Becoming More Christlike Than American: Part 5

Part 5: Advocates for the kingdom

“One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way…Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.” Acts 13:2-3,46 NLT

If you’ve never read Acts 13, or haven’t in a while, first go read it.

This story of the sending of Paul and Barnabas to “the nations” (usually translated “Gentiles”) is foundational to our experience and understanding of the Church.

And they did not see it as a secondary result of the Gospel, but as a part of the primary mission of God’s people. The unity of the nations (“ethnos” in Greek) into the kingdom of heaven is essential to the outworking of the Gospel!

Jesus came to reconcile all people to God and to one another in Him. And so as the church formed it was to become a people who would display this reconciliation to the world. The earliest disciples knew this and it was an essential part of their lives.

Too many times in American church culture today you hear the refrain “Just preach the Gospel” in response to the work of reconciliation. And the assumption is that simply by verbalizing a message to people, all things that are supposed to work themselves out will. But we don’t do this with other issues that come out of the Gospel and shape the people of God…

Does just preaching words automatically give us a relationally healthy church?

Does just preaching words readily form a group of people across ethnicity, age, and socioeconomics?

Does just preaching words naturally bring reconciliation of people to God and to one another?

While words are certainly powerful, there is an active roll we play in advocating for the kingdom of heaven to come here on earth. There is a key relational piece that must occur and not just words that are to be shared.

The testimony of words is crucial. But the witness of reconciliatory relationships is too. The Gospel is not the Gospel without both.

Here’s the truth of Acts 13: Just as the Advocate (the Holy Spirit) lives in us, so we become advocates for the kingdom to be displayed on earth as it is in heaven.

We certainly anticipate the return of Christ as the ultimate reconciliation of all people into the kingdom. But we participate now in bringing the kingdom to earth, just as Jesus and his disciples did, to the highest degree we can.

And the main ministry we are called to in this kingdom work is reconciliation – a relational experience of a coming together, not merely words that are preached.

Since we know there is no division in heaven – not because of secondary theological issues, not because of cultural differences and certainly not because of personal preference – then our efforts must be toward the most amount of unity possible here on earth as well!

Yes we recognize that perfect unity is still not yet achievable before Christ’s return. And yet that shouldn’t cause us to resign ourselves to division as if reconciliation cannot be a reality while we are still on earth – this perspective typically leads to a divisive attitude or a desire to justify division.

So what do we do with the reality of this call to reconciliation while we are still here on earth?

It seems we are left with two options: 1) Leave the kingdom reality of unity across uniqueness (individually and in people groups) to only happening after Jesus returns; or 2) Advocate for that kingdom reality on earth as it is in heaven until Christ returns and it is fully realized.

And in my reading of Scripture, it seems only one of those options fits. Considering that this kingdom reality is not only described after Jesus’s return (Revelation 7), but prayed for by Jesus (John 17) and then sought out by Jesus’ followers (the whole book of Acts starting in Acts 2); then it must be our earnest prayer and earnest seeking as well.

Isn’t it amazing that the immediate result of the Advocate (the Holy Spirit) inhabiting those first believers was a bringing together of people from different unique languages and “ethnos” (Acts 2)?

Isn’t it amazing that the response of the Advocate to the dispersion of believers was to empower them to be witnesses wherever they ended up to the people right in front of them who were not “like” them (Acts 8)?

Isn’t it amazing that the plan of the Advocate was to ultimately send out believers specifically to the unique people groups (Gentiles) across the known world in order to plant the Gospel and see the Church spring up right there among them (Acts 13)?

It should not be lost on us how intentional God is in emphasizing at the very beginning of the Church how important it is that the Gospel bring together all kinds of people from all kinds of places into the kingdom of heaven.

It does not happen by chance or circumstance.

It does not happen because of some expressed cultural value.

It happens because it is a key result of the call of the Gospel and the empowering of the Holy Spirit among His disciples.

The uniqueness of the image of God evidenced in each person from every place is brought to a full display of beauty as we find ourselves united in Christ.

To devalue the uniqueness of God’s image within people and people groups is to misunderstand the Gospel altogether.

