Pastor John, we talk a lot about multiculturalism in the church, and the question for today is this. What does the church offer the world in race reconciliation realistically? Is the church primarily a place to model racial harmony for the world, or does the church bear responsibility to address police brutality and spearhead broader social changes?

What would you say to listeners and to leaders who are trying to figure this out? Well, let me start with a provocative statement, maybe, which would go like this. The church is not responsible for the condition of the world. The church is responsible for the condition of the church.

And let me supplement that statement with a second one, which I hope refines it. The church is responsible to address the condition of the world and point the world to Jesus Christ as a great Savior from the wrath of God and the guilt of sin, a Savior who gives the power to be just and loving as a person in the world.

And if you put those two statements together, there are really big implications that follow, I think. And one is that if the church successfully takes responsibility for the church, one of the ways that the church will address the condition of the world is by the alternative community that it is or is becoming.

In other words, whatever transformation happens in the world is not a primary focus of the church, but a reflex of her focus on being a new kind of people in the world. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." These are, of course, the words of Jesus.

"Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Now, whether the world is finally transformed by such a light, such a city on a hill, is not our responsibility.

We are primarily a witness to the truth, not an imposer of the truth. So, let me go back to the—at least, in what you said, I heard three specific questions. So, on the basis of those general thoughts, let me give a brief answer to each one. What, realistically, does the church offer the world in race reconciliation?

Answer, a witness to the reconciling power of the gospel in our message, in our individual relationships, and in our visible community. Christ died, Paul said, Ephesians 2, that he might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. That is, killing ethnic hostility between Jew and Gentile, and by implication, all ethnic hostilities that would rend the body of Christ.

We're not responsible to make that happen among unbelievers. We are responsible to make it happen among believers. And if we succeed, it will be a powerful witness to the world. Second question that I heard, is the church primarily a place to model racial harmony for the world? Answer, no.

Not primarily, but significantly. To say "primarily" would be to elevate one specific fruit of salvation above all the others, which the Bible doesn't do. What about love between men and women? What about love between old and young? What about love between poor and rich? What about love between educated and uneducated?

What about the acts of love to reach lost people and unengaged peoples? What about sacrifices of love that aim to heal diseases or provide education or protect the helpless? No, we should not elevate racial harmony above all other acts of love. It is essential. It is not supreme. Third, and I think this is the last one in the way the question was posed.

Does the church bear responsibility to address police brutality and spearhead broader social changes? Given what I've said, my answer is yes, responsible to address. No, not responsible to spearhead. Unless you call addressing spearheading, which it may well be. The Old Testament prophets were relentless in calling attention to the collapsing conditions in Israel and the nations.

But it was not their responsibility. It is not our responsibility, the responsibility of the church, to take up the task of training the police. That's the job of the state. And my conviction, in conclusion, is that the church will have its greatest influence for the glory of Christ, both individually and socially and eternally, if it stays riveted on giving biblical shape to the people of God by his Spirit, through his Word, as a witness to the world.

Thank you, Pastor John. And as I mentioned earlier, we have a number of episodes on race in this podcast series. And now there's a new way to search and navigate the archive of over 500 episodes that we have recorded and released to date. We have apps for the Apple and Android devices, of course.

And now we have a landing page on our website. Go to DesiringGod.org and at the top of the page, click on the tab that says "More" and then click on "Ask Pastor John." And there you can search the entire database of episodes by title. So go to the home page, click on "More" and click on "Ask Pastor John." Speaking of race, we have an email from a cop who wants to know, "What can a white Christian police officer do to make a difference in the race issues of our country?" That's tomorrow.

I'm your host, Tony Reinke. Thanks for listening to the Ask Pastor John podcast. . . .