Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Colossians 3:10-11

Transcript

Colossians 3:10-11 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
Let me invite you to take your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you today, and turn to Paul's letter to the church at Colossae.
0:08
! It's the book of Colossians, chapter 3.
0:17
I remind you as we begin that this is God's Word to us, that it was written for His glory and for our good, and that we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
0:30
As a way of introduction, just to be sure that everybody's on the same page together this morning, I'm going to remind you, this is a letter written by Paul.
0:38
It's one of his prison epistles. He was likely imprisoned in Rome. We don't know this for sure, but this is probably where he was at.
0:46
And he's writing to a church that he did not found. We believe that Epaphras founded it.
0:52
Again, we don't know this as fact, but it's largely accepted this is the case.
0:56
It's in that Epaphras became a believer, became a disciple of Christ upon visiting Paul in Ephesus.
1:02
He traveled back to his hometown of Colossae, and the church there was begun.
1:08
Colossae was a rather insignificant town.
1:10
That's of great encouragement to me that one of Paul's most beautifully theological books was written to a town that was fairly obscure.
1:18
Rome had recently moved the highway around Colossae and through Laodicea, and it was kind of falling into unimportance in the time.
1:30
And the encouragement to me in that is that there is no unimportant church.
1:35
The city itself may have been unimportant, but what was happening in this church mattered.
1:40
It grieved Paul as Epaphras has traveled to him and reported to him that there are some heresies encircling and within the church.
1:49
And Paul is then compelled to write this letter to them.
1:53
We don't know the exact nature of the heresies.
1:55
We can pick up on some clues in it as Paul teaches as he addresses unspecifically some of those heresies.
2:03
But as we've seen so far in the first two chapters, Paul is establishing, in large part, the major effort of the first two chapters,
2:11
is to develop a very clear Christology in the minds of the Colossian believers.
2:16
To be sure that they understand that Jesus is himself, the Son of God.
2:22
He is deity, and that his sacrifice on the cross was sufficient for their salvation.
2:28
That they are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
2:34
There's no longer any need for a piling up of work to earn salvation.
2:39
But as he always does, as he turns from the doctrinal to the more practical, he gives application in his letters.
2:45
He says, now because of these great truths, because of what God has done on your behalf,
2:52
because of who you are in Christ, your life should begin to look this way.
2:57
And that's where we find ourselves in chapter 3.
3:01
He's beginning to unfold this for us.
3:05
Beginning of chapter 3, we're exhorted to, if we've been raised with Christ,
3:10
if we are in fact Christians, that we are to seek the things that are above.
3:16
That we're to set our minds on those things that are above, and not on the things that are on earth.
3:22
We've died to those things, and now we're meant to live to Christ.
3:29
And this text that we're kind of narrowing in on in these couple of weeks,
3:33
as Daniel came and read to us 5-17,
3:37
he begins to tell us some things that we're to put off,
3:40
our old self things, and things that we're to put on.
3:43
Things that we ought to be doing now as Christians.
3:46
Last week I showed you that the primary exhortation of 5-17 is found in the last part of verse 9,
3:52
and the first part of verse 10.
3:55
Seeing that, you have put off the old self with its practices,
3:59
and have put on the new self.
4:02
And we took as two points, we only developed point one last week,
4:06
what that is to put off the old self.
4:09
Stated in the negative, do not do these things any longer.
4:14
And then secondly, to put on the new self.
4:18
There, stated in the positive.
4:19
Instead of those things, rather, you should live in this way.
4:24
And to remind you of last week, to lead us up to our text today,
4:29
we're to put off the old self.
4:30
He says it again in verse 5 and in verse 8,
4:33
put to death therefore what is earthly in you.
4:36
He doesn't mean so literally, but figuratively.
4:38
Put to death those things.
4:40
Mortify your flesh.
4:41
In verse 8, but now you must put them all away.
4:46
And he gives us two lists.
4:48
These aren't exhaustive lists of all sin,
4:51
but they're very aimed lists.
4:54
They're very particular lists.
4:55
And those were sins of unrighteous love,
4:59
or misplaced or perverted love.
5:03
We saw those as sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness.
5:09
And then secondly, sins of unrighteous hate or wicked hate.
5:15
There are things in this world to hate rightly, properly, righteously,
5:19
but this is unrighteous hate he's talking about.
5:22
And we saw those to be anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk, and deceit or lying.
5:31
And he gives us in that text two reasons that we should put sin to death.
5:35
Firstly, that sin brings God's judgment.
5:39
This is the thing that we invite upon ourselves when we sin.
5:43
Verse 6, on account of these, the wrath of God is coming.
5:48
Now, those who are found in Christ, have put on Christ,
5:54
are raised with Christ, using this language that he's used so far,
5:58
those sins have been bore in Christ's body.
6:02
That wrath of God for us has been poured out on him.
6:06
So that's not what Paul's saying.
6:08
He's saying if we're in Christ,
6:10
we ought not participate in these sins
6:12
because this is the reason that the world is being judged.
6:16
These sins are the reason that God's wrath is coming.
6:20
And those who are friends of God, children of God,
6:24
part of his kingdom, should have nothing to do.
6:28
With these things.
6:30
We should want nothing to do with it whatsoever.
6:32
No part in it at all.
6:35
And secondly, we should put sin to death
6:37
because sin is part of a believer's past.
6:41
Verse 7, Paul wrote,
6:42
In these you too once walked when you were living in them.
6:47
In the last part of verse 9,
6:49
seeing that you have put off the old self.
6:52
That's who you once were.
6:55
Your identity has changed completely now.
6:57
You're no longer children of wrath.
6:59
You're children of God.
7:01
And therefore should look different from the world.
7:06
And this morning, we're going to begin to look at the second exhortation of 5-17.
7:11
We're going to begin to look at it
7:12
because we're only going to look at verses 10 and 11.
7:16
And next week, I hope to tackle the rest through 17.
7:18
We'll see.
7:19
But that is, put on the new self.
7:25
Verse 10, I'll read to you again.
7:27
And have put on the new self,
7:30
which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
7:35
And I want you to notice a few things about this.
7:38
Let me see how many things.
7:39
Three things I want you to notice about verse 10.
7:42
Notice firstly that our sanctification is progressive.
7:49
Our sanctification is progressive.
7:53
It's beginning phrase in verse 10,
7:54
have put on the new self.
7:57
The have put on is a single Greek verb.
8:00
It's in the aorist tense,
8:02
which denotes a snapshot,
8:04
a picture of a completed event.
8:07
The English translation does a great job here
8:10
putting it in the past tense.
8:12
You have put on the new self.
8:15
Those of us who are found in Christ have been changed.
8:20
We have been set apart.
8:22
This is accomplished work.
8:24
It's already completed.
8:27
But note then the rest of the verse,
8:30
which is being renewed.
8:33
Here, this which is being renewed,
8:37
believe it or not,
8:38
it's all one verb in the Greek,
8:40
and it's in the present tense,
8:41
which portrays an event that is currently happening
8:44
with no respect to its completion whatsoever.
8:47
It's in process,
8:49
and it's going to continue to be processed.
8:52
So we've been set apart,
8:53
and we're continually being set apart.
8:57
As Christians, we have been redeemed.
8:59
We have been made new,
9:00
but yet we still have our flesh,
9:02
and we struggle with it,
9:04
but we're being made new and perfect
9:06
each and every day,
9:08
moving towards the high goal
9:09
of glorification in Christ.
9:11
That day when we shed our earthly bodies,
9:14
when we're set free from sin entirely,
9:16
and we're found perfect in Him forever.
9:21
It is as if to say,
9:23
you have put on the new self,
9:25
so put on the new self.
