. This is the color white.
• 10:26
  All right, I have never met anybody that color. Now, five and a half years ago, when I moved my beautiful wife from Southern California to Colorado, one of her small complaints was that she would never become tan again. She said, Danny, I'm going to be pasty white the rest of my life. I'm sorry, Hallie, to prove you wrong. You will never be this color. God does not make humans this color. This is the color black. Do you see where I'm going, church?
• 10:59
  There was a very, I think, well-meaning song written decades ago that was all taught to us in Sunday schools. Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white. Can you imagine? There's those four colors, red and yellow, black and white.
• 11:25
  Seriously, we're going to boil all of humanity down to those four colors. There they are. I have never met a single human any of those colors. When kids are learning that song, they're all wondering, which of the four am I, right? We have fabricated this. We've taught it to our kids. It may have been well-meaning. The song really should have gone, Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, period. Period. Second, to define the problem so simply as black and white is to neglect.
• 11:56
  The vast majority of ethnicities in the world, since two-thirds of the world's population, four billion people, live in Asia alone. That's not to mention hundreds of millions of Latinos, millions more living in tribes and villages across countless islands and land masses in the world. The reality, church, is that we all exist somewhere along the brown spectrum. All of us, from the lightest of us to the darkest of us, we're all basically brown.
• 12:25
  So that's second. Third, racism not only exists in the world, but racism actually exists in the church. Again, you can try to deny it. I think you'd be wrong. Countless authors and speakers can be quoted as saying the most segregated day in America is Sunday. And although I praise God for the diversity that we enjoy at Highland, we have many nations, in fact, represented at Highland.
• 12:54
  Our church, even in the last five years, has come a long way in this area to the glory of God. I also recognize that Highland has a very long way to go. And most churches, and especially in our area of North Denver, most churches are much less integrated than even we are. Racism exists in the church. And finally, and here's where we come to our text in Ephesians chapter 2, finally, racism...
• 13:24
  is something that Christ died for. The book of Ephesians is Paul's letter describing a mystery revealed. In fact, seven times in the letter's six brief chapters, seven times the word mystery is used. He's revealing a mystery that God in his infinite mercy and grace has the ability to reconcile people that were previously at odds. That is the mystery being revealed that there is a reconciliation
• 13:55
  between people who until this point were irreconcilable. What we see at the end of chapter 2, our text for today, is two examples of God's reconciliation through Jesus Christ. Reconciliation first, between man and God, that was irreconcilable. And second, reconciliation between man and man, Jews and Gentiles, irreconcilable. And so let's look at these two points. Notice first, the blood of Christ.
• 14:24
  offers nearness to God for all peoples regardless of ethnicity. This is verses 11 to 13. And if you wanted a little bit simpler way to put that, this is the good news personally applied. This is how the gospel of Jesus Christ affects you regardless of your ethnicity. Notice in verse 11. Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called
• 14:54
  the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. There were these two groups, the Gentiles and the Jews, the uncircumcision and the circumcision. And since the time of Abraham, the rite of circumcision had served to separate
• 15:23
  The Jewish people, God's covenant people from the rest of humanity. Circumcision was a tangible reminder of the unique relationship that God enjoyed with his people, the Israelites. And many in the first century church, the church at Ephesus even, enjoyed that relationship with God, but then by extension felt like Christianity
• 15:48
  had to begin first with an insistence that the Jewish believers be circumcised, I'm sorry, that the Gentile believers first be circumcised in order to become Jews before they could become Christians. Now, the Gentile believers obviously resented this requirement. Can you imagine? If that was one of our requirements for membership at the church, we'll just leave it at that. There would be some people who have a hard time with that. What are you talking about?
