REAL BIBLICAL CHANGE:
Senior Apostle & Kingdom of God Messenger Teaching On Genuine Biblical Change:
In the ancient world, slavery existed for a variety of reasons, the main ones being: debt slavery, slavery for the punishment of a crime, or enslavement as the result of war. Slavery still exists today, with an estimated number of fifty million people living as slaves in churches, jobs, and in many parts of our world. The Bible provides regulations for slavery and the treatment of slaves in both the Old and New Testaments, but God also provides us with a compelling view of how we are to see and treat people (Philippians 2:3–4). God's laws are for our protection, and His heart is for us to truly love others (1 John 3:16). If people followed what the Bible says about slavery, modern slavery would naturally be abolished.
While no ethnicity can claim to be the exclusive recipient of racism, Indians, Jews, Blacks/Africans are the recipients of racial injustice, prejudice, and discrimination more than any other ethnic group in most parts of the world. In the USA and around the world in recent years, there have been numerous high-profile examples of black people being treated unjustly, to say the very least, by police officers. It is distressing, shocking, and for some, rage-inducing, to see a black person die due to the treatment he received when a person of any other ethnicity, under the same circumstances, likely would have essentially received a slap on the wrist.
Before I dive into what the Bible says about racism, let me give a few friendly reminders, Saints of the Lord Jesus Christ:
(1) We should never be quick to judge or condemn. We should never assume intentionally malicious actions. This is relevant whether we are prone to defend the hater or the black people involved. “Innocent until proven guilty” is a hallmark of the American justice system. We should not automatically assume the black person is guilty, nor automatically assume the hater is not guilty. James 1:19 instructs us, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” Jesus Christ strongly rebukes hypocritical judging in Matthew 7:1-5. How many times have we all prejudged a situation only to come to a different conclusion once all the facts are available?
(2) Only God knows the heart (Proverbs 21:2;) ( 1 Samuel 16:7;) ( Jeremiah 17:10). The “outward appearance” of something may seem clear, but we do not know about what is going on in a person’s heart. What happened before non people of color separated themselves from the black community? What happened earlier in the churches and religion? What happened earlier in a non-person of color’s life to make them hate and despise black people? While these questions absolutely do not excuse evil actions, they should cause us to pause before coming to conclusions about the reasons and motives behind a racist's actions.
(3) Just as it is wrong to judge a person solely on the color of his/her skin, so it is also wrong to judge an entire non-person of color based on the evil actions of a few of its racist members. The vast majority of biblically born-again non-people of color strive to treat all people fairly and justly, regardless of race. To say that all non-people of color are racists, or at least racially biased, due to the actions of a few haters with evil-wicked hearts, is just as wrong as a non-Christian of color treating a black person poorly due to having difficulties with black people in the past. Again, we cannot automatically assume anything about the individual non-Christians or black people involved in a given situation. Nor can we automatically apply whatever was true in that situation to every other situation. Just because one black person committed a crime does not mean all black people are criminals. Just because one white person abused their power does not mean all non-people of color do the same so.
What does your Bible say about racism?
Racism has been a problem throughout human history. Why? The answer is simple—the sin of white evangelicals. They harbor evil thoughts about other people and commit evil acts against other people because of sin of white superiority (Romans 3:10-23). Sin appears to make us innately suspicious of people who look different from us. Racism is clearly, biblically speaking, evil (Ephesians 2:14;) ( James 2:8). We should never judge an entire ethnicity based on the evil actions of one member of that ethnicity, or many members of a particular ethnicity, for that matter. Martin Luther King's dream was of a nation where people are not “judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
Only through the transformations power of salvation in Jesus Christ can racism ( must and should be overcome (2 Corinthians 5:17). Only through seeing all other people as being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) can we rid ourselves of racial prejudices. For some of us, that might begin by first acknowledging that racism exists and that we likely have prejudices of which we are unaware. For others of us, that might begin by acknowledging that not everything is about race. People treat one another differently for a variety of reasons, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. We all need to be willing to listen to one another. If we do not adequately understand the problem, we can do nothing to resolve it. As we each individually seek to set our prejudicial tendencies aside and to instead see people as God does, we can become part of the solution.
As said above, the only lasting solution is the power and work of God in His true believers. When we are secure in our identity in Christ, resting fully in His forgiveness and His love, we are less likely to be defensive over the issue of racism. It comes as no surprise to us that human hearts, including our own, harbor sin. It also comes as no surprise that God transforms people and brings healing. It is only with God’s help that we can examine our hearts, listen to others in order to understand their perspective, and work together toward unity. While racism can be expressed systemically, it is ultimately a matter of the hearts of people. So, if we want to live in a society with less racism, we need to view others as God views them. More than that, we need to love them as He has called us to. And to do so, we need the redemption of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Enough of saying you have a black friend or using black people as tokens in your fellowships and churches.
What is the end of the matter? Perpetuators of racism, you need to repent first in the churches and leadership. “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices” (Jeremiah 25:5). Victims of racism, as hard as it may seem, we need to forgive. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). All of us would do well to see each other as people loved by God, for whom Christ died, and whom we are called to love. No matter the color of our skin, we are all part of the human race.
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