906. Racial Reconciliation Is a Gospel Issue

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Today on The Daily Platform, we'll be hearing a special sermon for Martin Luther King Day. Reverend Ben Gordon from Hope Baptist Church will be speaking and the title of his sermon is Racial Reconciliation is a Gospel Issue.

Dr. Steve Pettit will introduce him. We are delighted this morning to have Pastor Ben Gordon here speaking in Chapel. Ben is the pastor of the Hope Baptist Church here in the Greenville, South Carolina community. Ben is from Springfield, Illinois.

He is the second eldest brother of six boys in his family. He is very thankful for a faithful single mother who taught him the importance of a stubborn trust in God throughout circumstances. Ben became a believer in his teenage years. He came here as a student at Bob Jones University and received his undergraduate degree and his master's degree in theology. He is a bivocational pastor. That means he works a full-time job plus pastoring a church and I have always loved Ben. He's always had a passion for the Lord, a zeal for the scripture.

He has a burden for expository preaching, evangelism and discipleship in the inner city context. We're so delighted to have his dear wife with us today, Tracy, and they have three beautiful children, Maya, Kobe and Ava. And so, Tracy, would you stand and Terry, would you stand with Tracy today and Ben, would you come and let's give them a warm Bob Jones University welcome. All right, it's good to be here.

Turn to Ephesians 2. We'll be looking at this text and reading and referencing a few others as well. Thankful to Dr. Pettit and the university for the opportunity to speak to you on the topic of racial reconciliation.

Actually, the topic suggested by Dr. Pettit. This is a huge issue and I will not be able to scratch the surface in time that I have, but I pray by God's grace we can all grow in our understanding and embrace of it from a biblical perspective. I'm sure most of you are aware that next Monday is the day we celebrate MLK Junior Day. Most people young and old look back on the work of Dr. King and are thankful and realize that it was beyond beneficial for society and the church. Dr. King's work brought us a long way forward in the path towards racial reconciliation. Unfortunately, we are still in a fallen society with a fallen racial past. And if you look at the news or better yet, ask people of other races, you will find that there's still much division and racial hurt felt by many. We know that the church should be a gospel counterpoint to the culture on racial unity.

But unfortunately, historically, that has not been the case. Today there are many in Christian circles of varying age groups that although they see racism or confronting racism, racial reconciliation as a good thing, they don't necessarily classify it as a gospel issue. I've heard many people tell me that it's a social and political issue, but not a gospel issue. I heard this from many people I love and respect. I've also had people tell me that through private message or, you know, other venues that talking about race in the church in this day and age really only adds to racism and division.

Maybe you've, you know, thought things like this or, you know, thought along similar lines. I think many of us have an anemic understanding of how the gospel speaks to racial division. I want to submit to you today that racial reconciliation is a gospel issue and must be addressed with the full weight and reach and principles of the gospel. Human depravity and sin is the cause of all racial tension, division, and the gospel is the solution. This is a gospel issue. Now, what do I mean by racial reconciliation as a gospel issue?

A couple of things I do not mean. Racial reconciliation does not equal the gospel or is an issue that you need to have right for justification. It's an imperative or outflow of the gospel, but does not equal the gospel. Just like loving your brother is a demand of a life changed by the gospel, but not equal the gospel or save you. Another thing I don't mean. Racial reconciliation can simply be realized or, you know, racism can simply be stopped by just preaching the gospel of regeneration.

I heard statements like this many times. Stop with all this talk about racial reconciliation and just preach the gospel and it will take care of itself. I mean, you just need to preach the gospel and see souls saved and magically, bam, you know, racial reconciliation will happen. You know, throughout our American church history, many people who were right on the truths of the gospel and justification by faith through grace were dead wrong and even wicked on their thinking on race. And we would not do that to any other issue or sin, right? Just preach the gospel of conversion and that person will not struggle with lust or pornography.

Just preach the gospel and all marriage problems will go away. My point is not that we belittle the gospel or diminish the gospel and addressing racism, racial reconciliation, but we apply that glorious gospel. We cherish, meditate and preach eternal gospel indicative and then we walk and apply those eternal gospel imperative.

