RACISM — AN ANCIENT SIN WITH NO INTELLIGENCE
Racism does not begin in the skin; it begins in the heart. It is not born from biology but from pride. It is an old sin dressed up in modern language, a foolish idea that keeps resurfacing because the human heart, when unrestrained by Christ, keeps finding new ways to exalt itself over others.
The Bible is unembarrassingly clear about our shared origin. “God made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). Verse 27 continues by saying that God did this so that we might seek Him. Race was never meant to divide humanity; it was meant to display the creative wisdom of God. Different languages, different cultures, different shades of skin—yet one human family, standing on the same ground before the same Creator.
Racism grows where pride is cultivated. It is the ancient lie that whispers, I am superior; you are lesser. It is the same lie that caused the Pharisee to look down on the tax collector and thank God that he was not like other men (Luke 18:11). Racism is simply self-righteousness wearing a different mask. And like all pride, it collapses the moment it is exposed to truth.
It is also astonishingly stupid. Not merely immoral—irrational. Racism claims to value strength while depending on ignorance. It pretends to be about heritage while ignoring history. It shouts about purity while forgetting that every human genome is hopelessly intertwined. Science dismantles it, history mocks it, and the Word of God condemns it outright. “God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:11). The next verse—verse 12—makes plain that all stand accountable by the same standard. No exceptions. No favored groups. No elevated bloodlines.
At the foot of the cross, racism is not merely wrong; it is impossible to justify. “Christ Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation” (Ephesians 2:14). He did this by creating one new humanity in Himself (v. 15). The cross levels everything. Ethnic pride cannot survive there. Cultural arrogance cannot breathe there. Every sinner kneels on the same ground, saved by the same grace, washed by the same blood.
Racism endures only where the Gospel has been ignored or selectively applied. You cannot claim allegiance to Jesus while despising those He died to redeem. “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 John 4:20). And then verse 21 presses the point home: the one who loves God must also love his brother. Not tolerate. Not condescend. Love.
The tragedy is not that racism exists in the world; the tragedy is when it finds shelter in the church. The church was meant to be the one place where such nonsense goes to die. A foretaste of heaven, where “a great multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue” stand together before the throne (Revelation 7:9). Heaven will not be segregated. Neither should the people who are headed there. And racism may keep you out altogether.
Racism is foolish because it denies creation, rejects redemption, and forgets eternity. It shrinks the soul, blinds the mind, and hardens the heart. It is beneath the dignity of those made in the image of God, and it is incompatible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Lord Jesus, purge our hearts of every seed of pride and prejudice. Teach us to see people as You see them—created by the Father, worth the blood of the Son, and invited into the life of the Spirit. Make Your church a living rebuke to hatred and a clear witness to Your reconciling grace. Amen.
BDD
