Nathan Green, Minot

I am concerned that with all the back-and-forth dialogue regarding racism, there has been little to no mention of the cause for racism, nor the solution to it.  To understand why racism exists, you need to look no farther than the pages of the Holy Bible.  Racism, like all sin, exists because of the consequences of the first sin committed by our human parents in the garden of Eden, namely Adam and Eve disobeying a direct commandment from their Creator not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The consequence of that first sin is that the entire human race has inherited a sinful nature from Adam, as well as inheriting the guilt of his sin.  In other words, we are sinners by nature and under the just condemnation of our Creator.  We sin because we are sinners, and we are quite good at it.  Now I know what you’re thinking, how can I be vicariously liable for the sin of another?  Keep reading and you will soon discover the good news to offset this bad news!

It is not surprising that the cause of racism is not being talked about, even within Christian circles.  A recent study conducted by Ligonier Ministries titled Ligonier’s State of Theology Survey revealed that 65 percent of Christians believe that humans are born innocent.  Furthermore, after taking the survey and gaining access to the results, I noted that the majority of those surveyed disagreed with the following statement, “even the smallest sin deserves condemnation.”  This is in direct contradiction with the Bible that clearly teaches all humans are by nature children of wrath, spiritually dead in their sins and trespasses, and under the just condemnation of God’s holy law.   Unless we can find a way to atone for our sins, we will spend eternity in hell.  The gospel, which means “good news,” provides the only solution to atone for all past, present, and future sin whether it be racism, lying, stealing, drunkenness, gluttony, laziness, children disobeying their parents, or sexual immorality which includes but is not limited to premarital sex, adultery, and homosexuality. 

What exactly is this good news?  It is that the Son of God incarnated Himself by adding a human body to his divine nature, lived over 33 years without sinning even once, and died on a cross to atone for the sins of His people.  His righteousness is imputed to those who repent and believe in this gospel.  What a glorious display of love and mercy!  He took on our sins, suffered for our sins, and bore the penalty of our sins.  In exchange for our sins, his perfect righteousness is imputed to those who repent and believe this gospel, and are then declared forever innocent of our crimes against God.  Through adoption, we become children of God!  It is as if we never committed the crimes.  This is the solution to the sin of racism!  And therefore, the human race can be vicariously liable for the sin of Adam and vicariously innocent of their crimes through the perfect life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

At this juncture, I think it necessary to remind my readers that because sin is still present in the world, and even in the lives of born-again Christians, we will continue to experience racism and the other sins listed above until our Lord returns to fulfill all that he Has promised, namely that He will make all things new including the heavens, the earth, and the granting of His adopted children resurrected bodies that unite with our souls and are incorruptible.  In other words, in the renewal we will be granted immortality and the certainty of never sinning again, which is the glorious Christian doctrine of glorification.  Until this happens, God, through the enabling grace of the Holy Spirit, will help His children to grow in their faith, maturity, and righteousness, which is commonly referred to as sanctification.  Be assured that God is jealous for the holiness of His spiritual children, and we will wage war against our sinful, corrupted flesh.  The progress made during our lives in sanctification will vary from person to person, but we have a guaranteed promise that God will lead His children in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  Let us fight the good fight against all sins, including all forms of racism, for the glory of God!