This is the case that we see in many of Paul books, but especially Ephesians. We cannot afford to have this kind of let go and let God theology on race issues. It will be an impediment to our gospel witness. This is simply a sanctification issue on walking in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ that don't look like us.

So racial reconciliation is a gospel issue. One text that screams that, and there are others, is Ephesians 2. Look at verse 14 with me.

Ephesians 2 verse 14. For he is our peace, talking about Christ who hath made both one and have broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances for to make in himself twain one new man so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. In this text we see that Christ is the peacemaker. There is peace in the person of Christ. We have peace with God and peace with each other in Christ. Jesus who is our peace has made us Jew and Gentiles one.

How? The text says he has broken down the middle wall of partition between us. You might have a translation that says broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. This phrase is possibly allusion to the wall in the temple that separated Gentiles from Jew only areas. This middle wall of partition is a dividing wall of hostility and it's used really to highlight the colossal, social, cultural, ethnic divide that separated Jews and Gentiles. This was a hostile division.

Jews really had no dealings with Gentiles. So this was really even deeper than racial division. Good news is there's no wall of division or hostility that the cross of Christ cannot break down. Verse 16 says that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. That phrase slain the enmity is saying that cross Christ put to death killed the hostility that separated Jews and Gentiles.

Jesus' work on the cross eviscerated this wall of hostility, of culture, religion, animosity that existed between Jews and Gentiles and made one new body. We see moving on to verses 17 to 22, every one of us in Christ are part of this household of God by the spirit, fellow citizens with one another. Moving on to chapter three we see Paul says the mystery that had been hidden for ages has now been revealed by the spirit.

What is that mystery? Well verse six tells us clearly that this mystery is that Gentiles are fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of this promise in Christ by the spirit. Now I'm not saying this text is all about racial reconciliation or racial unity but it emphatically speaks to it and applies to it. If God has made Jewish Gentiles, believers one body in Christ, equal partakers of the promise through the gospel, that means he has made people of every skin color, every culture, ethnicity one in Christ. No matter what culture you come from, if you are saved by grace you are reconciled to God and to each other. So in looking at this text, racial reconciliation and racial unity is not just an implication of the gospel, it's demand. As one theology professor said, racial reconciliation is not an implication of the cross, it's a work of the cross. Christ has made us one. He has torn down racial, social, cultural barriers that could divide us and made us equal and one in Christ.

This is an objective gospel reality. We must by the spirit of God work to maintain what Christ has already accomplished. I think it's very striking that one of the first applications that Paul makes after expounding on the glorious gospel truths in chapters one through three, in chapter four he exhorts the people of God to walk in unity with all lowliness, meekness, long suffering, for baying one another in love, endeavoring or eager to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

This is how we should relate to one another. No matter how divisive this world is, Christ has made us one. His work on the cross has reconciled us together. We through humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love must work to maintain the unity of the spirit that Christ has already established. Now I think we established that racial reconciliation is a gospel issue, but what are some quick principles that we should meditate on as we work to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace racially? First, we must embrace our diversity in Christ. I want to say really quickly here that that phrase in Christ is not a gloss over phrase. We must embrace our diversity in Christ, meaning not all diversity if it can't be in Christ should be embraced.

But embracing our diversity in Christ means that we appreciate and celebrate our divinely made racial differences as a reflection of the gospel. You know, one popular phrase that I hear often as a solution to racism is we need to be a colorblind society. Maybe yourself has said that, you know, I just try my hardest to be colorblind. I don't see color.

You know, Ben, I don't see you as a black man. I mean, God is not colorblind, isn't he? I think I understand the heart of those sentiments and some people misinterpret popular MLK quote of not being judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character as ammo for this colorblind ideal. I think people really mean well, but this colorblind ideal is nevertheless problematic and not really helpful in achieving real unity and reconciliation. One, it can be generally unhelpful to people that experience being singled out by color. You know, your desire, especially if not a minority, to be colorblind does not alleviate current racial pain that minorities can experience.

