“So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.'” (Acts 10:34-35)
In our nation these days there is a great outcry over racism and injustice. Scholars, media pundits, activists, and politicians are complaining about it and proposing solutions that they maintain will eliminate racism and create equality. And yet their proposals have created anger, division, and chaos. Why? Because they ignore what the Word of God has to say about equality.
The fact is the Word of God has the solution, one which has already been implemented in the Church. We see it here in the 10th chapter of the Book of Acts. Up to this point in the story of the Church, Christianity had been little more than a sect of the Jews. All those who had believed in Jesus were Jews or converts to Judaism, all under the Mosaic covenant, all conforming to the Jewish religious traditions, feasts, rituals and laws of what was clean and unclean. They considered all uncircumcised Gentiles to be unclean. The Jews and the early Christians strove to avoid all association with them, lest they become unclean. They did so despite the fact that the Lord had called Abraham and his descendants to be a blessing to them (Gen. 12:1-3).
But this incident with Cornelius revealed that the Lord Jesus came to unite all men and women in Him. He desires that all men come to salvation and he used Peter to be the first to work to make it so in the Church. The Lord prepared the apostle with a vision that ripped to shreds all the dietary and ceremonial laws of clean and unclean which marked the Jews as God’s people. Not only did God bless all food, but He also did away with the separation between Jew and Gentile. This all became clear to Peter when he went to Cornelius, and in response to the message of the gospel, he, and all those gathered with him believed and were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Now all men can become one in Jesus and are made righteous through the love and mercy of God, regardless of race or ethnicity or language.
We should rejoice over this and accept it as a great opportunity to preach the gospel. God Himself has placed us where we are and called us to do His work. He often works in us to upset our biases and preconceived notions. The Lord extends His love and grace to all for He desires that all come to repentance and faith. Those who have faith in Him, regardless of where they come from or what they look like are our brethren. We must love them as we love Christ Himself.