how our identities affect our ability to spread the Gospel (bias, pt. 3)
don’t mind me, just over here crying. jk, i wasn’t actually sad, just blinded by the sunlight lOl; but it fits the theme of this post, so i figured why not, hehe !!
fun fact: this post was originally called “our true enemy: the hot take nobody asked for” LOL
dear friend,
Hi, I pray you’re doing well! I’ll be honest with you; I’ve already drafted and tried to edit this entire blog post once before in the last few days, but something felt very… off about it. It didn’t flow well, and I couldn’t exactly figure out the direction it was headed in. Even drafting this a second time, I can seriously feel the spiritual tensions in the air that I cannot see, trying to stop me from sharing a message that so desperately needs to be shared. Needless to say, pray for me; Satan does NOT want anyone to hear/read this message, friend!!
(Editor’s Note: Please check out part one of my Bias series HERE, and part two HERE if you haven’t yet read those!)
As Anna Kendrick sings in her role as Poppy the troll in the Trolls movie, “I’m not giving up today, nothing’s standing in my way! And if you knock knock me over, I will get back up again!”
So, here I am, in all of my human-ness, all my imperfections, and all my inability that God is using for His glory to speak to you today, friend. I sincerely hope and pray that you’ll understand that this post comes from a deep hurt in my heart, as some events that have transcribed over the past week or so have me torn into two different directions of pain.
Let me just get some things out of the way before I fully dive deep into this issue:
1.) In writing this post, I am by no means trying to downplay the current events or make it seem like I don’t care about the things that are happening. However, I genuinely want us to remember our purpose as Christians in a fallen world, and remind each other that we need to look, act, and speak differently than the world around us — especially when events such as these display our “fallen-ness” so prominently.
2.) I don’t think this will come up, but just in case, I don’t want to be accused of writing something I didn’t; I do not value any ethnicity or race over the other! I do not see myself as higher than any other human being on this planet. Like Paul the Apostle, my boasting is Christ alone (see 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). My identity is wholeheartedly found in Him, not in the institutions of this world and not in anything of this world that I support, quote, or utilize. So, please, before calling me names that are not true to my character, remember that the only person I value the most and as higher than myself and all other humans (who are all on the same level as me), is Jesus ALONE!
3.) Although my heart is sincerely heavy with hearing about current events (and I’m sure you’ll understand what events I’m talking about without me having to explain them), please hear me when I wholeheartedly state that this post is NOT meant to virtue signal, make myself an “ally” to a certain people, group, or institution, or to proclaim my “white guilt” all over social media; this post is meant to call out all the self-proclaiming “Christians” that are saturating the social feeds while posting these "#blackouttuesday”posts — and other things about this time of “social justice.”
(When, really, as an aside, how much change are we causing when we post these? Seriously, someone explain to me what “awareness” we’re spreading or what tides are shifting because of a post of a blank photo? I just don’t get it! Ben Shapiro put it well when he said in an interview on Logan Paul’s podcast, “Just because you have a mic doesn’t mean you know what the h*ll you’re talking about!”)
4.) Finally, I want to say that, even though I usually talk about politics and don’t mind doing so, this post is NOT about current events, what is actually happening behind the scenes, statistics about police brutality or crime rates, etc, in and of themselves; Allie Stuckey just released a new podcast episode that I HIGHLY recommend you check out in order to hear more about those individual issues in a Christian context! However, this post is ONLY meant to call out my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage them that doing as the world does is NOT helping, saving, or spreading/sowing seeds of truth!
Now that all that’s out of the way, and I’m desperately hoping nobody has tuned out yet, let me take a moment to call out my fellow Christians who, in my opinion, are completely missing out on a major opportunity to spread the Gospel in, to quote the book of Esther, “such a time as this,” (Esther 4:14, English Standard Version).
As Christians, we are called to be holy. Now, if you didn’t know, to be holy is to be set apart. As God’s chosen children, we are called to be set apart from the people and things of this world, because we know our hope is no longer tied to this world and the things of it!
Peter quotes several passages from the Old Testament (Leviticus, to be exact) when he tells Christ-followers in the New Testament,
“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””
In quoting Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, and Leviticus 20:7, Peter tells us a command that has been repeated so many times, it’s practically impossible to NOT understand the sheer amount of importance and emphasis God is placing on this command to His peoples!
Typically, when someone hears the Gospel and as a result, turns to Christ, confesses and repents of his/her sins, professes that Jesus Christ is Lord, and is baptized in His name, they will, ultimately, begin a lifestyle change. This change is produced in the way they dress, act, behave, speak, and more over time that proclaims to this world and the people in it of their set apart-ness.
In a world full of issues of every kind known to man, we, as Christians, cannot forget the life-saving message that can free people from bondage to these things.
In a world that touts a message of disparity and injustice, we, as Christians, cannot cease to forget the paradigm-shifting message that reminds people of Who is really in control and will bring justice to pass.
In a world that tells of a message meant to divide, we, as Christians, cannot forget that a lot of these issues are part of the rule, not the exception, and that by stereotyping one another based on past injustices and the mere color of our skin, we’re simply giving in to the true enemy’s plans and hindering ourselves from helping set these people, who so long for justice, free themselves from judging themselves and others.
In a world that is dividing based on race, we, as Christians, we need to show ourselves as united, not because of our outward appearance, but because of who we are as different members of the body of CHRIST alone!
