Sojourners & Foreigners

I'd be grateful if you grab your Bibles.

Also, if you've got the St. Paul's app,

that would be particularly useful for you this morning.

I've got lots of things to run through.

And if you don't have the St. Paul's app,

pen and paper will also do.

You just might want to just write down

heaps of different references as I go through.

Let me pray.

Gracious God,

Lord, every one of us are dealing with the issue of the fall

from Genesis 3,

where we have rejected your glory, your majesty,

your purpose for our lives and chosen it for ourselves.

One of the enormous consequences of that has been

throughout the history of your world from that moment,

prejudice in the heart towards other people.

Lord, we pray that that might be your conviction upon us this morning

as we look forward and towards in the coming weeks

of Christ being the solution to that.

So, Lord, give us tender hearts to ourselves, we pray.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

It was November 2005.

I was in Alice Springs,

the centre of our country here,

on the invitation of the Bible Society

to be the main speaker at event.

It was an event to raise awareness

for their ministry to remote areas of Australia

and in particular to Aboriginal communities

and the necessity for the word of God

to be translated into various languages

for those Aboriginal communities

that might have God's word in their own hand.

The plan was I would speak at an event

in an aircraft hangar

with the Bible Society plane behind me

on the Friday night.

Saturday was a free day to explore

and then Sunday I was to preach in a local church.

A friend of mine came along with me for the trip.

We, in fact, spent the Saturday

exploring many parts of the outback,

which in those days had no speed limits

and I didn't realise you could get a Corolla

up to 190 kilometres an hour,

but it turns out you can.

Then we came back, dropped off the hire car

and we spent the evening in the main part of Alice Springs

and then we walked back to our hotel.

It was pitch black along this pathway

which wove its way along the riverbank,

dry riverbank in Alice Springs.

We noticed as we were heading back to our hotel,

we were the only white guys around,

in fact, we were the only people around,

until we noticed a group of about 20 Indigenous Australians,

Aboriginals in the riverbank

drinking what it appeared to be drinking alcohol

and then we walked up, we noticed that

and the upper cross on the right-hand side

was more of a slummy area of Alice Springs

and we were noticing quite a lot of commotion,

a lot of yelling going on in that area.

And let me just pause there for a moment.

I think it's fair to say that in that moment,

both of us were a little bit nervous.

We were fully aware of our whiteness at that point,

if you like,

that this was a moment that both of us

had experienced previously.

It is fair to say that I grew up

marinating in a culture of prejudice towards Aboriginals,

even as I said last week,

that I still had friends who were Aboriginals.

It came, that prejudice came from the rhetoric of the culture,

but also my own negative experiences

at both school and in the workforce.

You could say my friend's experience was even more acute than mine.

He spent a good part of his childhood

growing up in a town in New South Wales called Walgett

and it's a very troubled place in terms of race relations.

So in this moment,

on this Saturday evening in 2005,

both of our prejudices came to the surface.

And as we walked along the path,

I said to him quietly,

do you see the group down on the left?

He said, yeah, I see them.

And then he said,

what about the one on the right

that's now coming out of the slum?

It's about 20 Aboriginals of all sorts of generations

coming out of the slum area.

And in that moment,

both of us came up with what we would call an escape plan.

What are we going to do if things deteriorate?

As both of us had personally experienced in the past.

We both experienced it.

We noticed that as we walked along the riverbank

that this group that was coming from the right

was going to intersect us on the pathway

unless we either started walking slower

or we started speeding up.

And we were sort of hoping on one level

that they would notice the two white guys.

Walking along in the pitch back in an area

that you don't see any of the white guys in Alice Springs.

And then they did see us.

And as it was very obvious,

as we approached,

this group was going to come to the,

almost hit us on the pathway.

And as we almost hit, as we crossed,

the lead elderly Aboriginal lady

put her arms out like that.

And she stopped the group.

And they all stopped,

all pulled up

and allowed us to walk through.

And as we walked through,

she said,

good evening, gentlemen.

We turned and said good evening

to her, to the group,

and walked on in silence

for about another 20 metres.

And my friend said to me,

how bad do I feel?

I went, yep, absolutely.

God used that moment

to expose something of the sin

of racial prejudice

that lurked in my heart.

And it did not escape my moment,

my attention,

even that night,

that the night before,

I was speaking at an aircraft carrier

with the Bible open,

imploring the people there

to put their resources and finances

behind gospel ministry

to remote communities in this country,

and prejudice lurked in my heart.