• 16:18
  In the Old Testament, the only way for a Gentile to participate in the spiritual blessings of the covenant, in fact, was to become a Jewish proselyte, like Ruth became. She became a Jew. She joined in. Your people will be my people. Your God, my God. But now, in the new covenant of Jesus Christ and his blood, the Bible says neither circumcision nor uncircumcision have any significance at all, as stated here by the Apostle Paul in verse 11, which it says,
• 16:47
  is made in the flesh by hands. It is made in the flesh by hands. It is important to note here that racism is also made in the flesh by hands. Listen to Galatians. Galatians chapter 3 and verse 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek. In other words,
• 17:09
  No distinction at all. Now that we are in the new covenant, no distinction at all between Jew and Gentile. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free, male nor female. All are one in Christ. And if you are in Christ, if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring. It doesn't matter who your parents were, he's saying.
• 17:30
  Heirs according to the promise. If you are in Christ, then regardless of your family background, you are in heaven. You are in the kingdom. You are in Jesus. And it doesn't matter who your parents were. Well, then where does the Bible say that races come from? Ethnicities, not races, began at the Tower of Babel. And if you go all the way back to Genesis chapter 11, you'll recall.
• 17:57
  The Sunday school children's story, right, about the people rebelling against God. These were all the people on earth at the time rebelling against the Lord, building a tower to the heavens, declaring themselves independent of God. And in the middle of the night, God visits the people and confuses their languages. And that's where ethnicities began. God confused their languages. They all began to get together in people groups and began to spread out over the whole earth. That's where ethnicities began.
• 18:26
  will those ethnicities end? We won't read it now for sake of time, but if you were to fast forward to Revelation chapter 5 and verses 9 and 10, Revelation 5 verses 9 and 10, it actually says that the people of God, and this is in the end, the people of God, all Christians will be in heaven, and it says singing a new song.
• 18:47
  Singing a new song. What's interesting about this new song is that it describes people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation on earth. Every tribe and people and nation. And it even describes at one point them singing in their own languages. And I believe that there is perfect understanding among the people of God that you will be able to understand every word no matter what language is being spoken. That there is perfect understanding but that those languages and those peoples
• 19:17
  continue even into the new heaven and new earth. When will ethnicities end? There's a possibility, church, that the answer is never. Never. God rejoices in those. He created ethnicity, right, at the Tower of Babel. He created ethnicities. He enjoys those ethnicities. He enjoys the diversity of ethnic groups, and we will enjoy those types of things forever. Revelation chapter 5.
• 19:45
  But now look what happens in verse 13. In verse 13, he says, in verse 12, you were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenant of promise, no hope, and without God in the world. Okay, so that was the Gentile people, the uncircumcision. And then there's this verse, there's this word in verse 13. It begins with the word, but. But, a conjunction of contrast. Something drastic has changed. He says, but now. Now.
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  In Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of the blood of Christ was that it offered nearness to God.
• 20:31
  Here he describes the Gentile people as being far off in verse 13. And this phrase, far off, actually refers to more than physical distance. It doesn't just mean that we were a long way away. It means that we were a long way away and without any means of finding our way to him. It would be like saying you were up a creek without a paddle.
• 20:55
  Not only are you lost, you don't have any ability to fix it. We were worse off, in worse shape than the prodigal son because the prodigal son always knew how to get home. So that's first. There is reconciliation despite your ethnicity, no matter, regardless, all peoples, regardless of ethnicity, there is a nearness to God.
• 21:21
  That irreconcilable difference between God and man has been reconciled by the blood of Jesus. But notice second, this is verses 14 to 16, that the barrier between man and man has been torn down. This would be the good news socially applied. Look at verse 14, for he himself is our peace. He himself is our peace. Not only did the blood of Christ accomplish nearness between man and God, but it also reconciled two groups.
• 21:50
  The Jews and Gentiles of the first century were acting as they were, there were two irreconcilable races. What divided them when Ephesians was written was greater than what united them until Christ. And he continues in verse 14. He himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.
• 22:16
  Now, I love this picture, and you who have been at the church have undoubtedly heard me use this picture before, the picture from Ephesians chapter 2. It's one of my favorites to use. But the idea here that the Apostle Paul is making reference to is actually the temple, the temple of God in Jerusalem. And the temple was designed, as you know, for peoples of all nations to come and to worship the Lord.
