Few subjects are more emotionally charged than racism. We don’t like to be the recipients of it, and we don’t like to be accused of it. As a result, talking about it is problematic. It frequently does more harm than good because of the sensitivity of the subject. And yet, if we don’t talk about it, that’s even worse, since any subject that elicits that much emotion from us is effecting our hearts and our relationships. This is especially true in the church, where we are vulnerable with each other — more than we probably realize.
It shouldn’t surprise us then to find out that God’s Word has much to say about the subject. Since the term, “racism” is a modern term we should not expect to find it in the Bible, but the Bible uses many other words to describe the same sin: “hatred,” “discord,” “dissensions,” and “factions” for example are four of the 15 words Galatians 5:19-21 uses to describe the sinful nature. Make no mistake about it: racism is not a new problem; and therefore God’s Word has much to say about it.
This sermon looks carefully at the conflict recorded for us in Acts 6 when one culturally distinct group is being overlooked by another culturally distinct group in the church. This conflict had the potential to rip the fellowship apart because of the emotion involved in it. But all parties involved handled the conflict with great sensitivity and wisdom, and instead of it dividing the church, it ends up uniting them even more, resulting in the Word of God spreading even more rapidly in their culturally diverse world.
Take heart! God’s Word both identifies the problem and gives us many specific directives to solve it in our church today. Let’s open our Bibles, open our hearts, and learn from our heavenly Father how to get along in spite of our differences.
About the speaker:
Jeff Chacon has been a disciple of Jesus for 35 years and currently serves as co-evangelist for the Anchor Point Church in Tampa, Florida. He and his wife, Lisa, have been married for 30 years, and have three adult children who are all married and love the Lord with all their hearts.