There was a disconnection

between what I knew

to be right and good

and part of God's purposes

and what still was lurking in my heart.

I was treated with more dignity

than what I afforded them in my mind

and in my heart in that moment.

And it was a long way

from my starting point last week

where I said all people

have one origins

by divine design.

And the implication of that last week

is the dignity,

the extreme dignity

of all human beings.

The creation doctrine,

the view of creation,

the Christian view of creation

does in contrast

with every other philosophical system

in our world,

in that sense.

And particularly,

the underlying system

that's operating in our society

at the moment

of atheistic evolutionary theory

that's broadly accepted as fact

in our secular society.

Charles Darwin's Origin of Species

gave rise to the separation

and the classification

of plant and animal species.

Enormously helpful in so many ways.

A breakthrough in so many ways.

Unfortunately,

it flowed over

into categorising humans

into a hierarchy

which arranged them

according to evolutionary advancement.

Now, that's not to say

racism didn't exist

before Charles Darwin's Origin of Species.

I'm not saying that.

But I do agree

with what Stephen Jay Gould

wrote on this issue

between the connection,

the connection between racism

and evolutionary theory.

Now, Gould was an evolutionary biologist himself

who significantly opposed creationism

and he hated Christianity.

Hated Christianity.

And he wrote,

biological arguments for racism

may have been common before 1850.

That is, before Darwin's Origin of Species.

But they increased by orders of magnitude

following the acceptance

of evolutionary theory

which he himself did.

And that's where I think the problem is.

As I said last week,

it is difficult to deliver

as our secular culture wants to do

on the equality of all people

when at the same time

you explain the differences

in terms of some people groups

being less evolved than others.

And as we saw last week,

the Bible knows nothing

of the hierarchy of races

as evolutionary theory does.

In fact, the biblical view is

there is one race.

One race.

The human race made in the image of God.

And yet, as I said last week,

while the Christian faith

has got enormous to contribute,

there's blockages here

for people accepting it

because of the failures

of the institutional church

over the years.

And one of the most serious

and damaging interpretations

of the Bible

on this whole issue of race

is in Genesis chapter 9.

Genesis 9 · chapter mention

So if you've got Genesis chapter 9,

Genesis 9 · chapter mention

go there quickly with me.

Genesis 9 verses 18 to 27.

Genesis 9:18–27

It's at the end of Genesis 9.

As I said, Noah and his family

settling down into life

after the flood.

Noah plants a vineyard,

drinks a little bit too much

of the vino,

and ends up lying naked

in his tent.

His son Ham,

right, Ham,

sees his father's nakedness,

thinks it's a joke,

goes and tells his brothers

about it.

And when Noah finds out

what his youngest son has done,

he pronounces a curse

on Canaan,

who is Ham's youngest son.

So Genesis 9, 25.

Cursed be Canaan,

the lowest of slaves

he will be to his brothers.

He also said,

Blessed be the Lord,

the God of Shem.

May Canaan be the slave of Shem.

May God extend the territory

of Japheth.

May Japheth live

in the tents of Shem

and may Canaan be his slave.

Now throughout the last 20 centuries,

numerous Christians,

Jewish and Muslim writers

have connected the curse of Ham,

their curse of Canaan,

to black Africans in particular.

This text became the standard text

in defence of slavery in England,

the southern states of America

and apartheid in South Africa.

That is,

because they translated the name Ham

as black or burnt,

the curse was applicable

in their view for all black people.

They also concluded

that Ham's brother,

Japheth,

represented white people

and therefore God commands

the slavery

or the subjugation,

if you like,

of black people

by white people.

Now,

I won't go into all the details.

There's extensive details around this,

but simply to say,

you've got to do some fancy,

I mean some really fancy

dance work

with the text

to come to that kind of a conclusion.

I mean some really,

really fancy work.

But some people have done it

because I believe in the end

it has supported

a particular prejudice.

Now,

I'm glad we've got the Bible

and God's perspective

on the history of humanity

and the Bible does not relate

to our racial

or ethnic differences

in terms of lower life forms

or in terms of God

having favorites,

but in terms of sin.

As we read there

in Genesis 5,

our rejection of God.

You see,

on that night

in Alice Springs

in 2005,

my prejudice,

my sinful heart

was the problem.

Not the government,

not institutions.

My prejudice,

my sinful heart

was the problem.

But it doesn't just identify

sin as the core problem

of racial prejudice

and ethnocentricity.

Like in terms of the Bible

it doesn't just identify that,

but it also reveals

a solution for us

as we will pick up

in the next couple of weeks

as well.

