The Scourge Of Racism
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As should be plain to anyone that read the March 14, 2021 post the Lord led me to write presenting the biblical Gospel, salvation from sin is the uppermost concern of the living God for His human creatures.1 Every other instruction, promise and benefit follows from this divine priority and is built on that spiritual foundation. Any professed Christian preacher, teacher or anyone else that asserts otherwise is deceived and as a deceiver, not telling the truth (Mark 1:14-15, 13:10, 16:14-16; Luke 19:9-10, 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; 1 Timothy 1:15)! Also, God’s salvation is not obtained through any other person or means except His Son, Jesus Christ, (John 14:6; Acts 4:8-12).
In continuing concern for black males without Christ and now, also those that profess to know Him, I write as He leads to dissuade any that may consciously or unconsciously believe the social good works they are doing are good enough for Him to slide you into Heaven and eternal glory. Not so, according to God’s Word the final authority for what Christianity is all about. Indeed, Paul, the Jewish apostle to us Gentiles makes it clear that neither by attempting to keep “the law,” its works or those considered good by sinful mankind can anyone “be justified in” the sight of God, but only by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:19-4:4; Galatians 2:15-16, 3:10-14, NKJV)!
A works based salvation is common to manmade counterfeit Christianity as men strive to be good and do enough through their own efforts to make it into Heaven. Of course, those with no interest in religion at all during these socially conscious latter days also seek to do good works as a false show of inherit human goodness that is impressive to people and they think God too, should He be taking note. The Lord led me to address this contemporary pitfall of people doing social good as a replacement for His call to repentance from sin and salvation in a 2016 post.2 For professed Christians, such a notion wickedly attempts to redefine biblical Christianity and is heretical!
The reason no works or deeds no matter how noble or good can impress God our Creator enough to dismiss human sin is because of who He is eternally in character--holy, righteous and just (Psalms 90:2, 99:1-5, 9, 111:2-3, 7-8).3 As holy, God is wholly other than and set apart from sin. Sin offends the holiness of God and stirs up His wrath against it! Perfectly righteous, God can never just “let sin slide” or uphold it, but must judge it out of His perfect justice. He created angels and man perfect, but some of the angels and man sinned. God has judged all fallen sinners giving only willing mortal man grace to be saved from His wrath and eternal separation to Hell (Revelation 20:10-15).
After being saved by grace through faith in Christ, His followers enjoy intimate fellowship with Him and the Father. This fellowship is possible only because the blood Christ shed on Calvary is effectual forever to enable divine forgiveness and cleansing upon our continual humble and honest confession and repentance from our sins--often revealed in the study of the written Word along with the Holy Spirit’s convicting work (Psalm 19:7-14; John 16:5-11; 1 John 1:1-2:2). Faithful Christians in this biblical context do good works serving Christ and fellow man at His direction through the power of the Holy Spirit to glorify God (Matthew 5:14-16; John 12:25-26,13:12-17; Acts 2:44-47, 9:32-43)!4
Truly, for the Christian as it is written, “Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:14-26, NKJV). Thus, we in Christ do not do good works to be saved, but because we are saved and as a result, God who is at work in and through us is glorified (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-15)! Here is where the Lord gives sober warning to church folk doing even “wonders” in His name beyond the typical dead churchy works carried out in the midst of manmade counterfeit Christianity the religion thinking they are pleasing Him. For unless you are doing the will of His Father which is first to actually be saved by grace through faith in Christ and walking in the intimacy of relationship with Him, your works are worthless as a means to gain entry into Heaven and immortal glory (Matthew 7:21-23, NKJV).
Therefore, to the men I share identity with as black Americans and all others: not social good works, but salvation from sin is God’s limited time priority for us and only means of reward from Him! Otherwise, despite self-gratification, the honor and awards of grateful mankind, “you will die in your sins” (whether that is from the “normal” ways mortal men die or the escalating judgments of God leading to His nearing foretold wrath) to await “the judgment seat of Christ” in Hades with no hope of exoneration because you refused to believe in Him through the Gospel (Luke 16:19-31; John 8:21-24; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, NKJV). I implore you by the mercies of God to seek His salvation now, since as His Coronavirus judgment has reminded us, tomorrow is not guaranteed and sudden happens!
1 See the March 14, 2021 post, The Gospel Is For Black Males Too!, under the category, The Cause
2 Read the January 17, 2016 post, Suffering For Preaching God’s Word, under the category, Instruction.
3 See the May 31, 2020 post, Keeping It Real About God, under the category, Instruction.
4 This is the heart of every Christian man and woman that aspires to be like and obey Christ as strong men and great women of God I write about respectively in my book,
The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. The book is published by Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. and is available in print or digital formats at major internet
booksellers. You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.
Many professed Christian whites and some blacks as well do not like when I address the men, their issues, needs and troubles among those I share identity with as black Americans. However, seeking to please God who cares that the biblical Gospel be preached to all mankind and standing in the example of the Jewish Christ and Paul, the apostle to us Gentiles from every hue, I make no apology to those offended by my obedience (Matthew 10:1-15; Acts 1:4-8, 26:12-18; Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Indeed, I purposely exclude no one in my preaching of the Gospel, but ensure that those of my own household, extended family and ethnicity are not left out either.
