The title butchers the verse. Galatians 3:28 really says:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
It is one of Paul’s great unifying statements on the oneness of the Christian family; the household of God. Spiritually, there is no substantive difference. We are all one and all enjoy the same glorious promises. This was especially important in the 1st century when bias ran high against people with different backgrounds and heritages.
The same is happening now, I fear. There is a divide in the church. It’s not among racial lines but between ages. The millennial generation (those born from about 1980 – 2000) are gaining influence economically, politically and religiously. Some boomers (birthed from the mid-40’2 to the mid-60’s) have acquiesced but others resist. The result is that Christendom is divided by the date on your driver’s license.
That’s sinful.
Paul called on the Corinthians to be one (1 Corinthians 1:10). This echoes the prayer of Jesus who sought unity among his disciples (John 17:11). The only way we defeat the Lord of Chaos is by a solid, unified front of righteousness.
Millennials and Boomers Suffer the Same Fate
We are all sinners (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:9, 19, 23; Galatians 3:22; 1 John 1:8). Regardless of our DOB, we are all “wretched, pitiable, poor blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17). None is righteous (Romans 3:10; Psalm 14:1-3).
Because we all suffer from the same cancerous condition of sin, we all face the same fate. We are lost and are facing eternal hell; we face forever condemnation. The price of our sin is well earned (Romans 6:23). Despite the great experiences and wisdom of age, despite the march of science and technology, we are all lost and all march toward the flames of an eternal hell.
Millennials and Boomers Need the Same Thing
We all need deliverance. We need saving. We need a savior. We need something to free us from our common fate.
We need Jesus.
Jesus came to deliver us from that common fate. Our salvation was the reason Jesus came. Nearing his death Jesus said, it “was for this purpose I have come to this hour (John 12:27). To reclaim us from the fate of death was his plan from before the world was created (Ephesians 1:4).
We need Jesus.
The retiring executive needs Jesus as much as the rising 30-something building his career. We all need Jesus and cannot be saved apart from him. Jesus said, “no man comes unto the father but by me” (John 14:6).
We all need Jesus
Millennials and Boomers Need Each Other
Nearly-teen Jesus needed to be about his father’s business by talking and listening to the older teachers in Jerusalem (Luke 2:41-51). Paul needed young Timothy to aide his mission work. Obviously, Timothy needed Paul. John described himself as the elder in his writing to the churches in 2 John 1 and 3 John 1. (“elder” is likely used as a descriptor of age, not office here.)
Christians need one another without regard to age. The tech-savvy millennial can teach the wise boomer how to use technology to reach millions while the aged can pour forth his wisdom and experience to the younger to help him avoid pitfalls that are common in every age.
We are family and we desperately need one another.
There are differences between age groups. Methods for outreach will differ but the core teachings of truth do not change. Let there be no “millennial church” and no “traditional church.” Let us be one as Jesus and his father are one!
