God loves us and He is for us, but we are not always for Him.

Few moments in history are a more vivid illustration of that fact than the occasion for Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter from the Birmingham jail in April 1963. He was in jail after being arrested during a nonviolent protest against racial segregation. And he wrote this open letter in response to a letter signed by eight white Birmingham clergymen who were appealing to Dr. King to show more patience and to allow the local citizens to negotiate for justice through the proper channels.

Dr. King’s open letter from jail was widely circulated throughout the summer of 1963. It has been the subject of both criticism and admiration for over fifty years, but it remains a remarkable tutor for the church as we consider our responsibility to “Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed” and to “speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy” (Proverbs 31-8-9).

Everyone should read the letter from the Birmingham jail, but below are a few excerpts along with eight lessons that well-applied can still change a nation.

Start and stay humble.

“But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statements in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” -MLK

The eight Birmingham clergymen were standing on the sidelines while Dr. King and others were fighting the good fight. It would have been easy for him to vilify them because of their perspective and their complacency. Instead, he took a humble posture and stayed on the high road. Even after making his case, Dr. King ended his letter with humility and kindness. We never effect positive change through disrespect. God will sooner use our humility than our indignity to turn our enemy into an ally.

Assume the problem of injustice is your problem.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”-MLK 

Dr. King was criticized as “outsider” from Atlanta. When it came to the issue of justice, he did not see himself as an outsider anywhere and neither should we. We are our brother’s keeper, and we do not have the luxury of waiting until injustice is on our doorstep to act. Those who are far from us are no less our responsibility than those who are just across the street.

Speak up sooner than later.

“There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair.”-MLK

Dr. King believed the time for waiting was over. Delay seems to give advantage to the oppressor rather than to the oppressed. If we saw a man beating a woman in the street we would run immediately to give aid. Injustice calls with an urgent cry. It is desperate. Not every need is a call from God to act, but let us avoid the temptation to close our ears and look the other way. Let us not pit intentionality against urgency. Let us not discount the legitimacy of the need simply because it is right here upon us. It could be that the cries for help echo in our ears because the ability to help is in our hands.

Appeal to the highest good.

“One may well ask, ‘How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?’ The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: there are just laws, and there are unjust laws.”-MLK

Scholars and legal minds have used Dr. King’s letter as a reference point for understanding and applying what is known as natural law. Just because something is legal does not mean it is right. Dr. King reminded his readers that Hitler’s actions were legal; but there is a higher law, the law of God, that rightly condemned Hitler’s actions.

Laws established in the state house are always subject to the law of God established in heaven and recorded in the Bible. And it is in the society’s best interest when the people of God know the difference and champion the causes nearest to the heart of God.

Prepare to suffer for doing right.

“One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.” -MLK

According to Dr. King, to obey God occasionally means we disobey the civil authorities over us. We know this as civil disobedience. But when we disobey an unjust law, we do not hide, we do not act in a spirit of hatred, and we do not expect to be above the legal consequences of our actions. Sometimes suffering is required on our part to relieve the suffering of others.

Take action to make a difference.

“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” -MLK

“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?” MLK

We do not rescue the oppressed from the lukewarm waters of compromise. Justice is not a call to agreement. It is a call to action. Action topples the status quo in our churches and sometimes puts a strain on our most cherished friendships. It is our action not our sentiment, however, that makes the difference for the people who are hurting the most.

Mobilize the church to champion justice.

“So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Par from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.”-MLK 

“If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.” –MLK

Jesus showed compassionate attention to the poor, the captive, the weak, and the hurting. “The least of these” was not a secondary consideration. His public teaching was often in the context of His public service to people who needed help. The church without mercy is the church without a voice.

Dr. King believed churches would rally together for the cause of racial equality. He was wrong. Many churches sat this one out. And we learned again that neutrality is never neutral in its effect. God created every person, ascribed dignity to every person, and sent His Son to redeem every person, so justice is not something the church supports. Justice is central to our Gospel mission.

Never give up.

“If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.” -MLK

Dr. King faced opposition from the right and from the left. People he counted on did not come through. His family felt the pains of persecution. Despite many reasons to despair, Dr. King did not. He knew his cause was just and that his God was faithful. We too can carry on with great confidence that when we work for justice, God accomplishes much.