The reality is that ethnicity and skin color have an effect on the experiences that, you know, I have on issues, especially those on race. So to try to be naively colorblind and keep, it can keep you in a safe space of not really being able to see racial hurt fully inhibit your ability to really understand me as your brother and sister and Christ in a holistic way. The real issue is not that you don't see color, but you don't wrongly judge, stereotype and discriminate based on one color. But more importantly, this utopian colorblind ideal misses the mark biblically. God is not colorblind. God has made me black on purpose and he has put you in your ethnicity on purpose.

We don't have to be ashamed of that or act like it doesn't matter. Not only does our diverse ethnicities and skin shade reflect a creative God and something that should be appreciated, but God is on a mission to rescue people, a tribe, tongue, and the ethnicity to be part of his chosen people. Our ethnic diversity or skin color does not erase, in fact, in heaven. In fact, this highlight, if you can turn to Revelation 5 with me, and I'm going to keep going to the time here. In chapter 5, we see John having a glimpse into heaven and heavenly creatures and the 24 elders worshiping in a song of redemption.

And look at what they're praising Christ for. Verse 9 says, and they sang a new song saying, thou are worthy to take the book and open the seals thereof for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every notice of categories. Kindred, tongue, people, nation. Kindred means tribe or social division of people based off non-lineage.

Nation is where we get our word ethnicity from. We see this diverse culture, ethnicity, and language and people being highlighted again in the redemptive context in Revelation chapter 7. We see a diverse multitude of redeemed people praising the lamb that was slain. Looking at verses 9 and 10 in Revelation 7, it says, after this I beheld and a low great multitude with no man can number of, notice, all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands and cried with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the lamb. So we see in heaven people from all people groups, skin shades, and ethnicities in heavenly praise.

And the gospel is their anthem. Some form of tribe, tongue, and people and nation is mentioned seven times in the book of Revelation. Now, not all in redemptive context, but mentioning these diverse categories of people in the last days and the eternal state seven times is a huge deal. There is an intentional multi-ethnic theme in the gospel we can't ignore and must embrace. Seeing a diverse body of believers walking in unity together, worshiping together is a small taste of our eternal state and that should excite us.

There's coming a day when all this racial division and pride and these barriers will be eradicated. And people from every racial background, culture will worship the lamb that was slain for us in unity. Since God highlights the beauty of ethnic diversity in the gospel, we need to value and cherish it as a reflection of the gospel mission as well. Embracing our diversity in Christ also means we must listen, learn, and empathize with the perspectives of other brothers and sisters in Christ of other races. The church benefits from the perspective, insights, and experiences each culture brings to the table.

Assuming our experience of encountering racism or recognizing what's racist is the end-all be-all is naive at best, but really arrogant. You don't have to turn there, but Philippians 2, 3, and 4, this is actually an ESV translation reading here, says, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but the interests of others.

This type of humility was embodied in the life and death of Christ. This gospel humility should be our framework as we seek to relate to one another of different ethnicities. If we're going to walk in real, transparent, deep unity with one another, you're going to have to intentionally build meaningful relationships with people who don't look like you. You must listen to our brothers and sisters who have a different experiences and perspectives when it comes to race and racism and reconciliation. Listen for the sake of understanding, not just for the sake of coming back with a talking point. We all can't stand the guy who literally is just, you know, waiting to respond and not listen to anything we got to say, right?

You know, if you're dating, don't be that guy when you're dating, but don't be that guy at all. As I heard from a pastor on this issue, be more concerned about, you know, understanding the other person than being understood. We all are fallen and many of you through no fault of your own grew up in racially homogeneous environments. When you really haven't had many deep, meaningful relationships with other minorities or ethnic groups other than your own.

