Overcoming Prejudice
God’s people have always been commanded and empowered to love people. In the Old Testament it started slowly by loving their fellow Hebrews and those who attached themselves to the Jewish faith, Leviticus 19:18, 34. By the time of the New Testament, God’s people were expected to love everyone including their enemies, Romans 12:17-21. We are to recognize that God, who is impartial, sends good things like rain on the just and unjust alike, Matthew 5:45.
Some who study the Bible are concerned that driving out the Canaanites and other people was anything but loving! However, the Israelites were being used as the Lord’s judgment upon nations who had filled the Lord’s cup of wrath with abominable practices. There is ample evidence that these nations were forewarned enough to flee and avoid annihilation. Even during judgment, God spared Rahab’s family and the Gibeonites.
The turning point for the New Testament Church came in Acts 10 and 11. The Apostle Peter experienced a vision which helped him see that God was not partial to the Jews and he saw the Holy Spirit move on the Gentiles just like what had happened on the day of Pentecost. The wrap up statement Peter made is given to us in Acts 10:34, 35.
Discussion: Read Acts 11:1-3 and discuss the kind of prejudice the Jewish Christians had for the Gentiles.
- What kind of prejudices are we facing in the churches of today?
- What could the people of God do to conquer the remnants of prejudice in the church today?
lmederich 