But, contrary to much of the public talk on race and ethnicity, I do not believe reconciliation occurs apart from the gospel. You see, as I spelled out above, the race issue is a sin problem that has been around long before us. And sin problems can only be dealt with by gospel solutions. In Ephesians, the apostle Paul explains that God’s eternal plan is to exalt Jesus as King and Lord over all things (1:21-22) and to unite all things, whether in heaven or on earth, in Christ (1:10). Specifically, in Ephesians 2, Paul argues that in Christ, God is uniting a fractured humanity—Jew and Gentile. As a result, this new humanity, united in Christ by his Spirit through the gospel, now displays the multi-faceted wisdom of God to the cosmic powers (3:10). In other words, as this new humanity lives together as a church in unified diversity (4:1-6), it displays how wise our God is in saving this multi-ethnic, multi-cultural people of God, and it causes the heavens to declare the glory of God (Revelation 7:11-12).

As the display of God’s glory and wisdom, the church reveals to the world what it’s like to live as God’s people under God’s rule. We are God’s ambassadors representing his kingdom to a world fractured by sin. Therefore, we are to show the world the transforming love of God that unites those who were formerly fractured and at war with one another. That is to say, we are to show the world the unified diversity of the kingdom of heaven. To be sure, we are not born again as “mature adults” in Christ. No! We are born again as “infants” in Christ, needing the milk of the word. But, we are not to remain infants in Christ! And Paul explains how we are to grow up into maturity (Ephesians 4). The ministers of the word are given to the church by the ascended Christ (4:11), and they, in turn, equip the church with the word of God (4:12). This preached/taught word is then spoken throughout the congregation—that’s discipleship: speaking the truth in love to one another so that we would all grow up and look more and more like Jesus (4:13).

So, yes, we need to keep talking about racial issues because these are gospel and discipleship issues, just like marriage, parenting, holiness, obedience, etc. Those who are mature need to help those who are still infants (discipleship). We need to encourage one another to represent well God and his rule over our lives while we’re still in this fractured world. We need to show the world true reconciliation and peace so that they may glorify our Father in heaven and embrace his Son as Lord.

How are we to keep talking about these issues? Let’s start by doing it in the proper context. Don’t carry this conversation on in social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)! It is a dangerous place because we can say things online we would never say to someone’s face. Second, avoid stereotypes. Generalizations describe a general truth about a population: i.e, people born in Puerto Rico generally speak Spanish. Stereotypes, on the other hand, are harmful, even sinful. Stereotypes apply a characteristic (usually negative one) of an individual or small group to an entire demographic: i.e., undocumented immigrants are rapists and murderers. When we classify people with stereotypes, we fail to see them as individuals created as God’s image. Thirdly, listen more than you speak. Learn from one another. Sit down and get to know people who are different than you; ask them lots of questions; hear their stories; and tell them yours. Finally, read! Read various authors on the topic of race, ethnicity. Read the Bible to see what it says; read biblical scholars who explain what the Bible says about race and ethnicity; read African-Americans and Latinos and Asians on race and ethnicity; and read the people who disagree with you to understand where they’re coming from. If you’re only reading the people who agree with you, then you will be stuck in an echo chamber, and you’ll never grow out of infancy. I’ll paraphrase Tim Keller here: “If you read only one person, you’ll become a clone; if you read only a couple of people, you’ll become confused; but if you read many authors, you’ll be able to form your own conclusions.”

I thank God for High Pointe! We are striving to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ in all areas of our Christian lives, including what the Bible says about race and ethnicity. To be sure, some of us are just getting started in this journey, while others are more mature. But, let us speak the truth in love to one another, and let us grow up together in Christ until we all attain a mature manhood that reflects the image of Christ.

On Sunday evening, we had the privilege of hosting a forum on God and Politics. You can find it here: High Pointe Forum on Christianity & Politics. Pastor Ben Wright’s 35 points were so helpful that I asked his permission to provide them to you in full. Here they are below. Please carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully work through each one.

9/11/16 God & Politics Forum | 35 principles Christians can agree on

Why do we need to talk about this?

1. We have to because Jesus Christ reigns over all. As his ambassadors, our job is to live as his representatives and declare his message.

What’s government for?

2. Government’s mission to punish evil and reward good (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17).

Should we be favorably inclined toward government?

3. Almost any government is better than no government.

4. Because we are a representative or constitutional democracy, the responsibilities delegated to government in Scripture fall ultimately to American citizens.

5. We owe government prayer, taxes, respect, and honor.

6. You are not in sin if you oppose elected officials or their policies. You are in sin if you do not honor them and pray for them.

7. Christians should be engaged in politics and government.

8. Opportunities abound at local levels to engage influentially.

9. It is right to be grateful for how our government has fought evil and promoted good.

10. It is easy for white middle class people to believe our government did a great job fighting evil and promoting good throughout our history.

