All men have the same blood. It's in the Bible, Acts 17:26, KJV. "And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth."
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Acts10: 34:35. For God shows no partiality: Romans: 2:11
Let’s first define our term. Racism is about making quick judgments on the characteristics of a race to rate them as inferior or superior—demonstrating partiality or bias
Racism is a problem we can’t ignore or run away from. It’s an issue today, and it was an issue throughout history, including when the Bible was written.
How Would I Describe Racism In America And The World? Language Is The Problem.
What Do I Mean By Language? I’m Going To Answer From A Biblical Christian Point Of View. Racism Exists Because Of The Language Barrier; We Don’t Speak The Same Language—the language of God.
If I were to compare a white person and a black person, I would describe it as a white egg vs. a brown egg. Each has the same internal content: A yolk. There’s no difference in the yolk or in the taste. The outside looks different, but when you open it, it’s the same. I could describe it as white milk vs. chocolate milk. Both chocolate and white milk both contain 16 essential nutrients and Vitamin D. They are both packed full of protein and are a great way to stay healthy. They look different on the outside, but the results are the same when you drink it. One may be sweet and the other not, but they have the same benefits. If you would cut each of us open, we would all bleed the same red blood; when we die, we all become what we were before creation—dust.
So how would I describe racism? Language is the problem. What do I mean by language?
God speaks one language—the language of love. Not hate, not partiality, not favoritism. He speaks of love and trust. Actually trust is His love language. Racism is created through hate not love. You are not born with it; you are taught to be a racist, to distribute hate, to discriminate, and to exercise prejudice. If we allow this, we have now become the receiver, deliverer, carrier, and distributor of hate.
When I say we have a problem with language, I’m not talking about English vs. Spanish vs. Chinese. I’m not talking about different nationalities. I am talking about our differences from the one and only God who speaks one language to all of humanity. If all humanity spoke God’s language—the one language of love, there would be no racism.
Certain groups of people feel they are superior than others. Wrong. Bad thinking. God didn’t create perfect people, nor did He create superior people.
God did create a perfect angel name Lucifer. “Thus says the Lord God: ‘You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, carnelian, topaz, and jasper, chrysalides, beryl, and onyx, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald; and wrought in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. With an anointed guardian cherub I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.’” (Ezekiel 28:12-15 RSV) What was created to love is now distributing hate on this earth. As a result, for centuries this hate has thrown humanity into a pit of destruction.
But God has a plan to bring His love back into creation. What does He do? He sends His only begotten Son, One who is filled with love to save a sinful world full of hate. His name is Jesus the Christ—the perfect being without sin. If we could spread His love as much as we talk about it, we could eradicate hate. And here is our problem:
We speak on it, talk about it; however, we do a poor job demonstrating it with our actions, our life, and our daily walk.
Bottom line: Racism exists because of the language barrier; we don’t speak the same language—the language of God, the Love Language that He so desires for us to speak. Hate crimes exist for the same reason.
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning.”
Dr. King’s words are often repeated with no sense that the persons who employ them also find it appalling. No, they are simply repeated, and expressed without a challenge to our poor Christian witness and without a plan to change it. The idea that race and its progeny do much to undo our declarations of the unconditional love and acceptance of God is never mentioned. There’s a simple word for all of this: hypocrisy.
Some say, “We have diversity in the church,” but if you would look at what they call diversity you would laugh, the disparity between the races that are attending the church is huge whether it is a predominantly white church with black members or a predominantly black church with white members.
Some say that it is because we worship differently, that it is because of cultural preferences and understandings, blacks and whites prefer different churches. But reducing the reason for the absence of diversity in American churches to worship style is too simple a conclusion. It’s an excuse, not a reason. The manner in which we celebrate God is not what separates us. God has already told us how we are to worship: “in spirit and in truth” (John 4.24). It is a posture and not a particular practice that God desires. This should determine the manner in which we worship, if God is the focus of the Sunday morning service.
The Church is divided. Each Sunday you may witness racism at its highest level—not at every church, but at a very large percentage. Church is the one place where you should see love demonstrated on every level. If it is not shown or demonstrated in the church, where could you possibly find unity among brothers and sisters? Can you find it among the music community? Many people believe you can. Can you find it among the medical community? In the sports community? No, even in these communities, you will see racism rear its ugly head. There is a language barrier in the church, in the music community, in the medical community, and in the sports community. That language barrier comes out in job discrimination and in many other areas of life.
