Church in the Making by Ben Arment

Author:Ben Arment
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2010-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

God created cultural barriers by forming people groups to stop the rampant spread of sin. Without these barriers, without these cultural differences, sinfulness could spread quickly and easily like a virus. Think of people groups like a water bed. They’re made up of separate water pockets so that if you accidentally cut open your mattress, you won’t lose the entire water load on your bedroom floor. The barriers provide safety if something should go wrong.

The trouble is, when God created cultural barriers for sin, he effectively created cultural barriers for the gospel. Just as one manifestation of sin in Miami, Florida, has to get over the cultural barrier of Nashville, Tennessee, so the gospel has to get over the same cultural barriers.

This wasn’t an oversight. Jesus didn’t commission us to spread the gospel and start new churches with a blind eye to cultural barriers. He didn’t mess up by trying to prevent the spread of sin and unknowingly thwart the gospel too. In fact, the heart of the Great Commission addresses people groups. Let’s look at Jesus’ commandment in Matthew 28:19: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

The Greek word here for “nation” is ethne, which means “a people, a nation, or a class.” In other words, it’s a people group. And it’s not one that is distinguished purely by ethnicity or geographic location. People groups refer to any cultural distinction, no matter how obvious or subtle. My hardworking relatives in rural Ohio require a different kind of church than I do. The community of intellectuals in Boston is less apt to enjoy my preferred worship environment here in the resort town of Virginia Beach. And if you’re planning to start a church in southern Maryland, you’d better know something about the Catholic heritage that preceded you.

When God chose to manifest his Holy Spirit to the Jews from every nation under heaven (Acts 2), he related this truth to each culture in its own language. He didn’t unify the language; he adapted the message.

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