They Are Precious In His Sight

Introduction

Well, how’s the story begin? I’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is the clock’s running a little slow. Congregation’s worst fears realized. But the good news is preachers don’t look at the clock anyway. So we’ll be okay. I’ll be mindful of the time because I know you’re probably hungry. It’s that time of day nearing the noon hour when you’re thinking about food. About eating. And you get hungry sometimes. Have you ever been so hungry that your thoughts are just consumed with food? That’s all you can think about is food. It’ll come as you no surprise to you that that’s pretty much me, twenty-four or seven. But I bet you’ve never been as hungry as Peter was. On that day, as three Gentile men approached his house about noontime.

That all he could think about was food.

That famous vision in Acts chapter ten of that sheet being held at four corners and lowered down before him. To a person, everybody I ever asked what color that sheet is, they all say it’s white. I don’t know why. But that sheet was covered. Remember what was on that sheet? All kinds of different animals were on that sheet. And the voice from heaven said to Peter, Arise, Peter, kill and eat. His prayers were answered. He was so hungry. Kill and eat. But you remember Peter’s objection. He said, Not so, Lord. Not so. For I have never eaten anything common or unclean. We know what Peter was talking about, don’t we? He was talking about those Jewish dietary restrictions that separated food, animals that were there for food, into two separate categories.

One category of animals of food that they could eat with God’s approval, and then the other category of unclean animals that they could not eat.

Goes into detail enlisting. Here’s the animals you can eat, here are the animals you cannot eat, as God’s people under the law of Moses.

Why those distinctions? Why were some animals okay to eat, and why were some animals not okay to eat? What was God trying to tell the people? Some have tried to see in those distinctions some kind of health advantage. That the clean animals are healthier. In fact, today, if you want to live a healthy lifestyle, just eat those healthy animals, those clean animals. Stay away from the unclean. But scientists really tell us, no, that’s not the distinction. In fact, many times the animals that they were forbidden to eat are, by today’s standards at least, healthier than the ones that they weren’t to eat. And so why? God, what were you trying to tell the people when you said, here are some that are approved, here are some that are not approved.

Well, look with me, if you will, in the Old Testament. In the book of Leviticus, chapter 20. It seems to my mind that what God was saying to the Jewish people, to this nation of people, the nation of Israel, that he had selected among all the races of the world to be his special possession, his special people that he would deal with in a very unique way. That he was paralleling that distinction between a chosen people and all the others. That in the distinctions of meat or food that was approved, that there was a parallel there. Look with me in Leviticus chapter 20. Let’s begin reading in verse 22. Leviticus chapter 20. Verse 22, you shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my judgments and perform them.

That the land where I am bringing you to dwell may not vomit you out. And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am casting out before you, for they commit all these things, and therefore I abhor them. But I have said to you, you shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore distinguish between clean beast and unclean, between unclean birds and clean. And you shall not make yourself abominable with any beast or by bird or by any kind of living thing that creeps on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. And you shall be holy to me, for I am the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.

I think the lesson that God is saying here is, I have selected you as a people, and I am separating you out here, different from all the other peoples. And as a reminder of that, I want you to take certain animals that I’m going to tell you about and separate them out from all the other animals. That in that distinction I’m reminding you of the distinction that I’m making with you. In other words, the food was a reminder of the racial or ethnic distinction that God was making with this special nation. And so it is, is it any wonder when God is going to erase those distinctions? That he uses the very same symbolism to Peter. Turn back with me to Acts chapter 10. Peter has seen that bed sheet lowered from heaven with all kinds of animals on it.

And he’s commanded to arise, kill and eat. Despite his objection, where he says, Not so, Lord, not so, Lord, for I’ve never eaten anything clean and unclean. I understand the distinction, God. Look in Acts chapter 10, beginning in verse 11. In it, in that sheet were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And the voice came to him saying, Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. And notice what God’s reply is. The voice spoke to him and said the second time, what God has cleansed, you must not call common. Peter gets the point. Peter at first thinks this is talking about food, but he gets the point when those three men, those three Gentiles, knock on his door and say, a Gentile man, a non-Jewish man by the name of Cornelius, has received communique from God, and we were sent to bring you to him.

