Biblical Reconciliation
Dr. Tony Evans
Sunday morning is often the most segregated time of the week because we adopted a mindset of tolerance. The goal of reconciliation is not tolerance or “putting up with” another race.
Unfortunately, the church remains segregated most of the time because we only gather with other races when we have to. Much of what we call racial reconciliation among Christian circles is nothing more than watered-down sociology, sprinkled with a little bit of Jesus on top so we can call it biblical.
But to break down the dividing walls of race within the church, we must start with a better aim than tolerance, and that aim is biblical reconciliation.
Biblical reconciliation may be defined as addressing the sin that caused the divide for the purpose of bonding together across racial lines based on a shared commitment to Jesus Christ with the goal of service to others.
The sin we must address is racism.
If we call it something other than sinful in the eyes of God, then we no longer approach this issue from a kingdom perspective.
Reconciliation is all about relationships. To reconcile basically means to restore to friendship. The goal isn’t just about repenting from the sin of racism, but it’s geared towards developing authentic friendships with different races and cultures than our own. Once we repent from the sin of racism, develop relationships across racial lines, then in unity, we can serve our communities. The church is supposed to be the salt and light of our neighborhoods regardless of the racial demographic.
Which part of biblical reconciliation do you need to work on?
Here are Scriptures for further reading:
1 John 1:9
1 John 4:20
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Matthew 5:13-16
Dr. Tony Evans is the pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, and founder of The Urban Alternative. He is also the author of over 100 books and Bible studies. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on more than 1,300 US outlets daily and in more than 130 countries.