Acts 17:22-31 "Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. WHOM therefore ye ignorantly worship, HIM declare I unto you. GOD that made the world and all things therein, seeing that HE is LORD of Heaven and Earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though HE needed any thing, seeing HE gives to all life, and breath, and all things; and has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the Earth, and has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
That they should seek the LORD, if haply they might feel after HIM, and find HIM, though HE be not far from every one of us: for in HIM we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also HIS offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of GOD, we ought not to think that the GODHEAD is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance GOD winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent: because HE has appointed a day, in the which HE will judge the world in righteousness by that MAN WHOM He has ordained; whereof HE has given assurance unto all men, in that HE has raised HIM from the dead.
We live in a nation that is often sharply divided along racial lines. People are being judged based on the color of their skin rather than the content of their character. Today, Martin Luther King Jr. might be considered an extremist for suggesting that we treat people of all races equally ! Those who have the courage to say that "all lives matter" are condemned for hate speech. In the midst of this toxic political and media-driven environment, it is important to understand that GOD is not a racist. HE has a wonderful message of Good News (the Gospel) for people of every color. "[GOD] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth" (v.26).
Biblically, there are not many races but one race of people: the human race. All people are derived from Adam, and all are made in the image of GOD. "For GOD so loved the world" (John 3:16a), which certainly includes people of every racial and ethnic background. The Gospel is to go to "all men every where" (v.30) and is to be preached to "every creature," that is, to every created person (Mark 16:15). Godly missionaries have given their lives to reach out to indigenous peoples of every race, color, and tribe. In GOD's living organism, the church, "there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but CHRIST is all, and in all" (Colossians 3:11 above). The Bible teaches that the color of a man's skin cannot be changed any more than can a leopard's spots (Jeremiah 13:23 above), and men must never be blamed for what they cannot change. Heaven is not for racists, for gathered in that Heavenly throng are the redeemed "out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Revelation 5:9 above). GWZ
Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
Copyright, FEATURE: A Daily Bible Study Guide.
Used with permission. www.featoday.org
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