The light bulb went off. And Peter said, He wasn’t talking about food. The food was just an illustration, as it has been from all along. And that distinction is now gone. Look there in verse 28, Acts chapter 10, then he said to them, You know, to the Gentile audience, you know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or to go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Then Peter, skip down to verse 34. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, In truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, whoever fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. Just as God has used clean and unclean animals to illustrate the distinction, he now erases that distinction by showing Peter that in every nation, whoever should call upon him would be saved.

1. Our God Shows No Partiality

I want to talk to you about race and the people of God. And to show you that as Christians, above all people upon the earth, that Christians, the end of all the ages have come upon us, and in us the mystery has been revealed, that God is no respecter of persons. Let’s talk about the people of God and race. First thing that we notice is Peter understood here in Acts chapter 10, verses 34 and 35, that our God shows no partiality. Was there a distinction made under the law of Moses? Yes, but it’s important to point out a couple things about that distinction. That does not mean that God had cast aside for an eternity in hell all other races of people. Romans 1 teaches us that those people still had a responsibility to God, that like Abraham, who himself was not a Jew, but was a Gentile, that like Abraham, they still lived under that patriarchal system and could serve God and be pleasing to him as any other Jewish person.

But yeah, the distinction was made. But that distinction in Christ Jesus, even that distinction has been eradicated. And we’ve been shown with Peter that God is no respecter of person. That on that day when Peter said, Now I know, that it wasn’t talking about food, it wasn’t talking about animals, he was talking about people. And that symbol that Peter witnessed adds meaning to earlier language, doesn’t it? Language earlier, even in the New Testament, when Jesus would say, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Earlier language, even in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 2, where Peter was quoting from Joel, said, Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The apostle in Acts chapter 3, in quoting the promise to Abraham, that in your seed all families of the earth would be blessed.

That God is no respecter of persons. The scripture is clear upon that matter. Peter got the point.

But that in every nation.

2. Jesus Demonstrates God’s Attitude Toward the Races

Showing us that God shows no partiality among people. Remember, in his healing of the lepers, of those ten lepers, that at least one of them was a Samaritan. In telling one of his most famous and beloved parables, the hero of the story is not the priest, is not the Levite, but the hero of that story was a hated Samaritan. But not to Jesus. And you remember that incident. Turn over to John chapter 4, that incident of Jesus with the woman at the well. There is a stark contrast in this story of this historical event that happened with Jesus speaking to this woman at a well. The contrast between these two individuals is glaring. There’s a moral contrast. This woman’s life is a moral mess. Jesus is the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

But there’s also a racial distinction, and she recognized that. Look there in Acts chapter 4. Jesus says to her in verse 7, give me a drink. Then the woman, verse 9, the woman of Samaria said to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman. For the text adds as explanation, for the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. So not only was there this Jewish-Gentile distinction, Jews against the world, that racial distinction, but now in their own backyard, there were the Samaritans.

And the animosity was thick among Jews and Samaritans. Historical records are full of anecdotal evidence that shows just how much these two races of people despised each other. And I think this is very illustrative, these neighbors that lived here. I think the race relations between Jews and Samaritans and Jesus’ interaction with this Samaritan woman shows us that then as is now that it’s not the culturally different person across the globe that’s the hardest to love. It’s our nearby neighbor whose skin color, whose language, whose culture and rituals are different than mine. That’s the hardest to love. But Jesus, both as the word of God, God communicating himself to man, demonstrates God’s attitude toward the races. As well as, I believe, foreshadowing the truth of the gospel that Jesus speaks to this woman.

3. Not So in the Kingdom of God

And speaks to her the words of life and of truth, because God is no respecter of persons. Now, earthly kingdoms will make a distinction, don’t they? Earthly kingdoms make a racial and ethnic distinction, distinctions of superiority and of priority, but not so in the kingdom of God. In fact, Jesus would say, My kingdom is not of this world, indicating that we’re not going to fight the way kingdoms of this world fight, but also surely speaking the truth that we’re not going to prioritize and discriminate the way that kingdoms of this world do. My kingdom is not of this world. And that’s the beauty of the church, isn’t it? Turn over with me in the book of Ephesians. Tim and our Lord’s Supper talk this morning talked about the peace that this prince brought.