• 22:43
  It was the Jewish temple indeed, but it was not designed only to represent the Jewish people to God. It was meant to represent all nations. It was designed to be a house of prayer for all nations. And in fact, during Jesus' ministry, you'll recall twice, he goes up onto the Temple Mount, he makes a whip, he gets ticked off, he starts flipping over tables, because he's so angry that what was designed to be a house of prayer for all nations, they kept for themselves. And so the Jewish people and the temple of God...
• 23:10
  were meant to be a conduit of blessing, a river of blessing for all people groups. All of them. Go all the way back to the Abrahamic covenant. That was what it was designed. All peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. That was God's original intention. But what the people of Israel did at the time in the first century was instead of being a river of blessing, they dammed that up and became a reservoir of truth unto themselves. They kept the Gentiles out. And the way that they did that, there was actually a physical reminder on the Temple Mount.
• 23:40
  There was the Temple Mount, the massive patio, right? And then on top of the Temple Mount was the temple structure itself, where only the Jews were allowed to go. Around the temple itself, on top of the Temple Mount, was a small wall, a couple feet tall, called the Soreg, S-O-R-E-G-H, Soreg. The Soreg was meant to be a reminder to the Gentiles that they were not allowed to pass that point. They could be on the Temple Mount.
• 24:07
  But they could not go into the temple. And in fact, there were even signs. Gentiles, go no further. Do not cross. On pain of death. There was one time even that the Apostle Paul was accused of taking a man named Trophimus in the book of Acts. Trophimus passed the Soreg. And there was a riot, a huge riot broke out. It was so bad, in fact, that the Antonia Fortress, the Roman soldiers, actually had to be deployed to put down this rebellion. And the whole reason was...
• 24:35
  Because the Jews thought that the Apostle Paul brought a Gentile past the soreg. Not even into the temple. But he crossed the dividing wall of hostility. What's interesting about Ephesians chapter 2 is that's the word that he uses. There is this word soreg. Soreg. The dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles. Verse 14 says, Jesus has broken down in his flesh. What a great...
• 25:04
  Picture here, whatever hostility, whatever physical distance there was between ethnicity, there is no more wall. There is no more wall of hostility. It's been broken down. He broke down the soreg. Notice how he continues in verse 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances. Ordinances like circumcision. It doesn't mean anything anymore.
• 25:30
  That he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, and so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And in order to understand, I think, this passage properly, it's important to know who the one man is and who the two men are. In the context, you realize that the two men are Jews and Gentiles. That's what he's talking about, this physical divide along racial, ethnic lines.
• 25:59
  Those are the two men. You realize in Ephesians 2 that the one man is the church. Regardless of people's backgrounds, their ethnicities, their economic profiles, their political views, regardless even of their morals, what unites believers in the church, which is the blood of Jesus, is greater than anything that would divide us. It says, so making peace, and verse 16 even says, killing.
• 26:29
  the hostility, killing the hostility in church. God is never glorified when believers are at odds. We must never draw lines where the Lord does not. Well, what do we do? What do we do with this sermon? What do we do in the context in which we live? 2020, America. You know, if I'm honest,
• 27:00
  I don't know if I know yet specifically how we should apply this, what we should do. Here are a few suggestions. A couple of things I'm going to recommend. First, become informed. Ignorant people drive us crazy. Let's make sure we are not some of them. You know, many of the problems that are being fueled
• 27:24
  These racial and political fires, many of the problems that are actually fueling those fires, which are raging right now in our country, are being fueled by people that I'm assuming are well-meaning, but who are flamingly ignorant. There is a statement made popular just a few years ago, which everyone agrees with. The statement is this. Black lives matter.
