Equality & Justice – “All Lives Matter to GOD”
Summary: All Lives Matter to GOD. Want proof?
Refer to the Bible. We are all one. We all sin. Jesus died for us ALL,
therefore all lives matter to GOD. Who is stirring up this racial division?
Satan.
All Lives Matter to GOD
It doesn’t matter what I
think about Black Lives Matter, racial tensions, or even the murders of
innocent people, of any color. It only matters what God thinks. And, I want to see
what God says about these issues. (All scriptures from the NIV and were taken
from Biblegateway.com.)
28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave
nor free, nor is there male and female, for
you are all one in Christ Jesus. –
Galatians 3:28
9 What
shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not
at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.
– Romans 3:9
A Gentile was anyone who
wasn’t a Jew. Therefore Jews and Gentiles means everyone. And the most
important point is that ALL are “under the power of sin.” Continuing in Romans
3:10:
As it is
written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”[Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20]
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”[Psalm 5:9]
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[Psalm 140:3]
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[ Psalm 10:7]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[Isaiah 59:7,8]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[Psalm 36:1]
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”[Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20]
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”[Psalm 5:9]
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[Psalm 140:3]
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[ Psalm 10:7]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[Isaiah 59:7,8]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[Psalm 36:1]
This convicts me, along
with the whole world. And, we certainly can see a lot of this today in our
country. So, we are all the same, unrighteous.
But, we aren’t left in this
hopeless situation. Continue in Romans 3:21:
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is
no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did
this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left
the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so
as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of
the law that requires faith.
So, Jesus came to save
us ALL. So, we shouldn’t boast about our race, or how we are better, or more
persecuted, only that we are all sinners and have been “justified by his grace,
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Since God sent his Son to
die for us ALL, then ALL lives (souls) matter to GOD.
Who Is Stirring Up The Tension?
Now, who is stirring up this tension today? Some
say activists, some say politicians, some say our President, the candidates,
the police, the blacks, the whites, the Muslim, the Christians. No, it’s SATAN.
You belong to your father, the devil,
and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the
truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native
language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. - John 8:44
and
36 … His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the
weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of
the kingdom. The weeds are
the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them
is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. – Matthew 13: 36-39
and this
7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just
as HE is righteous. 8 The one
who does what is sinful is of the devil, because
the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work... 10 This is
how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are:
Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does
not love their
brother and sister. – I John 3:7-8, 10
Who is my brother and sister?
49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my
brother and sister and mother.” – Matthew 12:49
So, how should we treat our brothers and sisters? (from
the Sermon on the Mount)
21 “You have
heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and
anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell
you that anyone who is
angry with a brother or sister[without cause] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister,
‘Raca,’[An Aramaic term of contempt] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger
of the fire of hell…– Matthew 5:21-22
And then again later in
Matthew 5:
43 “You have heard that it was
said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate
your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you,
what reward will you get? Are not
even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than
others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:21-24
Other Relevant Scipture:
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9
for they will be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9
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25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to
test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” – Luke 10:25-28
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5It is not good to be partial to the wicked
and so deprive the innocent of justice. – Proverbs 18:5
and so deprive the innocent of justice. – Proverbs 18:5
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Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that
one gets justice. – Proverbs 29:26
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16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.
18 “Come now, let us settle the
matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool. – Isaiah 1:16-18
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool. – Isaiah 1:16-18
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3 For your hands are stained
with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. – Isaiah 59:3-5
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. – Isaiah 59:3-5
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8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with
the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,
yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his
poverty might become rich…
13 Our desire is not that
others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be
equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too
much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” - 2
Corinthians 8:8-9, 13-15
Equality here is similar
to justice, and directly speaks to the equality of all people. First, we should
note that Jesus, our Lord, was gloriously rich in Heaven, but he came to earth
and became poor, so that WE might become rich as he was, to inherit heaven. His
sacrifice should be our example to be charitable, as we live under the charity
of Jesus Christ. He came to sacrifice for ALL men.
Equality doesn’t here mean
absolute equality (communism), or that would preclude charity later by those
being helped.
There were no more
different and racially divided people than the Jews and Gentiles, yet Jesus,
and then Paul said that they (we) all are equal in God’s sight.
Summary
I’m certainly not worthy
to give spiritual advice, but I decided today to “search the scripture” and write
down some of them that can help ME to understand what MY view of all of these
things should be. So, this is only for me. And, if it helps you, then all the
Glory is to GOD.
8 ...And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:7-8
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:7-8
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