And this is what Acts displays for us.

Acts is ultimately a prophetic critique of anyone or any group of people who tie the Gospel to their specific culture or their specific nation. Any ethnocentrism, tribalism, or nationalism of any variety within God’s people is a foreign reality to the kingdom of heaven.

As we read Acts 13, and internalize this outward trajectory of the Spirit’s calling to unite the unique image of God within all kinds of people, we must wrestle with how we may have been formed by parts of our own American culture in a way that might deny this reality instead of embrace it.

Do we trust God enough to prioritize the call of the Spirit to go to those who do not share our ethnic values or do we find ourselves bunkering down into silos out of a need for comfort or control?

Do we trust God enough to live as residents of the kingdom of heaven here on earth among all kinds of “people groups” right around us (many that may not look like us or live like us) or do we distance ourselves from that calling because it may inconvenience us?

Do we trust God enough to identify and deal with our own biases so that we can love our neighbor as Jesus loves them or do we live with blinders on which keep us from valuing someone enough to love them well?

Do we trust God enough to celebrate as someone else to express their faith thru the uniqueness of how God has formed them (and the people He’s formed around them) or do we feel the need to get them to conform to our version of expression as if it is “the standard”?

Acts models for us what it looks like for the kingdom to come to earth across all earthly divisions (specifically ethnicity).

May we become Advocates for this united multiethnic kingdom of heaven being displayed here on earth and not for any ethnic-specific version of the American church.

May we become Advocates for this multiethnic kingdom that wages war against the evil in this world that divides and dehumanizes, in order that we may display fully both righteousness and justice as the very witness of The Advocate’s work in our lives.

A Pastoral Letter to the Church | “Enough is Enough”

To those who have laid claim to the name above every name. We must repent. We must turn away from violence. We must turn away from the hardness of heart that would consume us. We must plead with the Father to replace our heart of stone with one of flesh. We must embrace the prospect that we are like sheep being led to the slaughter. Not as a political cause, but as a righteous act in the name of the one true God.

How we as a nation respond to tragedies of injustice reveals how well we have prepared to get closer to a just society. In the unfortunate shadow of recent events, a horrifying truth has become clear. The lessons of the past have not been heeded. What is worse, they have been used as weapons.

How we as a people called Christian, engage in the conversation of justice also reveals how well we have internalized the Gospel of Jesus, and how well we have embraced the difficult work of the ministry of reconciliation. Again, the events that have transpired in recent weeks have exposed a trajectory that can only be described as devastating. The witness of many claiming to be a part of the Church in these last few weeks has been laid bare. We have rejected the fountain of living water. We have hewn for ourselves broken cisterns (Jer. 2:13). We have walked away from God for the gods and idols of this world.

You would have to be completely blind to miss how the world appears to be growing dark. The light of God seems to be waning in those places where it is needed most. How do we account for this? How do we explain the drift in this direction?

It can only be explained as an abandonment of the unifying and fortifying power of the Gospel of Jesus. It can only be described as a rejection of the most fundamental realities of our identity in Christ.

We have rejected the call to make disciples of all nations (ethnos).

We have rejected the power of the Gospel to transform murderers into saints, prostitutes into princesses, paupers into kings, and slaves into freedmen. We have rejected the purpose of the church to declare truth both to power and to the poor. We have rejected the responsibility of the ministry of reconciliation we have been called to. We have rejected the promise that comes from being made one in Christ and for Christ.

We have rejected the reality that to see as God sees is to see past the flesh and see to the heart. We have rejected the hard work of forgiveness and replaced it with the easy path of blame and even indifference. We have rejected the deep and dangerous call of dying to self and even of forfeiting our lives, even for our enemies.

We have rejected so much of what it means to be a follower of Jesus, a disciple of Jesus, an ambassador for Jesus. We have rejected the power of God for the power of fame. We have rejected the truth of eternal life for the lie of living our best lives now.

We have rejected every good and perfect gift being given to us because we have longed for short-sighted pleasures this world has to offer. We want our reward now. And then we are surprised with the consequences of these exchanges.

