6 The Counsel of Chalcedon

A Christian
Approach to
Racism II
PART I of A Christian
Approach to Racism apeared
in the May/June 2007 Issue
The Counsel of Chalcedon.
PART II
THE BIBLICAL
APPROACH TO THE
RACE ISSUE
The consistent Christian
gladly accepts all the diversities
and differences which abound
in the creation and in human
society, realizing that all these
have been created after their
own kind, Genesis 1:24-32, and
yet also recognizing that they all
nd their ultimate unity in the
sovereign counsel and providence
of Almighty God. Secular
humanists on the other hand nd
such diversities and differences
between individuals and races
intolerable, since they are forced
by their own apostasy from the
living God to nd the meaning
and purpose of life within the
narrowed down horizons of the
material universe or in some
absolutized aspect of the creation.
Since it is only within the
phenomenal world that perfection
and salvation can be attained,
[according to the humanists],
then unity too must be achieved
within the terms of this world
at any cost, regardless of
peoples most cherished feelings.
Hence their apostate religious
drive to achieve the forcible
assimilation of races, churches,
schools, etc. and to abolish all
the differences which God has
ordained. -- In short, secular
humanists are determined to
achieve unity at the expense
of human freedom, diversity
and difference. The white
liberals of America have in fact
absolutized their own American
way of life and they will not
rest content until every one else
in America has bowed down to
the false gods they worship-
Hebden-Taylor, The Christian
Understanding of Race Relations,
pp.11-12. And if the Christian
communityred, yellow, black
and whitedoes not t into the
humanist model for society, it
will be discriminated against!
The Word of God teaches
us to believe that the solution
to the race issues lies in the
concept of RACIAL DIVERSITY
IN COVENANTAL UNITY. All
human beings are equal before
the Law of God and equally
accountable to obey it, and in
that sense the Law is color-blind
in that it judges all people by
its standard with no regard for
color, sex, age or status. Within
the boundaries of obedience to
the covenant of God to which
all are equally obligated to
submit, it is possible to allow full
freedom of each race to develop
in accordance with their deepest
aspirations through faith in
Christ. In the covenant of God
there is no racial segregation
or racial integration, because
in Christ racial differences are
insignicant, for all believers
equally participate in the
blessings of redemption and of
the covenant, as the sons and
daughters of God, Galatians
3:28-29. In Gods covenant there
is only religious and ethical
segregation and the integration of
the Word of God into all aspects
of life and thought, II Corinthians
6:14-18, II Corinthians 10:3-6.
In the church of Christ
there is COMMUNION NOT
EQUALITY, COMMUNITY NOT
Rev. Joseph Morecraft III ~ Chalcedon Presbyterian Church/Cumming, Georgia
7 Making the Nations Christs Disciples
UNIFORMITY. Although all
believers are equally accountable
before the Law of God and
equally share in the benets of
salvation and the promises of the
covenant in Christ, all believers
are not the same. We do not
share an equality of position,
opportunity, ofce, authority,
gifts, talents, knowledge, callings,
usefulness, temporal and eternal
blessings, ministries, and so on.
We must recognize and appreciate
the integrity of these differences,
including ethnic differences in
the one body of Christ. In the
apostolic church, for example,
Jewish converts organized
Jewish churches and Gentiles
organized Gentile churches,
WITHOUT BARRING ONE
ANOTHER FROM MEMBERSHIP
IN EITHER. Each was to work
in terms of his history, tradition,
and gifts within the framework
of Christs body, recognizing
the interdependence of all and
the dependence of all on Christ
the head. In that body there is
liberty, mutual respect, love and,
sometimes, racial blending.
We must also bear in mind
that God made the racial
differences among us, and the
Holy Spirit of God created the
diversity and inequalities in the
one body of Christ to which all
believers belong regardless of
racial origin. Gods Spirit has
sovereignly given each Christian
his place, role, calling, sphere
of usefulness and extent of
effectiveness in this world. He
has deliberately and sovereignly
made Christians unequal, but all
signicant and unique, so that
the whole body will be stronger.