As I wrote in the March 7, 2021 post, black males from slavery have gotten a raw deal by not in many cases receiving an authentic proclamation of the Gospel or representation of biblical Christianity to include God’s will for us as men and manhood.1 The Gospel to all humanity as sinners “according to the Scriptures” is that God in love sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to die on the cross for our sins, be buried and rise again on the third day after to save us from His just wrath. Whoever repents from his sins believing the Gospel is forgiven and receives eternal life by the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-21, 35-36; Acts 2:36-39, 10:34-43; Romans 10:10-13; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, NKJV).
Now, since the Gospel is according to the Scriptures, every man can read it in the Bible for himself and as I wrote in my recent Black History Month post is without excuse.2 Even so, in His amazing grace God has also purposely ordained that those such as myself He gifts, calls and sends should preach the Gospel as joyful heralds (Romans 10:14-15)! But to be clear, black males with everyone else have the God granted right of free will to reject the Gospel as many have done and do though, I would this were not the case since what God has done for us as sinners in it is so awesome (Romans 10:16-17). Truly, no one has to convince us of our need having been sinners from birth.
God in wisdom has given each one of us a conscience that affirms and condemns us as sinners in our sinful thinking, attitudes, words and deeds. Knowing the sinfulness of our hearts and attempts to alleviate our guilt through deceitfully ignoring, covering or outright denying it, God also as Judge announced His condemnation of all mankind as sinners before Him from Heaven’s bench with no hope of deliverance except by His grace through faith in the Gospel of Christ (Romans 3:9-26). “For the wages of sin is death, but the (free) gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 6:23, NKJV). Forgiveness of sins and a clear conscience is a great and precious blessing!
Therefore, I appeal to my unsaved black countrymen from the heart not to be proud in the face of the truth. Not “the white man” or “the system” is our greatest issue, need or trouble, but our own selves as embittered sinners who after rejecting the way of humble acceptance of the Gospel, have no other means of liberation from a guilty conscience! Outside of God’s salvation in Christ, I have felt you in feeling demoralized by the heavy-handed oppression we as men wired to be leaders and the sons of West African warriors and kings have experienced in real life and as portrayed in Alex Haley’s Roots for example, when Kunta Kinte was forced to accept his master’s assigned name “Toby.”3
In overwhelming powerlessness and longing for vengeance apart from Christ I have also wanted to be the fictional character played by Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained and surely heard you and myself in the vengeful anger of Michael B. Jordan’s character in Black Panther as he ran down the suffering of our captive forefathers during their transatlantic ship journeys from Africa to the New World. I too, with Jordan’s character and very likely you, missed having my father who was away on long military tours of duty during most of my pre-teen years. However, whatever else may be the issues, needs or troubles you grapple with whether it is in real life or captured as real talk in fiction, angry vengeance is not the God approved way to handle our business (Romans 12:17-21).4
So, the only right way to go is to first deal with our sin problem by turning to God in Christ through the Gospel to be saved from His righteous wrath. After this, let Him help us deal with our just anger at sins perpetrated against us as black Americans, other needs and troubles we have through His living Word and power in accord with what a man is and does by His design and perfectly modeled by Christ. He is the Strong Man of God the Father calls us to aspire to be like as I write in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.5 He wills to set us fully free from all of the ties that bind our souls and keep us from being released to be like Him; walking in His eternal dignity, freedom and overcoming power (1 John 5:4-5)!6 For the Gospel is for black males too!
1 Read the March 7, 2021 post, Restoring Men In The Black Community, under the category, The Cause.
2 See the two-part post beginning on February 21, 2021, Willful Ignorance Destroys under the category, Black History.
3 See the good result for a proud Syrian Army Commander who submitted to God’s plan for healing in 2 Kings 5:1-14. Also, unless you or I are greater in Person and sta-
tus than Jesus Christ, the Son of God and King of Glory, then, we should consider and accept the healing truth that He too, has felt our pain since He also has been hu-
miliated, “oppressed” and “afflicted” (Psalm 69:7; Isaiah 53:7-8a; Matthew 26:46-68, 27:1-2, 11-31; Luke 22:53, NKJV). As a result, Christ in His resurrection victory
knows how to help all in similar circumstances cope and wait in hope for the final display of His overthrow of even the ultimate oppressor, Satan, accomplished on the
cross (Ephesians 6:12; Colossians 2:11-15)!
4 We know deep down venting through violence in vengeance is not right because this too, God has written upon our conscience and demonstrated His opposition or else
we would have lost our minds en masse by now to go for it only to be beaten back in defeat as for example, Nat Turner was in his 1831 slave rebellion and every rioter
thereafter. Turning our rage on each other as is seen in gang violence is not the sensible answer either. Don’t you know that when God disclosed the enslavement of
Abram’s Jewish descendants He also declared and carried out His vengeance on their oppressor while setting them free (Genesis 15:13-14; Exodus 10:7)? Not that we
in Christ hope for such a thing (though, we have seen it in this nation’s Civil War that freed our slave forefathers and the aftermath need for Reconstruction) since this is
our nation too, and we live here. Instead, as eternal sons and king-priests in Christ and His forgiveness, we desire the salvation of those who hate and would continue
to oppress us until the day of His global wrath and vengeance arrives.
5 The book is published by Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. and is available in print or digital formats at major internet booksellers. You can also purchase a
print copy in the Strong Man Store.
6 See the February 21, 2016 post, Ties That Bind Black Male Souls, under the category, The Cause.
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