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Racism is a Sin

Racism is a Sin: Bloodwashing a white supremacist sermon

Sermon notes by Pastor Chris Fluitt

Redemption Church Plano Tx

Welcome to Redemption Church of Plano Tx! My name is Chris Fluitt. I serve as lead pastor here and I greet you today.
I have an important sermon for you today. It will feel awkward. It will feel challenging. Parts of this sermon will make you feel sad. Stick with me. Preach with me today.

Racism is a sin.

We condemn racism. We condemn racial supremacy. We condemn hatred.

I was around 14 years old sitting in front of my TV. I was just going around the channels looking for something to watch. Something caught my eye. It was known as the Jerry Springer show which is ridiculous enough. (Kids do me a favor and DO NOT google the show.) On this show they were featuring KKK members, the Klu Klux Klan. On screen was a man with a white sheet on his head, and he was hate filled. He was saying awful things about people who had different colored skin. As shocking as that was, what really shocked me what he held in his hand.
The KKK member was holding a bible in his hand and was actually quoting it. Sunday school had not prepared me for this. I was not sure what to think.
It can be a shock to see how people handle the Bible.
I learned that day that, sadly, many racial supremacists use the Bible, call themselves Christians, and believe that Jesus is happy with them.
Today at Redemption Church I want us to take a stand for what scripture says. And I am going to present you a different kind of sermon. I am going to present you with scriptures that are used by a white supremacist pastor in 1952, during the civil rights movement. Let’s see if White Supremacy has a biblical leg to stand on.
The pastor’s name was WILLIAM LESTER BLESSING and I have checked with our care pastor, Marshal Blessing, there is no relation.
William declares “WHITE SUPREMACY IS TAUGHT IN THE BIBLE, VERIFIED BY HISTORY, JUSTIFIED BY CIVILIZATION, AND INSTINCTIVELY BELIEVED IN BY ALL RACES—THEIR CONSCIENCE BEARING WITNESS TO THIS TRUTH.” (REDEMPTION LET’S TAKE A LOOK AND SEE IF THIS IS TRUE….)
What we will focus on is that first part. Is white supremacy, or any racial supremacy for that matter taught in the Bible?
William starts off in the Garden of Eden to show that Racism goes back to early parts of Genesis. He has us read Genesis 3:1.

Genesis 3:1 (NIV2011) Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made…

He then offers his commentary that the “Serpent” was not an animal but a “serpent race” different from the race of Adam. He preaches that Adam & Eve were white and the serpent race refers to races of other colors.
Wait, did anyone read that anywhere in that verse? I always thought the serpent was exactly what the Bible declared it to be… a serpent. And if racism is so dominant to this biblical account, wouldn’t it be more pronounced… it is not pronounced at all.
He jumps to Genesis 12:2, where God is calling Abram/Abraham.

Genesis 12:2 (NIV2011) “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

The commentary reads “with Abram, God begins to select from the white race a ‘great nation.’”
I think we can see that God selects Abram as a starting point to form a great nation… but nowhere does it say a white nation or a white race. In fact Abraham & Sarah his wife are from Ur, among the chaldeans. This is the western shore of Persia. The people in this area are known to have dark colored skin.
But here is what is really important from this passage. NO WHERE in all of scripture does it mention the importance of Abraham’s race. What is important about Abraham is that he is the Father of the faithful. Abraham is given the promise, but the promise is not transmitted through a pure race…

Romans 4:16 (NIV2011) …the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

The promise comes by faith! The promise is received by grace! Abraham is father to people not based on race but by faith & grace.

Grace not Race

And since William quoted Genesis 12:2, let’s make sure he knows about verse 3.

Genesis 12:3 (NIV2011) …all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Racial supremacy never is a blessing. Racial supremacy never blesses other people.
If you truly are an heir to the promise then you will have blessing flowing through you to ALL PEOPLES ON EARTH. That’s what my God’s kingdom looks like – blessing flowing to everybody through the people of God!
William jumps to describe the skin color of Jacob & Rebekah. He jumps to 2 verses to do this.
In Genesis 25:27 Jacob is described as a “plain” man.

Genesis 25:27 (KJV) …and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.

In Genesis 26:7 Rebekah, the mother of Jacob, is described as fair.

Genesis 26:7 (KJV) And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

William is trying to tell us that the words “plain” & “fair” mean white skin, but the words in Hebrew in Hebrews do not have anything to do with skin color. The word plain is ‘tam’ and it means undefiled and morally upright. The word fair is ‘towb’ and it means that she was pretty to look at.
There is no evidence to support that Abraham and his family are white. They are like the people of the middle east today – dark complected. And the Bible never describes their skin color, because the Bible places ZERO importance on skin color.
Although William goes out of scripture to describe Jacob & Rebekah as white, he then offers a very convoluted argument that only 1 of Jacob’s sons is white. He preaches that 11 of the sons are dark skinned and only Benjamin is white skinned and that only Benjamin is truly an Israelite. These are claims not made in scripture of course.
He uses this argument to then tell us that this is the reason Jesus and 11 of his 12 disciples were white – only Judas was dark skinned.

I don’t care what color skin Jesus had. I love Him and He is the Lord of my life.