11. Whatever era of American history you look back to as the ideal certainly wasn’t ideal for everyone. In every era, people have suffered under injustice that was tolerated, if not propagated, by our government and our culture.

12. It is possible to be both compassionate & treat people with the dignity of divine image-bearers, and at the same time to favor enforcing the law & supporting law enforcement.

13. Government is neither the fundamental problem nor the fundamental solution.

14. Politicians often identify real problems but propose terrible solutions.

15. We should be grateful but realistic, knowing government officials are fallen humans, just as we are.

 How might we be thinking poorly about Christianity & politics?

16. Our membership in a church and our citizenship in Jesus’ Kingdom are more fundamental to our identity than our American citizenship (When we forget this, we are thinking poorly about Christianity & politics).

17. It is possible, if not common, for Christians to prioritize political convictions over the Church’s mission.

18. What happens in elections has zero impact on Jesus’ promise to build his Church and the Holy Spirit’s work to make that happen.

19. Our political opponents are our neighbors, not our enemies. They are people we are sent on a mission to reach, not to war against.

20. Religious freedom is good and desirable.

21. God doesn’t need religious freedom in America to accomplish his plan.

22. It is possible to possess righteous anger over government’s failure to fulfill its God-given mission.

23. Other people may perceive real failures of government that are invisible to us, and we should learn from them.

24. Unrighteous anger reveals how shallow is our trust in God.

25. It is dangerous, if not common, to treasure American laws and freedom more than souls being set free from the penalty of sin and power of the devil.

26. It is possible, if not likely, to cast a morally justifiable vote while possessing immoral motivations.

27. People who argue there’s only one choice for Christians to make in this election year are placing a constraint on the Christian conscience that Scripture does not permit.

28. Disagreements among Christians over how to vote often emerge less from disagreements over principles, and more from disagreements over how we weigh our principles.

29. We need to figure out what principles we really stand on. Until then, we should guard our pronouncements.

 Conclusions

30. It is possible, if not likely, that in this election Satan is executing a strategy designed to divide the Church & distract it from its mission.

31. From an eternal perspective, we should be far more concerned about the disunity of the Church and distraction from our mission than the disintegration of historic American political principles.

32. Christians need to be people who are committed to work through these issues without allowing them to divide us.

33. The normal standing of Christians is on the margins of society. We should expect opposition and suffering.

34. Anger, fear, and despair over the loss of a privileged standing are not marks of people who understand what it means to follow Christ. They may be marks of people who treasure American citizenship more than citizenship in the kingdom of God.

35. If this election season drives American Christians to dislodge our hope in political parties and presidential candidates and to fix our hope on the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, then this election season will be God’s grace to his Church.

As Christians, when we face such evil and grief and suffering, we must face it with several biblical assumptions. (1)  There is such a thing as evil. (2)  Because of Adam’s sin, we are all born sinful and capable of great evil. (3)  God is absolutely sovereign. (4)  God is always good, no matter how bad things seem. (5)  God Himself has addressed evil and sin at the cross of His one and only Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:14-18). With such a biblical foundation, we can face evil and suffering and grief with hope. What might grief look like from a Christian perspective? Let’s look at just one example from Psalm 6.

In Psalm 6, David has fallen into deep depression for some reason that is not immediately apparent to us.  Perhaps David’s depression is a direct result of a personal sin; perhaps it is a result of his adversaries (6:8, 10). Whatever the source of David’s dismay, we hear him cry out to God in utter desperation.

First we hear the cry for mercy and grace. He pleads with God to withhold His wrath. God’s wrath is what all sin deserves. If David had sinned, He is asking God to be merciful to him in judging sin. If David had not sinned, then he is merely pleading with God because his suffering seems unbearable. His suffering is such that he feels he is “pining away” (6:2) and wonders how long it will be before God delivers him (6:3).

It is at this point that we hear David’s second cry: the cry for deliverance. David is at a point where he no longer senses God’s presence, so he asks God to “return” so that He would rescue him. David knows he does not deserve such salvation, but he knows that God is a covenant God, so he pleads for salvation based on God’s promise to love His covenant people; this is the lovingkindness of God (6:4).

Next we hear David’s cry of grief. His suffering is so great that he is weary of weeping; he has shed so many tears that his bed is ready to float away (6:6); David is so overwhelmed by suffering that his physical strength has left him (6:7). If you have ever been in such a state of depression then you know what David experienced. You know how difficult it is to get out of bed because you do not have enough strength. You have cried to the point where you think you have no more tears left inside of you, and you wonder if there is anyone to hear your cries; is there anyone who can come to your rescue?