So let us persevere in our fight for the unborn. Let us walk on in our advocacy for the orphan and widow. Let us stay the course to rescue the vulnerable from the sex traffickers. Let us keep working to starve hunger in our day. And may the next generation look back with admiration and look ahead with inspiration in the way we sacrificed to defend the most helpless among us and to speak up for those who had no voice.

The post A Jailhouse Letter that Changed a Nation first appeared on Daryl Crouch | CROSSTIED.

Dear Public Servant,

What an amazing moment for you to step into the ring of public service! The challenges have never been greater and great outcomes have never been more important. So your willingness to give of yourself to solve problems and serve our neighbors encourages me greatly.

There is no way for me to speak for all Jesus following people, but I would like to bring a little perspective from a Christian worldview that I hope will help.

So thank you for giving considerations to these 10 axioms of public service:

1. Public service is an honorable pursuit.

You may have the impression that some Christians despise politicians, and perhaps some do. We don’t all speak well of your efforts, but the Bible teaches that those who hold public office deserve both our honor and our prayer (Romans 13:1; 1 Timothy 2:1-4). So I make the political promise to you that I will honor you in every way I know how and pray for God’s favor on your life, your family, and your work.

2. Public service derives its authority from God.

Jesus told the Roman governor Pilate that Pilate’s authority was given to him by God the Father. (John 19:11) In Romans 13, Paul wrote that God establishes human governments. So as you serve the public, it’s my prayer you will look to God for wisdom, direction, and help. He’s available. He’s engaged. And He’s all in to show His glory through you.

3. Public service sacrifices for the common good.

God loves the world and establishes governments so that everyone regardless of background, religious beliefs, or personal practices can live in peace, with minimal threat from those who would do evil. So every ambition you have to serve others is one that I will champion, even when it benefits people who are not yet following Jesus with me.

4. Public service requires only your best.

Expectations are always high, but truthfully, perfection is not the goal. You are human. You will work hard, but you will make mistakes. You will learn new things and change your position on important issues. I will not always be happy with your decisions, and sometimes those decisions will hurt people. But whatever you do, for better or for worse, please take personal responsibility for your actions. Your shortcomings are no bigger than mine. God has enough grace for me, so I’ll have plenty for you.

5. Public service lifts up ordinary people.

Your most important work may not make the news, and it may not even get you re-elected. But those long committee meetings, the weeks on end away from your family, that vote that forced your hand, the efforts that fell short of your promises—all of it matters to ordinary people who need just one person to notice their vulnerability and attempt to do something about it.

6. Public service shapes the conscience of a community.

Politics is downstream from culture, but I think the opposite is also true. Your personal actions and your words influence how the rest of us treat people and think about important things. I’m listening to you and learning from you. Your “Billy Pulpit” is one of God’s graces in your life that can move all us toward better solutions and unite all kinds of people for the common good.

7. Public service cultivates lofty ideals.

Government is not ultimate, but it is important. That’s why we are interested in your work, and that’s why we want to believe in you. But celebrity without decency and thoughtfulness produces despondency, anger, and resentment. So do everything you can to call us to wonderful ideas, inspire us to join enormous causes, lead us away from the trash heaps of pettiness, and walk us in the way of significance. I will follow you every chance I get. Your charisma and eloquence may impress me, but it is your character and good judgment that give me reason to hope.

8. Public service thrives under pressure.

After the fall of Adam and Eve, that task God gave them to rule the earth became even more laborious, yet even more important. Mammoth challenges few others are prepared to answer will be placed on you. The weight will be heavy, but you do not have to carry it alone. Instead, leverage the pressure to widen your reach. Invite others to help. I’ll answer your call. But more importantly, the Lord is your Helper, especially in your weakness.

9. Public service welcomes diverse perspectives.

Your enemy dreams of your demise, but your critic does not. Instead, the sincere critic actually wants to see you do what is best; he just has different ideas about the pathway to success. So any diverse opinions I may have are never meant to demonize you or to divide us from one another, but to add value to the work we all care so much about.

10. Public service points to a greater kingdom.

Whether you realize it or not, your work is a picture, although an imperfect one, of a greater, perfect kingdom to come. Jesus himself rules this coming kingdom. So I pray for you and highly esteem you as a partner in the grace of God, an evangelist of sorts, so that our neighbors might “lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:2-4).