If any one member of the body
fails to use his Spiritual gifts for
the benet of the whole, or if
the body fails to appreciate the
contribution of each member,
the whole body suffers.
Now there are varieties of gifts,
but the same Spirit. And there
are varieties of ministries, and
the same Lord. And there are
varieties of effects, but the same
God who works all things in all
persons. But to each one is given
the manifestation of the Spirit
for the common good. -- But one
and the same Spirit works all
these things, distributing to each
one individually just as He wills.
For even as the body is one
and yet has many members,
and all the members of the
body, though they are many,
are one body, so also is Christ.
For by one Spirit we were all
baptized into one body, whether
Jews or Greeks, whether
slaves or free, and we were all
made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body is not one
member, but many. If the foot
should say, Because I am
not a hand, I am not a part
of the body, it is not for this
reason any the less a part of
the body. And if the ear should
say, Because I am not an eye,
I am not a part of the body, it
is not for this reason any the
less a part of the body. If the
whole body were an eye, where
would the hearing be? If the
whole were hearing, where
would the sense of smell be?
But now God has placed the
members, each one of them, in
the body, just as He desired.
And if they were all one
member, where would the body
be? But now there are many
members, but one body. And the
eye cannot say to the hand, I
have no need of you; or again
the head to the feet, I have no
need of you. On the contrary, it
is much truer that the members
of the body which seem to be
weaker are necessary; and those
members of the body, which we
deem less honorable, on these we
bestow more abundant honor,
and our unseemly members
come to have more abundant
seemliness, whereas our seemly
members have no need of it.
But God has so composed the
body, giving more abundant
honor to that member which
lacked, that there should be no
division in the body, but that the
members should have the same
care for one another. And if one
member suffers, all the members
suffer with it; if one member is
honored, all the members rejoice
with it. Now you are Christs
body, and individually members
of it.- I Corinthians 12:4-27
Just as the arm belongs to the
body as much as the leg, so the
various races belong to mankind.
Just as all members have a
common task to serve the body as
a whole, but then as arm or leg or
eye, so each race, in its own way
must serve the Body of Christ as
a whole, and is part of the Body of
Christ [through faith in Christ].
It is as wrong to sever the arm
or the leg (segregation) as it is
to desire to make all arms into
legs (assimilation). Integration
as assimilation (articial unity
denying diversity) is just as
wrong as segregation (isolation
for the wrong reasons). If the
Word of God thus calls upon
Christians to reject integration
[as well as segregation]
of one race by another it also
requires that we reject racism
in any shape or form. Racism
A Christian Approach to Racism ~ Part II
8 The Counsel of Chalcedon
is fundamentally the attempt to
supplant the Biblical antithesis
between obedience to God
and disobedience to Him with
the white-black contrast.-
Hebden-Taylor, pp. 12-13.
God is one God in three
PersonsFather, Son and
Spirit. His oneness and His
threeness are of equal ultimacy
and importance. He is three
individual persons harmonious
subsisting in one divine essence.
And this God has created man in
His image, to reect Himself in
mans life, character and society.
Therefore, in human relations, we
have billions of individuals within
the one human race, various
races within one mankind.
Which is more important the
individuals or the race, the
particular races of the one
mankind? Because of the Trinity,
we understand that the individual
is as important as the society,
and one race as important as the
human race. Such a trinitarian
perspective of race relations
will bring the end of racism.
THE ETHICS OF
A CHRISTIAN
UNDERSTANDING
OF RACISM
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
CONDEMNS RACISMYou
shall not commit murder.
God forbids us to kill another
human being unjustly. Since a
commandment that prohibits a
specic sin involves the opposite
duty, this commandment also
requires of us to seek to enhance
and preserve the life of other
people. The Westminster Larger
Catechism brings out both sides
of this ethical responsibility.