9:27
You've put it on,
9:28
so keep it on.
9:29
It's essentially what Paul is communicating
9:31
here in verse 10.
9:35
And we have a sure promise of help in this.
9:39
Philippians 1.6, Paul writes,
9:40
and I am sure of this,
9:43
that He who began a good work in you
9:45
will bring it to completion
9:46
at the day of Jesus Christ.
9:49
He began the work,
9:50
and He will complete the work.
9:53
And he writes this later in 2 Corinthians 4.16,
9:56
So we do not lose heart,
9:58
though our outer self is wasting away.
10:01
Our inner self is being renewed day by day.
10:06
As I get a bit older,
10:07
and for those of you who are guests,
10:08
I'm 35,
10:09
and I know that that's not old
10:11
in many people's perspective,
10:12
but I'm beginning to feel age
10:15
as the years come on.
10:17
And it's encouraging to me to know
10:19
that I'm being perfected in the spiritual sense
10:22
as I'm becoming less perfect
10:24
in the physical sense.
10:26
I mentioned the wedding earlier,
10:28
and yesterday I was changing a light bulb.
10:32
This one.
10:33
Nope, that one.
10:34
And all of the sound equipment
10:35
was hidden in the back corner.
10:37
It was all stuffed around.
10:39
I couldn't move anything.
10:40
So I decided to climb up on top of the bass amp
10:42
to change the light bulb,
10:45
and I fell off of it.
10:46
And took a huge chunk of skin out of my shin
10:51
on a music stand.
10:53
And I asked Wes if he was coming up later,
10:55
can you help me change the rest of the light bulbs later?
10:56
Because I just took a big fall.
10:58
And he said, are you okay?
10:59
And I said, yeah,
11:00
I just wish I wouldn't hurt myself
11:01
doing stupid things.
11:03
And I used to do cool things and get hurt,
11:05
and now it's just stupid things.
11:06
So praise God that I'm being renewed in spirit
11:12
day by day.
11:13
I'm being perfected,
11:14
and I'm working toward that
11:16
even as my body is wasting away.
11:19
The late William Hendrickson,
11:21
a 20th century New Testament scholar,
11:23
said this of this text today,
11:25
when a man is led through the waters of salvation,
11:28
they are ankle deep at first,
11:30
but as he progresses,
11:31
they become knee deep,
11:32
and they reach through the loins
11:34
and are finally impassable
11:35
except by swimming.
11:37
And he means that as a positive thing,
11:38
a good thing that we must swim in God's grace
11:41
in our understanding of the gospel.
11:43
2 Corinthians 3,
11:45
18,
11:46
another expression of this truth,
11:48
Paul says,
11:49
and we all with unveiled face,
11:51
beholding the glory of the Lord,
11:53
are being transformed into the same image
11:56
from one degree of glory to another,
11:59
for this comes from the Lord,
12:01
who is the Spirit.
12:02
So there's a progressive sanctification
12:04
for those of us who are found in Christ.
12:06
Set apart for a special purpose,
12:08
the glory of God,
12:09
and being made perfect in our lives.
12:14
Secondly,
12:15
notice the means of our renewal.
12:19
Notice the means of our renewal.
12:21
Just read to you in 2 Corinthians 3,
12:23
verse 18,
12:24
for this comes,
12:25
sanctification,
12:26
this process of being changed
12:27
from one image of glory to another,
12:30
this comes from the Lord,
12:32
who is the Spirit.
12:34
And we must ask the question,
12:35
how does the Spirit of God,
12:37
who exists within those
12:39
who have placed faith in Christ,
12:40
accomplish this?
12:41
What does He do?
12:42
And we talked about this at length last week,
12:45
but I want you to see it again
12:46
here in verse 10,
12:48
in knowledge.
12:50
This phrase,
12:51
in knowledge.
12:53
I gave you a slew of texts last week.
12:56
I would encourage you to go look it up
12:57
if you care to see this in greater depth.
12:59
But Romans 12, 2,
13:01
the first part of that says,
13:02
do not be conformed to this world,
13:04
but be transformed,
13:06
changed from degree of glory
13:08
to degree of glory
13:09
by the renewal of your mind.
13:13
Think differently.
13:15
You are a child of God.
13:18
Understand that truth.
13:22
You don't have to be intelligent
13:23
to be a Christian.
13:25
You don't have to be high-minded
13:26
to be a Christian.
13:28
But when you become a Christian,
13:29
it necessitates upon you
13:31
that you think.
13:33
And that you think about God.
13:35
You become a theologian
13:37
when you become a Christian.
13:38
You must know the truth.
13:40
We've been given God's revelation.
13:42
He came down to become an author.
13:46
He wrote us a book.
13:47
And beloved, we should know it.
13:49
This is the way that the Spirit changes us.
13:53
There's further case for this.
13:55
Colossians 3.16a.
13:56
Later on in our text,
13:58
let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.
14:02
And then Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3.16-17.
14:06
I hope you're familiar with this verse.
14:09
All Scripture is breathed out by God
14:12
and it's profitable.
14:13
What is it used for?
14:14
It's profitable for teaching,
14:16
for reproof,
14:17
for correction,
14:18
and for training in righteousness.
14:20
And what's the result of that?
14:22
That the man of God may be complete,
14:25
equipped for every good work.
14:28
Our progressive sanctification
14:30
is carried about by the Spirit
14:32
in knowledge.
14:34
He uses the Word of God
14:36
to shape us.
14:37
And if you're not finding,
14:39
if you're in Christ
14:40
and you're not finding
14:41
that you're progressing in sanctification,
14:43
more than likely,
14:44
the diagnosis for you
14:45
is read your Scripture.
14:47
Know your Bible.
14:49
Invite God to work it in your life
14:52
by the power of the Spirit
14:53
that you may be changed
14:54
from one degree to the next.
14:57
Thirdly,
14:58
notice the end
15:00
or the goal
15:01
of our renewal.
15:03
This last little phrase,
15:04
is after the image
15:06
of its Creator.
15:08
Now,
15:08
its is referring back
15:09
to the new self.
15:11
The Creator of that
15:11
being Christ.
15:13
We are being made
15:15
to look more like Christ
15:16
or
15:17
we are not His.
15:20
We are being made
15:21
to look more like Christ
15:23
or
15:24
we are not His.
15:26
If you have put off
15:27
the old self
15:28
and put on the new self,
15:30
then there will be progress
15:32
for you
15:32
in godliness.
15:34
This is the great work
15:34
of God on our behalf.
15:36
Changing our hearts.
15:38
Regenerating us.
15:39
Taking the old dead us
15:40
and putting in us
15:41
a heart that beats
15:42
for Him.
15:44
You will progress
15:45
in godliness
15:46
if you are found
15:47
in Christ.
15:49
Now,
15:50
in verse 11,
15:50
Paul does,
15:52
upon first reading,
15:53
a very curious thing.
15:56
It doesn't follow
15:57
in my logic
15:58
and the way I think
15:59
that this is where
15:59
he would go next.
16:01
difficult a bit to go.
16:03
Verse 11
16:04
almost seems like
16:05
it stands alone.
16:06
Like it's like
16:06
Paul suddenly had
16:08
this random aside
16:09
and he thought
16:10
he would just
16:10
throw it in
16:11
for the fun.
16:13
Verse 11 reads,
16:14
Here,
16:14
there is not
16:15
Greek and Jew,
16:16
circumcised
16:17
and uncircumcised,
16:18
barbarian,
16:19
Scythian,
16:19
slave,
16:20
free,
16:21
but Christ is all
16:22
and in all.
