But God’s goal is not simply to have us stop looking down on other races. God wants unity, not just a ceasing of hostilities. He wants the very makeup of His church to preach the gospel: that despite our racial variants we are united under one ancestor, Adam; that we had one problem, sin; and that we have one hope, salvation in Christ. He wants us to demonstrate to the world that this unity in Christ is weightier than anything that might divide us. When the Holy Spirit confronted Peter’s racism, he didn’t just command him to quit looking down on other races. He commanded Peter to embrace Cornelius, to go in and eat with him. Peter did not go from “racist” to “non-racist”; he went from “racist” to “gracist.”

— J.D. Greear (b. 1973), Pastor, Autor und ehemaliger Präsident der Southern Baptist Convention

Related Bible passage: ACT.10

Topics: Justice & Commitment, Church & Congregation

J.D. Greear

James David „J.D.“ Greear (* 1973) ist ein US-amerikanischer evangelikaler Pastor und Autor, der seit 2002 die Gemeinde „The Summit Church“ in North Carolina leitet und von 2018 bis 2021 Präsident der Southern Baptist Convention war. Er steht für eine gnaden- und missionszentrierte Theologie, stieß jedoch innerhalb konservativer Kreise seiner Denomination wegen seines Kurses bei Missbrauchsreformen und Fragen ethnischer Vielfalt auf Kritik. Bibellesern vermitteln seine Texte theologische Grundthemen wie Gnade, Heilsgewissheit und Nachfolge in einer alltagsnahen, seelsorgerlichen Sprache.

All quotes by J.D. Greear (21)

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In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

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I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

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All quotes · lumen.bible