In 1788 Rev. Andrew Bryan founded the First Colored Baptist Church in Savannah, Georgia. Rev. Bryan came to faith under the First Baptist missionary in America, George Liele, a freed slave. Now, this was not some rosy picture, as in 1794, because of their robust faith and refusal to not stop preaching the Gospel to slaves. Men like Rev. Andrew Bryan were whipped, jailed, and mistreated for continually proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He and others in his congregation faced persecution for not only being made in the image of God but for their faith in Christ. While under torture, Rev. Bryan declared, “I will freely suffer death for the cause of Jesus Christ.”
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ not only radically transforms the individual, but those individuals within the culture begin to shape it as well. Christianity’s mark was laboring for a greater Kingdom from its inception, which caused great conflict in the first century. There was a Roman Empire, yet Christians were unequivocal in asserting that the society for which they were waiting and laboring was a “kingdom,” that was not of this world. So much so, as one commentator remarked, Christians were given the demeaning title as the third race. “The first race” was indifferently called the Roman, Greek, or Gentile. “The second race” was the Jews; while “the third race” was the Christian. The cry in Carthage’s circus was, “How long must we endure this third race?” John Rutherfurd
In Acts 17, we find the people of God boldly declaring the work of God in a highly pluralistic and intolerant culture. A culture that was known as being a ‘throwaway’ society. As we look at this text, we see the Apostle Paul proclaiming the Gospel in Thessalonica. The message reaches both Jews and Gentiles. Paul goes right at the people’s heart, as Thesolonica was full of idol worshiping Greek-speaking people.
We must understand, the message of the Gospel transforms the individual but has ripple effects in society. We see this same thing in Acts 19, where the Gospel message targeted at the individual led to economic upheaval. There was a complaint against Paul and his companions: “You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods.” What made Demetrius, who lodged this complaint, so upset? Well, people were rejecting the false gods and destroying their magical items. The Bible tells us, “And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. In this way, the word of the Lord spread and prevailed.” Ac 19:18–20.
The true Gospel led Christian men, such as Fredrick Douglas, to proclaim, “I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I, therefore, hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.” The Gospel is a world-transforming message, and those who have the transforming message invade the culture with it. They live out their lives amidst a world that despises them for who they are and worship. Tertullian, the African theologian in his Apology, writes, “We live beside you in the world, making use of the same forum, market, bath, shop, inn, and all other places of trade. We sail with you, fight shoulder to shoulder, till the soil, and traffic with you.” God conquers not with an army of armed soldiers, but ambassadors armed with the truth of the Gospel and the love of Christ.
Paul and his companions didn’t seek out trouble, but it merely found them. The charge: “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” James Montgomery Boice remarked, “Instead of turning the world upside down, they were indeed setting it right.” In short, they considered Paul and his companions as troublemakers. The Apostles’ or early church’s aim was not to start trouble, but the Gospel causes trouble everywhere it lands. What trouble does Christ bring to the weary soul: Rest from works, Joy, Peace, Everlasting Life, Reconciliation and conciliation, Dignity, and Worth to every man.
Christians became known for their compassion toward the young, the downtrodden, the unfortunate, and the old. In Rome, they stood for human life in all forms, prenatal, young, and old. They stood in their lifestyle and belief against lifestyles and ideologies that were biblically against Christ. They sought to see people redeemed by the message of the finished work of Jesus Christ. For this, they were demeaned, fed to the lions, and treated as outcasts. Yet, they lived for the glory of Christ. So, how could we see our world turned upside down?
WE MUST RETURN TO A BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Even when we talk about racism in our culture, we must start from the inside out. We must begin with the Bible to inform our worldview. Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” Image and likeness are two synonymous terms here. First, we see a deliberate and intentional plan for the creation of man. Man is made in the image of God, which gives us immense value, worth, and esteem. The imago Dei is that in man which constitutes him as him-whom-God-loves.- John Piper. It’s hard to see the inherent dignity, value, and worth of people when you classify them as objects of random chance and not created in God’s image and likeness. Even the world’s best efforts and phrases to assign dignity to humanity falls short. Christian, get back to the truth; people are made in the image and likeness of God!
WE MUST RETURN TO A PROPER VIEW OF THE JUSTICE OF GOD
The Bible gives us a full view of the world, humanity, and how to interact with the world around us. We don’t need anything else to stand on. God’s Righteousness means that God always acts by doing what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right. We should see Righteousness and Justice and synonymous, one-word group. God does all that is right, is impartial, and restores rightly those who could not restore themselves. Justice is the equal treatment of every individual made in the image and likeness of God, and those persons are treated equally and fairly. This is to ensure that those once unable to flourish are restored within the community. See, it all goes back to the humanity of people. We do not take advantage of people, charging more interest, tying up their ability to earn a living, while taking away their ability to flourish or be within the community. To pursue justice is to say it is for every human being. We can do this without adopting a cultural worldview or going against the commands of God!
WE MUST RETURN TO KINGDOM PROCLAMATION
The Christian is called to walk in and proclaim the word of God. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” Matthew 5:1. There indeed is no secret Christianity. Jesus said this, “Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” Luke 12:3. What good is a lamp if it is hidden? The light is supposed to shine for others to see. We must remember, we are on a mission to bring others into God’s family by proclaiming the Gospel. So, as Christians, we don’t retreat from the world but engage it for God’s glory. Even when we are slandered for the name of Jesus, those outside the family of God should still see the good works we are doing in our King’s name. The Spirit makes no distinctions on who He calls to Christ, so how much more should have our prejudices, biases challenged by the word of God.
In today’s culture, will we, like the early church, be bold in our witness and faithful to Christ? To the point that our communities can say, these people have indeed turned the world upside down too! Proclaim the Good News, Live the Good News, and Trust the most fantastic news ever, can transform.
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No truer words!