16:25
Let me show you
16:26
the way in which
16:27
that doesn't
16:28
stand apart,
16:30
that it is in fact
16:30
logical and flows
16:32
in what he's
16:33
trying to say.
16:34
He has been talking
16:35
about these sins,
16:36
these particular sins,
16:37
these sins of
16:38
unrighteous love
16:39
or these sins of
16:40
unrighteous hate.
16:42
He's been talking
16:43
about these things
16:43
and all of these sins
16:45
are relational sins.
16:47
They have to do
16:48
with the way in which
16:49
we interact
16:50
with one another.
16:51
I believe he's
16:52
particularly talking
16:53
to the church.
16:54
The way in which
16:55
you interact with
16:56
each other
16:57
as Christian people.
16:59
Certainly we can
16:59
take the implications
17:00
out beyond
17:01
the borders
17:02
of our body,
17:03
but specifically
17:05
this is what
17:05
he's referring to.
17:07
And so he's
17:07
turning now
17:08
and saying
17:09
here is the
17:10
proper way
17:11
in which
17:12
you should live.
17:13
And he starts
17:14
with these
17:15
borders,
17:18
these barriers
17:19
that have been
17:19
put up
17:20
by people
17:21
of the day.
17:22
The way in which
17:23
they were so
17:24
obstinate toward
17:25
one another
17:26
around these
17:27
particular things.
17:28
So he begins
17:29
by breaking
17:30
those things
17:31
down.
17:32
And in the next
17:32
week we'll see
17:33
the way in which
17:34
they're meant
17:34
to love each other.
17:35
In spite of
17:36
your differences,
17:37
in spite of
17:38
your barriers,
17:39
you should live
17:40
this way
17:41
together.
17:42
This is a great
17:43
exhortation
17:44
for the church
17:45
today.
17:47
Ephesians 2
17:48
13-16
17:50
says this,
17:51
but now
17:52
in Christ
17:53
Jesus,
17:54
you who
17:55
once were
17:55
far off
17:56
have been
17:56
brought near
17:57
by the blood
17:58
of Christ.
17:59
For he himself
18:00
is our peace
18:01
who has made
18:02
us both one
18:03
and has broken
18:04
down in his
18:05
flesh the
18:05
dividing wall
18:06
of hostility,
18:08
the barriers
18:08
of hostility
18:10
between us
18:10
by abolishing
18:11
the law of
18:12
commandments
18:12
expressed in
18:13
ordinances
18:13
that he might
18:14
create in
18:15
himself one
18:16
new man
18:17
in place of
18:18
the two,
18:18
so making
18:19
peace.
18:20
It might
18:20
reconcile us
18:21
or bring us
18:22
back into
18:22
right relation
18:23
both to
18:24
God in
18:25
one body
18:25
through the
18:26
cross,
18:27
thereby killing
18:28
the hostility.
18:30
So the gospel
18:31
cuts the head
18:33
off the snake
18:33
of hostility.
18:35
It does away
18:36
with these
18:37
barriers that
18:38
are created
18:38
by men.
18:39
And they exist.
18:40
They're real.
18:41
They function
18:42
in our world.
18:43
We're going to
18:43
look at this
18:44
list of them
18:44
here and these
18:46
were barriers
18:47
to be sure.
18:49
Paul mentions
18:49
the dividing
18:50
wall.
18:51
These were
18:51
lines that
18:52
were not
18:52
crossed in
18:54
this day.
18:55
The closest
18:56
thing that I
18:56
can think of
18:57
in our
18:57
modern day
18:58
world is
18:59
India's
18:59
caste system.
19:00
And actually
19:01
as I began
19:01
to do some
19:02
research on
19:02
the caste
19:02
system,
19:03
it seems
19:03
much looser
19:04
than these
19:05
barriers were
19:06
in this day.
19:07
These were
19:08
strict things
19:10
that everyone
19:10
obeyed.
19:12
And he is
19:13
saying that
19:13
the gospel
19:14
destroys those
19:16
walls.
19:16
It changes
19:17
us in a
19:19
very peculiar
19:20
and wonderfully
19:22
God-glorifying
19:23
way in
19:24
this world.
19:25
So he
19:26
tells us
19:26
about some
19:27
varying
19:27
barriers.
19:28
Firstly,
19:29
the ethnic
19:30
barriers.
19:32
Greeks
19:32
and Jews.
19:34
These were
19:34
people groups.
19:36
Real people
19:36
groups that
19:37
really exist.
19:37
Bloodlines
19:38
that exist.
19:39
Greek and
19:40
Jew.
19:40
He talks
19:41
about religious
19:42
barriers.
19:42
Those who
19:43
were circumcised
19:44
and those
19:44
who were
19:44
uncircumcised.
19:46
You know
19:47
much of your
19:47
Bible or
19:48
history,
19:48
you know
19:48
that Jews
19:49
were commanded
19:50
to be
19:51
circumcised
19:51
and those
19:52
outside the
19:53
faith were
19:53
uncircumcised.
19:54
We would
19:54
typically refer
19:55
to these
19:55
people as
19:56
Gentiles.
19:58
I think
19:58
all of us,
19:59
unless somebody
20:00
who hears of
20:00
Jewish descent
20:01
ethnically,
20:02
are probably
20:03
counted in that
20:04
number.
20:04
The uncircumcised
20:05
that the gospel
20:06
advanced to.
20:08
We were able
20:08
to receive the
20:09
good news of
20:10
Jesus Christ.
20:11
What a blessed
20:11
thing that is.
20:14
These things,
20:15
these barriers
20:15
have been broken
20:16
down.
20:17
There's a very
20:18
serious level
20:20
of animosity
20:21
in this day
20:21
between Jews
20:22
and Greeks.
20:24
Gentiles is a
20:24
broader category.
20:26
They had
20:27
nothing to do
20:28
with one another.
20:30
Jewish people
20:30
refused to
20:32
enter into a
20:33
Gentile house.
20:34
Refused to
20:35
go into a
20:36
Gentile house.
20:36
You know why?
20:37
Because they
20:37
believed that
20:38
all Gentiles
20:39
aborted their
20:41
children and
20:41
put them down
20:42
the drains in
20:43
their homes.
20:43
And therefore
20:44
they couldn't
20:45
go in or
20:45
else they
20:45
would be
20:46
defiled.
20:47
Very severe
20:48
judgment cast.
20:49
Now some of
20:50
this maybe
20:50
happened,
20:52
but all of
20:52
them was the
20:53
Jewish
20:53
understanding.
20:55
They would
20:55
not eat a
20:56
meal or
20:57
purchase meat
20:58
that was
20:58
butchered by
21:00
a Gentile.
21:00
When they
21:01
returned to
21:01
Jerusalem,
21:02
it was the
21:03
practice.
21:03
Not occasionally,
21:04
but everyone
21:05
that was Jewish
21:06
when they
21:07
returned to
21:07
Jerusalem would
21:08
show their
21:08
disdain for
21:09
the Gentiles
21:10
by shaking the
21:11
dust off their
21:11
clothes and
21:12
sandals.
21:12
To shortly
21:14
be dirty back
21:14
up as they
21:15
continued in
21:15
Jerusalem.
21:16
It was a way
21:16
of saying we're
21:17
not even going
21:17
to carry
21:18
Gentile dust
21:20
into our
21:20
city.
21:21
They hated
21:22
them and the
21:23
Gentiles the
21:24
same.
21:24
They returned
21:24
the disdain
21:25
for one
21:26
another.
21:27
Do you
21:28
recall the
21:28
reluctance of
21:29
the apostles
21:29
to accept
21:30
Gentile believers?
