Biblical Racism

I don’t know about you, but I get annoyed when someone tries to use the Bible to support their own racial bigotries. I’m also tired of the so-called “tolerant” crowd claiming that the Bible is primitive and prejudiced. The simple fact is this - the Bible was way ahead of its time concerning ethnic issues!

Have you ever heard someone claim that the mark of Cain (Genesis 4:15) was dark skin? Believe it or not, that is still being taught! Or, how about the “curse of Ham?” Did you know that people are teaching that Ham’s curse was black skin? That is truly unbelievable to me!

First of all, read Genesis 4:15! “And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.” Tell me, where in this verse is skin color? It was simply a mark, that’s all! Besides, this passage is irrelevant for modern racists, since Cain’s family line was wiped out in the flood!

But what about the curse of Ham? It is true, after all, that Ham is the ancestor of the African people groups. Could there be something to this argument? Not at all! Read what Noah actually said! Genesis 9:25 says, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.” Canaan was Ham’s son - Ham was never cursed! In fact, part of Canaan’s curse was to serve his brothers, the rest of Ham’s kids - including the Africans’ ancestors! Ham’s sin in Genesis 9 brought a curse on his son Canaan, who was probably already following in the footsteps of his father. But notice that it was the Canaanites that bore this curse. Besides, there is no reference to skin color!

Another argument racists use is that God forbid the Israelites to intermarry with other races. Well, yes and no. God forbid them to marry the Canaanites - but not because of race or skin color! it was an issue of loyalty, the Canaanites were pagans! But you often see Canaanites who did give their loyalties to God. Rahab was one of them. So was Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s mighty men. God wasn’t concerned about racial purity, he was concerned about spiritual loyalty!

For more information about God’s view on intermarriage, check out this post.

You see, God does not care about ethnicity, color, or culture. We all came from Adam through Noah! Acts 17:26 says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” God breaks down man-made barriers again in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek (racial discrimination), there is neither slave nor free (social and economic discrimination), there is neither male nor female (gender discrimination); for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

In God’s eyes there are only two races. You can already see that at the end of Galatians 3:28 - “you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Spiritually speaking, all those in Christ Jesus are one race. That means those who are not in Him are the other spiritual race.

Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 to examine this further. “And so it is written,“The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam (Jesus) became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.  As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”

Do you see the two spiritual races here? We were all born into the race of Adam - that is natural humanity. Everyone who belongs to this race shares the same fate, to die and be judged for their sin. But those of us who were born again, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, have been born into a new race - the “last Adam’s” race! We are no longer merely natural humans, we have a recreated spirit! When our body dies, our spirit goes to be with Jesus! Our fate is to spend eternity with our Savior.

These are the only two races of people God sees. Aren’t you glad that this kind of race can change? You don’t have to live your life in Adam’s race anymore! 1 Corinthians 15:22 says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” There you have it, the fate of both races. Which one do you want a part of?

We Weren’t Saved For This

In Jeremiah 7, God pleads with the kingdom of Judah to leave their wickedness. This was just after the death of king Josiah - one of Judah’s godliest kings. Despite Josiah’s extensive reforms, Judah never turned their hearts to God. They simply added the worship of Yahweh to their sinful, disobedient lifestyles. Listen to the warning God gives them and see if it applies to America’s church today:

Jeremiah 7:1-11

The Word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, “Stand in the gate of Yahweh's house, and declare there this Word, and say, ‘Hear the Word of Yahweh, all Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship Yahweh. So says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, “Make your ways and your doings good, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in lying words, saying, ‘The temple of Yahweh, The temple of Yahweh, The temple of Yahweh are these.’ For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if you completely do judgment between a man and his neighbor; if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your hurt; then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.

“Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot do any good. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know; and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’?

Do you think God’s complaint against His people was valid? They came to His temple every day to worship Him, but they never changed the condition of their hearts. Isaiah 29:13 speaks about these kinds of people, “These people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me.”

Their backslidden heart soon produced backslidden actions. You see, sin starts in the heart but spreads to your actions. And the people of Judah were doing some very wicked things! Listen to what God accused them of! “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods...” Theft, murder, adultery, lying, and idolatry! No wonder God wasn’t happy with them!

Do you think this behavior is in God’s house today? Do you think there are any thieves, liars, or adulterers (if not in action, in heart)? If hatred of your brother is the same in God’s eyes as murder...how many murderers are in our worship services? Are there any idolaters in church - people who put their priorities on temporal things of this life and not on the things that God sees as important?

“Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot do any good.”

What were the lying words these people were trusting in? What was it that made them think their sin was ok? They were listening to the message of false prophets. These men would say, “The temple of Yahweh, The temple of Yahweh, The temple of Yahweh are these!” Judah was being told that as long as they kept worshipping in  Yahweh’s temple...these other things didn’t matter!

Because of what the false prophets were saying, the people took up a motto, “We are delivered to do all these abominations.” They were claiming that God saved them, but that He didn’t care what they were doing!

This is the cry that is being raised in too many churches right now! “God loves you. God forgives you. God’s grace will cover what your sin.” It’s the message of distorted grace.

Let me tell you, no one believes in God’s forgiveness like I do! I am so grateful that He forgave my sin and wiped it out of His record! He delivered me from the punishment I deserved! But He did not deliver me so I could keep doing it!

I said before and I’ll keep saying it until someone listens, God forgives sin when you repent! When there’s no repentance, there’s no forgiveness!

God’s grace does wipe away our sin, that is an absolute fact! But the rest of the story is found in Romans 6:15, “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” Grace is not liberty to do as you please!

I believe that Jeremiah 7:9 and 10 applies just as much to the church as it did to Judah.

“Will you steal, hate your brother, commit adultery in your hearts, lie, and chase after the things of this world (like you should be chasing Me) - and then come to church and stand before Me in My house and say, ‘We’re sinning but it’s ok, we’re covered by grace’?”