Friday morning, Dr. Graham was preaching from a series that he has been doing on the culture of America and how the culture runs counter to the Word of God. I have no disagreement with Dr. Graham here at all. I too believe that pop-culture is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the principles set forth in God's Word. His sermon Friday dealt with man being created for paradise. He spoke from Genesis 2 and he was building a very convincing case. I did not disagree with him at all, but there was on particular comment that was troubling to me and you can listen to the message yourself here (Life in Paradise, Jack Graham).
The argument that Dr. Graham was making was against the humanistic worldview that man is inherently good. Christians that understand the fall of man also understand that nothing is further from the truth. Man is not good but evil. Man, according to Psalm 51:5 is inherently evil, born into sin. Man is birthed into a sinful world and our initial propensity is toward sin, not toward God. Man has to be called out of sin, redeemed from death and called into a renewed and reconciled relationship with God through Jesus Christ. There is no other way for man to reconcile with the Father except through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Then we can be born again, not in sin but in the newness of life.
With that being said, and with the understanding that men are born evil, Pastor Graham went on to say this. I want to directly quote him so that there is no misunderstanding of my ensuing argument against what he said in his message(beginning at about 15:00).
"Man was perfect sociologically. Man was in a perfect environment. He placed him, according to verse 15, in the Garden of Eden. Today there is a worldview that man is basically good...that you elevate him, that you educate him, get him in the proper environment and he will succeed and that's what we need to do...and millions of dollars spent on attempting to get people elevated and successful in life, out of the ghettos and so on and out of the poverty of our times and so on...and elevated. But the fact is, we tend to blame our circumstances, our background, our genetic pool or whatever rather than understanding in the very beginning that God is teaching us that he placed man in a perfect environment in the Garden of Eden and yet even in a perfect environment man chose to rebel against God."
I have no beef with the premise of Dr. Graham's argument. What he said is essentially true, that even in perfection man chose to rebel rather than to serve God. Man was also tempted into rebellion, which is a point that Dr. Graham did not emphasize...but ultimately, the choice was man's to agree to the temptation. That's not what I disagree with at all.
What I did not like was his assertion that "elevating, educating and getting man into the proper environment" is somehow a bad thing. Getting people out of the ghettos and out of poverty is somehow bad? He also seems to insinuate that those "millions of dollars" have been wasted "trying" to elevate folks that have blamed their circumstances and their genetic pools. I can't help but think that this is a swipe at a particular ethnic group and although he may not have even intended it that way- that's how it came out. Someone with a discerning ear would catch that in a heartbeat. His intention was to show that even in spite of Adam being in a perfect place spiritually and sociologically, he still sinned. One could easily gather from his thought that if Adam was in a perfect place and still fell, why waste time trying to change the sociological status of men/women that are in imperfect places- they won't "change" and it won't make a difference. He did highlight that Adam was created in perfection earlier in the sermon, and we cannot fail to make that point. Adam was not born, he was created, and he was not created sinful but he was created in perfection. We could argue about what point Adam became sinful, etc., but that is a totally separate issue.
What Pastor Graham missed is this. He conflated two issues to make his point and in doing so he ended up weakening his argument. The two issues that he mixed up are: 1. Socioeconomic equality so that one is able to "do" good versus 2. a spiritual disparity in man so that one is able to "be" good. Those two issues do not mix. If you look around, there is evidence that, when the socioeconomic playing field is leveled, there really is no difference in ability between those of different "genetic pools". Circumstances can indeed play a huge role in the outcome of how a person makes choices, how they live, their self-esteem, their ability to get a quality education, their ability to achieve, even if a person never blames said circumstances. The reality is, the conditions exist and do indeed influence those that live in them.
Through court decisions like Brown vs Board of Education ruling, through constitutional amendments like the 13th and 14th amendments, attempts have been made to level the socioeconomic playing field such that African-Americans are given the same opportunities as their cultural counterparts. Efforts to get rid of Jim Crow laws and Dred Scott mentalities, voter suppression, and questions like "how many bubbles are in a bar of soap" that were asked to African-American voters to ultimately deny them the right to vote, have been sustained but gains are still not where they should be. Through the struggles of the Civil Rights movement which led to programs like "affirmative action", "equal opportunity" etc., we have tried and had some success in getting equal recognition for ALL human beings, regardless of the color of their skin. To make light of the situation by relegating it to someone "blaming" their circumstances and "blaming their genetic pool" is a little offensive and I think he could have made the same argument a different way. I would venture to say that those "millions of dollars" are not enough! Per capita, the amount of money spent in school districts that are predominately African-American pales in comparison to that of our cultural counterparts. While there are some that abuse programs like welfare, there are many that have benefitted and many that do not desire to simply remain on welfare, but that look for a way out by educating themselves, learning a skill or a trade, or pursuing other means of bettering their situations.