You see,

the Bible sees the fracturing

of all relationships

due to the rejection

of God in Genesis 3.

I think it was fantastic

what Zoran said

when he got up here

and talks about his role

supporting God's work

of reordering

a disordered creation.

God did create order

out of chaos

and sin

in Genesis 3

made everything

back into chaos again.

That's the consequence

of sin.

A disordered

creator,

a creation.

Adam and Eve

were created

in God's image

to display

his majesty

and when they

rejected God

and his purpose

and wanted to make it

all about them,

everything broke.

And consequences

was that all relationships

were smashed.

Before sin,

they were both

naked

and felt

no shame.

No shame.

Naked

and no shame.

There was intimacy

and acceptance.

And neither of them,

I'm assuming,

were supermodels

or anything like that.

They felt no shame

for the other.

And as soon

as they rejected God,

they ran for clothes.

They hid

from God's presence.

A barrier

immediately went up

between Adam

and Eve.

Judgmentalism

came in

for the very first time.

Assessment

came in

for the very first time.

Shame

and self-preservation

kicked in.

From the moment

they reject God,

the unity of humans

in the image of God

became mirrored

by the unity

of sin.

Romans 1

is the Apostle Paul's

version of the fall

of humanity,

making clear

that all

of humanity

is contaminated

by sin.

It's an ugly picture

of sinful behavior.

Read it when you go home.

It's an ugly picture.

And then

he says

our unity

in this

is explicit

in Romans 3

23

all

have sinned

and fallen short

of the glory

of God.

You see

the Bible's picture

here is

that

the unity

that we have

as sinful

people

rejecting God

is not

because we

sin

but because

we're already

sinners

by nature.

One of the most

I think the Bible's

most important

passage on this issue

is Romans 5

Romans 5:12–19

verses 12

to 19.

Write that one down.

It explains

right there

that Adam's

sin

right at the

beginning

brought to

the entire

human race

that flows

from him

which is all

of us

both

sinful

natures

and

God's

judgment

and

condemnation

for it.

Every

single

human

being

from

Adam

is

connected

to his

sin

by nature.

We are

born

into this

world

with sinful

natures

that trace

back to

Adam's

sin.

So

Romans 5

12

sin

came into

the world

through one

man

and death

through sin

and so

death

spread to

all

people

because

all

sinned.

We are

born

with inner

lives

that are

directed

towards

ourselves

and what

we want

and not

directed

towards God

and what

he wants.

and because

we have

inner

lives

bent

away

from

God

and as

the

great

church

reformer

Martin

Luther

said

a German

theologian

said

we are

curvedly

into

ourselves.

Our

sinful

nature

means we

are curved

in

towards

ourselves

and

because

we are

curved in

towards

ourselves

right from

the moment

of conception

when we

are old

enough to

know right

from wrong

we act

in sinful

ways.

We sin

because we

are already

sinners.

Perhaps a

helpful way

to think

about that

would be

an apple

tree,

not specifically

an apple

tree,

pick on

any fruit

tree if

you like.

Ask yourself

the question

whether a

tree

produces,

an apple

tree produces

apples because

it's an

apple tree

or does

the tree

become an

apple tree

when it

first produces

an apple?

That's not

a chicken

and egg

thing,

all right?

Talking about

its very

nature.

The reality

is an

apple tree

can grow

for many

many years

before it

produces

its first

fruit and

when it

does finally

produce apples

we'd say

that tree

is producing

fruit in

accordance

with its

nature.

Psalm 51

5,

surely I

was sinful

at birth,

sinful from

the time

my mother

conceived

me.

We are

sinners by

nature who

show themselves

to be

sinners by

choice.

Now,

everyone who

is a

parent knows

this to be

true from

experience.

I didn't

have to teach

my children,

I've not had

to teach one

of them to

say no,

to disobey my

directives,

to throw

food on

the floor,

to pinch,

to poke

out the

tongue,

to throw

themselves on

the floor

to kick

and scream.

Didn't have

to teach

any of

them,

although

there have

been times

when I've

joined them

in the

throwing

myself on

the floor

kicking and

screaming

thing.

Didn't teach

them any

of those

things,

and if

those of you

are prejudiced,

neither did

that,

so it didn't

come from

her either.

they did

get it

from me,

but didn't

teach it.

Same as

my parents

didn't teach

me any of

those things,

but I did

get it

from them.

I, like

my parents

before me,

have spent

my time

trying to

correct that

which comes

by nature.

