Who are God's People?

    None of us chose our parents. We didn't choose the time or place of our birth or our
native language and culture with its strengths and flaws. If you were born into a rich family, you enjoyed material benefits that poor families couldn't offer. If you were born with godly parents, you enjoyed good parenting that wicked, abusive parents couldn't offer. This may seem unfair to modern sensibilities. All people are created equal, right? Doesn't it follow that we should all enjoy the same amount of wealth? Such an outcome is not possible here and not even promised in heaven (e.g. Mk 4:20).

    God did not make some people less human than others. We all bear His image, which makes degrading someone an offense against God Himself. But God gave us different bodies, personalities and skills. The Fall makes everything worse, but it's not like all differences are because of the Fall. Due to a combination of innate skillset and the interests I pursued, I will never be a professional athlete. That does not make me less human or inferior to professional athletes. We should not focus so much on things out of our control, such as talents we don't have or missed opportunities. Instead we should be thankful for the talents God has given us and the opportunities we have, and focus on what we can control as a stewardship from the Lord.

    We see contemporary movements that promise to give all the benefits of full societal inclusion to historically marginalized groups. They claim that the privileges enjoyed by some are unfair advantages invisible to those who have them, but that through activism everything can be equalized. Without question, some people are born into a more socially connected, wealthy, safe and productive environment. But are all of these factors reducible to secular concepts like class, race, neighborhood and educational opportunities? There's a spiritual factor that can be hard to measure. How does having Christian parents affect someone's opportunities in life? How could becoming a believer affect someone's place in society? Historically most Americans called themselves Christians, which carried some social benefit, but what about the psychological benefits of Christian practice to mental health, relational success and productivity? Such benefits are real, but with Paul we regard them as worthless for the sake of knowing Christ (Phil 3:8). In order to gain Christ, we put no confidence in our moralistic values, but only the righteousness of God which comes through faith. That spiritual reality is indispensable, but modern empiricism can't quantify it. Scientists can’t dissect a Christian and find a physical trait that makes him godly or regenerate. Even so, what a great thing it is when God moves in a society to bring spiritual awakening and individual hearts are converted to Christ, so that they belong to the Kingdom of God and have supernatural power to kill sin and grow in holiness.

    The Apostle Peter calls believers a Chosen Race (1 Pet 2:9). Does being part of this race come with privileges? Of course. These are not like the privileges that majority culture “Whites” had in the Jim Crow South, or even the privileges offered by the Nation of Islam or Hebrew Israelite groups. Peter calls the Church, "a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Pet 2:9). He goes on to say that unbelievers will see our good deeds and glorify God (v. 12). He says that we should be subject to earthly rulers (v. 13), not start a revolution to forcibly make this chosen race the ruling class. No, instead we silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good (v. 15). We live as free people, and also as servants of God (v. 16). We didn't get our freedom by serving ourselves. Nor did we earn it by works of the law. We got it because God chose us and bought us with the blood of Christ.

    The greatest privilege is salvation. Peter, the same Apostle who calls us a Chosen Race, preached in Acts 2:21, "Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." This privilege is not obtained by growing up in a Christian home or being the smartest theologian, it's obtained by faith in the Gospel and calling upon the Lord. We will never fully comprehend how privileged we are in Christ, and we should not be surprised that the sorrows of those who go after other gods multiply (Ps 16:4). Unbelievers want all the benefits of a relationship with Christ, but they don't truly want Christ. They don't want to repent, surrender their lives to Him and treasure Him supremely. The Bible records many examples of people who wanted blessings from God as a supplement to their idolatry. We should instead be like Hannah, who wanted nothing more in the world than a son, but offered him up to God for lifelong service (1 Sam 1:11). The privileges we enjoy in this life as Christians should not be hoarded, but wisely stewarded and cheerfully sacrificed for the advancement of God's Kingdom. This will be a powerful sign to unbelievers that we have something more valuable than any worldly privilege: we have Christ.