In Acts 10, we’re told the story of the first Gentiles who became Christians. God sent Peter to do preach to them and baptize them… but because Peter wouldn’t have done that on his own. God gave Him this instruction: “What God has made clean, do not call common." Acts 10:15
About 100 years ago, Mahatma Ghandi was a student in India and became interested in the Bible. After reading the gospels he was deeply touched and seriously considered becoming a Christian. Now, in India, the society was divided up into a caste system where those in LOWER castes were generally segregated and looked down on by higher castes Ghandi had experienced that kind of bigotry and felt Christianity offered a solution to that.
So, one Sunday he went to a church wanting to learn how to become a Christian and to learn what the Bible taught. But when he got there, the ushers refused to seat him and they suggested that he go and worship with his OWN PEOPLE. He left and never went back. He said: “If Christians have caste differences also, I might as well remain a Hindu.”
I recently had a FB conversation with a woman who had been born in India. She was telling me some of her friends (here in States) who experienced rejection in church because they were from India and it hurt my friend because that had been HER church and she had thought very highly of it.
In my reply, I explained to her that - in this congregation that I serve now - we don’t allow racism to exist. But then I explained: “bigotry can show up in any church (because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God), but those who really love Jesus won’t do that… or (hopefully) they will grow out of it. You have to understand that Racism is not a solely “American” thing. It happens anywhere there are diverse populations. India, for example, suffers from it, and so does Africa. And Europe was rife with prejudice against Jews for centuries. Down through the ages, lots of people have suffered from this evil behavior because they were different! Blacks, Jews, Irish, Chinese, Japanese, South Americans … you could go on and on. If people are different from others in ANY SOCIETY, they can be (and often are) mistreated and placed on a lower scale. That doesn’t make it right… but it helps to put it in perspective. America is perhaps one of the most diverse nations on earth. The US accepts (percentage wise) the highest number of immigrants in world. This makes it a great place for ideas to be exchanged and for economic growth to flourish… but it also makes it a place where bigots can thrive. Our nation’s advantage is that NOW we have laws on the books that make such behavior illegal. But bigotry can exist anywhere people are different.
But bigotry must never be allowed in the church. Why? Because in the Church, God can make all people clean no matter what they background or nationality or skin color. To adapt God’s injunction to Peter - “What God can make clean, we must NEVER abuse or misuse."
Now, that bring us to our text today. Paul tells us there is a mystery going on! And that mystery had to do with how God dealt with a certain form of bigotry that existed in the early church. He wrote: “THE MYSTERY of Christ… was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. THIS MYSTERY IS that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Ephesians 3:4-6
(PAUSE) For the first 3 ½ years of its existence, the early church was made up ENTIRELY of Jews. There were no Gentiles were in that early church, and the mark of being a Jew was … circumcision.
It helps to understand God had segregated the Israelites from Gentiles for centuries. The Israelites were God’s chosen people, and the Gentiles… WEREN’T. Because of that segregation, the Israelites who took their faith seriously had nothing to do with the Gentiles.
Now God did that (separated the Jews from the Gentiles) - NOT because the Jews were better than the Gentiles (because all sinners). No, God did that, because He wanted ONE NATION to serve as a container who would receive, and hold, and protect His Laws and the Promises of the coming Messiah (Jesus).
And… that’s how things used to be! But once the church was founded - God had plans for the Gentiles. In the book of Acts chaps. 10 thru 15 we’re told how God set those PLANS in motion (we’re not going to go over that right now – you can read it for yourself). It was in that section of Acts that God told Peter – “What God has made clean, do not call common." (Acts 10:15) And then Peter went to preach to - and baptized into Christ – the first Gentile believers.
In essence – God taught Peter - and then the Jewish Church that the Gentiles were now to be part of the God’s Kingdom. All the Gentiles needed to do to become Christians was same thing Jews had to do: Believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God; Repent of their sins; Confess Jesus as their Lord and Master; be Baptized into Christ, and the Live for Jesus. There was NO circumcision was required. Gentiles did not have to become Jews before they became Christians.
In fact, in the book of Romans, Paul explained to the Jewish Christians in Rome, that God had always intended the Gentiles to be part of His Kingdom. Paul wrote: “I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised (Jews) to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the GENTILES (uncircumcised) might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the GENTILES, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O GENTILES, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you GENTILES, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the GENTILES; in him will the Gentiles hope.” Romans 15:8-12
It had always been God’s plan to include the Gentiles. But there were a bunch of Jewish Christians who didn’t like that new plan. They liked how things had been. They liked looking down on the Gentiles. And so they harassed and abused the Gentile Christians and Churches every chance they got. And the Ephesians had been harassed…because they were a Gentile church. And so were the Colossians and the Galatians and the Philippians, and so on. And so, Paul had to remind them many of those congregations, “Don’t let these people (circumcisers) lie to you! YOU WERE ALWAYS PART OF THE PLAN!
