Thoughts on Racism from Peter

Do you remember the story of Cornelius in Acts 10-11, where Peter gets this strange vision about animals coming down on a sheet? That's in 10:10-17. I remember the typical interpretation being "Hey, now we can eat whatever we want!" referring to the cancellation (for lack of a better term) of Old Testament dietary laws. That's convenient for us, but it struck me that this is not at all how Peter interprets it! He interprets it as having to do with the Gentiles and God's acceptance of them as legitimate receptors of His grace. "God has revealed to me that I should not call any person common or unclean" (10:28). Additionally in chapter 11 when Peter is recalling the events to the men of the "circumcision party" he mentions that it is immediately after having this dream that the three men sent to him appear at his door, and that he goes with them "making no distinction" (11:12).

The good news? God is not racist or elitist. I can certainly thank God for that because "white" is not the race of the chosen people of God. Anyone who comes to Him in humble repentance and genuine faith can be saved, not just a special class of people or certain ethnicity. This might seem obvious to you, but I would encourage you to take a look at your church. How many different races are represented there? Are there only one or two major groups? Is this because of the area or because you might be subconsciously (or consciously!) favoring people more like you? Check the heart of you and your church. Do you just give lip service to the inclusiveness of different peoples or does your church demonstrate it by actions (1 John 3:18)? More importantly, do you demonstrate it by your actions? I know I don't as much as I would like to. It's hard to think of ways to destroy racism in our hearts, because often we think we're immune to it, especially in today's progressive age when such an issue is supposed to be long over and dealt with! I'm not saying that a church has to have no more than 20% of one race in order to be in a state of godly diversity! I just want everyone to make sure that the racial uniformity is absolutely nothing more than coincidence and not a result of different people being welcomed less than similar people!

On the flip side, you can be certain a church which encourages the promotion of a certain race is not honoring to God (in that area, anyways). This was both true back when racist slavery was rampant in America and it is true today. Black people were not welcome in white churches, but unfortunately some of that same attitude has back lashed into the black community. Take for example a church that is "Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian." Now, why is skin color (or culture, if you feel that's what they're referring to) even coming up when it comes to being a Christian? What would you think if I made a church that was "Unashamedly White and Unapologetically Christian"? Would that be viewed as at all inclusive of black people? How could I become a member of a church that is "Unapologetically Black," which I am certainly not! The pastor has made a statement against critics that "The African-centered point of view does not assume superiority, nor does it assume separatism. It assumes Africans speaking for themselves as subjects in history, not objects in history," but this seems a bit disingenuous as he is admitting from the start that it is "African-centered" rather than… God-centered, maybe? Even Bible-centered would leave me with nothing to mourn! Whatever the motto does or does not assume, it certainly has the effect of seeing African culture and history as objectively more important than other cultures, and it definitely encourages separatism, as I have already said. I could not join a church whose motto is "Unashamedly Black," because I am not black!

May it never be so in my own heart or in yours! The Lord died for the whole world (John 3:16), not just yours.

Resolutions 4 and 5

If you're a regular here you'll notice two things that have happened recently on my blog: 1) That nothing has been happening recently on my blog with respect to new posts showing up regularly, and 2) That I added a 4th resolution to me list of Edwards-inspired statements of resolution. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, you'll notice that to the right of this blog is a section on the sidebar called resolutions that I desire public accountability for. Anyways, I was inspired last year at Resolved 2007, a conference inspired by Jonathan Edwards' 70 resolutions, that I should make some of my own. I wasn't ready (nor did I think it wise) to take on 70 all at one time, but I took CJ Mahaney's advice and went for 3 things that I could focus on. You'll notice a 4th one there as well, written 1/1/08 (Convenient right?). It reads:

4) Resolved, to always daily encourage another Christian brother or sister for the purpose of building them up and firmly establishing them in their faith that they might be presented to God fully mature in Christ. (1/1/08)

I was convicted of the absolute necessity of doing this when I watched a sermon by my good friend and Pastor Bobby Blakey. Encouragement is so essential to the Christian faith for everyone, whether a veteran in the faith or just a new baby Christian. The verse that I think about that characterizes what our attitude should be on this subject is Hebrews 10:24-5:

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Consider implies an active attempt at planning how and when to do what follows.

"Stir up" has been translated elsewhere as "spur on." We know that spurs don't feel good in horses, but it gets them to giddy up! We should be actively encouraging other Christians, even if that requires us to induce a little pain. A friendly rebuke. A confrontation. Something to communicate the seriousness of continuing in "love and good works."

The next phrase gives us a practical way to do this, that is, that we should continually be meeting together. I have often used this to refer to church gatherings and why we ought to go to church regularly, but Bobby explained that this "meeting" is a bit different than a public gathering. It refers more to personal meetings where the chairs (pews?) are facing each other, rather than facing the front. I have had the wonderful privilege these past few weeks to gather together with likeminded Christians for the express purpose of mimicking the early church as described in Acts 2:42-7. We even named our group Kata Hemera, which is the transliteration of the Greek words translated "daily." We met together almost every day, except for those holidays that were devoted specifically to our families. It was a time of encouragement unlike anything else I've ever experienced. At the moment, I have the privilege of visiting (and therefore meeting!) with Bobby, Christa, little Tyler, Ty, Brad, and the rest of the Compass crowd here in Orange County. Knowing (experiencing) the benefit of such constant encouragement coupled with the clarity of Bobby's sermon convinced me to continue a similar kind of active encouragement as I go to school this coming quarter, hence the resolution.

However, you might ask, why is this blog called "Resolutions 4 and 5"? Well, resolution number five came about as a result of 2 separate but related convictions. One was that I do not pray enough, which was made obvious during a meeting with Kata Hemera where we listened to a sermon by John Piper on what it means to "be devoted to prayer" (Romans 12:12). The second conviction was when I remember being in bed tempted to take the Lord's name in vain, to say it in an irreverent or cavalier manner. This is what I decided to resolve:

5) Resolved, to be devoted to prayer. Resolved, if at any time I should be tempted to take the Lord's name in vain, that I should remember the necessity, benefit, and privilege of using His name in prayer and immediately commit myself to such a task, lifting up His name in praise and not in scorn.

After listening to the sermon I came away thoroughly convicted that John Piper loved and was devoted to prayer, and that I did not and was not respectively. That needs to change. Now! I hope that you will make this year a year devoted to encouragement and to prayer. Everyone desperately needs both.