But what can happen and does happen is in racially isolated, when you grow up in a racially isolated environment is you start filling your head with potentially false and harmful stereotypes about people you don't really know that well outside of what your family says, TV and what other media portrays. You know, I had a good friend in college, a white guy. He loved Jesus. He loved me. He did not hate other races, but in one of our conversations is very apparent that this brother had some real development to do on race. We were talking one evening and he said, you know what, Ben?

I was like, yeah. He said, you know what? You're not a normal black guy. He said that if it was like a compliment, I was supposed to be like, you know what?

Thanks, bro. My man, you know, by God's grace, I calmly asked him, what is a normal black man? He began to stutter and not really articulate his thoughts. Again, this man loves the Lord and loves me.

And to his credit, as we continue to talk, he realized that that was problematic and he needed some development on those issues. I've had other experiences where people I said worse than that. And when I addressed it, they were very defensive and were like, how dare you? I have a black friend.

I worked at inner city ministry. You know, you're racist for bringing up race in the first place. If we're going to have genuine racial unity, we're going to have to humbly listen and empathize with other minorities in racist perspective. We are fallen and that depravity affects every area of our life. And just because we have some racial development to do does not mean that we outright racist, but it does mean that we need to humbly seek the perspective and knowledge of our diverse brothers and sisters in Christ and repent if necessary.

A couple of caveats on these are important. One, I'm all for bus ministries and inner city ministries and short term missionary trips to other countries. It's awesome and needed that people break out of their cultural comfort zone for the sake of the gospel to be proclaimed among the nations, both domestically and internationally. But telling minorities and foreign children about Jesus and then posting it on Instagram, maybe to show your love for everyone, it's not really breaking ground to racial reconciliation. I'm talking about building relationships with people of other cultures and races with the posture of a learner, student, and listener, seeking more to understand than you're trying to teach. Now you can do that in some of those ministry endeavors, but often that's not the case.

And unfortunately, proximity to other races is not always equal understanding. I love this section of a sermon from one of my favorite BJU professors, Dr. Brent Cook, that helps make this point, needing to humbly understand what another viewpoint. He said, many years ago, when the country of China began to open up the West and Christians started to enjoy more freedoms, there was a rush to move in open Bible schools and training centers to help facilitate the burgeoning growth of Christianity in China. On the one hand, I find myself rejoicing, celebrating, and praying for the advance of the gospel in the country. But on the other hand, something felt terribly wrong.

All this talk felt lopsided. We're going to rush in with our expert Bible knowledge and set up American-style seminars in graduate schools and send over American professors with oppressive academic credentials and offer American degrees because we know the Bible, right? But don't you suppose that a church that has been bitterly persecuted in prison, martyred, driven, underground for a several generation might have something to say to us?

I'm still quoting here. It's possible that, is it possible that the privileged white Americans with abundant access to God's revelation might have a whole lot to learn from a black pastor in Nairobi, a Chinese underground house church pastor in Beijing, a rural village church pastor in India? That is the humility of mind seeking to learn and understand from another perspective rather than just impart your own wisdom.

One more caveat here, and this is important. You are making, you're not making an honest attempt at growing in the perspective and understanding of your diverse brothers and sisters in Christ if you only find that minority who already agrees with you in your thinking on racial issues and use them to justify or embolden your already held belief in race. Well, this black guy said this on Fox News or some conservative media outlet today, so drop the mic.

That settles it. I want to be real with you this morning. That behavior is a huge stumbling block to reconciliation. Not that you don't appreciate that perspective, but to only listen to that perspective because it already jives at your worldview shows you're really not that serious about understanding race issues from perspective other than your own.

You know, one thing, you know, learn from others' experiences. Empathize with their people's pain if they claim to have experienced the hurt of racism. Even if you might not initially agree the cause set of racial hurt and you're foreign to that experience, the Bible says as we relate to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to weep with those who weep. One thing that kills unity in this area is our politics from the right and the left. We want to attack any claim of racial sin and justice with political talking points instead of listening and understanding.

