Race. Grace. Justice. Jesus. Sample

We can change

Jesus’ top draft pick was a racist.

I’m not being dramatic. He was. When Jesus was beginning his ministry, he picked a few fishermen from Galilee to follow him. Many Christians love the fact that Christ chose a bunch of poor, blue-collar guys to be his apostles. But what many people miss is that at least one of those men was racist.

In fact, his racism ran so deep that even after three years of following Jesus, even after he watched the Messiah help Romans and save Samaritans and praise Phoenicians, even after the cross and the empty tomb and the ascension, he still was a racist! 

His name was Simon Peter. But, eventually, by God’s grace, he changed.

One day God commanded Peter, a Jew, to go into the house of someone of a different race, that is, a Gentile, two cultures that were different in the food they ate, the clothes they wore, and the beards they trimmed (or didn’t). Peter wasn’t just nervous about this new cultural experience. He was morally opposed to it. He admitted to his ethnic hosts, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile” (Acts 10:28).

Imagine that today. Imagine if a white athlete posted his belief that he couldn’t ride the same bus as his black teammates. Imagine if a Latino manager refused to be in the break room with her Asian coworkers. We would demand a change. We would insist on justice. Our culture might even “cancel” the offender, a secular version of excommunication.

The God who loves justice more than any of us ever have did something about Peter. He didn’t axe him and make him an ex-apostle. He didn’t cancel Peter’s place in the early Christian culture. Instead, God changed him.

You can (and should!) read the entire story in Acts chapters 10 and 11, where God poured out the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles, allowing Peter’s Jewish eyes to witness God’s love for the nations. Peter got the message. “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right’” (Acts 10:34,35). In turn, Peter boldly declared that message to “his people,” opening their eyes to the truth about God’s love for the world.

I love that day in history. It shows that people can change. God can open eyes. Our modern “cancel culture” assumes the opposite, that we need to silence sinners once we find them. But that’s not what our Father did with Peter. That’s not what he does with you either. The greatest example is the cross, where God changed you and forgave you instead of condemning you. Even after coming to faith, God patiently teaches, corrects, rebukes, and changes us more and more into the image of his loving Son.

So—can I ask a personal question—How racist are you?

I asked “how racist” instead of “are you racist” because I believe it’s a mistake to make racism a yes/no question. We don’t do that with other sins. Are you proud—yes or no? Patient—yes or no? Selfless—yes or no? We recognize that pride and impatience and selfishness are sins we sometimes commit but are trying, with the Holy Spirit’s help, to resist. 

Racism is the same. It’s a process. Rejecting every form of racism is part of the Christian life, meaning we aim to do it perfectly but often are far from perfect. Some of us are miles from God’s ideal due to our racist upbringing or online influences or ignorant friends. Others of us are much further along, perhaps due to good parenting, good professors, or good biblical teaching. But none of us is perfect when it comes to loving those who are different from us, which is why we ask for God’s help to grow.

Wouldn’t it be better if we believed that?

For any part of the Christian life to change, we have to talk about it. For biases to be undone and prejudices put down, we need to confess our sins, teach one another the truth, and encourage each other with God’s grace. But if our only two choices are, “I’m a proud KKK member” or, “I have never, ever, ever had anything close to a racist thought,” we won’t talk about racism. We won’t pray about racism. We won’t give grace to repentant racists.

And, sadly, racism will remain in our hearts.

But if we look at Peter’s story and remember that racism is a sin that must be and can be dealt with among followers of Jesus, things can change. We might hear more, “I now realize . . .” confessions, proof that God can change people when it comes to race. We might see more people like Peter who are brave enough to publicly say, “I used to . . . but now I . . .”

Today, I want to challenge you to take a step and talk about racism with fellow Christians. Refuse to cancel one another, but instead, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).

I can change. You can too. Just ask Peter.