It teaches us that the sixth
commandment forbids sinful
anger, hatred, envy, desire of
revengeprovoking words,
oppressionstriking, wounding
and whatsoever else tends to the
destruction of the life of any.-
Question 136. It also teaches
us that this commandment
obligates us to preserve the life of
others by charitable thoughts,
love, compassion, meekness,
gentleness, kindness, peaceable,
mild and courteous speech and
behavior, forbearance, readiness
to be reconciled, patient bearing
and forgiving of injuries, and
requiting good for evil; comforting
and succoring the distressed,
and protecting and defending
the innocent.- Question 135.
Racist attitudes stand in stark
contrast to these duties.
In the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus argues that the implications
of the sixth commandment are
far more penetrating than overt
murder. He teaches us that the
commandment also condemns
unexpressed hateful attitudes
in the heartYou have heard
that the ancients were told,
You shall not commit murder;
and Whoever commits murder
shall be liable to the court; but
I say to you that every one who
is angry with his brother shall
beguilty enough to go into the
hell of re, Matthew 5:21-22.
Therefore, in the light of the
prohibitions and obligations of the
Sixth Commandments and the
interpretation of Jesus Himself,
we must draw this conclusion:
TO BE A RACIST IS TO BE A
KILLER! The point is not that
some racists are violent, and
therefore breed violence and
killing; rather it is that all racists
are killers in their heart, and
that racism breeds violence.
In order to enhance and
preserve human life, believers
in Jesus must apply Pauls
exhortations to themselves:
Do nothing from selshness
or empty conceit, but with
humility of mind let each of
you regard one another as
more important than himself,
Philippians 2:3. Such an attitude
precludes a racist attitude.
THE STATE AND
RACISM
Racism is a terrible sin. It is to
be punished when it shows itself
in the family and in the church,
but according the Biblical Law
it is not a criminal offense to be
punished by the state. Although
it is popular today to think that
racism must be outlawed and
punished by the state, the Bible
teaches us to believe that the
state violates its jurisdiction by
attempting to punish racism
or to correct racism either by
segregation or integration by force
of law. The state may not legislate
in such a way as to deem one
racial group inferior or superior to
another. Justice is blind in regard
to race as is clear in the following
two passages from the Word of
God, which teach that the Law
of God was to be administered
by the state equally to those who
citizens of Israel and those who
were not, whatever their race.
I charged your judges at
that time, saying, Hear the
cases between your fellow
countrymen, and judge
righteously between a man and
his fellow countryman, or the
alien who is with him. You shall
not show partiality in judgment;
you shall hear the small and
the great alike. You shall not
fear man, for the judgment is
Gods, Deuteronomy 1:16,17.
A Christian Approach to Racism ~ Part II
9 Making the Nations Christs Disciples
A Christian Approach to Racism ~ Part II
There shall be one standard for
you; it shall be for the stranger
as well as the native; for I am the
LORD your God, Leviticus 24:22.
The civil authority is to protect
life and property, to obey and
enforce Gods laws governing the
civil sphere, without regard to
the race of those it must protect
or punish. Hence all coercive
segregation laws clearly violate
Gods law, as do all Afrmative
Action laws by the state, because
all discrimination against or
for a person because of his
race by the state is a violation
of Gods Law. Laws that link
employment with racial quotas
are racist, as well as degrading
to minorities. This means also
that the state may not coerce
racial integration. To do so is to
usurp tyrannical authority not
ordained by God, Romans 13:1f.
The failure of modern civil
authorities to heed the Biblical
standard of color blindness
in their dealings has and will
compound the tragedies among
their citizens. Segregationist
and integrationist legislation not
only stir racial antagonism, but
both trample individual rights
for the benet of the collective.
The rejection of Biblical faith
invites such dire consequences.