Without understanding the jumpstart that white-America has had based on several hundred years of oppression of black-America and several hundred years of forced, free labor and several hundred years of racial discrimination, there is really no way to discuss the socioeconomic plight of those of a particular gene pool. You will never reach a common ground with anyone that fails to recognize the disparity in resources and in opportunity between one gene pool and the other gene pool that has existed from the inception of this country.
While I respect Pastor Graham a great deal, I think he would have been better served to use a different illustration than the one that he used. He would have been better served to highlight not just the ones that "blame their circumstances" but also the ones that helped to create said circumstances through evil, malicious, greedy motives based on the principle that all men were not created equal.
There are scriptures that could be used to support the argument that wherever you are, that's where you should stay. This is a different issue, but it is relevant to the discussion of "elevating a man to better conditions." 1 Corinthians 7: 17, 20, 24 all say that each one is to "remain with God in that condition in which he was called." Whatever your social status is, remain there and operate in God's grace. But Paul makes a point to tell the slave that if they were called while a slave, do not worry about it- BUT if you are able to become free, rather do that. What Paul is saying here is that if an opportunity to better yourself is present, take it. Here we see that this scripture is not discounting upward social mobility, but it is simply saying that we should not use our salvation or "new existence" as an excuse to change our social status. The "name it and claim it" crowd loves to do exactly this, say that because you are saved you should automatically be moved into a penthouse with the finest of everything. Nothing is further from the truth. It is no different than Joseph being elevated in Pharaoh's house or the Israelites going to Canaan in Numbers 14, when Joshua and Caleb returned with a good report. Joshua and Caleb based their confidence on the fact that God assured them victory- they had faith that although giants were indeed in the land, God was on their side and they could not lose. If anyone entrusts their future to God, God is faithful and will not leave nor forsake the one that trusts in Him. God was getting ready to change the condition of those that had been enslaved but were now free. He did so at his own discretion and at His own pleasure.
What cannot be mistaken is that we do not determine our lot in life, God does and just as He determines it, He can also change it. The bible says that one that humbles himself will be exalted and one that exalts himself will be humbled (Luke 14:11). As long as we operate with the understanding that it is God that exalts and God that humbles, as long as we seek God's kingdom first, then we can live a life that glorifies God regardless of our circumstances.
Pastor Graham's message, in my eyes, was slightly diminished by his statement but his overall message was very solid. We were created to live in perfection and in perfect unity and harmony with the Father. We were created for His good pleasure, to worship Him and to fellowship with Him. Sin caused the playing field for the entire human race to be skewed toward evil. That's why we saw evil men walk seemingly victorious and triumphant in their evil deeds- because sin and the author of sin, Satan, reigned in the earth. Despots like the slave traders, like Hitler, Mussolini, Saddam Hussein or even Bin Laden operated with impunity because of Satan's position as the "prince of the air" but God has remained in control and was not asleep at the wheel.
God sent the remedy for sin in Christ, who paid the price for our sins and for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and for those that accept that payment, we are able to join a different gene pool where race, ethnicity, gender or color no longer matter (Galatians 3:28) - we are able to all become heirs to the inheritance that God has promised us through Christ (Ephesians 1:11). We are able to be children of God and our prior genetics don't factor into God's will! He called us through the kindness of His will, not because of where we live or what our social status is and through His Spirit, we are able to become New Creatures (2 Cor 5:17) no longer slaves to sin and to the "old man". Thank God for His grace and for His mercy. Thank God that He does not judge us based on anything else except for Christ- and whether we stand with Him or against Him. If you are unsaved and reading this, my question is this: Have you accepted your new genes? If not, God is willing and waiting to exchange your old genes for those that are infused with Christ's DNA- and He is willing and waiting to grow you, develop you and conform you to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, regardless of what gene pool you are from. God's grace and peace be upon you.
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