Martin Luther King Jr. Day was last Monday (1/20/25). He once said: “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Today, our sermon is going to be on racism, not because I think any of us are racist - but because, as Christians, we need to know what the Bible says about it. Martin Luther King was a preacher for the Ebenezer Baptist Church, and he rose to prominence in a day of extreme racism in America. In that day Blacks were not allowed to be in the same schools as whites; they had to use separate bathrooms and black only water fountains. Black singing groups - who performed in Las Vegas – had to eat in the kitchen, THEN sing, and THEN go to a black hotel across town. The Klan terrorized blacks who tried to register to vote… And, of course, there was the notorious confrontation and arrest of a black woman named Rosa Parks who refused to give up her bus seat to a white person back in 1955. And that’s where Martin Luther King got involved. He began the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and rose to national prominence as he began the Civil Rights Movement. THEN in 1968 – at the age of 39 – Mr. King was assassinated.
That was a very dark chapter of American history, and it’s painful to even think about it. But what’s even more painful is the fact that there were “church goers” who actively involved in promoting this racism. How could supposed Christians possibly take part in something like this?
Well, they did so because they forgot that its always right to do what is right… and it’s always wrong to do what is wrong. And they did it because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
ILLUS: Years ago, I was on-staff at a Church camp at Lake James Christian Assembly (up by Angola, IN), and one day I was sitting around with a few of the kids (4th & 5th graders). We were sitting in the sun, just talking… and I had a can of Pepsi. One of the kids asked if he could take a sip (I let him) Then another, and another - and I let each take a sip. But then a young black girl asked if she could have a drink. She was polite, she was gentle, & neat as a pin… BUT I PAUSED. I let her have a drink of my Pepsi, but I hesitated… for just a second. Something in me didn’t want to give her a drink because… she wasn’t like me! And - IN THAT MOMENT - I WAS RACIST. I’m as prone to sin as the next person
The point is this - racism is sinful. And like any sin, there is always a temptation for some people to do that sin. How do we know it’s a sin? Because Racism is based on pride. Racists are proud people. They basically say “I’m better than you because YOU don’t look like me, YOU don’t talk like me, and YOU didn’t come from the same country as me. Thus, I am better than you, and I deserve things you don’t.
Racism is based on pride, and James 4:6 says "God OPPOSES THE PROUD but gives grace to the humble."
And not only does God oppose the proud… but God explains why racism is wrong: God tells us that EVERYONE comes from same heritage. We all are descendants of Adam & Eve Paul said in Acts 17:26 - (God) made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth...” We all SHARE the same blood line – we are all related thru ONE MAN, and that one man was Adam.
ILLUS: Years ago, a few couples at the church I served, approached me and asked me to watch a video of a NEW preacher they’d heard. And I thought “why not?” What I saw on the video was a man sitting behind a huge desk, smoking a cigar and wearing a big cowboy hat. When I heard him speak, a lot of things he said seemed… ok… until he got to his punchline. He said, when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden Eve had “relations” with SATAN… and their offspring was CAIN. Cain killed Abel (as you’d expect an offspring of Satan to do) and Cain also had a different skin color than Abel. CAIN WAS A BLACK MAN! I was appalled! This was pure heresy and I told these couples it was. And I explained WHY it was heresy, but they wouldn’t listen to me. They said, “He (the false teacher) said you’d say that!” That preacher they listened to may have been a bigot… but he fed the racism that was already in their hearts. He told them what they wanted to hear.
In our culture, many will say that only white folks can be racist - but that’s not true. Racism occurs in all cultures and across all different kinds of skin colors. Racism is the refusal to associate with someone who is NOT LIKE ME!
ILLUS: One of the preachers in our area adopted two young black boys from Africa. He and his wife loved them and worked with them and raised them to be Godly Christians. AND they were natural athletes – it seemed they excelled in every sport - football, basketball, track. When they graduated, they went to Purdue, and their dad watched one time as some of the other black athletes avoided his sons. Why? Because his sons had white friends. One of the other black students was overheard to say: “I don’t like white folks.”
That’s a form of racism, just like the racism I showed that little girl.
In the days of Jesus there was a form of racism that the Jews practiced. They had neighbors called Samaritans – who were half-breeds. The ancestors of the Samaritans had been Israelites who’d intermarried with Gentiles… and the Jews REFUSED to have anything to do with the Samaritans. They regarded them as little better than dogs.
During His ministry – Jesus once taught that part of the OT Law was that we should love our neighbor as ourselves, and someone in the crowd asked “who is my neighbor?” And Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" (And the man replied), "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." Luke 10:29-37
Jesus’ point was this: if you’re going to follow ME, racism is not an acceptable behavior. Jesus calls us to be a good neighbor to all people… even those who are not like us.
Now, when Americans think racism, we tend to think of the contrast between blacks and whites. With that thought in mind, let’s look at how SCRIPTURE viewed those with a darker skin color.
1st - In Numbers 12:1 we’re told that “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married.” Cushites were black folks. And because Miriam didn’t like Moses marrying this black woman, God struck Miriam with leprosy – He turned her white. Essentially God was saying: “If you like white… I’ll give you white.”
2. Some propose that Bathsheba, the woman David committed adultery with, that she was black.
3. Others believe that the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon to learn of his wisdom… was a black woman.
4. In the New Testament, when Jesus stumbled under the weight of the cross. Simon of Cyrene was ordered to pick it up and carry it to Golgotha. Being from Cyrene – he may have been black. Matthew 27:32
5. The Ethiopian eunuch who was baptized by Philip in Acts 8:37. He was almost certainly black (being Ethiopian)
6. And, of course, “Simeon called Niger” – a leader in the early church - WAS definitely black… that’s what “Niger” means. (Acts 13:1)
THESE WERE ALL FAIRLY IMPORTANT BIBLE CHARACTERS. And, what’s interesting is – with the exception of Simeon called Niger – the Bible doesn’t call black people… “Black people”. All we’re told is what nation/country they came from – and we are left to draw our own conclusions from that.
