“You’re Either On My Team or You’re Not”
I recently watched a sermon by Dr. Tony Evans called “Kingdom Race Theology.” The message is a response to the controversial ideology called critical race theory that has been floating around social media lately. If you don’t know what critical race theory is, I encourage you to watch his two-part sermon as Evans shares a balanced and biblical overview on the subject.
Directly before watching the sermon, as I hovered my computer cursor over the play button, the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about the pressing issue of race and unity in the church.
He said, “This is a message of warning, correction and encouragement for My people.”
I was mostly unfamiliar with critical race theory, and I did not realize He was specifically addressing the topic I was about to hear.
He continued saying, “I’m moving in a major way right now among the body of Christ. Major shifts are happening in My people’s hearts and in the structures they call church and ministry. This is meant to be a body, and I’m making adjustments to help it work the way I designed it, not the way people prefer. Prejudice, racism and religious tradition have gotten in the way of what I’m doing, but it won’t be that way for long. You’re either on My team or you’re not.“
What God Said to Me about Unity
Then He shifted gears, and it was as if He was suddenly speaking to each individual Christian with this challenge:
“Expect God to shift you. Expect a change. Be okay and open to the Lord using you in a place He hasn’t before–in a way the people that came before you would not be okay with. I am not endorsing sin. I am encouraging unity. True biblical unity aligns with My heart, not My people’s opinions of Me.“
I do not believe this is meant to endorse a certain political or sociological view. Instead, I believe the Holy Spirit is calling all believers deeper into true biblical unity and love by viewing one another as part of the same body. He is calling us to forgive and keep forgiving. He is asking us to let love cover over past sins and allow grace to pave a way forward.
Paul says in Ephesians 4:1-4:
“Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling.”
Troy Black
Author & Speaker
