By Pastor Stephen Hess –
April 4, 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of an historic and tragic event in our nation’s history—the assassination of Martin Luther King. At the beginning of April, I had the chance to travel to Memphis to attend a conference called “MLK50: Gospel Reflections from the Mountaintop.” In addition to reflecting on the legacy of Martin Luther King, the speakers at the conference discussed where Christians have been on racial issues and looked ahead to where we must go as we pursue racial unity in the midst of continued tension in our country. It was a good reminder that we have made a lot of progress over the past 50 years, but we still have a long way to go in addressing racial reconciliation and racial injustices.
During the conference one speaker gave a talk that explored Paul’s letter to the Colossians. In the book of Colossians, we find a wonderful verse that speaks to the implications of the gospel regarding racial issues: “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all” (Col. 3:11). In that one verse Paul tells us that when we truly understand the gospel, all of the walls that divide us—race, class, education, etc.—are torn down. He tells us that in Christ, believers from every tribe, tongue, and nation become one because “Christ is all, and in all.” Doesn’t that sound wonderful?
But how do we get there? Paul addresses this question earlier in the book of Ephesians. He says in chapter 2, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:13-14). How are we made alive, united with Christ, and forgiven? The answer: through the cross. When Jesus was nailed to the cross he canceled our record of debt so that we could become one with him. Through faith, we are not only united with Jesus, but we are united with every other believer who is also one with him. It is only through vertical reconciliation with God that we can have horizontal reconciliation with others.
It seems to me that we can make two mistakes today when it comes to the gospel and racial issues. The first mistake would be to understand the gospel but fail to understand its implications when it comes to race. Some Christians today don’t recognize that the gospel creates a kingdom of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation who are united by the blood of Christ. This means the church should embody a counter-cultural community that doesn’t reflect the world and its divisions. It also means the church has a responsibility to speak out against racial injustice when it occurs. To fail in this area is a failure to live out the implications of the gospel.
The second mistake would be to seek racial justice and/or reconciliation without the foundation of the gospel. There are many young people today—even in the church—who are passionate about racial reconciliation but forget that this cannot come unless we have a gospel foundation. Reconciliation with man cannot come apart from reconciliation with God. To put it another way, Colossians 3:11 must always be held together with Colossians 2:13-14. The latter is the foundation and the former is the fruit. You cannot have the fruit without the foundation.
Both the deadly sin of racial prejudice and the deadly sin of turning away from the true Biblical gospel are alive in the world today. As one speaker at the conference said, let’s not waste time arguing about which sin is deadlier. Instead, let’s embrace the fullness of the Biblical gospel, and live out its implications as the blood-bought community of Christ.