There is a

solidarity in

being created

in the image

of God

for the glory

of God,

and solidarity

in all of

us falling

short of

God's glory

because of

our sin.

And we

see this

solidarity

in sin

and its

consequences

being played

out in

this racial

ethnocentricity

terms in

Genesis chapter

Genesis 10 · chapter mention

10 and

11.

So if you've

got your

Bibles,

flick there

fairly quick.

Genesis chapter

Genesis 10 · chapter mention

10 is

the so-called

table of

nations.

And Genesis

Genesis 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10,

the one point

that Genesis

Genesis 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

makes,

or the one

point I can

find in

any way

that it

makes,

is that it

stresses

the common

origins of

all people.

That's what

Genesis 10

does,

the common

origins of

all people.

And the

relationship

between Genesis

10 and

11 is

also very

significant

because the

generational

account of

the common

origins of

all people

in the

original language

begins at

chapter 10

verse 1

and it

ends at

chapter 11

verse 9.

That is,

the Tower of

Babel account

in chapter 11

explains how

and why people

spread out

and fill the

earth with

all their

different languages.

even though

we have a

common origin.

It reveals

that the

division

into

different

people

groups

with

different

languages

was a

consequence

of sin.

Verse 4,

come,

let us

build,

let us

build a

city,

build

ourselves

a city

with a

tower that

reaches to

the heavens

purpose,

so that

we may

make a

name for

ourselves

and not

be scattered

over the

whole face

of the

earth.

The

Tower of

Babel

is a

collective

attempt by

humanity

to do

what Adam

and Eve

attempted to

do in

the Garden

of Eden

in Genesis

3.

God

and

make a

name for

ourselves.

Let's do

it together.

We've got

numbers now.

Let's do

it together.

And God's

judgment on

them was to

forever hinder

their working

together.

He scatters

them,

confuses their

language as

an act of

judgment.

judgment.

And so

taken together,

Genesis 10

reveals our

unity as

one blood

together under

God's

blessing.

And Genesis

11, our

diversity into

many languages

and groups

under God's

judgment.

judgment.

And the

foundational

problem here

is the

human heart

that wants

to reject

God.

The Bible

doesn't just

tell us

why we have

racism and

ethnic pride,

it also gives

us a solution

to it too.

Genesis

10 and

11

sets the

stage

for the

great

plan of

redemption

that begins

in Genesis

12.

It's the

hinge of

the Bible

that holds

the Bible

again.

In Genesis

12, it's

the promise

to Abraham.

The Lord

said to

Abraham,

leave your

country,

your people,

your father's

house,

or to go to

the land,

I will show

you, I

will make

you into a

great nation

and I will

bless you,

I will make

your name

great and

you will be

a blessing.

I will

bless those

who bless

you and

whoever curses

you I will

curse,

and all

peoples on

earth will

be blessed

through you.

Tower of

Babel, let's

make a great

name for

ourselves.

Let's

storm depose

God.

Genesis

12, God

says, no

Abraham, I'll

make a great

name out of

you and

through you

and your

great name,

all nations

of the world

will be

blessed.

God's

call on

Abraham here

is a

direct

response to

the disastrous

situation

described in

Genesis 3

to 11.

This is the

turning point

of the

Bible that

drives the

rest of the

biblical

narrative.

This is the

introduction to

God's

spectacular plan

of redemption

for all

people, a

plan that

culminates in

Jesus.

God's focus

on Abraham in

this moment is

not exclusive,

but to use

this one

individual and

his descendants

to bless the

entire world.

The purpose of

God in

choosing Israel

was to

witness to

the universal

power and

love of God

for all

people.

Even in the

Old Testament

you see that

again and

again and

again, God's

plans for all

the nations is

amazing in its

scope and its

vision.

This God, the

God of the

Bible, is not a

racist in any

sense.

He does not

have favorites in

any sense.

The choosing of

Israel was not

for ethnocentric

purposes, but for

universal redemption.

But Israel,

oh,

curvedly in on

itself with its

heart,

failed consistently

in living for that

purpose.

They took the

role,

ultimately,

of being

racially,

morally

superior.

They

consistently

forgot the

reason God

chose them.

And it was

still the case

when Jesus

enters the

scene in the

New Testament.

But with

his coming,

the coming

of God

himself in

human flesh,

with him

coming, a

radically new

way of

defining what

the people of

God is,

arrives, namely

faith in

him.

Faith in

Jesus trumps

ethnicity and

heritage.

