New Humanity in the Gospel

I still think this is one of the best sermons I've ever heard.

The New Ethnics in Christ

"In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us." Colossians 3:11

Such a powerful verse. The gospel completely shatters ethnic superiority, racism, classism, socio-economic elitism. It shatters geographical boundaries separating the rich and poor, the haves and the have-nots. I long to see this verse realized in the Church of Jesus Christ. It is unfortunate that in most churches, as Dr. Martin Luther King once said,  Sunday morning is the most segregated day of the week. In the evangelical church, we love treating the gospel as a personal devotional to make ourselves feel comfort and security. Yet, we fail to let the gospel penetrate deep enough into our souls, to realize the social implications; to realize that Christ is reconciling ALL things that were broken in the fall. Ethnic superiority, racism, classism, socio-economic elitism etc, are all a result of the fall. The gospel transforms society. Christians are part of a new ethnicity, one in which we are all one in Christ, where no person is above or below the other. Here is a quote on this verse (Colossians 3:11) from Leonce Crump in a sermon he preached at The Journey this past summer. I love this vision. 

"We long to become a new race all together; a beautiful tapestry of God's creation, called and chosen by Him for something bigger than ourselves. As such, we are deeply committed to being intentionally trans-cultural"

Bloodline of the Cross

The closing quote from John Piper's most recent book, 'Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian,'

"What I've tried to do with this book is show that the gospel of Jesus Christ, the death and the resurrection of the Son of God for sinners, is the only sufficient power for this effort, and the only power that in the end will bring the bloodlines of race into the single bloodline of the cross. It is the only power to bring about Christ-exalting harmony, which, in the end, is the only kind that matters, because all things were made through him and for him. To his grace, and his name, and his Father, be glory forever. Amen."

Piper's book has been a tremendous blessing to me. In particular, it has helped me to see how the pursuit of racial/ethnic harmony and reconciliation is so very close, and goes hand in hand with the Gospel of God's grace. It has opened my eyes to the implications that the gospel has on  this pursuit, as well as my own sins of partiality and indifference to injustice. Lastly, I am thankful for Piper's book as it was a needed reminder of the breadth and scope of the Gospel. God's plan from the beginning was to bless the nations through his Son Jesus. God is in the business of restoring that which is lost. He is redeeming for himself a single people united by the blood of His Son; and this united group of people will include people from every tribe and every nation. 

Christ: The Remedy to Partiality

"My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith

in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory."

Commenting on this verse, John Piper writes, 

"But James's point is this: if you know Christ as the Lord of glory-if you trust him as the one who is gloriously gracious and gloriously merciful and gloriously forgiving and gloriously strong and gloriously wise and gloriously loving-then you won't be controlled by this craving for human glory or by this fear that uses partiality to be safe. Christ will be your glory-all the glory you need. And Christ will be your security-all the security you need."

The Gospel is Not Right Wing or Left Wing

Currently, John Piper's new book 'Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian', is blowing me away. In it, Piper deals with the issue of racism and how the Gospel transforms racial relations and restores ethnic harmony. There is a lot more to be said there, but nonetheless, this book has opened my eyes to just how big and glorious the Gospel is, and just how negligent I can be regarding how the Gospel impacts my relationships with people and the pursuit of justice.

One section in particular that I found interesting was on the Gospel and politics. It the tendency of many Christians to pursue equality, justice or racial reconciliation through the ideology of a certain political party. Right wing or left politics aren't the answer to social justice. The Gospel is. I think many Christians make a huge error of trying to associate their political party with Christianity, as if one is more aligned with the Christian message. Piper writes,

"Because the gospel of Jesus Christ is not an ideology or a philosophy or a methodology or a therapy but a supernatural in-breaking of God into our lives, I am concerned at how many Christians do not bring it to bear personally, critically, and explosively on the political right and left. It seems to me that too many Christians gravitate to right-wing or left-wing politics because they see some parallel between a political plank and a part of the gospel. It's like saying that the party that uses candles must be the true one because they're shaped like sticks of gospel dynamite. The gospel was meant to explode with saving power in the lives of politicians and social activists, not help them decorate their social agenda. 


Jesus did not come into the world to endorse anybody's platform. He doesn't fit in. He created the world. He holds it in being by his powerful word. He will return some day to judge the living and the dead. And he came the first time to die so that left-wing activists and right-wing talk-show hosts would be broken in pieces for their sin and put back together by the power of grace. He came so that from that day on Jesus himself would be the supreme treasure and authority of our lives. He came so that we would become radically devoted to the glory of God. He came so that the only kind of racial diversity and racial harmony we would pursue is Jesus-exalting, God-glorifying, and gospel formed."

Gospel: The End of Arrogance

I've been looking forward to starting John Piper's new book, 'Bloodlines: Race, Cross, And The Christian'. Thus far, I've had the pleasure of diving into the forward by Tim Keller and Piper's preface. Here's a quote from the preface.

"God has spoken. And he has acted. He has entered our world in the person of his Son. His word, his action, and his incarnation are the end of ethnic arrogance for those who embrace him as the Treasure of their lives."

What a great reminder that the Gospel is the end of all pride, whether it be pride in social, academic, monetary, or ethnic status. At the cross, I see how truly sinful I am. I see that Mike Berttucci is so jacked up that this (a bloody crucifixion) was the necessary ramification for my sin. I'm so bad that Christ had to die for me. Yet, I am so loved by God that he was pleased rescue me. Jesus went to the cross for the joy set before him. From this perspective, it seems pretty silly to think that I am, in any way, better than another human. I am saved solely by the grace of God. Christ died for me when I was yet a sinner (Romans 8:5). This is the end of arrogance, whether it is ethnic arrogance, or simply arrogance in personal relationships. The Gospel ends arrogance.