Teach Christ culture

I’m aware that saying teaching believers to have the culture of Christ seems like a given, but unfortunately teaching it as the cornerstone culture over race and ethnicity is often not addressed.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

The body of Christ is one body in Him, all members of the same body. Heaven is not divided into sections of race or ethnicity and beliefs or practices that have been passed down culturally do not supersede biblical instruction. This does not mean that we remain ignorant to the very real cultural trauma that people have experienced, but rather that we have an understanding of it so that we can be led by the Holy Spirit in order to help people heal from such trauma.

One way we can do this is by in love, shutting down statements that reflect internal racism by offering the biblical principal that they contradict. Have you ever heard someone blame their perpetual tardiness on their race or ethnicity? The bible teaches us that the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) and in Colossians 3:23 we are instructed that “whatever we do, do it heartily, as on to the Lord and not men”. In all things, we should strive for excellence as a representation of Jesus Christ.

This goes far beyond statements that people make but also refers to cultural practices that contradict biblical teaching. If you are not married, you are single. I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard people (yes, church people) say that in their culture, they always call someone’s significant other their husband or wife if they are living together or have children. To basically say we overlook what God says about the covenant of marriage because our family heritage has taught us something different is ridiculous and dangerous.

The last example I am going to mention is in regard to sexualizing children and passing it off as “no big deal” because all of a particular ethnicity or race does it. Little girls have no business in half shirts, fish net stockings, high heels, lipstick or bikinis (just to name a few) when the bible calls for women to have modesty (apparel with self-control), focus on inner beauty and good works (1 Timothy 2:9-10).

No earthly cultural tradition overrides what scripture teaches. Scripture teaches us that in Christ, we have become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) so that old things have passed away and all things have become new. The culture of Christ should be part of the new that we are reflecting for the world to see.