The good news is that there is. David understood this, so he offered a final cry of assurance.  He recognized that just like every other time in the past that this time also, the Lord heard his weeping; the Lord heard his prayer. He had confidence that the Lord would answer his prayers (6:8-9) and would make all things right (6:10). Friends, do you have such assurance? Do you have such confidence? You can if you turn to the God who is our ever-present help in time of trouble. God works all His children’s circumstances and sufferings for His ultimate glory and our complete joy and eternal good (Romans 8:28). In the midst of tragedy and grief and suffering put your hope in God!

In a city full of temples for false gods (Poseidon, Aphrodite, Asklepios, Apollo, Demeter, Kore . . .), the apostle Paul warned the Corinthians to flee idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14).  Paul’s heart was to present everyone mature in Christ (Col. 1:28-29), so in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul exhorted the Corinthians to run in such a way as to win the prize!  The Corinthian Christians found themselves at a crossroads – whether to continue in Christ or be swept away by their idolatry just as had happened to Israel (1 Cor. 10:1-5).  Paul urged them to press on!

Now, we may not have temples to such gods in our cities, but rest assured that we have created manageable deities that function similarly; therefore, we require the same warnings today.  In such a context the Bible’s message is clear: Those who crave sin, that is idolaters, will not enter into the kingdom of God. This is a consistent warning from the apostle Paul (Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-5).  It is because of such sinful cravings that the wrath of God is coming (Eph. 5:6).

This is the example (type) unbelieving Israel leaves for us (1 Cor. 10:6-11).  Unbelieving Israel loved self and pleasure and craved sin (Ex. 32-Golden Calf; Num. 25-Baal of Peor; Num. 21-craving food and water; Num. 11-craving food and grumbling) more than they craved God – this is idolatry!

This is the danger in which the Corinthians found themselves (1 Cor. 6:9-10).  If the Corinthians persisted in craving sin, which is idolatry, then like Israel before them, they too would be disqualified from entering God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 10:5).  Paul’s basic argument is that you cannot participate in Christ (represented by the celebratory meal-Lord’s Supper) and at the same time participate in demons (represented by the celebratory meal in the temples) (1 Cor. 10:14-22). The sad truth is that we face the same danger today in our culture (Matt. 6:24), though not with physical idols.  Our temptation is with idols of the heart.  The evidence of our idolatry is in the sacrifices we make to our substitute gods: marriage, children (born and unborn), health, work, play, money, possessions, power, popularity, etc.

If this is the case (that we are prone to idolatry of the heart), then what can we do?  What must we do?  Paul points us in two directions.  First, Paul warns that we should take heed lest while we think we have stood, we fall (1 Cor. 10:12).  In other words, we should examine ourselves (2 Cor. 13:5).  I suggest we begin with examining ourselves in order to identify and expose our idols.  Secondly, we are to flee idolatry (1 Cor. 10:7, 14).

In next week’s Straight to the Heart, I will define idolatry in order that we may identify and expose our idols by asking certain questions of ourselves.  Then the following week I will address the issue of fleeing idols.  In the meantime, I highly encourage you to do three things:

1. Listen to Tim Keller’s address at The 2009 Gospel Coalition Conference where he addresses the issue of idolatry – “The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and idolatry: available at http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/resources/video/The-Grand-Demythologizer-The-Gospel-and-Idolatry.

2. Read David Clarkson’s sermon titled, “Soul Idolatry Excludes Men from Heaven,” available at http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/2009/04/24/david-clarkson-soul-idolatry-excludes-men-out-of-heaven/

3. Read Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods.

Well, Easter Sunday is over, now what? Many evangelical churches invested a lot of time, money, and resources to make Easter Sunday a special time for visitors, but what happens the Sunday after Easter? While Easter Sunday is usually the Sunday of highest attendance for a church, the Sunday after Easter is usually the very opposite. But if we really understand who Jesus is and what the resurrection means, then the Sunday after Easter should be no different than Easter Sunday or any other Sunday of the year. In fact, I would argue that for the Christian, every Sunday is Easter Sunday.

The reason I say that every Sunday is Easter Sunday is because from its beginnings the church gathered on the first day of the week, Sunday, to remember Jesus’ resurrection. Consider the historical record as laid out by Richard Bauckham (see R. J. Bauckham, “Lord’s Day”, in From Sabbath to Lord’s Day, ed. D. A. Carson, pages 221-250).  Bauckham’s arguments are carefully made and humbly presented.  At the risk of oversimplification, I want to summarize them in three points:

1. The early church met on the Lord’s Day to commemorate Jesus’ Resurrection (Bauckham, 232-245): All four gospels emphasize Jesus’ resurrection on the first day of the week.  Though it cannot be proven that this was the reason established for Sunday worship, early Christians did connect gathering on the first day of the week with the Lord’s resurrection (Bauckham, 236, 240). Early church history attests to this fact as well (see Didache, Justin Martyr’s, First Apology, chapter 67).

