Forest Hills Baptist Church

Bringing glory to God by contending for His truth, multiplying servants of Jesus Christ, and caring for one another.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • New Here?
  • Connect
    • Hub Groups
    • Kids
    • Students
    • 1829
    • Wednesday Family Nights
    • Men
    • Women
    • Missions
    • ESL Conversation Class
    • Olivia’s Gift
  • About
    • Leadership
    • Beliefs
    • Service Times
    • Location
  • Resources
    • Live Stream
    • Sermons
    • RightNow Media
    • Documents and Forms
  • Give
  • The Path
  • Contact

Multi-Ethnicity and the Gospel

January 15, 2017 Leave a Comment

Diversity

Our country is currently rife with racial tensions. And we as the church have an opportunity to model an alternative. We have a chance to show how to live as reconciled people because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A multi-ethnic church is not the goal of the gospel. The goal of the gospel is the glory of God and secondarily the redemption of people. But we must also say that multi-ethnicity is the proper result of the gospel. John Piper writes, “Vertical and horizontal reconciliation happen together and inseparably through faith in Christ.” This is clear in Ephesians 2-3.

Paul clearly taught that there was a way of living that was not consistent with the gospel (Galatians 2:11-16). When Peter avoided the Gentile believers, Paul said that Peter’s conduct was not “in step with the truth of the gospel.” If we gather together only with people who are like us (ethnicity, age, economic, educational level, etc.), we have not fully grasped the power and implications of the gospel. We are simply a social club of people with common interests.

The bottom line comes down to pride and selfishness. We want things our way and we are not willing to lay aside our preferences. Nearly fifty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the 20th century.”

The fact is that we naturally gravitate toward those who are like ourselves. This is our comfort zone. It takes intentional effort to foster a sense of unity with people who are different. We live in an age of skeptics. Perhaps we need to remember that it is our radical, self-sacrificing, cross-cultural, eye-catching unity that will convince a lost world (John 17:20-26).

Pastor Jeff

 

Photo credit: http://eddypua.deviantart.com/art/Unity-amidst-Diversity-87135682

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Pastor Jeff's Weekly Tagged With: Diversity, Ethnicity, the church

What to expect when you visit FHBC

FHBC Worship Team
We welcome you to join us for either of our services, and to come as you are!
Learn more about the atmosphere and worship service style at FHBC »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Watch / Listen Online

Podcast and Live Video Stream

The Path

The Path – Forest Hills Baptist Church

An online community where church members can connect with other church members, groups, events, and calendars.

Log on to The Path »

About FHBC

  • New Here?
  • Service Times
  • Our Faith
  • Our Leadership
  • Our Mission

Members

  • The Path
  • Online Giving
  • Photo Directory

COVID Guidelines

As of July 18, 2021, we are lifting all COVID guidelines.

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Forest Hills Baptist Church is a church in Grand Rapids, MI that focuses on gospel-centered teaching, worship, spiritual growth in the context of community, and reaching the world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Forest Hills Baptist Church · 3900 E Fulton St, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Copyright © 2023 · Log in