(PAUSE) Now, that’s all good theology, but what difference does it make to us?
Well, FIRST – it doesn’t matter who you are, the color of your skin, your nationality, your family background, your economic status … God has a plan for your life.
Ephesians 2:10 says “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” In essence – you are predestined to do good stuff, but you don’t have to do it. God won’t force you to do the things He’s got planned for you. But why anyone want to miss out on that.
Now – here’s the deal though – It doesn’t matter what others think of you. It doesn’t matter if OTHERS believe you aren’t smart enough, or talented enough… or “whatever” enough to do cool stuff. God believes in you and He has a plan for your life. He has given you a ministry, a purpose, a reason to exist.
SECOND – We were saved by God to be Christians. We are not saved to be Americans, Republican or Democrat. White, Black, Hispanic, or Burmese. Paul tells the Ephesians - This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of ONE BODY, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 3:6) We were saved to be one body!!!
ILLUS: I am so proud of this congregation for its willingness to be more than “ANGLO” church. We have a thriving part of our congregation that works with the Spanish speaking community. And we’ve been blessed with an outreach to the Burmese community.
ILLUS: Scott (our family minister) will catch me, once in a while, referring to the HISPANIC Church. And he’ll say “No, they’re not the Hispanic Church. They’re the part of this church that speaks Spanish.” In other words we are one church, one body - ONE in Christ.
THIRD - It doesn’t matter who you are, the color of your skin, your nationality, your family background, your economic status - all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
My FB friend who born in India told me: “My fellow alleged Indian church attending friends in (a certain State), don’t do any volunteer work. … As I’ve worked with several of them, I know they have no idea what it’s like to be disadvantaged, not to have strong mentors, or access to healthcare. My Indian church friends are busy buying newer models of Mercedes, and 4000 sq ft homes. That’s not really the issue. The issue is their pursuit of materialism, and their belief that prayers will salve their religious work.”
Sounds a lot like a lot of white church goers doesn’t it? When it comes to shortcomings… nobody’s any different than anybody else, because everyone (no matter what their race/nationality) can fall into the same sinful behaviors everybody else does.
FOURTH – God hates bigotry. In the beginning God created Adam and Eve, and they are ancestors of everyone who is now on earth. Bigotry denies our common heritage, and is based on a lie. Thus, to insult others - because they’re not LIKE you - is evil.
James 1:26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.” Why? Because… “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been MADE IN GOD’S LIKENESS. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” James 3:9-10
There’s a lot of church-goers who will curse others on their Facebook and Twitter accounts all the time. They could be cursing them because their racist… or it could simply be a hatred of someone who disagrees with them on politics or something else. BUT IT’S ALL EVIL!
ILLUS: Too many Church goers feel they have an excuse to insult others that aren’t “like them”… who aren’t as “good as they are.” But did you realize that when Jesus walked on the earth, He was God in the flesh? Did you realize that nobody on earth was “like Him?” And nobody on earth was as good as He was. Jesus came to die for people who weren’t like Him. Jesus came to die for people who weren’t as good as He was.
Where do we get off thinking that we’re better than Jesus? Where do we get off treating others (who are made in the image of God) as if were better than them?
Instead, THIS should be our theology: “Every sinner is a potential saint; Every stranger; a potential friend, Every enemy; a potential brother.” Franklin Kendall Faull
That’s OUR goal - no matter the skin color/ background/ nationality, etc. - everyone we meet should be seen by us as a potential child of God. And we should count it an honor to help win them to Christ.
CLOSE: I have a friend who grew up in a nearby city, and he says that (as a boy) he remembered it as being a very racist community. He constantly heard the “N” word, and the white on black bigotry was obvious. But then he said he struck by something his grandmother did.
She belonged to a “white” church there in town, and once a month they’d have a ladies’ carry-in where they’d sit around and eat and visit, and such. But it wasn’t just their church ladies at the meal. They met every month at that carry-in with the ladies from one of the black churches in town. And he thought to himself – THAT IS HOW THE CHURCH OUGHT TO BE.
Everyone who belongs to Jesus Christ is part of one body; one church, with one God and Father over us all.
INVITATION
