We have spent three studies thus far looking at what the Bible says about racism. We have seen that racism matters—a whole lot. It matters, we have seen, because God’s purpose matters, because God’s commandment matters, because God’s church matters, and because God’s gospel matters. In this study, we will consider two more reasons that racism matters: because God’s commission matters, and because God’s glory matters.

There is something in the human mind that drives us to want to know what people are like behind closed doors. Sometimes, it is little more than idle curiosity fuelling our desire for gossip. But sometimes it is a deep-seated desire to learn from God’s servants how we ought to conduct our lives in private. The book of Jeremiah gives us several glimpses into what Jeremiah was like when he was out of the limelight. One of those glimpses is in Jeremiah 15:15–21, and it is highly instructive for us.

Church planting in black South Africa, at least in terms of planting solid, biblical churches, has not always proven to be a successful venture. There are some specific challenges in this regard, particularly as it relates to biblical authority. Pastor Chris Mnuguni details three specific authority challenges for church planting in black South Africa: the authority of the ancestors, the authority of the witch doctors, and the authority of the traditional leaders and elders.

As Christians, we need to realise that there is no magic spiritual pill that will change our life, at least when it comes to sanctification. There is no secret mantra to “victorious Christian living.” Rather, if we will continue to become remade in the image of God’s dear Son, we will have to do it the old fashioned way. We will have to do some things. This is Paul’s burden in this second half of his epistle to the Ephesians.

We have spent considerable time studying vv. 17–24, and we will bring our consideration of these verses to a close by exploring what I am calling the dynamic trio that Paul reveals concerning how change is effected in the life of the Christian: put off (v. 22); put in (v. 23); and put on (v. 24).

We are living in some very exciting days. For Christians living in South Africa, this is doubtlessly true. We are living in the midst of some serious social upheaval, which is producing a wonderful opportunity for the church and therefore for the gospel. One of my major motivations for addressing the issue of racism, which is very front and centre, is to equip us to make the most of the opportunity to show that the only true hope for racial reconciliation is in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore in the church.

Far too often, Christians are thirsty for change, and yet we do not experience what we desire. The source that satisfies our thirst is actually right in front of us, and is able to meet our need, and yet we don’t know how to experience it. We expect the change to come automatically. And nothing happens—all because we are not following the instructions; because we are not paying attention to how God enacts and affects change. But if we will pay close attention to the Bible, and to what God has revealed about how to change, then we can overcome sin and sinful habits. We can change. Our thirst for change can be satisfied. We can be refreshed to continue to run the race set before us.

The disciple of Jesus Christ follows in the footsteps of his Master. This requires regeneration and repentance—ongoing repentance. The result is an ongoing reformation of life. And the change is remarkable.

Christians desire to change. The Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, is concerned with holiness. There is a battle that rages within us as the flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.

In Ephesians 4:17–24, Paul lays a doctrinal foundation that undergirds our ongoing transformation as a community of faith. As these verses reveal, we have experienced a remarkable change from a grotesque condition, by a gracious conversion, to godly conduct.

The church must speak to racism because the Bible does! We dare not bury our head, we dare not divorce it from the gospel, we dare not secularise this issue by pretending that this issue is outside of the sphere of the church. It is an issue that matters to God, and therefore it must matter to the Christian church. And so we must speak up and we must listen up!

Because we love the church, we desire her best. We desire that our own local church, as well as the global church, experience more and more of the best of God’s gifts, being remade into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. We desire to change from the way we are to the way we are destined to be. This matter of the church changing as it conforms to Jesus Christ is a major theme Ephesians 4. But the all-important question is, how do Christians change? We will begin to study the answer to this in Ephesians 4:17–24.

Do we truly worship God from the heart or do we just go through the motions? When we go through the motions, worship becomes perfunctory, merely a matter of habit. In Malachi 1, the prophet faced off against a generation of God’s people that had fallen into the habit of worship, and he called them back to true worship of the living God. His words serve as a warning against mediocrity in worship.