1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (NIV)
[12] What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? [13] God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
In resent days a deadly protest broke out in Charlottesville, VA. White supremacists groups and those that oppose them clashed over ideology. One of the white supremacists used a car as a weapon to run over those that opposed them. Killing one and injuring others. Another sad day for humanity.
The reason why this is being written in because over the past few days many reports have been coming out about this event. In one of those reports the label Christian was attached to these white supremacist. This is what will be addressed.
Jesus came to tell humanity about the kingdom of God. That one day God was going to return and restore what was lost in the garden of Eden. Where only one nation will govern the earth and that's God's kingdom. A place where there will be no more pain, suffering or death. Where perfect justice will rule. Where all hatred, greed, malice, injustice and every other evil that lives in the hearts of humanity will be no more.
Now for humanity to be apart of this new nation they must look to the Son for entry. If you enter you must adopt the living principles and authority of the leader of this nation, which is Jesus the Christ. One of those principles is spelled out for the citizens of this new nation in a letter from Paul an apostle. He says to those who are followers of Jesus we must live a certain way,
Colossians 3:10-11 (NIV)
[10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. [11] Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
As citizens of God's kingdom, which is what you are if you claim Christianity, there are no more racial divisions, ethnic divisions, social status divisions among it's citizenry. Because since Jesus doesn't look at humanity in this way we shouldn't either. Therefore, believers are to adopt this biblical view. As ambassadors of Christ we represent God's kingdom who's leader is Jesus. Jesus informed us to go out into every nation of the world and invite all to be apart of His Kingdom. Now He didn't tell His disciples to go out and make the nations of the world into Christian nations. Because His nation was not of this world. It's from another place. We are to go out and tell the down trodden, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, the out cast of society within all nations that there is a better nation coming. There is good news about the Kingdom of God and all can be apart of it, however you must adopt Jesus' ways and become aliens in the nations we dwell.
However, are we, as ambassadors of Christ, to wade into the cultures of the world and tell them that must adopt Christ's principles apart from becoming a citizen of His kingdom?
As followers of Jesus Christ we should speak out against racism of all kinds, but, as Paul said to the Corinthians it needs to be directed to the body of Christ as a whole. People are coming into the kingdom all the time but they bring the baggage of their old life with them. As new citizens of God's kingdom we must put on new clothes.
Paul understood that those outside the church are in darkness, as he once was and as we were once. He said to the Ephesians,
Ephesians 5:8 (ESV)
[8] for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
The nations of the world resist the light of Jesus, as we once did. They can't be judged by us to adopt Christ principles as His citizens because they are not His citizens. The citizens of the nations of the world are blinded to the gospel of the Kingdom of God by the devil. John tell us,
1 John 5:19 (NIV)
[19] We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
We adopt this principle of no racism not to make ourselves feel better about ourselves or look good in the eyes of the world but to point to the One who showed us the way, Jesus. However, if you take the label of Christian, Paul says you will be judged by those who belong to the body of Christ. Since racism is not part of the citizenry of God's kingdom therefore, those who claim Christianity must remove all racism from their lives. It is not God's will and must be soundly condemned within the body of Christ.
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