Brothers and sisters, we are not CNN, we're not Fox News, we're not Ben Shapiro, whoever your guy is. We are the blood body of Christ and we need to relate to each other in humility, love, understanding in order to maintain the unity that our savior purchased. This call for racial unity is for everyone. To my minority brothers and sisters who have, we need to be willingly, to lovingly bear with our brothers and sisters in Christ that are trying to grow in these areas and we need to grow as well.

If sometimes, if every time someone genuinely and sincerely asks you a question and you get super easily offended and blow up, it's like, what you mean I speak for everybody? You know, that's going to impede growth and racial unity. We, by the grace of God, must think the best and don't harshly judge other brothers in Christ motives or intentions despite our experience. Despite maybe, you know, a history of experiencing racism and love, we must not respond with hatred, bitterness, apathy, and cynicism.

Like these people will never get it. Love thinks no evil. It bears all things. If it believes all things, if you truly are, if they truly are a brother in Christ, the gospel has the power to change them radically despite your experience. Pray patiently for bear, lovingly confront, but willingly forgive as Christ forgave you. Hey y'all, this is going to be awkward, messy, uncomfortable at times. Some people might be uncomfortable now.

That's okay. Sanctification in many areas of our Christian walk is, but it's worth it because through it we look like Jesus. Brothers and sisters, we want more than just superficial surface politically correct marketing photo unity. Christ's gospel work has made it possible that we might have deep, transparent, real gospel unity. That's not about just colorful faces smiling together, but a diverse people of God walking together in love, gentleness, humility, and understanding, learning and listening to each other, sharing one another's birds for Christ's sake.

This is the blood bought unity and diversity that we must maintain. This is about reflecting the beauty of the gospel. Let God's plan of national, ethnic, and linguistic diversity in Christ teaches never to wrongly disparage and stereotype other races, but to walk in love, humility, and understanding with each other and refrain from believing a multi-ethnic reality that God has really underlined in the gospel. Lastly, and really quickly, we must embrace our oneness and unity in Christ. Despite the many individual, individuality we have at a body of Christ, we share more than common than we have differences.

All people, including the lost, are image bearers of God and come from one ancestor, Acts 17. All races, ethnicities, no matter what color, you know, you are, are born sinners and separated from God, Romans 3. I mean, that's the reason we have all this racial division and animosity is because of common sin. All people from every ethnicity are offered reconciliation to God by the gospel of Jesus Christ, Romans 5.18. As Christians from varying races, we must have, we have an equal standing before God in Christ. We are fellow heirs, partakers of Christ's divine nature, one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. Yes, we make up different ethnicities, races, and cultural backgrounds, but we are still one in Christ and enjoy immeasurable gospel blessing, forgiveness, access to the Father. We are all victors in Christ, conquerors in Christ, greater is in us than he that is in the world.

We are all chosen special people of God's own possession, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. No matter what your ethnicity is, your skin shade, your relationship status, your income level, your society, major GPA, our ultimate identity is in Christ. When we view each other as redeemed image bearers in Christ and meditate on that reality, that should shun any thoughts of superiority, bigotry, and harmful biases when they arise. It is sharply contrary to the ethic of the gospel to racially judge, withdraw from, stereotype, or mistreat people of whom Christ has died and when God himself cherishes our diversity and made us one in Christ. Our diversity in Christ and our unity and oneness in Christ are not at war with each other. Both truths are a reflection of the gospel. As one author noted, at the cross there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, yet at the throne there are men and women from every tongue, tribe, and nation.

We would do well to remember both. Let's make this a matter of dependent prayer. As I tell my church, we desperately need Jesus to be like Jesus. Let all of us embrace this gospel issue, this as a gospel issue. View each other with gospel corrected lenses, celebrating both our racial and ethnic diversity in Christ and also our unity as one body in Christ. May the God be the glory. Dear Lord, help us to grow and be changed in your image in this area of racial reconciliation. Lord, let it be done by your spirit and may you be glorified for your name's sake. Praise in Christ's sake. Amen. You've been listening to a sermon preached by Reverend Ben Gordon, pastor of Hope Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Thanks for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue the doctrinal series called Our Great Salvation here on The Daily Platform.