I don’t care what color skin you have. I love you and you are my brother & my sister.

We have heard from William Lester Blessing, in a moment I going to tell you what the Bible says about race, but first we need to acknowledge some things.

The Church has gotten it wrong

You may feel defensive. You may feel guilty. You might feel some bitterness rise up. You may just feel awkward. But if we are ever going to heal scars we must acknowledge the wounds.
We must acknowledge our wrong so that we can repent.
Many of “American Christianity’s” historical heroes defended slavery by using scripture. They incorrectly asserted that slavery was God’s punishment for sin or a divinely ordained hierarchy.
Some argued that slavery is necessary for a robust economy, which is necessary for the propagation of the “gospel”–but which “gospel” is that, again? A number of them owned slaves themselves (Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, for example).
It’s true that NOT ALL Christians held to this opinion. The Abolitionist movement started within the Church as well, BUT it is clear that the majority of white Christians held racist views.
Robert Lewis Dabney, a Presbyterian theologian in the late 1800s, wrote a 100 page defense of slavery in his book “A defense of Virginia.” After the defeat of the South, he wrote a second volume.
Dabney used genetic arguments for his race’s superiority and the inferiority of other races. The preacher tragically argues that black people and white people are not the same species.
In the time after the emancipation proclamation, Dabney argued that his denomination should not ordain black men or they eventually become our equals. Dabney drummed up enough fear for his denomination to deny ordination to people of color.
Let’s not become defensive about a sordid past. The past cannot be undone, and it is pointless to cover up the past. Healing comes through acknowledging, confessing our wrongs, and repenting.

Racism is a sin

Racism shows up in different ways. Racism was in American slavery, and when slavery ended, racism continued.
Racism was in Jim Crowe laws & segregation, and when those laws were struck down and integration happened, racism continued.
There are current signs of racism in our world. There are statistics that show racism is continuing on a systematic level.
No matter what our government does, it appears that racism continues. OF COURSE THIS IS TRUE! It is because Racism isn’t a legislative issue, it is a sin issue. You can’t legislate someone’s heart.
Racism continues in people’s minds. Sarah was teaching a Sunday School lesson. She was filling in for the normal teacher. They handed her the lesson and the craft supplies. The lesson was on sin and they were using a visual of white & black construction paper. The lesson went that we were black with sin but Jesus will make us white and clean. The kids were really into the lesson, but a sweet little girl raised her hand. She had dark skin. She asked why black is always a bad color and white is always a good color.

I am so proud of Sarah. Sarah told her that if sin was a color it really should be red because our sins our red as scarlet but Jesus makes them white snow, but one color is NEVER better than another color. We need every color that God created for our beautiful world.

Racism is one of the many reasons why we need Jesus Christ to come save this world. We can’t allow racism to continue anywhere in our sphere of influence.

We have heard from William Lester Blessing, and we have acknowledged our history, now can I tell you what the Bible says about race?

What the Bible says about race

All people were created by God and were created in His image (Genesis 1:27). All people come from the same family – the family of Adam & Eve with God as the true Father of us all who is above all, through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4:6). God created us all from one blood (Acts 17:26).
“The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the Lord” (Psalm 24:1); You belong to the Lord!
“God doesn’t show favoritism, but in every nation the person who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him” (Acts 10:34–35);

Our identity is not based on race, sex, or economic standing. Our identity is based on Jesus Christ and we are ONE in Him!

Galatians 3:28 (KJV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
The blood of Jesus has purchased “persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelations 5:9)
Throughout eternity we will gather with a “multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language” in worship of the risen Savior (Revelation 7:9);

The Church of Jesus Christ is not whitewashed… It is bloodwashed.

God is not against interracial marriage.
People of color are a major feature of scripture.
We are commanded by Jesus to love our neighbor. He then uses the Samaritan to teach this point which was a challenge to the racism of the Hebrews. (Luke 10:25-37)

1 John 4:20 (NIV2011) Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

The KKK member holding the Bible needs to repent. We can’t love God and hate our brother.
God’s word says so much more about how white people, black people, Asian people, Spanish people, people of every nation, language, and skin color should love each other.

Racism is a sin

What do we need to do with our sin?

Musician
I Repent of Racism
We are about to talk to God. I want to challenge you to come to the front of this church today.

I believe we all have reason to repent today.
We could all do better when it comes to living in the love of God.
We have done and thought racist things both inadvertent and advertant. Let’s repent.
We have been in the room with racist things said, and we did nothing. We were complicit out of comfort.
The history of the church calls us to repent.
The history of our nation calls us to repent.
Redemption Church, we could do better. SO LET’S REPENT.

Jesus Supremacy

redemption-Church.com
Redemption Church is a nondenominational Church in Plano Texas. Our mission is to declare the good news and see others become followers of Jesus Christ. Our vision is to be a 1st Century Church connecting to a 21st Century world. To bring the community, the power, passion & dedication of that 1st century church to the fast paced, technologically advanced, and complex world of the 21st century.
We currently meet on Sunday afternoons at 3pm at the Corner of Parker Rd & Alma in Plano Tx. We would love to greet you in person.
Our lead pastor is Chris Fluitt.