21:31
It was a
21:32
difficult thing
21:32
for them to
21:33
get past,
21:34
understand the
21:35
gospel of
21:36
grace.
21:36
I would
21:36
encourage you to
21:37
read Acts 10
21:38
and 11.
21:38
You can read
21:39
about Peter's
21:39
vision, the
21:40
way that God
21:40
had to come
21:41
and give him
21:42
this vision and
21:43
then Peter goes
21:44
and sees
21:44
conversions and
21:45
spirit filling
21:47
of Gentiles and
21:49
then commends to
21:50
the rest of the
21:51
apostles that this
21:52
is right and
21:52
proper and a
21:53
work of God.
21:55
A great deal of
21:56
animosity between
21:57
one another.
21:58
And Paul is
21:58
saying that the
21:59
gospel destroys
22:00
that division.
22:02
The old man
22:04
held to these
22:05
things, the new
22:06
man thinks
22:07
nothing of
22:07
them any
22:08
longer.
22:09
He points out
22:10
cultural barriers.
22:11
He talks about
22:12
the barbarians
22:13
and the
22:14
Scythians.
22:15
The barbarian
22:16
was a broad
22:17
term for those
22:18
people, particularly
22:19
the Greeks and
22:20
the Jews who
22:21
tended to be a
22:22
very educated
22:23
people, to
22:24
speak of those
22:24
people who
22:25
were uneducated.
22:26
They were
22:26
inarticulate in
22:28
their speech.
22:29
In fact, the
22:30
term barbarian
22:31
comes from what
22:32
they jested that
22:34
they sounded
22:35
like, that they
22:35
just talked like
22:36
this, bar,
22:37
bar, bar, bar, bar.
22:38
They said nothing
22:38
intelligible at
22:40
all.
22:40
That's where this
22:41
phrase barbarian
22:42
comes from.
22:44
The most feared
22:44
of the barbarians
22:45
were the
22:46
Scythians.
22:47
This was actually
22:48
a people group.
22:49
The Jewish
22:50
historian Josephus
22:51
in Against
22:52
Apion wrote,
22:53
the Scythians
22:54
delight in
22:55
murdering people
22:55
and are little
22:56
better than
22:57
wild beasts.
22:59
Right?
22:59
Hated.
23:00
The way they
23:01
were as an
23:02
aggressive people
23:04
was hated by
23:05
the Jews and
23:07
the Greeks.
23:08
Paul speaks of
23:09
social barriers.
23:11
Slave and
23:12
free.
23:14
Slaves in this
23:15
day had
23:15
extremely low
23:17
social standing.
23:19
Less than
23:19
people.
23:20
Does that sound
23:20
familiar at all?
23:22
Aristotle records
23:23
that they were
23:23
considered living
23:25
tools to be
23:27
used and then
23:28
discarded.
23:29
And the gospel
23:30
here again
23:31
breaks this
23:32
down.
23:34
Paul writes
23:35
in Galatians
23:35
3.28,
23:36
there is neither
23:37
Jew nor
23:37
Greek.
23:38
There is neither
23:38
slave nor
23:39
free.
23:40
There is no
23:41
male and
23:41
female.
23:42
He adds yet
23:42
another social
23:43
barrier that's
23:44
been abolished
23:45
by the gospel.
23:46
For you are
23:47
all one in
23:49
Christ Jesus.
23:51
He says it
23:51
again in 1
23:52
Corinthians 12.13,
23:53
for in one
23:53
spirit we were
23:54
all baptized
23:55
into one body,
23:56
Jews or
23:57
Greeks,
23:58
slaves or
23:59
free,
24:00
and all
24:01
were made
24:01
to drink
24:02
of one
24:02
spirit.
24:04
All of these
24:04
differences that
24:05
we have are
24:06
no longer of
24:07
any importance
24:08
whatsoever because
24:08
now we have
24:10
Christ.
24:12
The gospel of
24:13
Jesus destroys
24:13
them, breaks
24:14
them down,
24:15
ethnic,
24:16
religious,
24:17
cultural,
24:18
and social,
24:19
abolishes them
24:19
altogether because
24:21
it's phrased at
24:22
the end of verse
24:23
11, Christ is
24:25
all and in
24:27
all.
24:27
Christ is
24:29
all and
24:30
he is in
24:31
all.
24:31
And I believe
24:32
what Paul is
24:32
trying to say
24:32
is that Christ
24:33
is everything.
24:35
He is the
24:36
great equalizer.
24:38
If we have
24:38
Christ then we
24:39
have the
24:40
greatest thing
24:41
in common
24:42
that we could
24:42
possibly have
24:43
in common.
24:43
All of a sudden
24:44
all of the
24:45
differences between
24:45
us become
24:46
entirely
24:47
insignificant
24:48
because we
24:49
have
24:50
Christ.
24:52
We are so
24:53
apt as
24:54
people to
24:55
be a number
24:56
of things,
24:56
to define
24:57
ourselves in
24:58
a number
24:58
of ways,
24:59
to add up
25:00
a list of
25:00
things and
25:01
somewhere in
25:01
that list of
25:02
things that I
25:03
am I place
25:04
Christian.
25:05
Oh, oh and
25:06
I'm a disciple
25:07
of Christ.
25:09
If you are in
25:10
Christ you are a
25:11
Christian first.
25:13
Great difference
25:14
between people in
25:15
this world are
25:15
those who are
25:16
enemies of God
25:17
and those who
25:17
are friends of
25:18
God, those who
25:19
are outside of
25:20
Christ and those
25:21
who are in
25:22
Christ.
25:22
This should be
25:22
the first thing
25:23
that we list,
25:24
the first way
25:25
that we think
25:26
about ourselves.
25:27
I am Nathan
25:28
and I am a
25:29
Christian and
25:31
I do this or
25:32
I do that.
25:33
I am married,
25:34
I have children,
25:35
etc.
25:36
etc.
25:36
etc.
25:36
I am a
25:37
Christian first.
25:38
It should
25:38
invade all
25:40
of who I
25:42
am.
25:43
We are so
25:44
apt to
25:45
segment
25:45
ourselves off
25:47
as Christian
25:47
people.
25:48
Beloved,
25:48
this should
25:48
not be so
25:49
with us.
25:50
We're drawn
25:51
together by
25:52
affinities and
25:53
I think the
25:53
great issue
25:54
there is
25:54
because we
25:55
don't talk
25:55
about Jesus
25:56
Christ as
25:57
much as we
25:57
should.
25:57
We don't
25:58
talk about
25:58
the thing
25:58
we have
25:59
in common
25:59
and share
26:00
in that
26:00
enough,
26:01
but we
26:01
want to
26:01
talk about
26:02
whatever
26:02
sports we're
26:03
into,
26:04
our favorite
26:05
team,
26:06
our gardens,
26:07
what we're
26:08
doing on
26:08
our house,
26:09
our children.
26:11
We should
26:11
be talking
26:12
about Christ
26:13
more than
26:13
those things.
26:13
We could
26:14
talk about
26:14
those things,
26:15
but more
26:15
than those
26:16
things,
26:16
and we
26:16
should see
26:17
what we
26:17
share in
26:19
common.
26:20
We should
26:20
so love
26:21
Jesus that
26:21
we want to
26:22
see the way
26:22
in which he's
26:23
working in
26:23
other people's
26:24
lives.
26:24
We should
26:25
hunger for
26:25
that,
26:26
to say to
26:27
other people,
26:27
how is the
26:28
Lord working
26:29
and changing
26:30
you?
26:31
I need to
26:32
see a fresh
26:32
picture of
26:33
grace today.
