Theological Implications of Racial Strife Within the Church

Application: Racism in the church imposes a new division between Gentile and Gentile. The people of God have always been one throughout the course of biblical revelation - whether as ethnic Israel in the flesh under the Old Covenant or as elect Israel, consisting of Jew and Gentile, the latter being ingrafted as branches into the original tree, there is still only one tree, the people of God, the church of God. As such, racial hostility among Christ's people, who are one—a new entity in Him, is beset with the following consequences:
It:

• Denies the Power of the Cross.
• Defies the Purpose of the Cross.
• Defiles the Purity of the Cross.
• Distorts the Proclamation of the Cross.
• Disbelieves the Promises of the Cross.
• Delights in the Perversion of the Cross.
• Disfigures the Passion of the Cross
• Despises the Point of the Cross.

The ensuing result is a vain, self-righteous indignation against our fellow-Christians for whom Christ died and with whom we have been made one by His blood. This applies in both directions--White to Black and Black to White. The sword of God's eternal truth cuts equally effectively in both directions.

Above all, racism is a damnable sin, 1 Jn 2:9-11; 3:10-15!! We have flippantly and arrogantly denied this irreversible truth.

It rejects the truth that Christians of all races are united in Christ. It rejects the truth that all Christians are in communion with one another, bound to God and bound to one another by His eternal covenant. It rejects the biblical notion of one church. It rejects the unity of spirit in the bond of peace. This unity is not demonstrated by our common historical similarity; it is not confirmed by our cultural conformity; it is not underscored by our family pedigree; it is not fostered by our doctrinal similarity; it is not fortified by orthodox complicity; it is not achieved by denominational particularity. No! No! No! It is achieved by the blood that Christ shed on the cross of Calvary.

Application: "God's new Israel is a Spirit-filled the people, the family of God. Christians are spiritual ethnics, not less a people than the physical descendants of Abraham, but more. The church has an ethnic passion that unites, binding old enemies as brothers and sisters in a multicultural unity of faith and love. The world needs to see how we love one another across all divisions that break humanity apart..Christians are spiritual ethnics..." Edmund P. Clowney, "Christian Ethnics", Tabletalk , Feb.??

"Their identity is established by their faith, not by their genes." Clowney, "Colony of Heaven", Tabletalk, Sep. 2001, p. 9.

So, our unity is in Christ. We are a new ethnicity. Therefore:

Politically, we serve and place our hope in Christ the King for help, not in the Democratic or Republican parties.

Socially, we are defined by the teachings of Christ, not by the opinions of Archie Bunker or George Jefferson; Michael Eric Dyson or Rush Limbaugh.

Legally, we obey Christ Who fulfills the law, not the late Johnny Cochran or F. Lee Bailey.

We are a new entity in Christ. Our unity has already been established, secured and guaranteed. We don't have to wait for a national crisis such as the wanton murder of fellow-citizens on 911 by terrorists in NY in order to confess our bond. We don't have to wait for Rodney King to admonish us with porous platitudes like "why can't we all get along." Our oneness has already been attained and delivered. We need to appropriate it. We don't need Affirmative Action; we don't need sensitivity training. Christ is our Ultimate Sufficiency.

Summary and Transition: We have seen 2 characteristics of The House That God Builds: firstly,
The Drastic Change In Its Condition; secondly, The Different Category Of His Creation. Now, let's study the final characteristic:

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