Until we learn to speak God’s language of love as one people in unity, we will forever experience racism, hate crimes, and every other evil until the Son of God returns.
In a nutshell, my sisters and brothers, we are in deep trouble. How do we turn this around? Can we change this disease? Yes, immediately shut it down at the onset.
When you see it or hear it, do not entertain it. Practice what you preach. Let your actions speak for themselves. Speak God’s language that He so desires to hear you speak. Again, I am not speaking of all of the hundreds of languages spoken worldwide, and I am not speaking of the English language. I am speaking of the language of love, the language of agape love that Jesus demonstrated. If a person can be taught to hate, that same person can be taught to love.
If we don’t start speaking the same language that God has commanded us to speak; parts of heaven that should be filled will remain empty. Anyone thinking that heaven will be divided by race, by superiority, or by favoritism is in for a rude awakening. It’s time to start speaking the same language that we all understand—the language of love. Until we do, my friends, racism will still exist.
Let us look at ten biblical reasons why racism is a sin and offensive to God.
1. We are all made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). We are more alike than we are different. God cares how we treat each other because we’re all created in His image He makes no distinction between the inherent value of one race or ethnicity over another.
2. We are all sinners corrupted by the fall (Roman 3:10-20; 5:12-21) Everyone made in the image of God has also had that image tainted and marred by original sin. Our anthropology is as identical as our ontology. Same image, same problem. We are more alike than we are different.
3. We are all, if believers in Jesus one in Christ (Gal. 3:28). We see from the rest of the New Testament that justification by faith does not eradicate our gender, our vocation, or our ethnicity, but it does relativize all these things. Our first and most important identity is not male or female, American or Russian, black or white, Spanish speaker or French speaker, rich or poor, influential or obscure, but Christian. We are more alike than we are different.
4. Separating peoples was a curse from Babel (Gen. 11:7-9); bringing peoples together was a gift from Pentecost Acts 2:5-11. The reality of Pentecost may not be possible in every community–after all, Jerusalem had all those people there because of the holy day–but if our inclination is to move in the direction of the punishment of Genesis 11 instead of the blessing of Acts 2 something is wrong.
5. Partiality is a sin (James 2:1). When we treat people unfairly, when we assume the worst about persons and peoples, when we favor one group over another, we do not reflect the God of justice nor do we honor the Christ who came to save all men.
6. Real love loves as we hope to be loved (Matt.22:39-40). No one can honestly say that racism treats our neighbor as we would like to be treated.
7. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15). Sadly, we can hate without realizing we hate. Hatred does not always manifest itself as implacable rage, and it does not always–or, because of God’s restraining mercy, often–translate into physical murder. But hatred is murder of the heart, because hatred looks at someone else or some other group and thinks, “I wish you weren’t around. You are what is wrong with this world, and the world would be better without people like you.” That’s hate, which sounds an awful lot like murder.
8. Love rejoices in what is true and looks for what is best (1 Cor. 13:4-7). You can’t believe all things and hope all things when you assume the worst about people and live your life fueled by prejudice, misguided convictions, and plain old animosity.
9. Christ came to tear down walls between peoples not build them up (Eph. 2:14). This is not a saccharine promise about everyone setting doctrine aside and getting along for Jesus sake. Ephesians 2 and 3 are about something much deeper, much more glorious, and much more cruciform. If we who have been made in the same image, born into the world with the same problem, find the same redemption through the same faith in the same Lord, how can we not draw near to each other as members of the same family?
10. Heaven has no room for racism (Rev. 5:9-10: 7:9-12; 22:1-5). Woe to us if our vision of the good life here on earth will be completely undone by the reality of new heavens and new earth yet to come. Antagonism toward people of another color, language, or ethnic background is antagonism toward God himself and his design for eternity. Christians ought to reject racism, and do what they can to expose it and bring the gospel to bear upon it, not because we love pats on the back for our moral outrage or are desperate for restored moral authority, but because we love God and submit ourselves to the authority of his word.
I will end my writing on these quotes by Mahatma Gandhi:
You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.'
Blessings
J.P. Olson
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