Last week I shared the link to a well-delivered podcast by Wade Hodges on how “religion excluded you, but Jesus died to include you.” While I recommend listening to it, here is my summary for those who have less time on their hands. You might also enjoy the practical application questions. (If you use Hodges’ material, please give credit to him.)
These are not word-for-word quotes but rather my own adaptation from Hodges’ sermon.
I recommend you read the Bible passage for yourself first. Hodges takes a fresh look at the biblical story of the “baptism of inclusion” (often simply referred to as the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunich) found in Acts 8:26-40.
Hodges asks the question, What did it mean for the Ethiopian eunich to be baptized into the family of God? Of all people this outsider knew what it was like to be excluded by religious obstacles and religious people. His ethnicity and customs as a Gentile and his sexual status as a eunich denied him entrance to the temple to worship the God he was so curious about. Hodges calls this being forced to worship God “from the back row,” or at a social distance from the supposed first class worshipers.
- Whom do you know who has had similar religious experiences?
- Why were they excluded or denied equal treatment?
- Brainstorm a list of the “Ethiopian eunichs” of this time and place.
Philip used the very scriptures the Ethiopian was reading (from the prophet Isaiah chapter 53) to help him discover the good news about Jesus. (Hodges’ comments here are excellent. He also reads on, asking “Can you imagine what Isaiah chapter 56 meant to a guy like the Ethiopian eunich?” Good stuff.) The Ethiopian eunich discovers that Jesus was excluded so that foreigners/Gentiles like him can be included!
To this good news the unnamed Ethiopian asks Philip the Jesus-follower, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” It is as if he is challenging Philip, “Are you serious about what Jesus did on the Cross? Can I really be included in the family of God?” Or is Philip going to treat him like a second class worshiper, too? Philip backs it up with the baptism of inclusion!
- If this is true – that Jesus died to include in his family even the most rejected ones of society, and all peoples from Jerusalem to “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) – then how does this affect your view of God?
- If this passage is true – that Jesus didn’t die to exclude but to include as many people as possible- how does this change how you will relate to others who generally are not spoken well of or treated equally in Christian circles? (Let’s admit it, even in churches some sins are socially more tolerable than others, and some kinds of people are more welcome than others.)
- What would it take for you to “back it up” as Philip did? How would you live differently to model Jesus’ love and inclusion of the outsiders around you? (In some cases, this may mean your reputation gets questioned or dragged through the mud by your Christian peers!)
Hodges’ sermon illustrations focus heavily on convincing people to “go to church” with us. It would be easy to walk away thinking the goal of joining Jesus in his mission is to simply get outsiders to “be here with us” in our church buildings (as opposed to teaching them to be Jesus’ church by obeying Him wherever they are, on any hour of the week). Nevertheless I recommend this podcast because Hodges deals well with how churches have treated people who are different from them. I can see how Philip’s actions are calling Jesus-followers to behave differently from religious people – to join Jesus in his mission of inclusion, not exclusion! Or, as one of my favorite churches likes to put it, our mission is “Accepting people where they are, and helping each other accept where God wants us to be.”
And the Ethiopian’s story is calling those of us who have been excluded by well-meaning religious folks to lovingly accept them yet ignore the religious obstacles they’ve unnecessarily placed before us. No longer do we need to worship “from afar.” You and I can sprint in an act of total love and obedience, without shame, to our Lover and Savior who does not treat us as second class followers but has invited us all to commune forever with him at his table!
- Describe a time when you, perhaps like the Ethiopian, felt as if you were worshiping God “from the back row”?
- What, if anything, is preventing you from drawing closer to Jesus and other Jesus-followers in confidence right now?
- If Philip’s message to the Ethiopian eunich is true, that there is nothing that can stand between you and God, then how does this alter your view of yourself?
- What do you need to do to reflect the reality that Jesus was excluded to include you (and all humankind)? How would you live differently?
- Who else needs to hear this story?
There’s a lot I left out. To listen to Hodges’ podcast in its entirety, click here.