26:34
Sometimes I
26:35
fail to
26:35
believe the
26:36
gospel in
26:37
my activity,
26:37
in my day.
26:38
I fail to
26:39
remember that
26:39
it has power
26:40
to change me
26:41
because I
26:42
stop looking
26:42
at the way
26:43
in which it's
26:44
working in
26:44
other people's
26:45
lives.
26:46
We divide
26:47
ourselves up
26:47
by the
26:48
stupidest of
26:49
things.
26:51
This is why
26:52
I am against
26:53
affinity-based
26:53
churches.
26:54
They infuriate
26:55
me that we
26:56
target a
26:57
particular hobby
26:58
in order to
26:59
build a
27:00
church around
27:01
a hobby.
27:03
It makes
27:03
no sense to
27:04
me whatsoever.
27:06
I'm okay with
27:06
hanging out with
27:07
people that like
27:07
to do stuff I
27:08
like in order to
27:09
share the gospel
27:09
with them,
27:10
but to do
27:11
everything you
27:12
do in order to
27:12
attract a
27:13
particular little
27:14
segment of
27:15
society,
27:15
I think,
27:17
it's my
27:17
opinion,
27:18
is sin.
27:18
people.
27:20
Our evangelism,
27:23
the way in
27:23
which we go
27:24
out into the
27:24
world should
27:24
be entirely
27:25
indiscriminate.
27:26
Entirely.
27:27
Because we
27:28
see people.
27:29
The great
27:29
thing that we
27:30
have in
27:30
common apart
27:31
from Christ
27:31
is our
27:32
sin.
27:32
People need
27:33
salvation.
27:35
Everyone is
27:35
headed without
27:36
Jesus to
27:36
eternal
27:36
destruction.
27:38
There's the
27:38
affinity.
27:39
What do
27:40
they need?
27:40
The gospel.
27:42
This is how
27:43
we should
27:44
build our
27:45
churches.
27:46
Now it
27:46
happens that
27:47
we gather
27:48
around
27:48
affinity.
27:49
There are
27:49
a lot of
27:49
college students
27:50
in our
27:50
congregation,
27:51
are there
27:51
not?
27:52
But that's
27:52
based on
27:53
relationship,
27:54
based on
27:54
people you
27:55
know,
27:55
and who
27:55
you invite,
27:56
and who
27:56
you're sharing
27:57
your faith
27:58
with.
27:58
That is
27:58
good,
27:59
and fine,
28:00
and acceptable,
28:01
but when we
28:02
narrow our
28:03
reach,
28:05
I think it's
28:06
sin.
28:07
Christ is
28:08
all,
28:09
and he's
28:09
in all,
28:10
the great
28:11
equalizer,
28:11
the great
28:12
thing that
28:13
we have
28:14
in common.
28:16
Back in
28:16
the beginning
28:16
of verse 11,
28:17
Paul says,
28:18
here there
28:19
is not.
28:21
And this
28:21
here refers
28:22
back to
28:22
verse 10,
28:23
to the new
28:24
self.
28:24
This new
28:25
self that's
28:25
being renewed
28:26
in the image
28:27
of its
28:27
creator.
28:29
The NASB
28:30
version,
28:31
I think,
28:31
renders this
28:32
well to
28:32
help us
28:32
understand,
28:33
says,
28:34
a renewal
28:35
in which
28:36
there is
28:37
no distinction
28:38
between
28:39
these varying
28:41
barriers.
28:42
A renewal
28:42
in which
28:42
there is
28:43
no distinction
28:44
between.
28:44
It does
28:45
not
28:45
belong
28:46
amidst
28:48
the people
28:48
of God.
28:51
So this
28:51
is what he
28:52
says should
28:53
not cause
28:54
conflict.
28:55
There should
28:55
not be
28:56
barriers
28:57
between
28:57
these
28:58
things,
28:59
these
28:59
ethnic,
29:00
religious,
29:00
cultural,
29:01
social barriers.
29:02
These are
29:03
realities,
29:04
real things,
29:05
real barriers
29:06
that should be
29:06
abolished by
29:07
the gospel.
29:07
But I want
29:08
you to also
29:08
see this
29:09
morning what
29:10
he doesn't
29:11
say,
29:12
what he
29:13
doesn't talk
29:14
about.
29:14
Sometimes the
29:15
silence of the
29:16
scripture screams
29:17
something to
29:18
us.
29:19
And in this
29:19
case, I think
29:20
we need to
29:20
see that he
29:21
does not
29:21
talk about
29:22
race.
29:25
He does
29:25
not mention
29:26
race.
29:28
Not because
29:28
race is not
29:29
abolished by
29:29
Christ,
29:30
not because
29:31
it didn't
29:32
have the
29:32
power to
29:33
do so,
29:34
but because
29:34
race does
29:36
not exist.
29:37
race is
29:40
not a
29:41
real
29:42
thing.
29:44
Before your
29:45
head explodes,
29:48
racism
29:48
certainly
29:49
exists.
29:51
Racism is
29:51
a thing
29:52
that's been
29:52
created.
29:53
It exists,
29:54
but race
29:55
does not.
29:56
And I'll
29:56
tell you,
29:57
as I go
29:57
on to prove
29:58
this to
29:58
you,
29:58
that reality
29:59
makes racism
30:00
extremely
30:01
ridiculous.
30:03
It's
30:03
childish.
30:05
It's
30:05
stupid.
30:07
And we
30:08
have men
30:08
in some
30:09
of the
30:09
highest
30:09
offices in
30:10
our country
30:11
that act
30:12
as if
30:13
everything
30:13
hangs and
30:14
depends on
30:15
this reality
30:16
of race
30:16
and it
30:17
doesn't
30:18
exist.
30:20
I'd encourage
30:20
you to stop
30:21
listening to
30:22
such men.
30:24
Ethnic,
30:24
religious,
30:25
cultural,
30:25
social barriers
30:26
have a
30:27
basis in
30:29
reality.
30:30
Race is
30:31
based on
30:32
features.
30:33
characters.
30:33
It's
30:34
based on
30:34
appearances
30:35
most
30:36
prominently
30:37
on skin
30:39
color.
30:40
Now,
30:40
I'm not
30:40
going to
30:41
deal for
30:41
a long
30:42
time with
30:42
this because
30:43
we just
30:43
don't have
30:43
time.
30:44
I owe
30:44
you guys
30:44
a shorter
30:45
sermon.
30:45
I'm aware
30:46
of that.
30:47
There's
30:47
more to
30:48
be said
30:48
about this,
30:49
but I
30:50
hope this
30:50
will start
30:50
a conversation
30:51
concerning it.
30:53
Anthropologists
30:53
have agreed
30:54
for centuries,
30:56
centuries,
30:57
that race
30:57
is socially
30:58
constructed,
30:59
and that is
31:00
to say that
31:00
we invented
31:01
it,
31:01
that we
31:02
made it
31:02
up to
31:03
serve our
31:04
ends.
31:04
Listen to
31:05
this.
31:06
This is an
31:06
article written
31:07
by the
31:07
American
31:08
Anthropological
31:08
Association,
31:09
and this
31:09
is their
31:10
statement on,
31:11
and I love
31:11
that they
31:11
do this,
31:12
quote-unquote
31:13
race.
31:14
Every time
31:15
they say
31:15
it in
31:15
this article,
31:16
it's race.
31:17
Here we
31:17
go.
31:18
Historical
31:19
research has
31:19
shown that
31:20
the idea
31:20
of race
31:22
has always
31:23
carried more
31:23
meanings than
31:24
mere physical
31:25
differences.
