Ironworks Pike Community Church - Pastor's Blog

Why Is Bigotry A Sin?

6/4/2020

"Judge with righteous judgment" -- Christ, John 7:24.

Not every bigot is a racist, and some might complain that the literal word "bigot" isn't found in the Bible. But bigotry is a bigger sin than racism, and the principles of divine justice taught in Scripture forbid us to judge with unrighteous judgment, because our God and Savior is just.

Scripture is crystal-clear that in matters of justice God is utterly, absolutely impartial. In matters of justice He does not take sides.
This was the fatal error of the Jews. They thought that, because they were God's chosen people, they could do what they want, even though the Lord warned them time and again that wasn't true.

His moral law is eternal and all-encompassing. God does not show favoritism to one race over another, one nation over another, one city over another, one political party over another, or one individual over another. In our colonial days God was neither Loyalist nor Revolutionary, He was neither Union or Confederate during the Civil War, and He is not a Democrat or a Republican now.

So, if we take sides in a dispute without regard to the facts of a case, or without regard to the moral laws of Scripture, we are sinning. God doesn't excuse this bigotry, regardless of on whose behalf we side. My "tribe", as much as I might like us, could be in the wrong. Their "tribe", as much as I maybe don't like them, could be in the right.

And it could be that everyone in a dispute is in the wrong, in some way. We don't like that scenario, since it's lazier to treat everything as all black hats and white hats. But God's will is that we use His law, motivated by reverence, and careful thoroughness, to arrive at just conclusions.

May the Spirit of God help me walk forward out of my blind spots and ingrained prejudiced. May He help me always reverence the Lord, and know how His moral laws pertain to the disputes I observe and the disputes in which I might play a part. God calls us to be peace-makers, but peace is built on justice, even as peace with God is built on the justice of the cross.

God Can Sovereignly Steer People To Fulfill His Plan.

6/1/2020

Ezra chapter 1 shows us that God can successfully motivate people to fulfill His will. It was the Lord who motivated the Gentile king Cyrus to release the Jews back to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1). It was also the Lord who motivated the Jewish heads-of-household, and the priests and Levites, to rally to the plan (1:5). God did all this to fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah, so that it met the 70-year time frame Jeremiah predicted.

There's no word given about how God did this. Did Cyrus have a dream? Did an angel appear to him? Did he think it was a smart political move? Maybe he thought the God of the Jews was real and had power, and Cyrus wanted to curry favor with Him? The Scripture doesn't say. It simply says the Lord successfully "stirred" Cyrus and the others to fulfill His word, without describing how.

This is encouraging for us regarding faith and prayer. It means no one, including non-believers, is beyond the influence of the Lord. It doesn't mean everyone is a robot. But the Lord directly, individually intervenes at key points in time, to successfully steer people in directions that fulfill His greater plan. They might not even know He's doing it.

Don't let other the reality of people's wills dampen your faith. The Lord always has ways to get what He wants.