God’s speed as you serve in the public square.

Photo by Stephen Walker on Unsplash

The post Ten Axioms of Public Service first appeared on Daryl Crouch | CROSSTIED.

In the hit 1980’s TV show Hill Street Blues, which told the stories of inner city cops, Sergeant Esterhaus would end every precinct briefing with the famous line, “Let’s be careful out there.”

Esterhaus knew the work of police officers is inherently dangerous, but he also knew he could not keep his officers completely away from the danger. The job required a level of engagement that put them in harms way, but he cared about them nonetheless. So he left them with a faithful word of encouragement as they went to work.

Jesus had a similar desire for those of us who follow him:

I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth. John 17:15-19

Jesus prayed we would know the protection of God from the evil one, and at the very same time that as we go into the world, the truth would sanctify, cleanse, renew, and transform us. The very place where the Spirit of God conforms us into the image of Jesus is the very place filled with peril, danger, and travail.

Christians, however, say a lot of funny things about the world around us and the cultural tides that are crashing at our feet.

For example, you may have heard comments like these:

• This year has been brutal on me. Can we just have a reset on 2020? (Years do not create difficulty. God is providential over our days, even the bad ones.)

• I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but these masks are a mark of the beast.(Healthcare workers have been wearing masks for a very long time.)

• This world is gonna burn up anyway. What difference does any of this make? (God so loved the world. We are stewards of the world and fellow image bearers.)

All of these sentiments reveal something about how we think about God, heaven and earth, and our place in both.

But one funny (not “ha ha” funny, but “interesting” funny) comment I hear more than others takes on a few different forms. In essence, they all sound something like this: “I’m done with politics.”

The implication is that as a Christian, we can steer away from politics and focus on other things like family, friendships, and church. We can get married, rear children, and go to work each day disengaged from the political arena, and thus live with fewer things we dislike and more things we do like.

This comment also has a spiritual ring to it, as if Jesus calls us to more lofty, heavenly aspirations than political engagement can provide. You may have even heard someone say, “Let’s just preach the Gospel, and leave the politics to someone else.”

It’s true that political activism or social change doesn’t change a heart or save a soul, but it may be more important in creating an environment of personal transformation than we think.

When God made Adam and Eve, one of their responsibilities was to rule the earth:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” Genesis 1:26

Abraham, the father of our faith, was a man of community influence and political power. Joseph preserved the people of God by his political service to Pharaoh. Moses led a nation to freedom. The Lord used the political throne of David to point to a greater, eternal kingdom to come. The prophets of God engaged political leaders. Jonah was sent to preach repentance to a foreign kingdom, and the king of that kingdom took notice and responded with sackcloth and ashes.

When Jesus was born, King Herod took notice. Throughout his ministry, Jesus regularly engaged with the political and religious leaders as he showed interest in the everyday life of the citizens of Palestine.

Following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the apostles, including Peter and later Paul, related to and shared the Gospel with magistrates and city leaders. Their Gospel ministry and church planting efforts naturally, or supernaturally, put Christians in close relationship to political leaders and to the interest of those serving in the public square.

In one famous moment, Paul spoke to the leading men of Athens,

From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. 27 He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:26-27

What must have been a stunning revelation, Paul announced that even the nations were ordered by God to create an environment that would make it possible for people everywhere to call upon the Lord.

So the public square is not a side game players play. It is, instead, the field of play for every follower of Jesus.

Not every Christian is called to run for Congress, but we are all called to love our neighbor. We are called to care about the things our neighbors care about. We are called to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. We are called to advocate for the vulnerable. We are called to engage in healthy debate over things that influence this generation and the next.

Interestingly, as American evangelicals assumed we could limit our political engagement to voting our values, we became increasingly disillusioned by the political results of our efforts. So now many Christians are saying, “ If voting doesn’t work, then what’s the point of political engagement?”

Voting is a gift of God to the citizens of our republic, but it is only one of our responsibilities to our neighbors. If we are most known by who we voted for in the last election, I doubt seriously we’re going to make very much progress in making disciples of Jesus or joining His kingdom work. If we are most known by our political affiliations, then win or lose, after Election Day, we’ve likely lost a friend or two. More importantly, we’ve likely lost the opportunity to actually influence people who don’t already follow Jesus with us.