31:26
Indeed,
31:26
physical
31:27
variations in
31:28
the human
31:28
species have
31:29
no meaning
31:30
except the
31:30
social ones
31:31
that humans
31:32
put on
31:33
them.
31:34
Today,
31:35
scholars in
31:35
many fields
31:35
argue that
31:36
race,
31:37
as it is
31:38
understood in
31:38
the United
31:39
States of
31:39
America,
31:40
was a
31:40
social
31:40
mechanism
31:41
invented
31:42
during the
31:43
18th century
31:43
to refer
31:44
to those
31:45
populations
31:45
brought
31:46
together
31:46
in
31:47
colonial
31:47
America.
31:48
The
31:48
English
31:49
and other
31:49
European
31:50
settlers,
31:51
the
31:51
conquered
31:51
Indian
31:52
peoples,
31:52
and those
31:53
peoples of
31:54
Africa
31:54
brought in
31:55
to provide
31:56
slave labor,
31:58
created race
31:59
in order to
31:59
perpetuate
32:00
the things
32:01
they were
32:01
trying to
32:02
accomplish.
32:02
Further in
32:03
the article,
32:04
race thus
32:05
evolved as
32:06
a worldview,
32:08
a body of
32:08
prejudgments
32:09
that distorts
32:10
our ideas
32:11
about human
32:12
differences and
32:12
group behavior.
32:14
Racial beliefs
32:15
constitute myths
32:16
about the
32:16
diversity in
32:17
the human
32:17
species and
32:18
about the
32:18
abilities and
32:19
behavior of
32:20
people homogenized
32:22
into racial
32:23
categories.
32:25
The myths
32:25
fused behavior
32:27
and physical
32:27
features together
32:28
in the public
32:29
mind,
32:30
impeding our
32:31
comprehension
32:31
of both
32:32
biological
32:33
variations and
32:34
cultural behavior,
32:35
implying that
32:36
both are
32:37
genetically
32:37
determined.
32:39
Racial myths
32:40
bear no
32:40
relationship to
32:41
the reality of
32:42
human capabilities
32:43
or behavior.
32:44
Scientists
32:45
today find
32:45
that reliance
32:46
on such
32:47
folk beliefs
32:48
about human
32:49
differences in
32:49
research has
32:50
led to
32:51
countless
32:52
errors.
32:53
I'm going to
32:54
sum that up for
32:54
you in my
32:55
terminology in
32:55
case you lost
32:56
me in that
32:57
language.
32:58
What they're
32:58
saying is that
32:59
race has been
33:00
socially constructed
33:02
in order to
33:03
perpetuate ideas
33:04
about people who
33:05
look different
33:07
and that the
33:08
appearance of
33:09
people has
33:10
nothing to do
33:11
with their
33:12
ability as
33:13
people.
33:14
But we have
33:14
tied the two
33:15
together and
33:15
invented this
33:16
thing which I
33:17
am calling
33:18
racism.
33:19
We categorize
33:20
people in
33:21
this way.
33:22
A very
33:25
severe example
33:26
of this
33:27
working out
33:27
in our
33:28
world with
33:29
a tragic
33:30
outcome is
33:32
the 1994
33:33
Rwandan
33:34
genocide.
33:36
I hope you're
33:36
familiar with
33:37
this.
33:37
I hope you
33:37
are paying
33:38
attention to
33:39
the news and
33:40
seeing these
33:41
types of
33:41
events.
33:42
In 1994
33:42
in an
33:43
approximately
33:43
100-day
33:44
period from
33:45
April 7th to
33:46
mid-July,
33:48
an estimated
33:48
500,000 to
33:49
a million
33:50
Rwandans
33:50
were killed.
33:51
It is tragic
33:52
to me that
33:53
we have to
33:53
estimate it,
33:54
that we don't
33:54
even know
33:55
the real
33:55
number of
33:56
people that
33:57
were slaughtered
33:58
in this
33:58
genocide.
34:01
The mass
34:02
slaughter of
34:02
Tutsi were
34:05
genocide by
34:06
the Hutu in
34:07
Rwanda.
34:08
Now to give
34:08
you just a
34:09
little background
34:09
history,
34:10
the Hutu were
34:10
the people that
34:11
were indigenous
34:12
to the land
34:13
of Rwanda.
34:14
The Tutsi
34:14
migrated from
34:15
Ethiopia in
34:16
the 14th
34:17
century.
34:17
Interestingly,
34:18
the Tutsi
34:18
were originally
34:19
called the
34:19
Kushites.
34:20
Anybody
34:20
remember in
34:20
the scripture
34:21
someone who
34:21
married a
34:21
Kushite?
34:23
Moses.
34:24
Moses were
34:25
married to
34:26
a black
34:27
woman,
34:27
quote unquote
34:28
black woman.
34:30
But the
34:30
Tutsi migrated
34:30
from Ethiopia
34:31
in the 14th
34:32
century.
34:32
So 500
34:33
years have
34:35
passed.
34:36
Rwanda is
34:37
a nation
34:38
state.
34:40
It was
34:40
taken over
34:40
by Germany
34:41
after World
34:42
War I was
34:43
given to
34:43
Belgium.
34:44
This is
34:45
kind of the
34:45
background.
34:45
This has
34:45
become a
34:46
people,
34:47
the Rwandan
34:48
people.
34:49
This has
34:49
happened.
34:49
But in
34:50
order to
34:51
segregate
34:52
them,
34:52
many of
34:53
the Tutsis
34:54
had risen
34:55
up.
34:55
They were
34:56
in a lot
34:56
of the
34:56
ruling
34:57
places.
34:58
But in
34:58
order to
34:58
continue to
34:59
perpetuate
34:59
that,
35:00
to keep
35:00
that going,
35:00
Belgium
35:01
brought coffee
35:01
production.
35:02
They needed
35:03
a large
35:03
class of
35:04
workers.
35:05
They
35:06
divided
35:06
them.
35:06
You know
35:07
how they
35:07
divided
35:07
them?
35:08
They set
35:08
a standard
35:09
for what
35:09
qualified you
35:10
as a
35:11
Tutsi and
35:11
what qualified
35:12
you as
35:13
a Hutu.
35:14
They took
35:14
measurements.
35:15
they required
35:16
people to
35:17
be cataloged.
35:19
They took
35:19
measurements of
35:19
their head
35:20
size and
35:20
their nose
35:21
size and
35:21
their height.
35:23
The Tutsis
35:23
were believed,
35:24
it was
35:25
postulated,
35:26
that because
35:26
they were
35:26
from Ethiopia
35:28
that they
35:28
were more
35:29
European and
35:31
therefore were
35:32
more excellent
35:33
than the
35:34
Hutu.
35:35
These people
35:35
had lived
35:36
together for
35:36
500 years.
35:38
It had no
35:39
real basis of
35:40
ethnicity any
35:41
longer.
35:41
They were
35:41
Rwandans and
35:43
yet they were
35:43
divided along
35:44
these lines of
35:45
measurements.
35:47
So socially
35:48
constructed,
35:49
you see what
35:49
I'm saying?
35:50
They created
35:50
two races based
35:52
on appearance,
35:53
two races,
35:54
and the end
35:55
result of that
35:55
was a great
35:56
hatred for
35:57
one another
35:57
that ended
35:58
in this
35:58
mass,
35:59
mass genocide.
36:01
Severe
36:02
example for
36:02
sure.
36:04
But do you
36:04
not see the
36:05
way those
36:05
same types
36:06
of things
36:06
are at
36:06
work in
36:08
our nation?
36:10
So what
36:10
does the
36:10
Bible have
36:11
to say about
36:11
race?