This is the life we have chosen, and now we cry out for relief. This is the society we have fashioned, and we have fashioned it in our own image. And now we cry out in horror at the distorted image we see being reflected back at us.

Dear friends, this is us as we are.

We cannot change ourselves, only God can do that. We cannot love our neighbors as we ought, only God can do that through us. We cannot love our enemies when we hate the people we are becoming but cannot escape. We cannot be conformed into the image of Christ when we are trying to incarnate the next version of what social media says is good.

We are one nation. Warts and all. We all are responsible to chart a way forward. The atrocities of the past cannot be undone. They cannot be erased. We cannot escape the consequences. But the past must not be repeated. And it cannot be relitigated. True forgiveness, true learning, true sacrifice requires our letting go of our need for revenge.

How long will we hold on to that which is infecting us, rotting us from the soul on out? How long will we demand justice while perpetrating injustice in the process?

Two wrongs do not make right. They reinforce the evil of the cycle.

At some point we must realize that in order for change to come we will have to receive in our own bodies, the same way Jesus did, the suffering of the unjust realities of life we see. It is only then that those who are longing for change will know how to be free from chains they have felt. Only then will those who are the victims of injustice have advocates worthy of their suffering.

We must learn to be afflicted but not become the perpetrators of affliction to another generation. It was not until today that I have begun to finally understand the words of the Apostle Paul.

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Cor. 4:8-18 ESV, emphasis added)

Enough is enough. I am not speaking to the world. I have no authority over them. But, I speak to those who, with me, reside within the bounds of the mystical body of Jesus Christ. The walls of separation were broken down at the Cross. We must never take part in building them back up. God laid waste to that which keeps us from one another.

This is the burden that I have felt but could not find a way to express. This is the passion that has been percolating within my soul these last few weeks.

The world in which we live is suffering. It is heading headlong into the abyss. And there are some who claim to be Christian, who claim to speak for the church, who are participating in its destruction. Rejoicing in the calamity befalling our nation and communities. May God have mercy upon them.

Whether we have found a voice to our fears or not; whether we have been able to find ways of being instruments of change or not; whether we are ready or not. The time is now upon us. We must call upon our Helper, the Holy Spirit of God, to gird us up for action. It does not have to look like everyone else. But the time for waiting must end.

How do I know? Because through it all, whether through active choice or passive complacency we have forsaken our identity. We have forsaken our calling. We have forsaken the sacrifice of Christ. It is frightening to step into the breach. To take a stand, even if it is among our circle of influence. But we must reclaim what has been slipping away from us.

I plead that all of us repent. Let us turn back to Jesus. Let us turn back to God. Let us turn again to the only weapon we have been given, the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17b).

God has shown mercy to entire nations before. I pray that he will show mercy to us now.

A Reflection on the Death of Ahmaud Arbery

Injustice in any form, against any person is an affront to the character of God. It must be confronted and it must be denounced.

Not Again…

In the past several days, new information has come to light and our nation has suffered a severe blow. That blow came in the form of the untimely death of a young black man, Ahmaud Arbery, in Southeast Georgia, at the end of February. Not only is our nation dealing with the ramifications of Covid-19 at every level, but the ugly specter of racism has reared its head once again. The circumstances still have to be properly investigated (and this failure only exacerbates the problem) and the results of this process may very well contribute to feelings of “nothing ever changes.”

As an ethnically Latino man, as a native-son and resident of Georgia, as a pastor in a ministry that serves congregations that are majority Black and Latino, I have been trying to process how to respond. It is not easy and the reasons are many.

When events like this take place I find myself compelled to speak, as many others have justifiably done already. But I know my heart well enough to know that if I speak in a way inconsistent with my faith and convictions, I may very well do more harm than good. I do not want to speak in anger, even though I am angry. I do not want to succumb to hate, and then become guilty of the same sin as those who killed Ahmaud. As a believer and follower of Jesus, I want to speak in a way that helps bring me, and those who listen to what I say, closer to Him.

I know emotions are running high. I know that the calls for action are continuing to climb. I know that when news like this happens, we feel the frustration and emotions of what we can only describe as regression. I know because I feel it too!