Because, let’s get one thing straight, friend: these issues of injustice based on something like the color of one’s skin, of systemic things that we think need to change, of crime and more — no matter the circumstances — in and of themselves, us not understanding where each other comes from is not the issue at hand. Here’s my hot take: all of this fallen mess that we’ve dug ourselves into, ultimately, is an issue of SIN, not an issue of SKIN like every news outlet and random “woke” person will have you believe.
I’m encouraged when I remember this tweet Danny Gokey posted last year:
“The color of skin has NEVER been the problem. It’s ALWAYS been an issue of SIN! Until we realize that every act of evil is motivated by sin, the problems of racism, injustice and political hate will only divide us more and feed this vicious cycle.”
— Danny Gokey (@dannygokey on twitter; 5 aug, 2019)
This is why reminding ourselves that we are set apart, not of this world, and have hope in Someone who is so much bigger, higher, and greater than all of this horrible mess is the key to helping others truly understand that we are not each other’s enemy: Satan is.
Why do I say this, you may be asking. Well, let’s start from the beginning. If you get nothing else out of this post, dear friend, please get this: the only true message that will bring about change in people’s hearts, minds, bodies, and souls:
Way long ago, in the Garden of Eden, God formed everything there is on the earth, including our first father, Adam, and his wife, Eve. Our first parents, naïve and fallen as they were, sneezed a deadly disease upon us by doing the one thing God commanded them not to do: by letting Satan, the serpent, create doubt in their minds about God being good, and consequently eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil that created division between not only God and themselves, but also each other.
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””
See what I mean, friend? Division didn’t start because of the way we look; division started when man outright rebelled and directly sinned against God Himself.
I won’t get into the major theology behind God sacrificing an animal in order to cover over Adam and Eve’s sin, showing them the consequences of it (see Genesis 3:21), but I hope you’ll understand that our sin requires a divine intervention of a sacrifice, because, as we are fallen, we are entirely incapable of saving ourselves.
And, dear friend, the Good News is that this sacrifice has already been made! God, in His perfect goodness, as omniscient and omnipresent as He is, created us knowing that this would happen. And, therefore, He had a plan, friend, to save us from this disease our first parents sneezed upon us — and, just to make myself clear, I’m not talking about the Coronavirus.
David Platt, in his “God, Government, and the Gospel” 2020 Secret Church simulcast laid out what the Gospel, or Good News of God, is, and I couldn’t help myself but use it here because it is just SO well written!
I pray that if you aren’t a follower of Christ, you’ll see this and turn to Him wholeheartedly and repent. And, if you claim to be a follower of Him, but have forgotten this core message that unites us all, you’ll be reminded of it and turn to Him wholeheartedly and repent also.
“God, the loving Creator, sovereign King, and holy Judge of all, has looked upon men and women wonderfully and uniquely made in His image who have rebelled against Him, are separated from Him, and deserve death before Him, and He has sent His Son, Jesus, God in the flesh, the long-awaited King, to live a perfect and powerful life, to die a sacrificial and substitutionary death, and to rise from the grave in victory over sin, Satan, and death. The gospel is a summons from God for all people in all nations to repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, turning from all idols to declare allegiance to Jesus alone as King and trust in Jesus alone as Lord. All who turn away from Jesus will experience everlasting, horrifying suffering in hell, while all who trust in Jesus will experience everlasting, satisfying communion with God in heaven.”
— David Platt (SC’ 20: God, Government, and the Gospel)
David includes a few verses from the Apostle Paul that explain this further:
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus”
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Sigh. My heart feels so much relief and lightness after reading those passages!
If you’re utterly lost on how this correlates to anything, here’s a nugget of truth: dear Christian, this is the message we should be spreading! THIS is the “truth that sets us free” (see John 8:31-32)!
Here’s a challenge, dear friend:
as we’re living in a world that is completely lost without hope, desperately clinging to mere human systems as their god when, really, these people or said systems created by these people cannot do anything for them and for their very souls, let’s GO OUT and tell this world of this message, of this hope that lies deep within us! Let’s be brave and courageous in CHRIST to share our testimonies and to not let the bias of our political affiliations, our words and actions, and our personal identifiers hinder us from spreading the truth, especially when it is SO NEEDED!
While people in need of God’s truth are placing the blame on one another, let’s be SLOW to react, quick to listen, and even faster to speaking the truth of the Gospel/Good News over them:
that we are NOT one other’s enemies and that our fight isn’t against each other, but against the powers that we cannot see;
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
that we are ALL image-bearers of Christ (whether we believe in Him or not), so we shouldn’t be dividing over subjects that are of little importance in the grand scheme of things;
“So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.”
and, finally, that we need to be a WITNESS of UNITY in CHRIST to a world that divides over every little trivial thing;
“I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
Thank you for reading all the way to the end. I know this post was utterly long, probably the longest one I’ve written yet, but I just felt this need that God placed on my heart to speak up and say something that, outside of my church, only TWO Christian influencers I follow have said something about.
I pray that this post has convicted, helped, and encouraged, you, friend, in your walk with Christ and that, if you think the world and everyone around you has gone crazy, you are so NOT alone in this fight for truth!
This concludes my mini-series on three different types of bias we have and how they each affect our ability to spread the Gospel. Please leave me a comment with your thoughts, make some friends below, and/or share this post with your friends on any social media platform!
If you really wanna be even more encouraged, Listen to For King & Country’s new song, “TOGETHER.” Let’s spread this message of hope, dear friend!
much love & more