And over and

over again, you

see this in the

Gospels.

story of the

good Samaritan,

Luke 10,

the healing of

the ten lepers,

and only the

foreigner is the

one who comes

back with humble

gratitude in Luke

17.

The healing of the

Syriaphonician's

daughter in Mark

7, the worshipping

of the wise men

from the east in

Matthew 2, and in

Luke 4, as we just

had read out to us

by Flora, Jesus

tells a story taken

from 1 Kings 17 in

the Old Testament.

It's a story about

God's passing over

all the ethnic

Jews to bring a

miraculous blessing

to a foreign

Gentile from the

land of Phoenicia.

And the second

story from 2 Kings 5,

again, the point

is, of all the

people in the

world that God

might have chosen

to heal of

leprosy, he

chooses a foreign

king, a Syrian,

not a Jew.

And so when they

heard Jesus tell

that story, what

did they do to

him?

In that very

moment, they

attempted to kill

him.

Ethnic pride ran

deep.

And the point

that Jesus was

making is that

he is the

end of

ethnocentricity

and racial

pride.

He says that

he has come

to redeem

people from

every ethnic

group, not

just one

or a few.

God's plan

of redemption,

which starts

with the

promise of

Abraham, finds

his fulfillment

in the life,

the ministry,

the death,

the resurrection

of Jesus

Christ.

And we're

going to talk

more about

on that next

week.

But for now,

let me give you

a taster.

Galatians 3

Galatians 3:13

verses 13

and 14.

Christ redeemed

us from the

curse of the

law by

becoming a

curse for

us.

For it is

written,

cursed is

everyone who

is hung on

a tree.

That is,

he redeemed

us by his

death on the

cross.

And then it

continues on.

He redeemed

us in order

that the

blessing given

to Abraham

might come

to the

Gentiles

through Christ

Jesus.

The plan

of Abraham

gets worked

out in

Christ and

his death

on the

cross.

With

Abraham,

God set

in motion

a plan

of redemption

that overturns

every curse

for everyone

who receives

the blessing

of Abraham.

And that

blessing

is the

forgiveness

of sin,

forgiveness

for our

rejection of

God,

the acceptance

of God,

the adoption

into his

eternal family,

whatever your

racial,

ethnic group

is.

And it all

comes through

Jesus Christ,

the descendant

of Abraham.

As Matthew

1-1 tells us,

Jesus Christ,

the son of

Abraham.

God's

redemptive

plan

has always

been to

save and

bless people

from all

peoples of

the earth

and to

unite them

together

with him

as his

people

through his

son Jesus.

And it's

remarkable,

in fact,

that 2,000

years later,

the geographical

spread of the

Christian faith,

as I've said

before,

is virtually

identical on

every inhabitable

continent in the

world.

world.

That is

very

unusual.

That is,

the point

is,

Christianity

hasn't appealed

just to one

or two

racial groups,

ethnic groups,

cultural groups.

It has equal

appeal across

the board.

And the main

point of today

has been to

show us

that the

source of

racism,

ethnic

pride,

is a

sinful

human

heart.

Racial

prejudice

runs deep

in every

single

human

heart.

That's my

point.

We are all

unified in

it.

Our problem

is not

primarily

biological,

it's not

evolution,

it's not

people's

interpretation

of the

Bible,

it's not

politics,

it's not

institutions,

it's not

governments,

it's the

heart.

Your

heart,

my

heart,

that's

the

problem.

It's the

sin and

the

prejudice

in the

heart.

I need

a new

heart

in order

to see

all people

made in

the image

of God

and in

just as

much of a

need of

God's

great plan

of redemption

through Jesus

as I

am.

racism.

So as

we tackle

this issue

of racism

and

ethnocentricity,

I think

it's so

much more

essential for

us to go

deeper than

just the

attitudes and

the behaviours

of racism.

Much of

the talk

about racism

and

ethnocentricity

in our

world at

the moment

has to

do with

the

behaviours

and the

attitudes,

but not

the root

cause.

if we

don't go

deeper into

the reason

why people

are racist

and why

you and

I are

therefore,

then the

impact of

that will

be quite

simply

an increase

in racism,

an increasing

prejudice

and pride.

it will

be too

easy,

as many

do in

the secular

world,

to conclude

that racists

or those

who are

indifferent to

racism are

just morally

inferior.

There we

go.

That's

making an

assessment of

someone else's

heart.

And

therefore,

if they're

morally

inferior,

they are

worthy of

being judged.

They're

worthy of

my prejudice.