• 27:53
  Listen, church, of course they do. Of course they do. You cannot call yourself a believer in Jesus Christ and disagree with God's word, which so clearly says that the dividing wall of hostility between ethnic groups has been torn down. Of course, everybody agrees with that statement. However, there is also a political movement by the same name. They have adopted that name.
• 28:21
  which is glaringly anti-biblical. Go to their website, read their core doctrines. Under the what we believe statements, you will find that they also support transgenderism, that they have called for the dissolution of Israel as a nation, that they have actually supported violence against police. They have tried even to pass legislation legalizing
• 28:51
  Prostitution. That's what the movement represents. They just happen to share the same name as the statement which we all agree with. When you post your black box on Instagram, be careful, church. Be careful. Because you may not only be agreeing with the statement, you may also be supporting the movement. Don't inadvertently and in our ignorance.
• 29:20
  Support the movement by declaring the statement. That's first. Become informed. But second, church, Romans chapter 12 and verse 15, I think, says it pretty simply. Romans 12, 15 says, mourn with those who mourn. Mourn with those who mourn. What do we do in North Denver, in the state of Colorado, what has become known as our reputation, pretty white state, pretty white city. We even live.
• 29:50
  on the pretty white side of the pretty white city and the pretty white state. And so what do we do as a church? The Bible says mourn with those who mourn. You know what I notice it does not say? It never says judge those who mourn. Can you imagine? Judge those who mourn. Make sure they're mourning for the right reasons. It never says that. Regardless of our understanding of the facts,
• 30:19
  Our hearts as believers must break for our brothers and sisters in Christ whose hearts are broken. One very well-known Chinese-American pastor said this recently. Regarding the recent protests, he said, I don't want to quench anyone's passion. People do that to me all the time, and it's annoying. I step out in faith only to be met with Christians who try to calm me down rather than actually help.
• 30:49
  rather than help. And so you may say, church, well, how do we help? How do we help? I, this week, had the privilege of meeting with a small group of African-American and Hispanic pastors from Converge, our sister churches, same denomination as we are, Converge, and they've asked us to help. And so this coming Saturday, June 27th, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., there is a Christian rally. It is not a demonstration.
• 31:18
  It is not a march. It is not a protest. It is a Christian rally. It is not political. There will be no political banners being made and held up. In fact, very specifically, the instructions were if you want to hold up a banner, it better be the name of Jesus and nothing else. There is a Christian rally being sponsored by our sister church, Living Hope Bible Church in Aurora, Colorado. And church, I will attend.
• 31:48
  I will attend. June 27th, Lord willing. People will ask me why. Why are you going to go to that? And my answer is this, because the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down. And they that are at Living Hope Bible Church, which is a primarily African-American church in Aurora, they are my brothers and sisters in Christ. And church, their hearts are broken. They are broken. And they asked me to stand.
• 32:18
  with them. And so I will. And so I'm not going to ask that you as a church, as the entire church, join us. But if you want to join us, you can. You can email me here at the church. I can give you more information. If you're available and want to stand with us, we will. It is absolutely peaceful. It's not even a protest. Like I said, it is a rally simply to raise the name of Jesus high. And they asked me to help. I want to help, and so I will. Let me pray for us. God, thank you.
• 32:49
  Thank you for your word, which speaks so clearly even to issues like this, issues which are ripping our country apart even today, 2,000 years after it was written. God, thank you for addressing this issue, the differences in race, the differences really, more accurately, the differences in ethnicities, God, because that's all it is. We all descend from Adam, and therefore we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all, all of us.
• 33:19
  the same. So God, I pray that you are glorified every time in the preaching of your word. I pray, God, that you are always, always, always here at Highland Baptist Church accurately represented. And Lord, may our hearts break when our brothers and sisters' hearts are broken. May we mourn with those who mourn. May we become an informed people so that we are not inadvertently standing for things which you do not stand, which you oppose. God, thank you.
• 33:49
  for being gracious to us. And I pray that we would extend that same grace toward others. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen, church. Amen.