But, I had to hit the pause button. Not because I didn’t want to speak out. I had to take a step back because I know that once I speak, I could never take those words back.

Trying to Understand

As our nation grapples once again with the actions of a few, I am convicted by several realizations that this has exposed in me. Introspection is an appropriate response to times like this. Not to make it about ourselves, but to determine if we too have become susceptible to the influences that lead to tragedies and injustices we have seen too often.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, as a believer in the God who speaks and reveals, I am convinced that the problems we face are fundamentally spiritual problems. They may and have manifested themselves in physical actions and resulted in unthinkable tragedies. But these actions are the final expression of what has been broken in humanity from the fall.

As a member of the body of Christ, I believe we have failed to see what God said about the war we are fighting. And it is a war. We are fighting principalities and powers that are spiritual. But the weapons of the secular world can only control the body. They cannot change or heal what is truly broken in the human heart. It is only the power of God, working in and through faith that can bring about the transformation of the soul and the mind. Not everyone will agree. I will concede that. But, I am trying to live as consistently as I can. I believe the foundations of my faith provide answers to what we have seen repeated in our nation.

What I have come to realize in the shadow of Ahmaud’s death I will attempt to summarize in the following way.

First, injustice in any form, against any person is an affront to the character of God. It must be confronted and it must be denounced. The violation of the image of God in any person is a damnable act. It is irreversible and it damages not only the victim but also the perpetrator and all who witness it. One of the primary reasons injustice is so harmful is that it leaves a vacuum in the lives, minds, and spirits of all who are affected by it.

Second, any calls for justice will ultimately leave many of us unsatisfied. This is an unfortunate consequence of living in a world filled with brokenness. For those who seek and desire justice, they will never be able to genuinely enjoy its application. The effects of the trauma received can never be erased nor forgotten. For those who deserve to be punished, nothing short of vengeance will suffice. But, that action belongs to God, and God alone.

Third, and this may be the most difficult one to accept, we will continue to see and feel the frustration sparked by Ahmaud Arbery’s death, and others like it, as long as we continue to point the finger at others, after the fact, rather than also looking inward before they happen. Until we confront the sin problem that exists within each of us, we will continue to be drawn into the darkness of a world wanting of God’s presence.

I do not know what you are going to do. I am not telling you what you should do. I can only tell you what I am going to do.

I will seek to be just in my own actions. I will seek to comfort those who have been victimized. I will pray for our nation to see that what it needs is revival and not more laws.

I will continue to call those who will listen to repentance and to greater obedience to Jesus. I do not have the power to change the world. I do not even have the power to change myself. All I can do is surrender to the one who can.

3 Failures That Charlottesville Revealed about the Church’s Approach to Justice

The Church is supposed to be the greatest agent of change in the world. However, as it relates to the “justice” conversation in our culture, the Church’s voice is not resonating.

Now that we have some space between us and the events of Charlottesville, I want to share some thoughts about how we, as the Church in America, got here. Where exactly am I talking about? I am talking about our position on the outside of the conversation of Justice looking in. I am talking about how we find ourselves reacting to the events in Charlottesville, and events like Charlottesville after the fact.
Continue reading “3 Failures That Charlottesville Revealed about the Church’s Approach to Justice”

The Darkness is Deepening… but the Light of the World still Shines

A Reflection on the Shooting in Charleston, South Carolina

Last night a terrible act of violence was committed against the pastor and members of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. There are no words to describe the dastardly nature of this crime. To enter a place of worship and without any apparent provocation proceed to killing defenseless congregants points to an evil that is beyond comprehension.

What make this tragedy even more infuriating than it already is, is how quickly the conversation moves away from the victims to the “issues.” I am not saying that there are not problems that need to be addressed. What bothers me is that rarely do events like this lead to a conversation about what is really wrong with our world. We keep putting band-aids on the problem, never really stopping to think about the source of the poison that seems to be seeping into the bloodstream of our nation.

