Imago Dei pt6

As we finish up this series on the Imago Dei, I want to go back to where we started a few weeks ago. We are all created in the image of God. There are so many implications of that and they have a lot to say about the world we live in today. Not the least of these areas are the issues we see in our country surrounding race and ethnicity.

I know this gets talked about in a lot of different ways in our culture and truthfully, how we talk about these issues in so many ways is not only unhelpful, but damaging. There are extremists on all sides, and in the middle are often people who are paralyzed into inaction because they don’t want to do the wrong thing so they do nothing.

We don’t have that option. The followers of Jesus in America have to speak to these issues and realities. We cannot simply retreat to our corners and act like nothing is wrong, but we also cannot join wholesale into either extreme, because they are not bringing about unity and reconciliation and many of their philosophies are diametrically opposed to the Gospel.

So what are we to do?

The good news is the issue of race and racism and needing to bridge cultural divides is not a new issue. In fact, it reared its head EARLY in the church surrounding Greek widows. (insert reference here) And the result was the implementation of deacons, who were led by a Greek guy- the first non-Jewish person to lead in the church, who became the first martyr to the faith. On other words, addressing the issue and seeking a solution, rather than ignoring it or worse antagonizing it, advanced the Gospel.

But the issue became worse, as the church grew, especially after Paul was converted and began a concentrated, aggressive outreach to non-Jewish people. All of a sudden there were all these Gentiles bringing their culture and their practices into the church, which to this point was majority Jewish and kept a LOT of their practices.

When the disagreement began to threaten the advance of the Gospel something had to be done. What did they do? Let’s look at the book of Acts to get a look at how this was addressed.

(Turn with me to Acts 15)

The first thing they did is they did not deny there was a problem. (v1-6) And there was a significant problem. The Jewish believers wanted to continue a system that had ruled the day until that point. Gentile proselytes to Judaism had to keep all the laws and undergo circumcision to be a part of the community. Remember, the Temple itself had a “court of the Gentiles” so that ethnic Jews were separated from Gentile converts. All of this was culturally and racially based.

The Acts of the Apostles 1. The Need for the Council (15:1–5)

These particular Pharisees had apparently come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, but had not abandoned their allegiance to Moses and the law. They used the language of necessity (dei, must), implying that this was God’s will. Although they appear to extend the demand being made on Gentiles, by including the requirement to obey the law of Moses, submission to a totally law-directed life was probably already implied by the initial challenge (15:1; cf. Gal. 5:2–3). In other words, the demand for Gentile Christians to become proselytes of Judaism, which was first made by the visitors to Antioch, was reaffirmed by Pharisees who were members of this general assembly of the church in Jerusalem. At this point Luke appears to reveal that they were the source of the disruptive teaching that had been spreading from Jerusalem to Syria and beyond.

One of the biggest issues we have with race and prejudice in our country is an inability to acknowledge there is an issue. And the more our social circles and friend groups look like US the less likely we are to find anyone who doesn’t think like we do.

There is a race problem in our country. It may not have affected you, but it is affecting people who live here, work here, pay taxes here, and are trying to make a life here. (recent story about house assessment) One anecdotal story does not prove that a problem exists, but multiple stories of the same or similar issues demonstrate we face problems in our country related to race. And they didn’t just start with the advent of cell phone cameras. (why do highways in OKC run the way they do? why did most of us now know the story of Greenwood until 5 years ago?)

The issue in Acts is a racial, and cultural one. The Gentiles do not look or act like the Jews. That’s a problem because the Jews are in the majority. They can- by sheer numbers- make the Gentiles do what they want. But by doing so, they risk alienating the Gentile converts and creating a split in the church.

So they TALK. We need to be able to have these conversations in the church and we need to be leading these conversations in the community. We cannot help find solutions if we are not present and if we are not active in these conversations, we run the risk of surrendering the ground to those with far less understanding of grace and repentance (White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo) (recommend Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby as an alternative and One Blood by John Perkins)

So what happens after the talk? There have to be solutions. Words alone are not going to make real, systemic change. (Read v7-21)

The Acts of the Apostles a. Debate (15:6–21)

The gift of the Spirit was a witness to the Gentiles themselves that they were accepted by God. Indirectly, it was also a testimony to Jews who had received the same Spirit through believing in Jesus that Gentiles were united with them in the New Covenant community

(move this below^^^^^^)

The majority lays down some of their liberty. This is a powerful moment. They do not compromise the Gospel. They do not back away one iota from the teachings of Jesus, but they do lay down tradition, preferences, and comfort for the sake of others.

The Acts of the Apostles a. Debate (15:6–21)

Viewing the way of salvation through faith in Christ as the ultimate expression of God’s will for his people, Peter spoke quite frankly about the yoke of the law as an obligation his fellow Jews had never really managed to fulfill—‘a yoke which they had not had the strength to carry’. Since God did not require Gentiles who trusted in Jesus to live that way, Peter found it objectionable that some of his fellow Jews wanted to place such a burden on Gentile converts.