36:11
Number one,
36:14
the Bible
36:15
correlates
36:15
Adam as
36:17
the head of
36:18
the physical
36:19
humanity and
36:20
Jesus Christ
36:21
as the head
36:22
of the spiritual
36:24
humanity.
36:25
We have one
36:26
descendant in
36:27
Adam.
36:28
We are the
36:28
human race.
36:30
We all have
36:30
the same
36:31
great,
36:32
great,
36:32
great,
36:33
great grandfather.
36:36
Noah,
36:37
if you prefer.
36:39
And Jesus
36:39
Christ is the
36:40
head of the
36:40
spiritual
36:41
humanity.
36:42
Read Romans
36:42
5,
36:43
1 Corinthians
36:43
15,
36:44
20-22
36:45
says,
36:45
But in
36:45
fact,
36:46
Christ has
36:46
been
36:47
raided from
36:47
the dead,
36:48
the first
36:48
fruits of
36:49
those who
36:49
have fallen
36:50
asleep.
36:51
For as by
36:51
a man came
36:52
death,
36:53
by a man
36:53
came also
36:54
the resurrection
36:55
of the dead.
36:56
For as in
36:58
Adam all
36:58
die,
36:59
so also in
37:00
Christ shall
37:00
all be
37:01
made alive.
37:02
You're seeing
37:03
the connectivity
37:04
there.
37:04
The scriptures
37:04
support the
37:05
idea that we
37:06
have a
37:06
single source
37:08
for who we
37:10
are as
37:10
people.
37:12
Secondly,
37:12
the Bible
37:13
makes the
37:14
common origin
37:15
of humanity
37:16
God.
37:17
It goes a
37:17
bit higher
37:18
and above
37:19
that.
37:19
Acts 17,
37:20
24-26,
37:22
this is
37:22
Paul preaching.
37:23
He says,
37:24
the God
37:24
who made
37:25
the world
37:25
and everything
37:26
in it,
37:27
being Lord
37:28
of heaven
37:28
and earth,
37:29
does not
37:30
live in
37:30
temples made
37:31
by man,
37:32
nor is he
37:32
served by
37:33
human hands
37:33
as though he
37:34
needed anything,
37:34
since he
37:35
himself gives
37:36
to all
37:37
mankind life
37:38
and breath
37:39
and everything.
37:40
And he
37:41
made from
37:41
one man
37:42
every nation
37:43
of mankind
37:43
to live on
37:44
all the face
37:45
of the earth,
37:46
having determined
37:47
a lot of
37:47
periods and
37:47
the boundaries
37:48
of their
37:49
dwelling place.
37:50
So Paul
37:51
then draws
37:51
the proper
37:52
distinction
37:52
between
37:53
nation,
37:54
ethnicity,
37:55
but he
37:56
draws us
37:56
all up
37:57
to God.
37:57
We have
37:58
a single
37:58
origin
37:59
of our
38:00
humanity.
38:01
God
38:01
through
38:02
Adam
38:02
and now
38:03
our
38:03
spiritual
38:03
reality
38:04
in
38:05
Christ.
38:06
The Bible
38:06
speaks
38:07
clearly
38:07
that this
38:07
race
38:08
does
38:08
not
38:09
exist.
38:12
And in
38:12
light of
38:13
this,
38:13
genetic
38:13
differences
38:14
in our
38:14
appearance
38:15
is
38:15
absolutely
38:16
trivial.
38:18
It has
38:18
no meaning
38:19
whatsoever
38:20
unless
38:21
we give
38:22
it
38:23
meaning.
38:25
So what's
38:25
the application
38:25
of this?
38:27
Firstly,
38:28
do not be
38:29
made to
38:29
feel guilty
38:30
for the
38:31
color of
38:31
your skin
38:32
or for
38:33
your ethnicity.
38:35
Do not
38:35
find yourself
38:36
lumped in a
38:37
group in
38:37
that way.
38:38
Refuse to
38:39
be put in
38:40
a group.
38:40
Introduce
38:41
yourself to
38:42
somebody by
38:42
your first
38:43
name.
38:44
Hi,
38:45
I'm Nathan.
38:46
I'm a
38:47
Christian.
38:47
know me
38:49
for
38:49
me.
38:51
When we
38:52
get little
38:52
survey forms
38:53
on everything,
38:54
everything you
38:54
go fill out
38:55
wants to
38:55
know what
38:56
race you
38:56
are.
38:57
If you
38:57
don't have
38:58
to check
38:58
something,
38:59
do nothing.
39:01
It's a
39:01
stupid question.
39:03
If you
39:04
have to,
39:05
do other.
39:07
And if you
39:08
have to fill
39:08
something into
39:09
the line,
39:10
put in a,
39:11
which stands
39:12
for not
39:12
applicable.
39:13
This is a
39:14
stupid question.
39:15
It doesn't
39:16
exist.
39:17
We should
39:18
not be
39:18
dealing with
39:19
it.
39:20
Don't feel
39:20
guilty for
39:21
the color of
39:21
your skin
39:22
or your
39:22
ethnicity.
39:23
God made
39:24
us all
39:24
beautiful.
39:26
What a
39:26
wonderful
39:26
expression of
39:27
God's
39:27
creativity
39:28
that we
39:28
have
39:29
different
39:29
tones
39:30
of skin,
39:31
different
39:32
hair.
39:33
How wonderful
39:33
that is.
39:34
It should
39:34
be grasped
39:36
and appreciated
39:37
and enjoyed.
39:39
Ignore those,
39:40
as I said
39:40
before,
39:40
who constantly
39:41
talk about
39:42
race.
39:42
You can
39:43
rattle some
39:43
people off
39:44
in your
39:44
head.
39:44
I'll do it
39:45
for you
39:45
later.
39:45
if you
39:46
would like.
39:47
Ignore
39:47
them.
39:48
Ignore
39:48
them.
39:49
Secondly,
39:51
do not
39:51
ignore that
39:52
racism
39:52
exists.
39:53
It does.
39:54
It's at work
39:55
in our
39:55
world that
39:56
ethnic,
39:57
religious,
39:57
cultural,
39:57
and social
39:58
issues do
39:59
exist.
40:00
Don't
40:00
dismiss.
40:00
Don't
40:01
act like
40:01
live in
40:02
la-la land,
40:02
like none
40:03
of these
40:03
things are
40:03
realities in
40:04
the world.
40:04
If we're
40:04
to love
40:05
people well,
40:06
we cannot
40:07
ignore their
40:07
experiences.
40:08
We have
40:08
to recognize
40:09
that there's
40:09
a truth
40:10
to their
40:11
experience.
40:11
We must
40:12
recognize the
40:13
challenges they
40:13
face and
40:14
the hurts
40:14
that they
40:15
experience.
40:16
Don't
40:16
dismiss
40:16
racism,
40:18
just dismiss
40:19
race.
40:20
Thirdly,
40:21
talk about
40:21
those ethnic,
40:22
religious,
40:23
cultural,
40:23
and social
40:24
issues.
40:24
Talk about
40:25
them.
40:25
As the
40:25
church,
40:26
we should
40:26
be engaging
40:27
them.
40:27
As those
40:28
who have
40:28
had these
40:28
barriers
40:29
torn down
40:30
for us,
40:30
we should
40:31
be the
40:32
most
40:32
enlightened
40:33
people.
40:33
We should
40:34
be the
40:34
most
40:34
understanding
40:35
of how
40:36
the common
40:37
struggle of
40:38
man in
40:39
sin and
40:40
the common
40:40
grace we
40:41
have in
40:41
Christ.
40:42
We should
40:42
be the
40:42
most
40:43
clear-headed.
