“There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
Since
its very inception in 1985, Eastside Baptist Church has embraced the principle of
being a multi- cultural congregation. In the 1980’s that was
difficult to implement, for
we then lived under the rule of apartheid. We lived in culturally segregated areas and this made it
difficult for cultures to cross
the physical and mental boundaries that
had been created by the government of
the day. However even in those
days our first pastor, Charles
Whitson made it clear that we were to be
an culturally inclusive congregation.
By
means of this article I wish to re-affirm
this core value, which is also contained
in our SOLA 5 set of core values (http://www.freegrace.co.za/files/beliefs/Core-Values.pdf) and then make a comment about the actual challenge of language and culture in our
situation :
SOLA 5 CORE VALUES - Article 9 : RACIAL
HARMONY
“God has created all mankind in his own
image; all people are of one blood, having descended from Adam [224].
Furthermore, God in Christ has broken down every wall that sin has made to
separate us, creating one new humanity in Christ [225].
Therefore we affirm the dignity and human brotherhood of all mankind
in addition to the unity of all believers in Christ regardless of race, colour
or ethnicity [226]. We will therefore take steps personally and
corporately to encourage racial and cultural harmony, expressing this visibly
in our communities and churches.
We deny that there is any basis in reason or in the Bible
for racial discrimination by any person against other people [227].
[224] Gen 5:1–3; Acts 17:26–28.
[225] Eph 2:13–18. [226] Col
3:11. [227] Rev 7:9.
We
believe that multi - cultural churches truly glorify
God for these following reasons:
1.
They
illustrate the truth that God has created people of all
races and ethnicities in his own image (Genesis 1:27).
2.
They
illustrate the truth that Jesus is not a tribal deity,
but that He is the Lord of all races,
nations, and ethnicities.
3.
They
illustrate that the blood of Christ has been shed
for people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation
5:9).
4. They
illustrate more compellingly the aim and
power of the cross of Christ to “reconcile
us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility”
(Ephesians 2:16).
5. They expresses more powerfully the work of the Spirit to unite us in Christ.
“For in one Spirit we were all baptized
into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one
Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). So also Galatians 3:28 : “There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all
one in Christ Jesus”, not at all meaning
that cultures would cease or that
the difference between men and women would now be obscured- but that all
would be united in Christ ! Unity (oneness in Christ) is the great result of the gospel according to Ephesians 2:12-22 ( see also Eph.
4:1-6) where we read that
in Christ the dividing wall of hostility is abolished between believing
Jews and believing gentiles. In Christ, we
are one body, and that body is the church, and our church is a local manifestation of that great universal
church.
6. Every culture can benefit from the insights that other cultures have. No single culture on earth has an
absolute monopoly on the truth , remembering especially also that “now
we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I
shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
7.
In
Acts
2 ( Pentecost) the linguistic knot that was tied at Babel (Genesis
11) was untied when the believers under the influence of the Holy Spirit
spoke one common language. Heaven will have one language, and even now the church should be that platform on earth where people work hard to
understand each other as we submit to
the common language of the Bible.
Here’s
the point : If Christ is our common Lord, and if unity is a biblical goal, should we not
be committed to it in word
and deed ?
The Question of Language
At
Eastside Baptist Church (as is true for most of our Baptist churches) we have numerous language groups
represented among us. The language we
have adopted as a means of communication
at Eastside is English. The official
language of the Republic of Namibia is
English (Namibian Constitution, Ch. 1 ,
Art.3). The English language conveniently unites us in our worship. This
does not mean that it is always easy. Many a time persons have
made it known that their freedom in prayer,
and in their understanding, and
in their powers of expression are inhibited
by the use of a language that is not
their mother tongue. That is understandable. It is always
preferable to worship in one’s mother tongue or at least in a language
with which one is well conversant.
However,
this is the price one pays for living in a multi- ethnic, multi -linguistic environment , and God’s
grace is always sufficient for such circumstances.
All
this does not mean that we
will not endeavour to plant
future Reformed Baptist churches around
a language medium other than
English, whenever this is feasible and desirable to do so.
What
we do need to keep in mind however that
we are committed to
maintaining a culture of biblical inclusivity (as outlined above) whatever the choice of
language may be.
To
illustrate : In Namibia we have a great
number of Afrikaans speaking Christians. It appears as if there is a real need
for an Afrikaans speaking Reformed Baptist Church in Windhoek, and we are currently looking into such a possibility.
What
advice do we have for such a church within our
framework committed to biblical multi-
culturalism? One of the dangers with the Afrikaans language is
that it might encourage mono-culturalism, and thus become exclusive and introspective, something that we want to
avoid at all costs. Yet, if the biblical
principle of the unity
of the church is kept before us at all times , there should be no threat
to such a venture. Thus an Afrikaans speaking Reformed Baptist church should work hard to
reach all Afrikaans speaking people, and not just Afrikaners. In
Namibia this would certainly include the
Basters and the Nama people.
As
for me, I am German born and raised, married to a South
African English speaking woman, serving a multicultural congregation in the
English tongue, conversant in Afrikaans and German and using
those languages freely to communicate
the gospel and to encourage Christians
of all walks of life.
Joachim Rieck
October 2013
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