I am honored to lead the Resources Division at LifeWay and serve with a team of leaders who are passionate to serve the Church in Her mission of making disciples. Each Wednesday, I share the heart behind one of the resources our team has developed and give an opportunity for you to register to win a free copy of the resource. This week’s piece is from The Gospel & Racial Reconciliation, written by Trillia Newbell. The series is edited by Russell D. Moore and Andrew T. Walker.
Love is the answer for why to pursue racial reconciliation, but there’s additional significance for the people sitting next to us in the pews. Racial reconciliation is a must because we are the family of God.
There is no denying the importance of family. My husband and children are my first priority and God’s gift to me. When my husband is discouraged, it’s a privilege to come alongside him and encourage him. When my kids are sick, my husband and I are there to nurse them back to health. Our relationships go much further than caring for one another, of course, but often these tangible expressions are the means of revealing the importance of the relationships. I imagine you would agree without hesitation that family is important. There’s another family, often overlooked, that is of great value to the Lord—the family of God. As Christians, you and I are adopted children of God. Paul tells us of our new bloodline when he writes: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:16-17).
We are children of God and fellow heirs with Christ. He created us and then He adopted us as His very own children. This includes everyone—every tribe and tongue and nation—who believes in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. God doesn’t discriminate based on ethnicity; He looks at the heart. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). All are saved by faith alone through grace alone—left only to boast in Christ (Eph. 2:8-9). The gospel is for all nations.
We know this to be true, and yet so often we allow the differences in our skin color to dictate whether or not someone is accepted. God doesn’t discriminate in His family. Racial reconciliation has been accomplished in Christ. There is no distinction. Those who trust in Christ for their salvation are adopted, and therefore, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be united in Christ. He has a colorful family, and therefore, so do we. Only in the family of God can people so distinctly different be the same (equal in creation and redemption) and counted as sisters and brothers in a new family. Knowledge and understanding of this new family and our adoption into it should be a wonderful motivator for pursuing one another in racial reconciliation and diverse friendships.
The Gospel for Life is a series of short, accessible books on a range of urgent topics facing the church, intended for the church member. Editors Russell D. Moore and Andrew T. Walker of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) assemble leading voices to frame the issues with a gospel-centered perspective. Contributors include Matt Chandler, John Piper, J.D. Greear, Dennis Rainey, Jim Daly, R. Albert Mohler Jr., Thabiti Anyabwile, Trillia Newbell, Eric Mason, D.A. Horton, and more. The Gospel for Life series gives every believer a biblically saturated understanding of the most urgent issues facing our culture today, because the gospel is for all of life. Learn more at the LifeWay website.
Register here or in the form below to win 1 of 10 copies of The Gospel for Life: The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation before 11:59pm CT tonight.