And that

is incredibly

dangerous.

Those who

denounce

racism can

feel morally

superior and

lose the

sense of

the common

fall of

sinfulness.

The only

way to

deal with

racism and

prejudice and

ethnocentricity

is to see

all of us as

complicit in

it.

I was

watching the

Winter Olympics

last night.

Not much

else on at

the moment.

And there

was one

event that I

was watching

where four

snowboarders

race down

this circuit

together and

jump and

crash and

all other

things.

Really, it was

very exciting.

And at the

start, they're

lined up behind

these gates and

they launch

themselves off as

soon as the

gate falls.

And immediately

that happens.

Up on the

screen, they've

got all the

competitors there.

up on the

screen comes

reaction time.

How fast they

reacted to the

gate dropping.

Some are

faster than

others.

But they all

have a reaction

time.

They all have a

reaction time.

No one's

standing there

going, oh,

gate's gone.

There we go.

No one's doing

that.

They all have a

reaction time.

Some are faster

than others.

All of us have a

prejudice in their

heart.

It takes just

seconds for the

most part for

that sin to

rise itself as

we externally

assess another

individual as

they cross the

road in front of

us.

And we've

categorized them

already.

We see

something on

television.

We see an

interaction and

we categorize it

already of what

it is.

Racism is

just one of

the poisonous,

destructive

manifestations of

something that

absolutely every

single person is

doing in their

heart.

All of us have a

prejudice heart.

It takes just

seconds.

It's so strange

how we can call

out structural

racism but be

okay with a

prejudice and a

resentment that

lingers in the

heart towards

others.

God's

God's

love.

It's so strange

that we can call it

in the first four or

five of our sermons in

this is to lay out a

world view.

eternity according to the

Bible coming from the

creator God.

It begins with the

creation of all things by

a merciful God including

making people in his

image.

We have sinned against

him and we have

marred that image and

we will see in the

coming weeks that this

worldview, the God

himself comes into his

world in the person of

Jesus Christ to restore

that image, to bring us

back into the fold of

God's people and we

will see that God's

final goal is the

unity of all kinds of

people from all nations

and people and

languages and ethnic

groups in perfect love

with one another and

their God.

Naked.

I think we're in heaven

going to be naked.

Naked and no shame,

no judgment, no

assessment and joy for

all eternity.

And so many times we

lose sight of that as

Christians and therefore

our prejudice lingers on.

But there's another big

story running around in

our culture that

significantly influences

this issue on racism and

I think you've got to hear

about it.

It too is a world view,

make no mistake.

It wants you, it gives

you a way to read the

world, to understand the

world.

It tells you how to live

and how to treat people.

It's a world view.

And this particular

world view, the main

foundation of it is it

runs from oppression to

liberation.

And it divides the world

into two main categories.

All people are either in

the dominant group that

oppresses or the

marginalized group of the

oppressed.

Breaks the world up like

that.

And as such,

its goal is that we

either need to divest

ourselves of power to

seek the liberation of

others or we need to

acquire power personally

and liberate ourselves

and to do that primarily

by dismantling all social

structures and institutions

that we think oppress.

Others, scholars in the

Western world have called

it cultural Marxism,

another version of it.

Where we wipe out any

other alternative view.

It's called critical

theory and its subset in the

issue of race is critical

race theory.

And we are exposed to it in

a secular world like ours

even if we don't know the

titles and the names

associated with it.

It separates the world

into those who should be

ashamed of their race and

culture even if you're not

complicit in directly doing

involved in it.

You should be ashamed of

yourself just purely because

you're white.

That in itself is racism.

And those, on the other hand,

who are therefore justified

in their racism and

ethnocentricity as they seek

personal liberation and the

liberation of their group.

That view, critical race

theory, is becoming dominant

in the Western world.

And it's connected to all

sorts of issues to do with

sexual ethics and gender and

other things like that.

And I have to ask the

question because I see it on

Facebook.

Incredibly, those who are

committed to critical race

theory, how

prejudiced they are

towards anyone who does not

agree to them.

How on earth does that bring

an end to racism when

prejudice against another

individual is okay if I've

categorised them as part of a

majority group?

Now, this series is not about

politics.

This series is about checking

your sinful prejudice

heart.

If we're going to be a church

that is aligned with God's

mission, his vision, his goal

to bring all people into his

kingdom forever in joy, united

in Christ, then racial pride and

ethnocentricity must end.

And it ends when the gospel

breaks my heart.

Thank you.

Thank you.