So rather than viewing the public square as a necessary evil where we need to fight it out to simply elect our candidate, what if followers of Jesus living in a nation that still allows the free exercise of religion could begin to view the public square as the fertile soil for living out our faith?

What happens when Christians begin to seriously pray for our political leaders and then treat them like we care about God answering those prayers? What happens when we step into the public space to serve schools, local governments, healthcare providers, and the business community to help them achieve their goals of serving the community? What happens when our greatest goal is the good of our neighbors?

That doesn’t sound like the divisive politics on our news feed, but perhaps the change our hearts long for, perhaps the public environment that sets the stage for advancing the Kingdom begins with how we care for the people closest to us. Just maybe our greatest opportunity for public influence is through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in us as we learn to love people who think about important things from a totally different perspective. Perhaps the Lord will crystallize his Word in us as we learn to speak truth in love to the not-yet-convinced.

So rather than quitting on politics, maybe we should say, “I’m done with cultural Christianity.” Rather than huddling up in the safe, self-validating echo chambers of the Redeemed, let us step into the unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous places of foreign kingdoms that we may display a greater coming kingdom.

Perhaps we should reject the reluctance and rebellion of Jonah, and instead view the people around us like God views them—loved, valued, and worthy of Gospel hope. Rather than running away, perhaps this is our moment to run to the people who are farthest away.

It’s difficult. It will cost you something. So be careful out there. The Lord is with you.

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

The post I’m Done with Politics! first appeared on Daryl Crouch | CROSSTIED.

Honoring the six-feet rule, I stood on the dot and waited my turn to check out at the big box store. I looked to my left and noticed an attractive young mom with her 2-year old daughter in the line next to me. I looked to my right and saw every man, young and old, in every check out line across the room staring directly at her.

Could she sense their eyes on her? Did she know what was happening? If she knew, how did she feel?

I think we can stipulate that men notice women. Even as a solidly middle-aged man, my eyes are still in working order, and I can appreciate the grandeur of snow-covered mountains, the striking colors of a sunset, as well as the radiance of an attractive woman.

Interestingly, women see beauty as well. My wife will occasionally comment on how pretty another lady looks in a dress, or that George Clooney and Tom Cruise were quite handsome back in the day. My daughters fawn over Harry Stiles and the like.

So to see and appreciate beauty is not gender-specific, and it is not sinful. God created each person male and female in his own image, yet he made us with certain distinct physical qualities and characteristics. Those distinctions are obvious, admirable, and attractive.

I don’t know another man’s heart. I don’t even have an accurate take on my own heart most of the time, but something was happening back in that check out line that wasn’t exactly right. Something was taking place in that moment between several men and one woman that exposed something less than respect and admiration.

First, however, let me state a few things I don’t think were happening:

• It’s unlikely that every man looking at that lady was lusting. Looking and lusting are related, but they are different.
• It’s unlikely that any of the men looking were planning any kind of harm. We know that violent plotting toward women does happen, but I’m not willing to assume it was happening in that moment.
• It’s unlikely that any man looking intended to do anything disrespectful or inappropriate.

But if you’re a man, it is not enough to not look wrongly at a woman. It is not enough to simply avoid moral transgression. As good neighbors, we have a greater responsibility than that. So let’s consider these four ways to look at a woman.

Look at a woman differently than any other created thing.

Go to the art gallery and stare at a Monet. Watch the sun rise over the blue horizon of the ocean. Fix your gaze on a mountain range. But look and keep on looking at a woman and you will soon forget she’s an image bearer of the Most High God. Keep looking and before you know it, she becomes an object for your selfish viewing pleasure.

This may be the most tragic reality of the sinfulness of pornography. Yes, the perversion of human sexuality undermines one of God’s great gifts. But in a more fundamental distortion of God’s creation than that, inviting one human to use another human exclusively for selfish means denies the inherent worth and dignity of another human being.

Slavery did that to Africans. Hitler did that to Jews. And the pornography industry does that to every man, woman, and child recruited voluntarily or by force into the industry.

We can see beauty and admire beauty, but using another person solely for your viewing pleasure perverts what is good and disregards the value of your fellow image bearer.

Look at a woman with admiration that moves you toward Jesus.