40:43
We should
40:44
be talking
40:45
about these
40:45
things and
40:46
engaging
40:46
these issues.
40:47
But just
40:48
stop talking
40:48
about race.
40:50
Just stop
40:50
doing it
40:51
all together.
40:52
I would
40:53
strongly
40:54
encourage you
40:54
to do so.
40:55
To quit
40:55
categorizing
40:56
people so
40:57
readily in
40:58
that way.
40:58
Join with
40:59
Paul as he
40:59
says in
41:00
2 Corinthians
41:00
5.16
41:01
From now
41:02
on,
41:03
therefore,
41:04
we regard
41:04
no one
41:05
according
41:06
to the
41:07
flesh.
41:08
What does
41:08
he mean?
41:08
We look at
41:09
people's
41:09
spirits.
41:10
We see
41:10
people as
41:11
eternal
41:11
beings and
41:13
we treat
41:13
them as
41:14
such.
41:15
To give
41:16
you an
41:16
example of
41:16
this,
41:17
I think
41:17
some of
41:17
you in
41:18
our church
41:18
know who
41:18
William
41:19
Hollis is.
41:20
I stole
41:21
this off
41:22
the fridge
41:22
this morning.
41:25
It's
41:26
okay.
41:26
I don't
41:30
know,
41:30
you probably
41:31
can't see
41:31
this.
41:32
It's
41:32
oversight on
41:33
my part.
41:34
Probably the
41:34
fact that you
41:35
can't see
41:35
William tells
41:36
you a few
41:36
things about
41:36
William in
41:37
this picture.
41:38
It's a dark
41:39
picture.
41:40
This is my
41:41
friend William
41:41
Hollis.
41:42
Many of you
41:43
know him in
41:44
the room.
41:45
And if I
41:45
were to
41:46
describe William
41:47
Hollis,
41:48
if I were to
41:48
tell you about
41:48
my friend
41:49
William Hollis,
41:50
what our
41:50
culture is
41:50
going to tend
41:51
to do is
41:51
say,
41:52
I've got a
41:52
friend named
41:53
Will.
41:53
He's black.
41:56
And I have
41:56
just put Will
41:57
in a category.
41:59
I have placed
41:59
him off for
42:00
whatever the
42:01
preconceived notions
42:02
may be for the
42:02
person I'm
42:03
telling them
42:03
about.
42:04
I have
42:04
categorized him
42:05
in a way that
42:05
is entirely
42:06
unfair to
42:08
him.
42:08
I have
42:09
supported this
42:10
idea of
42:11
race because
42:12
I've connected
42:12
the way he
42:13
looks to a
42:14
bunch of
42:15
behavior and
42:16
preconceived
42:16
notions that
42:17
people,
42:17
good or
42:18
bad,
42:19
that they
42:19
may have.
42:21
Rather than
42:22
saying,
42:22
this is my
42:24
friend William
42:24
Hollis,
42:24
let me tell
42:25
you a bit
42:25
about who
42:26
he is.
42:26
He's a
42:27
disciple of
42:27
Jesus Christ.
42:28
He loves
42:28
the Lord.
42:29
I am so
42:29
incredibly
42:30
encouraged by
42:31
William.
42:32
He's the
42:32
husband of
42:32
Beverly.
42:33
He loves
42:34
Beverly.
42:35
He's the
42:35
father of
42:36
Jaden,
42:36
the one that
42:37
we have
42:37
this announcement
42:38
for.
42:39
He's a
42:39
former member
42:40
of our
42:40
fellowship.
42:41
He used
42:41
to go to
42:41
North Georgia
42:42
and he was
42:42
a member
42:42
of our
42:43
church here.
42:44
He serves
42:45
our country
42:46
in the
42:46
U.S.
42:47
Army.
42:48
Then you
42:48
may ask,
42:49
what does
42:49
William look
42:50
like?
42:51
It's a
42:52
fair question,
42:52
right?
42:53
Oh,
42:53
it sounds
42:54
familiar to
42:54
me.
42:55
What does
42:55
he look
42:56
like?
42:57
I would
42:58
say to
42:58
you,
42:59
not that
42:59
he's
42:59
black,
43:01
he has a
43:01
dark
43:01
complexion,
43:03
black hair
43:03
and brown
43:04
eyes.
43:05
This is
43:07
the way we
43:07
should be
43:07
talking about
43:08
one another.
43:10
We have to
43:10
be very
43:10
careful with
43:11
our language
43:12
and our
43:12
word because
43:13
they carry
43:13
with them
43:14
weight and
43:15
we are
43:15
unknowingly
43:16
perpetuating
43:16
in so many
43:17
ways unhealthy
43:18
behavior in
43:19
our church.
43:20
Talk about
43:21
ethnic,
43:21
religious,
43:22
cultural,
43:22
social issues,
43:22
but stop
43:23
talking about
43:24
race.
43:25
There's a
43:26
reality to
43:26
culture.
43:27
There's a
43:27
reality to
43:27
ethnicities,
43:29
not race.
43:29
fourthly and
43:31
lastly,
43:33
love people
43:34
with the
43:34
gospel of
43:35
Jesus Christ
43:36
indiscriminately.
43:39
Indiscriminately.
43:40
Beloved, we
43:41
should long for
43:42
a church that
43:43
is diverse.
43:45
It should be
43:45
something that's
43:46
close to our
43:47
hearts that we
43:48
want to see
43:48
happen.
43:49
Not so that we
43:50
can go around
43:50
telling people that
43:51
we have people of
43:52
different race in
43:53
our church.
43:54
This is not the
43:54
goal of this
43:56
longing, but
43:56
that we can
43:57
see the way
43:57
that God
43:58
works in
43:59
varying situations.
44:01
That we can
44:02
see those
44:03
barriers, those
44:04
walls torn
44:05
down.
44:05
Now, we live
44:05
in a place,
44:07
the county that
44:08
we're located
44:08
in, if you
44:10
want to throw
44:11
Hall County
44:12
into the mix
44:13
of that,
44:13
that is like
44:14
92%.
44:15
I'm going to
44:17
quote my
44:17
finger,
44:18
Caucasian.
44:19
It's not even
44:19
language I like
44:20
to use,
44:20
right?
44:21
Of European
44:22
descent.
44:26
Stupid.
44:26
So, are we
44:29
all going to
44:30
tend to be
44:30
fair-skinned?
44:31
Probably.
44:32
Probably, because
44:33
of where we
44:34
live.
44:35
But it's
44:35
something we
44:35
should long
44:36
to be
44:36
different.
44:37
We should
44:37
want to
44:38
have diversity
44:39
in our
44:40
church.
44:41
And I don't
44:41
think that we
44:41
need to go
44:42
seeking it
44:42
out.
44:42
I don't
44:43
think we
44:43
need to
44:43
target people
44:44
that look
44:45
different than
44:45
us.
44:46
But as we
44:46
see the
44:47
opportunity,
44:48
we should
44:48
love people
44:48
with the
44:48
gospel
44:49
indiscriminately.
44:50
We should
44:50
just extend
44:51
it to
44:51
everybody
44:52
because we're
44:52
all human
44:53
and we all
44:54
have sin
44:54
and we all
44:55
have destruction
44:56
that's due
44:56
it.
44:57
And we
44:57
all need
44:58
Christ.
45:00
John 3.16
45:01
says this,
45:03
For God so
45:04
loved the
45:04
world that
45:05
he gave his
45:06
only Son,
45:07
that whoever
45:07
believes in
45:08
him should
45:08
not perish
45:09
but have
45:10
eternal life.
45:12
For Christ
45:13
is all
45:14
and he's in
45:16
all.
45:17
Let's pray
45:17
together.