THE CHURCH
AND RACISM
In the light of all we have said
regarding the unity of the body
of Christ, the church may not
prohibit a person from being
ordained to church ofce due
to his race. It may not refuse or
even desire to refuse to preach
the gospel to peoples of all races.
It may not discipline due to his or
her race. It may not bar people
from the Lords Supper because
of their race. And it may not
bar someone from membership
in the church because of his or
her race. Furthermore, as an
agency of mercy the church has
an obligation to speak peace to
the racial conict which has
arisen in a pagan culture.
THE FAMILY
AND RACISM
The family is also under the
Word of God and it to must
approach race relations Biblically.
Parents should teach their
children to view the race issue in
terms of the Biblical principles
we have been expounding in this
paper. But the question is: What
about interracial marriages?
Should parents disallow their
children to marry persons from
other races? On the basis of the
principles and laws of the Word
of God, our answer must be
that for parents to forbid such
marriage solely on the basis of
race is sinful. However, because
of the unique potentiality for
conict, careful parental, Biblical
counsel should be sought out and
humbly received by the young
people considering marriage,
making it clear that Christian
young adults should marry only
in the Lord, and that inter-
religious marriages are forbidden.
A very foreboding lesson is
found in an Old Testament
interracial marriage. Moses
second marriage was to a black
woman, an Ethiopian. We are
told that Miriam and Aaron
spoke against Moses because of
the Cushite [Ethiopian] woman
whom he had married, Numbers
12:1, Jeremiah 13:23. We know
that the woman had been made
part of the covenant due to the
Lords declaration in the same
context that Moses is faithful
in all My household, vs. 7.
Miriam and Aaron are bitter and
rebellious because the woman
is a foreignershe is of another
race. The consequence of this
bitterness and rebellion is that
the anger of the LORD burned
against them, vs. 9. Moreover,
in what is perhaps an ironic
judgment, the Lord punishes
Miriam with leprosy which made
her as white as snow, vs. 10.
PRIVATE
ASSOCIATIONS
AND RACISM
What about businesses,
restaurants, recreational clubs,
schools, and any other private
association organized by means
of voluntary contracts, may they
practice racist policies? May
a restaurant refuse to serve
Hispanics because they are
Hispanics? May a bus company
prohibit black people from sitting
in the front of the bus? May a
black grocery story owner refuse
to sell groceries to Koreans?
The answer to these questions
is twofold. First, proprietors of
private associations involving
the ordering and exchange of
private property are forbidden
by God to hold to racist beliefs
and to institute racist policies,
because the proprietors are
accountable to God regarding
what they do on their property,
which itself belongs to God.
Second, the Bible distinguishes
between sins and crimes. Crimes
are a subset of sins. Some sins
are not crimes, but all crimes
as identied by God in His
Continued on Page 30
30 The Counsel of Chalcedon
Word are sins. The state is not
commissioned to punish sins that
are not designated crimes, it is to
punish crimes. For example, the
state may not punish a person
for sexual lust in his mind, which
is a sin, but it must punish overt
adultery, which is a sin and a
crime. It cannot punish hate
in the heart, which is a sin, but
it must punish murder which is
a sin and a crime. These sins
of the heart, along with many
others, are not within the states
Biblically dened jurisdiction.
Therefore, the state cannot
force by legislation and police
power a restaurant owner to
serve people from other races
that he does not want to serve.
However the family and the
church do have a jurisdiction
of such sins. The family may
punish racist practices in the
home and the church may
ultimately excommunicate
someone who, given objective
evidence, expresses the racism
in his heart by the practice
of racism in his actions or
business. Also, a business may
punish unsociable behavior by
ring the offensive employee.
Racism is punishable by
the family, church and free
market. It is a heinous sin,
but it is not a criminal offense
to be punished by the state.