2. By the end of the first century, “Lord’s Day” is seen to be a technical term already in use in reference to the first day of the week/Sunday, the Christian gathering day (Revelation 1:10; see Bauckham, “Lord’s Day,” 222-232).

3. By the middle of the second century, Lord’s Day worship gatherings are the universal practice of the church (Bauckham, “Lord’s Day,” 230).

From such evidence, I have come to the conclusion that the Lord’s Day is the chosen gathering day for distinctly Christian worship because it was the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Therefore, every Sunday the church gathers, it remembers and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. In other words, for Christians who understand who Jesus is and what the resurrection means, every Sunday is Easter Sunday! That means that we should gather again this Sunday to remember and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.

So join us (or another gospel church near you) this Sunday again as we confess together that Jesus Christ is risen and has been granted all authority in heaven and on earth. Join us as we humbly submit to His authoritative Word. Join us as we take the Lord’s Supper this Sunday. Join us as we encourage one another with the good news that Jesus is alive and present with us until He comes again.

Then join us on the mission to tell others that Jesus is alive, for He is risen. Join us as together we await Jesus’ return to consummate the kingdom of righteousness, justice, and peace that He promised. Join us this Sunday, this Lord’s Day, as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection once again!

In our study of Proverbs, we have been continually reminded to instill the truths of God’s Word in the hearts and minds of our children. This initial instruction is the foundation upon which we will appeal to our children as they grow in physical, emotional, and spiritual maturity. On behalf of the pastors at High Pointe, I want to offer a brief list of some reading materials that parents may find helpful. You should work through these materials to make sure they are biblically sound as they lay out particular doctrines and that they will be of benefit to your particular child(ren). Don’t just take my word for it, be a discerning reader!

One thing for sure, you should be reading Scripture with your family on a regular basis, and you can enhance your family Scripture reading with helpful devotional material. Beware of children’s material that merely promotes moralism. I prefer books that help explain the storyline of Scripture (biblical theology) and present a BIG God! Here are some helpful suggestions:

General Resources

1. God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation by Andreas J. Köstenberger

2. Gospel-Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes and Transforms Parenting by William P. Farley

3. Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp

4. Instructing a Child’s Heart by Tedd and Margy Tripp

5. Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens by Paul Tripp

6. Answering Your Kids’ Toughest Questions by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson

7. Preparing Your Teens for College: Faith, Friends, Finances, and Much More by Alex Chediak

Devotional Resources for Use with Younger Children

1. Catechism for Boys and Girls (available at our information table)

2. Leading Little Ones to God by Marian Schoolland

3. The Child’s Story Bible by Catherine Vos

4. The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm and Gail Schoonmaker
*High Pointe pastors highly recommend this resource for use with younger children.

5. The Big Picture Family Devotional by David Helm

6. Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotionals to Draw Your Family to God by Marty Machowski

7. Old Story New: Ten-Minute Devotionals to Draw Your Family to God by Marty Machowski

8. Window on the World: When We Pray God Works by Daphne Spraggett and Jill Johnstone

Devotional Resources for Use Older Children

1. Grandpa’s Box: Retelling the Biblical Story of Redemption by Starr Meade

2. Give them Truth: Teaching Eternal Truths to Young Minds by Starr Meade
*Starr Meade has many helpful resources, including “God’s Mighty Acts” series.

3. Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God by Bruce Ware

Resources for Use with Pre-Teens/Teenagers

1. Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper

2. Bible Study: A Student’s Guide by Jon Nielson

3. What’s Your Worldview?: An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions by James Anderson

4. Sex is not the Problem (Lust Is) or Not Even a Hint by Joshua Harris

5. Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World by C.J. Mahaney

6. Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will by Kevin DeYoung

7. Am I Really A Christian by Mike McKinley

8. When People are Big and God is Small: Overcoming Peer-Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man by Ed Welch

9. Resisting Gossip: Winning the War of the Wagging Tongue by Matthew Mitchell

Moms and dads read Scripture with your children regularly and supplement Bible reading with the catechism and devotional reading. This list of resources is in no way exhaustive, but it lists some of the most helpful resources High Pointe pastors recommend. So, for example, we highly recommend David Helm’s The Big Picture Story Bible for use with younger children. It helpfully explains the stories of the Bible with a view to how Christ is revealed from Genesis to Revelation. Likewise, Starr Meade has written much helpful material that our family has personally used with great benefit.

Each family must find a time, a place, and a plan that works best for them. I pray that these resources may be of as great a benefit to you and your family, as they have been to ours, as you seek to raise your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.