The Church is a Reconciled Body

Introduction:

· Lt. Judy & Hoon Chung – in the wake of Breonna Taylor…what do we make of all of this?

· What does a bedsheet, a buffet & a Roman soldier show us about God’s wall-breaking mission?

TWO THINGS THIS MORNING: THE WALLS THAT THREATEN GOD’S MISSION, AND THE GOSPEL AS THE GREATEST POWER TO BREAK DOWN THESE WALLS.

I) The Mission of God Is Endangered by the Walls We Build

A. Human-centered Holiness Creates walls that Threaten God’s Mission

i. Where We Are At: A pivot point in God’s mission

1. As the gospel moves beyond Jerusalem how will it cross barriers?

2. Hungry Peter has a vision about food (vv. 9-11)

ii. Does Holiness come through Kosher observance? (vv. 10-16)

1. Animals, reptiles, & birds: off-limits to a Kosher Jew (vs. 14-16)

2. Why? Kosher laws marked God’s people as “holy.”

3. So: “Do you have to adopt Jewish practices to become Christian?

iii. Or: Does our holiness come through our obedient action?

1. If you’ve been raised in the church, don’t get drunk, you pay your taxes…

2. We blur the lines: Is obedience to God FOR God’s approval, or FROM it?

B. Our View of Racial Differences Threatens Gods’ Mission

i. The Spread of Unholiness (see 10:1-2)

1. Cornelius was a “Devout & God-Fearing” ROMAN Centurion

2. Peter gets in trouble after dinner because “Uncleanness spreads.” (11:3)

ii. The Net Result: A “moral” problem created a racial problem (vs. 34)

1. Peter acknowledges he believed God “favored” Jews over Gentiles

2. Cultures & individuals build identity on cultural our distinctives àfavoritism

3. EXAMPLE: Dutch; Hispanic; American;

­­WHAT IS THE SOLUITON TO THIS?

II) The Gospel is the Power to Break Down the Walls We Build

A. The Cross is the means to Holiness (vv. 39-41)

i. Common approaches to overcoming these differences today:

1. No one is a racist – we deny any problem, deny cultural differences

2. Everyone is racist – All of history is reinterpreted through racial lens

ii. Jesus is the Means to Authentic Holiness (vs. 39-41, Deuteronomy 21:22-23

Deuteronomy 21:22–23 ESV

“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

1. Ordinarily the cross was the supreme experience of being defiled

2. Yet, in Jesus, God reversed the curse of the cross so that “cleanness” flows “backwards!”

3. In Christ God provides true cleansing for deeper “uncleanness”!

B. God’s Acceptance of Us Isn’t Rooted in Human Behavior

i. Peter’s Realization: God is a God of All the Nations (vv. 23, 34-35)

1. God shows no partiality: All cultures are equally fallen (vs. 34-35)

2. but accepts those who fear him: All nations need redemption through Christ

ii. Jesus is the Anointed Savior (vv. 36-38)

1. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s All-scripture mission

2. White, black, Hispanic, Asian, African…Jesus is the hope for all!

iii. Therefore:

1. Christians affirm culture bud don’t build our primary identity on ethnic background

2. The church must value (and therefore, pursue) the beauty of “all-nations” diversity where that is possible

Transition:

Conclusion

Living as a reconciled people