Race Relations: The Kingdom Approach I

Greetings Kingdom citizens,

As a side study to our 52 Weeks of Praise, I feel compelled to speak on race relations within the body of Christ. To begin, allow me to bring up a few scriptures. You're going to want to grab your Bible for this. Also, be sure to chime in on the discussion by leaving comments.

                                                                               - SCRIPTURES -
Galatians 6:10 - As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
Proverbs 3:27 - Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Acts 17:26 - And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.
Galatians 3:8 - And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Revelation 5:9 - And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.
Revelation 7:9 - After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.
Revelation 21:24 - And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Romans 5:18 - Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Romans 12:17-18 - Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
1 Corinthians 15:39 - All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
1 Thessalonians 3:12 - And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.
1 Timothy 2:1 - I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.
1 Timothy 2:4 - Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 4:10 - For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1 Peter 2:17 - Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

Now that we've reviewed some scriptures, allow me to take a deeper look at some biblical precepts to further set the stage for this discussion. Keep your Bible near. We'll come back to elaborate on these scriptures.

Notwithstanding, from just reading them we can derive a good idea of what our attitude and behavior should be as we interact with other believers/citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, regardless of race. As citizens of Heaven, but believers on Earth we represent God. He is seen or manifested to others through our obedient actions. Therefore, it is clear that we should interact, engage, and respond to people as our Heavenly Father would in order to represent Him properly. In other words, it is Heaven's culture that we should shew forth on the earth among men. As it is in Heaven so should we be, execute, and demonstrate consistently on Earth. We are on the earth but not [spiritually] from the earth. Moreover, we are in the world but not of the world (John 17:14,16). Our original spiritual citizenship/birthplace was (and is) Heaven because that's where our human spirit was created in the first place (Genesis 1:26-27). It is only our physical bodies, which house/encompass our human spirits, that were made on and from the earth. So when we were born again, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (e.g. The Holy Trinity) took up residence inside our human spirit NOT our physical bodies. Therefore our connection link to Heaven, our country of origin, is our redeemed human spirit. Why is this important? Because the kingdom principles (Bible standards/laws) that we are to follow have a Heavenly origin just like our human spirits. Therefore, since we originated from Heaven we should adhere to the principles of Heaven. Heavenly principles will produce Heavenly results and wordly principles will produce wordly results. Heavenly results are God's results and God's results are His willed or intended outcomes.

So God's system is established: His principles lead to His intended outcomes or results and His outcomes are the best outcomes. Therefore, His believers should live for and to His outcomes or results. In the mouth of a committed kingdom citizen it would sound something like this:

"Father God in Heaven, I recognize that my life, my purpose, and all I'm to be and do originates from you. I submit to your will (plans and processes) and willed outcomes (results) for my life and through my life to others. As I now set my heart to obey you and follow your heavenly principles, your willed outcomes (results) will be executed to your glory. Help me to hear and adhere to you forever. In Jesus' name, Amen."

So if anyone is really interested in being all that God wants them to be or having all that God wants them to have, then praying a prayer as such is a must.

Now, with the spiritual stage being set for this discussion, what exactly is God's or Heaven's attitude about race relations among believers? First of all we must understand that God is not against or for any one race in particular. He created all of the races and loves them all equally. In other words, God loves every human equally. No more, no less! His love is all-inclusive- universally and comprehensively. There's nothing a human can do to increase His love for them or decrease His love for them. If we review the creation account of mankind in Genesis 1:26-27 we'll quickly find that ALL mankind, that is every race or nationality, was created in His image. For all races were represented in the first man, Adam. Now after all these ages certainly God would not reduce the value on His own image, especially after going through the trouble [so to speak] of creating us in it. Besides, John 3:16 tells us that God was moved with such love for those created in His image (mankind) that He gave His only Son for them. So God is certainly not pro-white and against the other races. Nor is He pro-black and against the other races. He's equally for all because He created all. This idea is actually fairly familiar to us humans. Just think about how a parent that has multiple children loves them equally. Unless they were born at the same time, each child physically looks different, acts different, and has differing personalities and temperaments. Yet, it is no question that that parent loves each of them because they birthed them. If this be true with humans and their children how much more with God and His offspring?

In part II let's review each scripture shown above individually...

Extend The Grace

"Freely you have received, therefore freely give."

Just a quick note on extending grace to others...

All too often, in a moment of frustration or dissatisfaction with someone (e.g. relative, co-worker, friend, etc.) we fail to extend to them the same grace that God consistently extends to us. This day, make a conscious effort to renew your mind in the spirit of grace. Let us not be too hard or critical concerning another's failure to honour a command of God or even a personal request. At that moment, let us become consciousness of God's grace in our own lives and then extend such grace to others. Writer and theologian C.S. Lewis captures our human, nonetheless adjustable condition concerning this:

"This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people."

--The Case for Christianity
C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

A Final Note:
Since we are living in the dispensation of grace: from God toward man. It should be then reciprocated from man toward man!

DSW

"Kingdom Entrance: Grace Let Us In" - Part One

GRACE — favor or kindness extended without regard to the worth or merit of the one who receives it and in spite of what that person deserves. Grace is one of the key attributes of God. "The Lord God is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth" (Ex. 34:6). Grace is always associated with love, mercy, compassion, and patience.

"It is because of God's love that grace was (and is) extended toward us."

In the Old Testament, a supreme example of the grace of God was the redemption of the Hebrew people (Israel) from Egypt and their establishment in the Promised Land (Canaan). This did not happen because of any merit or righteousness on Israel’s part, but in spite of their unrighteousness.

(Deut. 7:7-8) - The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

(Deut. 9:5–6) - Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

Now in the New Testament, the grace of God was fully revealed and given in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Jesus was the very embodiment of God's grace (John 1:14), bringing it to mankind for salvation (Titus 2:11). By His death and resurrection, Jesus made possible the restoration of the broken relationship (sonship) between God and His offspring (mankind). This is salvation. So the only way for any person to have a 'restored relationship' with God is "through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:11). It was therefore Jesus which brought the "gospel of grace" fully into the world (John 1:17). Thank you Jesus!

"God is love, and in this dispensation He has extended His grace to all mankind in the person of Jesus Christ."

The theme of grace is especially prominent in the letters of the apostle Paul. He sets grace radically over against the law and the works of the law (Rom. 3:24, 28). Paul makes it abundantly clear that salvation is not something that can be earned; it can only be received by grace (Rom. 4:4, Eph 2:8-9).

{Reference: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary}

To be continued.....in the meantime, if you haven't already - check out the scriptures mentioned above and take a look at the story of Nicodemus in John 3:1-8.

DSW