Given these distinctions, a
restaurant owner may refuse to
serve a particular ethnic group
for sinful racist reasons, but that
owner ought not to be criminally
liable for doing so. Contrary
to contemporary statutes, the
State violates its jurisdiction by
attempting to punish this sin.
This application does not mean
that the owner may sin with
impunity. Though the State is
forbidden to require the owner to
sell to all racial groups, Matthew
20:15, he or she would still face
other sanctions. If the owner is
a believer, then someone may
bring charges against him in
the church, Matthew 18:15-20.
And again the church may
ultimately excommunicate him
for such wicked behavior.
The sphere of private
associations also has its own
form of punishment. The free
market can punish such sinful
attitudes by driving such a
person out of business. The
costs of racism in a free market
are high. For example, a racists
orist may refuse to hire some
minority individual. The
minority individual job-seeker
may increase the cost of this
racism by underbidding the
wage received by white workers.
If the owner desires to stay
in business, then he cannot
ultimately afford to accept the
higher cost of the white worker.
Obviously, minimum wage
and occupational licensing
requirements reduce such
anti-racist market incentives.
Similarly, government
bureaucratic monopolies have
no incentive to overcome racist
practices. We must remember
that the back of the bus
regulations enlisted against
blacks in the South were the
practice of busing systems which
were subsidized and monopolized
by the government, and therefore
they had no incentive to fend
off potential competition by
serving all their customers. --
Market and ecclesiastical
sanctions against racism
in private associations are
potentially powerful forms of
restraint. Nevertheless, we must
never lose sight of the fact that
a racist, in whatever sphere,
if unrepentant, will face the
wrath of God on the last day.
All other punishments pale in
regard to the nal judgment.
A WORD TO BLACK
CHRISTIANS STRIVING
FOR JUSTICE IN
AMERICAN SOCIETY
If we are going to succeed
in rebuilding our culture
[removing injustices, racism, and
all other forms of lawlessness
that are institutionalized in it],
then it must be based on the
consciousness that God, by
His grace, is active in the world
today. Solely because of Gods
active grace many people are
able to commit themselves to
seek God and His revelation.
These are the people who by
Gods power will confess to Him
their lost and hopeless condition
and throw themselves on Gods
grace as their only hope of
deliverance from wrath.
The unique message of the
Scripture is that God has indeed
provided for the solution to our
problem with Godthe message
that God WILL accomplish
deliverance for His peoplethe
message is that God in Christ has
accomplished deliverance for His
people and that they can begin
to experience this deliverance
now. This is good news to all
who by Gods grace seek Him.
Seek rst His kingdom, and
His righteousness; and all
these things shall be added
to you, Matthew 6:33.
Righteousness includes
liberation. Righteousness will
never liberate ungodliness to do
its thing. Righteousness, both
collective and individual, will lift
A Christian Approach to Racism ~ Part II
Continued from Page 9
31 Making the Nations Christs Disciples
a people above the frustrating
effects of ungodliness and give
them the will and power to realize
their loftiest aspirations, Matthew
5:6. The quest for righteousness
in every area of life must be on
the top of the Black agenda if we
are to become the people God
created us to be, Matthew 6:33.
The more an oppressed people
seek to construct their resistance
to oppression around the Word
of god, (1) the stronger will be
the cultural power generated by
their struggle, (2) the greater
will be the likelihood that the
oppression will be broken, (3) the
smaller will be the likelihood that
the resistance movement will be
destroyed by the ungodliness of
those involved in it, and (4) the
smaller will be the likelihood
that they will lose their cultural
cohesion and compassion for
their fellow human beings.
True liberation is not the
right to do what I want, it is
the power to do what is right.
If we are going to achieve the
liberation of our historical
quest, then we must go beyond
liberation to righteousness
Gods righteousness. Not the
holier than thou brand of self-
righteousness, or religiosity, but
an applied righteousness lived
out in all aspects of culture.
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A Christian Approach to Racism ~ Part II
Rev. Joseph Morecraft III