King Solomon did not do marriage and sexuality very well, but in grace and mercy, the Lord redeemed him and used him to point all of us to Jesus. The Old Testament book of the Song of Solomon has been the subject of significant conversation on this issue, but it seems that in the most basic way, this graphic and very real love story between a man and a woman compels us to experience the greater, more wonderful love of God discovered in Christ Jesus.

Solomon wrote,

How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Your eyes are doves. Song of Songs 1:15

His unbridled admiration of his “swarthy skinned” bride moved him toward God, and still moves those of us who read this story to look more closely on the perfections of Jesus.

Exactly how human beings bear the image of God is still a mystery, but that we do bear his image means even the physical attributes of a woman are God-given expressions of God himself. So when our hearts are bent toward Jesus, malleable for his sanctifying work, our view of a woman moves us to see God’s glory in her and to dwell more thoroughly on His attributes. Her beauty leads us to holiness, not away from it.

Look at a woman as a neighbor to serve.

I know it’s weird, but sometimes when I meet an adult, I imagine what they may have looked like when they were children. Something changes about the way I view someone when I see him or her as a child who has done nothing to me and can do nothing for me. Aside from being slightly entertaining, there’s an innocence in it that is compelling.

Looks alone can be deceiving. Outward beauty only tells half-truths. The whole truth is that beneath the surface lives a person who needs encouragement, needs care, and who ultimately needs new life in Jesus.

Jesus said it is better to serve than to be served, so when we see a woman, our first priority, our first responsibility is to serve her. Not to patronize her and not to woo her, but to serve her. Not because she is weak or frail, but because she is fully human.

Even among evangelicals, the idea of biblical manhood has often been distorted. In our debate of complimentarianism and egalitarianism, however, we cannot lose the distinct call upon a man’s role as servant-leader.

The distinctions between men and women are not manufactured. They are rooted in our divine design, but physical strength and spiritual responsibility of a man are a divine mandate to serve, not to be served.

Look at a woman as a fellow partner in the grace of God.

In a recent conversation about ethnic bigotry, a friend reminded me again that the Holy Spirit’s work in the first days of the early church removed the three dominant dividing walls between us: ethnic (Jew and Gentile), socio-economic (free and slave), and gender (male and female).

The removal of this gender wall is another declaration that every woman is a fellow image bearer possessing equal dignity and worth of any man, that Jesus bore the sin debt for women as well as for men, and that every woman can become a sister in Christ and partner in the grace of God.

Because our greatest desire for any woman is that she experience new life in Christ and grow in grace, our Gospel witness is the primary motivation of our personal thoughts, private comments, and public actions toward her.   

Interestingly, in a culture that devalued women, Jesus elevated women as key disciples throughout his ministry. And it was the testimony of women that was a clarion voice of the resurrection of Jesus on the first Easter morning. In the formative years of the early church, women of faith served indispensible roles in the spread of the Gospel.

So women are not supporting characters in the story of Jesus’ redeeming love. They are central to it, and they possess unique and invaluable qualities that help all of us join Jesus’ kingdom work.

God has given us eyes to see beauty, and he has even built us to be attracted to beauty. But he has also given us a moral character, sometimes called a conscience, which creates in us the capacity and responsibility to esteem and elevate women both publicly and privately.

We honor women for who they are rather than for how they look. We appreciate outward beauty, but we look to women as wise and worthy of respect, as co-laborers in the Gospel, as recipients of God’s grace, and as instruments of his sanctifying work that gives all of us a better view of the beauty, majesty, and glory of Jesus.

Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash

The post How to Look at a Woman first appeared on Daryl Crouch | CROSSTIED.

Ahmaud Arbery’s family and friends are grieving. The McMichaels, Gregory (64) and Travis (34), who are facing charges in connection with Mr. Arbery’s death are in jail without bond. The community of Brunswick, Georgia must be teaming with all kinds of grief, anger, and tumult. Our nation is again grieving that this kind of thing happens and that it can go unnoticed for so long.

That it went unnoticed, that no charges were filed for so many weeks, reminds me again of what a strange thing racism is. As a pastor who often wades into the hidden or unseen issues of the heart, I’ve noticed that racism is in a category all its own.

It’s strange that racism isn’t seen as a problem until it is.

When a white man abuses or takes the life of a black man because the black man is black, we pay attention. White people, who live in a predominately white community, shake our heads and are genuinely taken back by the injustice.