Several years ago I attended a missions conference and one of the speakers gave this analogy regarding justice ministry. He described a man standing on the bank of a river. As he stood there he heard the cries for help of another man in the river. He could not fight the current to get to the riverbank. The first man threw a rope to the man and offered him a life line to safety, which was gladly taken. A short time later, another person came floating down the river, this one in the same predicament as the first. Again the rope was offered and again another life was saved. The man stood on the river bank and helped the people as they came. After several people had been rescued in this way, the good Samaritan decided to walk up-stream to see why all these people were falling into the river.

As a Christian and pastor I feel that too many within the Church have become satisfied with lending a hand and throwing a rope to help those who are floating down the river, but we have not done a good job of finding the source of the problem. Throwing a rope to help is an act of mercy for the individual helped. But, walking upstream on the river and fixing the reason people are falling into the river is an act of justice. We have to speak to the true issue if we are going to see lasting change.

Is racism a problem? Yes. Is human trafficking and slavery a problem? Yes. Are there social issues that have to be confronted and addressed? Yes. However, these are not the primary, rudimentary issues the human soul must be rescued from. What humanity needs to be rescued from is its sinful nature. We are all sinners and because of this sin we all are at risk of falling into the river of death. Sin is not just one problem, it is a billion problems described by one simple reality. We all are incapable of avoiding the hole that sends us floating down the river.

As I have read the news reports regarding the shooting of those nine souls I felt this overwhelming sense that the darkness of sin has been deepening in our world. There seems to be no bottom to the depths of human cruelty and depravity. I am saddened by all of this. And yet, I hold onto the hope that the Light of World still shines.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had it right when he said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” [Source] What light was he talking about? What love was he pointing to? It was the light of Christ in the Gospel of the Cross. This is the only light and the only love that will dispel the darkness that threatens to envelop our heart, mind and soul.

For the church the only transformative power give to us is the Gospel of Jesus. If we turn to anything else we jeopardize any chance we have been given to see the heart soften, the soul saved, and the mind renewed. Not everyone will agree with me but, that is alright. I have live according to what I believe.

Word to the Wise | “Jesus is on our Side”

Somebody asked me once if I thought that God was a just God. I said that the question needed to be answered in two ways. First, “If you are wondering whether God will deal with those that have not received Jesus as savior with justice, the answer to that question is YES. The lost will receive the penalty they deserve for their sins. Not one of them will be able to claim that God was unfair or unjust against them.”

The second answer goes like this. “However, if you are asking if God is just with His children, the answer to that question is a resounding NO.” Allow me to explain. God deals with those who have received Jesus with grace and grace is not about justice. Grace is the exact opposite of justice. Grace is NOT receiving what we deserve. Grace is receiving what we do not deserve—God’s favor. God is on our side. He is not just when it comes to us. He is gracious.

Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/13/09)

Romans Series (Pt. 6) – Romans 2:12-24

God’s Judicial Philosophy (2:12-16)

In these verses, we begin to see how God will perform his judicial responsibility to render justice to all sinners. What is interesting here is that all sinners will be judged according to the “laws” under which they lived. “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” [v. 12]. One of the objections to God’s goodness has been this: How can God condemn to hell those who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus? I believe that Paul is speaking to this very thing when he tells the Romans that God will be just to all regardless of when they live or what they have or have not heard. He is bringing his understanding of the revelation of God’s character in Creation back to the minds of the Romans by saying that when men see the creation they would be introduced to the Glory of God and would be without excuse [Romans 1:19-20]. Paul wraps up this paragraph by saying, “God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” [v.16]. Whatever this means, it does mean that God will be just.

The Jews Chastised (2:17-24)

Paul then switches gears and turns to his countrymen in the church and questions them regarding the example they are setting. In one sense the Jews could boast in God. They had been called out from among the nations. God had sent to them the Law and the prophets. But all of this did not appear to have the effect of changing the hearts of the people. The Jews had “in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth,” and still they failed to live according to God’s precepts. Paul understood that the image and example of the Jewish people had not served the purpose of God as it ought to have. As a result, Paul quotes Isaiah 52:5: “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” The purpose for which the children of Israel were to be set apart – to spread the truth of God – had become distorted into a conceited nationalism.

We will look at the source of the distortion next time.

Tag: Justice