You see, when it comes to skin color, God doesn’t care. God’s not racist. He knows that we all came from ONE MAN – Adam. No matter the pigment of our skin, we’re all related. When it comes to color, God looks - not at the outside but the INSIDE.
Do you remember what God said to Samuel when he was supposed to anoint a new king? God said: “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7) What does God pay attention to? (THE HEART)
I thought this graphic I found online was interesting: these are 3 different colored eggs, but on the inside the yolks look the same. The yolk (if you will) is the heart of the egg. And the color on the outside of the egg doesn’t affect the color of the yolk – the Heart.
In the same way – when God looks at people, He doesn’t look at their outward appearance - He looks at their HEART… which is what He wants us to do too.
Now, let’s take this one step further. I want you to look at this graphic: All three of these yolks came from the same color of egg shell - but the yolks are all different colors. Why? Because the color of the heart/yolks of those eggs depended on what the hen ate. What the chicken took into it’s body changed the color of the yolk/heart of the egg.
In fact, I don't have a picture today to show you this, but if a hen eats alfalfa... the yolk of its eggs turn green. Which probably gives you a whole new understanding of "Green eggs and ham."
But the color of the shells here are the same. They all look the same on the outside, but on the iside, the color of the yolk is different because of what the hen has taken into itself. In the same way, the Bible essentially teaches us that it’s not the pigment of your skin that God pays attention to. It’s the color of your heart. And the color of your heart is determined by what you “take in” to your life.
That’s what Jesus meant when He said: “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. These are what defile a person.” Matthew 15:19-20
And that’s why David wrote in Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” CHANGE MY HEART! Cleanse it of all the wrong things I’ve allowed into my life.
I saw a meme recently that said “The goal of the Gospel is not to affirm you, to celebrate you and accept you. The goal of the Gospel is to rescue you, transform you, and redirect you.”
Now that brings me to my last point - racism is the refusal to associate with someone who is NOT LIKE ME! And so, if I’m determined not to be racist, I’ve got work at accepting people who aren’t LIKE ME.
Now, the world around us understands that, but they want to take that one step further. The world wants us NOT ONLY to accept them as people - it wants us to accept HOW THEY LIVE. And if we’re unwilling to approve of their lifestyles… they’ll label US as being self-righteous, hypocritical and bigoted.
And yet, NOT approving of certain lifestyles is part of what God has called us to do. Notice in Acts 17, Paul says “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands ALL PEOPLE everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31
Did you notice what God calls all people to do? No matter our skin color or nationality… God calls us to repent. And what are we supposed to repent of? What does God expect us to change in our lives?
Well, I Corinthians 6:9-10 tells us - “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? (IT’S OBVIOUS!!!) Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
God is describing what is wrong with people’s hearts. Sins like these are what bring about regret, shame, and self-hatred. And God says – YOU DON’T have to live like that. YOU CAN CHANGE; YOU CAN REPENT; YOU CAN HAVE A 2nd CHANCE AT A CLEAR CONSCIENCE! And I CAN HELP YOU DO IT!!! (says God)
ILLUS: Thursday night midnight I got a call from man who desperately need to talk. I didn’t know who he was (all I could get from him was his first name), but he was a man burdened with guilt. He’d been in the military and he’d killed people… and he had enjoyed it. I won’t go into details, but he’d come to realize that much of what he’d done was evil. He saw his behavior as unforgivably sinful and he doubted that God would ever forgive him. We talked for nearly an hour and it was if he had created this wall that I couldn't penetrate. No matter what I said, he'd return to the idea that he didn't deserve to be forgiven, and nothing I could say made any difference. So, I decided to shake him up a little - the next time he said he didn't deserve to be forgive... I agree with him. "No," I said, "you don't deserve to be forgiven. And neither do I. And neither did Paul who said he was the worst of all possible sinners. And neither did David who committed adultery with his best friend's wife, and then arranged for that friend to die on the field of battle. Once I had his attention, I drove home the fact that God had promised that “if we confessed our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.” (1 John 1:9) I won’t go into all I said to this man, but I drove home the fact that he was right – he didn’t deserve forgiveness, and neither do I. But we serve a God who keeps His promises, and He promised that he would forgive ALL OUR SINS, if we’d humble ourselves and repent.
ILLUS: There’s a famous old movie based on the classic novel called “Lord Jim” (written by Joseph Conrad). It’s the story of a man who did a terrible thing, and then sought redemption & forgiveness. At one point in the movie, the narrator says that there’s “a hope common to most men. Rich or poor, strong or weak. Who among us has not begged God for a second chance?”
That story was saying that there’s lots of people who want to change - who want to repent - who want a 2nd chance.
And… those are the folks we’re looking for. We’re looking for the people who seek forgiveness; for those who want a fresh start. And that’s what happened in Corinth. After going through that litany of sins that would deprive people of heaven, Paul writes “And SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” I Corinthians 6:11
In other words – the blood of Jesus took away their guilt and shame and created a church of people who now had hope.
And that’s what Jesus can do for us as well. If you're a Christian who's messed up their lives, God promises that if you confess your sin to Him, He can and will forgive you of all your past sins and give you a fresh start. But if you're NOT Christian here today, the promise is - that if you believe that Jesus died for you, and you allow yourself to be buried in the waters of baptism, He can take away all our guilt and shame, because when we’re baptized into Christ, we DIE to our past and we RISE from that water to walk as new people. (Romans 6:3-4)
INVITATION