But for people of color, this isn’t new news. For people of color in a predominately white community, the impact and threats of racism are a way of life.

As a darker skinned friend of mine said to me once, “We can’t walk in each others shoes. I can’t know what it’s like to be white, and you can’t know what it’s like to be black. But we can care about each other.”

Maybe that’s what Holy Spirit was commanding us to do as he led Paul to write,

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. 4 Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4

So if racism is a problem for my neighbor, especially if just for a few of them, it should be a problem for me.

It’s strange that racism gets nuanced more than other sins.

I have the privilege of being around people who revere the Bible. Most of them would consider themselves theological conservatives. As it relates to theology, to be a conservative is to seek to conserve the faith once and for all delivered to the saints.

The basis of conservatism is the belief that all Scripture is inspired by God, or more accurately stated, God-breathed. Every word of the Bible, in its original autographs, are exactly as God intended, and are therefore, sufficient for a daily life and worthy of our study.

So when I talk about the ugliness of jealousy, anger, or lust, for example, there is a unified, widespread disdain for these sins. When I preach against greed, no one wonders, “Is he coveting my new car?” or “Is he unhappy with his salary package?”

But when I mention the evils of racism, something changes. It’s palpable—as if someone turned the thermostat down to low and the fan up to high.

Suspicions go up and people will actually ask, “Are you suggesting blacks should not be held responsible for crimes they commit?” “I’ve never owned slaves. No one owns slaves anymore. Why are we still talking about this? “Have you been reading up on Critical Race Theory?” “Are you a liberal?”

Instead of conserving the faith, the realities of racism tempt people who think of themselves as biblical conservatives to do what theological liberals actually do, which is to segregate portions of the Bible into a category called “non-authoritative.” 

So I may quote passages like Peter’s new understanding and announcement that God does not show favoritism between people groups:

Now I truly understand that God doesn’t show favoritism, 35 but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 He sent the message to the Israelites, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ ​— ​he is Lord of all. Acts 10:34-36

Or I may refer to Paul’s declaration that the dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles has been removed, or that people from every tribe and tongue will be around Jesus’ throne in heaven; or even better, that Jesus gave us the Great Commandment, which commands (emphasis mine) us to love God and love our neighbors. When I mention these passages, particularly in light of the belief that we are all created by God and bear his image, it’s not uncommon to get a “Yeah, but…” response.

When Bible-believing people “yeah, but” the sin of racism, we can no longer claim the Bible as our authority for life and conduct. We may not be as conservative as we would like to think.

It’s strange that racism doesn’t get our action until it conforms to our political allegiances.

It’s sobering, but I have no trouble imagining the tragedy that took place in Brunswick, Georgia happening in my own predominantly white, formerly Bible-Belt community. It’s not that we don’t live in a wonderful place surrounded by amazing neighbors. We do.

But many conversations I have on racism are shaped more by political pundits than by Bible teachers who teach the Bible. If you listen close enough and for long enough, you can hear it. It sounds reasonable, even righteous. The arguments are clear and fit neatly within a political framework, whether on the right or left. What comes to the surface, however, is a limited view of God, creation, sin, redemption, and Jesus’ kingdom reign.

This theological sloth leads to practical inaction in the public square.

For example, any theological framework that compels us to advocate for the unborn, close down abortion clinics, and volunteer at the pregnancy center, yet allows us to remain apathetic to the evil of racism demonstrates a misguided view of God and his redeeming work. If our theology calls us to take the Gospel to the nations of the world through an energetic and expensive missionary enterprise, yet leaves us unmoved when dark-skinned immigrant children remain marginalized in our own communities, we can only assume political protectionism is a greater influence than historical, biblical Christianity.

It’s strange that Bible-believing people, whatever our political disposition may be, people who have surrendered our lives to Jesus as Lord, would choose to be discipled more by a political ideology than a historically Christian theology. Or maybe it’s not that strange at all.

I wonder, as a fallen fellow pilgrim on this journey, if the idols of our heart are more significant than we think. Could it be that the sin of racism, our favoritism (whether active or passive) of one group of people over another, woven into the fabric of a southern Christian culture is the great sin of our generation? Is it possible that the most important culture war to fight and win is inside the hearts of the redeemed people of God?

The post Three Strange Things about Racism first appeared on Daryl Crouch | CROSSTIED.