Voddie Baucham’s death this past year brought to mind an interesting interaction I had years ago
with a family member. They had recently stopped attending church and were spiraling in their
personal life as a result. In an effort to call out their sin and draw them back to Christ, I began
texting them sermon clips and sermon quotes from Voddie Baucham.
Now, at the time I really didn’t know much about Baucham. All I knew was that he was a sound
Reformed theologian and that he was black. That last part was important. Not because I cared about that, but because the family member I was texting would care. This person preferred black Christians over other races. They weren’t openly hostile toward other races but there was clear prejudice.
This bothered me. But because Baucham was such a godly man and astute theologian, I saw no harm in catering to this preference when sending my texts.
Looking back now, I realize something uncomfortable. I wasn’t just trying to point them to the truth…I was quietly affirming their tribalism. I was assuming that truth would be received better if it came wrapped in the “right” skin tone. And that assumption says something deeply unbiblical. It assumes that our identity in Christ is secondary to our identity in race.
We don’t usually say it out loud. We just feel it. We gravitate toward “our people,” people who look
like us, talk like us, and share our background. We call it comfort. Scripture calls it partiality.
“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory”
James 2:1
The gospel doesn’t create affinity groups; it creates a new humanity. Christ has broken down
the dividing wall of hostility and made us one new man (Ephesians 2:14–15).
The modern culture war wants us to believe race is ultimate. Progressives say your race defines
your oppression. Nationalists say your race defines your superiority. Even some Christians say you
should marry within your race or worship only with people like you. But Scripture says race,
ethnicity, and culture are real yet not ultimate. The moment we make them ultimate, we commit
idolatry.
There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.
Galatians 3:28
There is no such thing as white Christian culture or black Christian culture or Hispanic Christian culture. There is only Christian culture. Everything else is temporary. National cultures rise and fall. Food, music, clothing, slang (all of it) changes with generations. But the culture of Christ’s kingdom is eternal. It is marked by holiness, humility, hospitality, self-sacrifice, love for enemies, forgiveness, and unity in truth. That culture transcends skin tone. When we gather on Sunday, we aren’t gathering as representatives of ethnic tribes. We are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20). The church is an embassy of another kingdom.
This doesn’t mean that diversity is thrown to the wayside. God created diversity on purpose. Our traditions and backgrounds can enrich the church like spices enrich a meal. When we say things like, “I just connect better with people like me,” or “I want my kids to marry within our race,” or “our culture does Christianity best,” that’s not preference anymore, that’s pride. And pride always divides what Christ died to unite.
One of the things I appreciated about Baucham’s ministry was his refusal to let race define his theology. Truth is not validated by the color of the messenger. Truth stands because it’s God’s Word. In the same way, Virgil Walker has often emphasized that believers are not primarily black Christians or white Christians. We are Christians. Period. Every other descriptor is secondary. Sadly, there are a rising number of professing believers who are moving away from this truth going so far as say that interracial marriage is wrong or “not ideal”.
Scripture never prohibits interracial marriage. It prohibits interfaith marriage. The dividing line is covenant, not color. Moses married a Cushite woman. Boaz married Ruth the Moabite. The genealogy of Christ is gloriously multi-ethnic. If God Himself weaves the nations into the line of the Messiah, who are we to draw lines He didn’t? The only marriage that dishonors Christ is one that unites believer with unbeliever. Everything else is preference dressed up as piety.
God took people who didn’t belong and made them family. How dare we rebuild walls He tore down? When I look around my church now, I don’t primarily see races. I see people bought by the same blood, adopted into the same family, singing the same songs, praying the same prayers, eating the same bread. These are my people. Not because we share skin tone, but because we share Christ.
Looking back at that old text thread, I wish I had simply sent the truth without worrying about the messenger’s race, because the power isn’t in melanin. It’s in the gospel. Christianity doesn’t sanctify our tribes. It creates a new one. And one day every tribe, tongue, and nation will stand together before the throne as one redeemed people. Until then, let’s live like it.
Bone of Bones 