The Acts of the Apostles a. Debate (15:6–21)

It also seems that James expected synagogue worship to go on in every city and that the issue of obedience to the law would not quickly be resolved for Jewish Christians. As Christians wrestled with the question of the law’s ongoing relevance and application, reflecting on Christ’s own teaching and the events by which he inaugurated the New Covenant, there was need for sensitivity and generosity on all sides

Acts C. Action (vv. 12–21)

We learn four “guidelines” which many have taken to be a compromise on the part of James. In fact these restrictions have little to do with the central issue of the Council and seem more sociological than theological. They fall under the “no offense” principle every Christian should live by. Most places where Gentile believers then practiced Christianity also had sizable Jewish communities. Seeking not to alienate either group, the Council asked Jewish Christians to accept Gentiles without discussions of law-keeping while asking Gentile believers to refrain from those things which would have been odious to devout Jews

Acts James’s Assessment (15:13–21)

Interestingly, each of these prohibitions was originally addressed not only to Jew but also to Gentile aliens living alongside them in the land. The rules’ specifics and their rationale (Acts 15:21) show they are given to promote table fellowship between uncircumcised Gentile converts and Jewish Christians who observe the dietary laws. There is no surrender here of the gospel freedom alluded to in verse 19. Rather, that freedom is to be used in love to serve Jewish Christian brothers and sisters, but not beyond the bounds of Scripture

Why do they do this? God is AT WORK! (v11-14)

We may have struggles right now as these issues play out, but God is at work. Our problem is, we are too busy looking at the problems and listening to the pundits to see what God is doing.

And here is a critical point- the Church is uniquely positioned to speak about race and reconciliation because of the Gospel!

Acts James’s Assessment (15:13–21)

James has replaced a proselyte model of Gentile salvation with an eschatological/christocentric one. The Lord has chosen to place his name on Gentiles as Gentiles, without requiring that they surrender their ethnic identity. That name, “the Lord Jesus Christ,” is the basis on which they have repented and believed (Lk 24:47; Acts 4:12; 10:43), the identity they have adopted in baptism (2:38; 10:48; compare 11:26) and the reason they will suffer (compare 5:41; 14:22).

This Old Testament text teaches that Christians’ new identity in Christ both supersedes and allows room for their cultural identity. Christians are saved from the error of prejudicial ethnocentrism. What a liberation, to respect and appreciate differences, not using them as weapons of prejudice but at the same time not being imprisoned by them!

Why?

We have no issues acknowledging that sin exists!

We have a belief that people can change!

We believe that changed people can right deep wrongs when they come together.

We believe that God loves ALL people no matter their color or ethnicity or sex or background.

But to be a part of the change, we also have to understand what is happening. We need to listen and HEAR and believe.

(Talk about being a minority in Ghana- Kofi with police story)

Finally, we can do all these things, but until we venture out of our comfort zones to meet people where they are, we will not accomplish much. (Read v22-35)

Acts James’s Assessment (15:13–21)

James’s proposal, then, teaches us three things about life together in a culturally diverse church. We must say no to any form of cultural imperialism that demands others’ conformity to our cultural standards before we will accept them and their spiritual experience. We must say yes to mutual respect for our differences. And we must live out that respect even to the extent of using our freedom to forgo what is permissible in other circumstances.

In a day when transportation and urbanization make it easier to stay apart than face the challenge of living together as a multicultural body of believers, the church has yet to model consistently what James calls for. But even our separate culturally homogeneous fellowships may face challenges of gender, music and generation gaps. We need to take Acts 15 to heart

What did the Jewish believers do? It would have been easy to write the letter and send it with Paul and Barnabas and then go on as if nothing had happened. That’s what our world does all the time. People become trending hashtags for a week. They become a performative event. Then they are forgotten. Nothing changes, because we don’t ever really engage. It costs us nothing.

But if we believe that ALL people are created in the image of God, we cannot live separated from people who look or act differently than we do. And since we are for the most part the majority, the onus is on us to go to them, not expect them to come to us.

The Acts of the Apostles b. Resolution (15:22–29)

Choosing some of their own men to accompany Paul and Barnabas, they hoped for a clear explanation of their intentions in writing the letter (v. 27) and a healing of any strained relationship between the churches. Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas were chosen because they were leaders among the brothers

Why? Because that is what Jesus did for us (Gospel presentation here)

And the church did it with intention. They sent people with the letter to bear witness to the change.

The results were powerful, because they put ACTION to their words.

I know many of us truly want to see all people treated equally. We do not want people to be afraid or experience prejudice and we want people to have the same chances. We may not be able to fix everything, but we can fix what we have control over and we can raise not only our voices, but our lives for the sake of everyone created in His Image.