The Gospel Opposes Racism
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility . . . to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility” (Ephesians 2:14–16).
The Gospel stands opposed to racism, and so too must people of the Gospel, everyone must come to God on the same terms, and become one body in Christ. Scripture does not discriminate by color and, on the most common understanding of Acts 8, the first Gentile convert may have been Black and from Africa. In the current climate of fear of terror, religion and racism are hot topics. In recent research based on the European Values Survey 2008, across 47 countries, it was documented that belief in God, no matter whether it is a personal God or a Spirit/Life Force is significantly negatively correlated with racism.
The man of God, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome proceeded to expound on true Christianity, saying, “When you receive Christ into your heart, it is a real experience; it is something that actually happened, that Christ has come to live in you.” We have been called to live out the divine life imparted to us when we proclaimed the Lordship of Jesus. There is no discrimination, Pastor Chris explains when referencing James 1:27, which depicts the Christian’s religious responsibility to the poor and the widow and his call to consecration from the world. He has recently been quoted saying “Racism is the manifestation of bankruptcy in the heart. They are void of true genuine love. Love sees no color” in response to worldwide sparks of racism and unrest relating to various global incidents.
The Gospel Is For All
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation for all who would believe (Romans 1:16).
The power of the Gospel works for everyone, there’s no such thing as “other races”; God made humans, and the Gospel is for all. The Word of God transcends all cultural, ethnic or national barriers. If you minister the Word of God in truth, it’ll break barriers and separate between those that are in bondage and those who really want to hear the truth. Truth has neither color nor borders. Truth is divine, and the Word of God is truth (John 17:17).
Never be selective as to whom you want to preach the Gospel. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus came to save the whole world, not a select few. There’re hurting people in all nations and nationalities; so, we must reach out to everyone.
In Colossians 3:11, he said, “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” Refuse the worldly categorization of people according to their physical or earthly descent. The Gospel is for everybody.
Relate in Love and Tolerance
Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you (Colossians 3:13).
Jesus, both by his example and by his teaching, summons us to serve and love fellow believers to the point of laying down our lives for them (John 13:14-17), and to love all our neighbors as ourselves. In today’s world, winds of intolerance are blowing strongly, fanned by such things as racial prejudice, religious extremism and the global socio-economic pandemic of Covid-19. Once we understand our capacity for love, our hearts know no bounds. We can love our greatest enemy, the one who seeks to tear us down, the one who despises. Romans 5:5 says “the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” Although this might be challenging, the way we treat our enemies is one of the major attributes of a strong Christian value system.
Pastor Chris emphasized this sentiment by saying “the Holy Spirit created the whole world and beautified the Heavens, yet He’s so humble and so gracious to come live in you. In all His greatness and magnificence, He considers you qualified to be His house, His living tabernacle. In spite of your imperfections and idiosyncrasies, He still loves you.”
