I am posting the transcript of the message I gave on Aug. 13. I talked about the fledgling Christian churches in the book of Acts who suddenly found themselves “free from the law” under the new covenant established by Jesus Christ. No longer were they required to offer burnt offerings—Christ had served as the final and lasting offering. No longer were they bound by rituals that ensured their spiritual cleanliness; no longer were they restricted from certain foods that made them unclean. Through Christ, they could now stand clean before God. This was an enormous change, and as we see in the book of Acts it caused great amounts of conflict in the Jewish world. Even the new Christians struggled with these new freedoms.
Tensions reached a critical point when the Apostle Peter (and later Paul) began advocating the idea of the kingdom of God being available OUTSIDE of just the Jews. At that point in time it was literally against their law for the Jews to even associate with a Gentile (which would be anyone who was not a Jew). And the idea of Gentiles being entitled to a relationship with God challenged one of the bedrock tenets of Jewish identity. The nation of Israel had always been “God’s chosen people.”
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ changed everything. “. . . righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile . . .” (Romans 3:22) What that meant back then—and what it means today—is that any notion that one race or nationality of people might be superior to another is simply wrong in the eyes of God.
In the original transcript of my message, I included a few references to some of the current movements in our country that advocate white superiority. But, because these discussions have become divisive and politically charged (even within the church), I decided against opening that kettle of worms.
Then I saw the results of the “Bring Back the Right” events in Charlottesville. And now, I can no longer stay silent—and I am grieved that so many of our country’s leaders and so many of our Christian Church’s leaders (including myself) have fallen so horribly short in our responses to groups and movements that are so contradictory to the spirit of our country and to God’s kingdom. And let me be clear. This is not a political statement. Those of you who know me well are aware of how strongly I believe in the separation of church and state affairs, and how devoutly I’ve adhered to those beliefs throughout my years of church ministry. I’m not crossing that line now. But I am speaking out on something that is clearly wrong—and frankly, we shouldn’t even be having any debate on it. I’ll say it again. Any individual or group who advocates that one race or nationality of people is superior to another is wrong in the eyes of God.
So I am posting the original transcript of my message. The passages I omitted when I spoke are highlighted in red. And I will make this confession: I now sincerely regret that I avoided those passages that morning. To stay silent on matters such as these is an understated show of support for bigotry and hate. These are mindsets I clearly want no part of, and I am sorry for my passivity on the morning of Aug. 13th.
Hugs,
Mark