It’s a peace, certainly between God and man, but the gospel not only removes the barrier between God and man, but also the barrier between the races. Look over in Ephesians chapter 2, beginning in verse 14. Speaking of the Christ, he says, for he himself is our peace, who made both one. And has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that’s to create in himself one new man from the two, creating peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. Do you see the blending of the peace there? That there is peace between peace that did not exist before, between God and man.

Sin was that barrier that kept us at enmity with our God. The gospel has broken down that wall that separated us from God. But as only God could do in his manifold wisdom, as that wall was being broken down by the blood of Christ, so was another wall of separation. The wall that Peter helped to break down between Jew and Gentile. And so the apostle could say, We’re now one in Christ Jesus. The apostle could say in another place into the Galatian brethren that there’s no Jew or Gentile. There’s no slave or free, there’s no male or female, for all are one in Christ Jesus. That in contrast to the world’s kingdoms that make distinctions, distinctions of superiority and priority, not so in the church. That’s the beauty of the church.

There is no such thing as a black church, a white church, a Hispanic church. There is one body.

And this one white lady knocked on the door, and this black lady came to the door. And the Christian who was white said to the lady at the door, said, I want to invite you to the upcoming gospel meeting at our church. And she gave the name and the location of the church. To which the woman at the door paused and said, Isn’t that that white church around the corner? And beautiful naivete. The woman said, No, it’s brick. Now we’ll cast aside her misunderstanding that the church is the building, but I’d rather have that misunderstanding than the other. No, it’s not a white church. We’re one. Because God is no respecter of persons. And this God has given us commandments. And contrary to what we sometimes normally think, and to some of these commandments, he’s given priority and rank.

4. Commandment Number Two: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Number two of all the commandments God has given us, the second of value and importance, Jesus said, is this love your neighbor as yourself. And by the way, Jesus beautifully illustrated in that story we referenced earlier that we don’t get to decide who our neighbor is. God and the circumstances of life do. Now turn with me to James chapter 2.

The fulfillment of this command, commandment number two, that we love our neighbor as ourselves. The fulfillment of this command absolutely excludes any kind of partiality or prejudice. James chapter 2, he says, verse 8. James 2, verse 8, if you really fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well.

And are convicted by the law as transgressors. That’s what we could term as ungetaroundable language. If you do that, you sin, James says. We don’t need any help to understand that, do we?

Remember in Galatians chapter 2? One of the saddest passages in all the New Testament that Peter, the one who had that light bulb moment and said, Now I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. Now he’s showing partiality himself. And Paul says, I had to, it was so egregious of a transgression that I had to confront him face to face. Look in Galatians 2, verse 11 beginning. Now, when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, for he was to be blamed. For before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

Now notice verse 14. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all. You notice what Paul says there? Here’s why I had to address this in such a bold and even public way. Because they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel. What’s the truth of the gospel that he’s referencing there? That don’t let any man call what I’ve termed as clean, as unclean. The truth of the gospel is the middle wall of pertition has been broken down. And so not only is racism wrong, it’s a denial and a contradiction of the very heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We said that this partiality, this prejudice violates commandment number two. Love your neighbor as yourself.

5. It Also Violates Commandment Number One

It also violates the very principle of what Jesus said was commandment number one. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. That commandment is violated when we violate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Look with me, if you will, in the book of 1 John, chapter 4. John, in just as straightforward language as we’ve already seen, says in John 4, verse 20. If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he’s a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? Very quickly, let’s break down that kind of maybe puzzling statement. Wait a minute, I can love God and hate somebody else.

They’re two separate beings. John says, No, you can’t. You cannot love God and hate. Abuse, even ignore with the gospel his child. Otherwise, you’re a liar. God is so connected to his children that our actions and our attitudes toward those children directly affect our actions, our attitude and our relationship to their Father. And those children, every one of them, were made in the image of God. Three things are condemned in Scriptures Murder, hatred, and evil speaking. All because those people were made in the image of God.

Conclusion

But it’s my not so humble opinion that the most egregious form of racism would be trying to withhold the truth of the gospel from someone of a different race, a different color, or a different language. The gospel is for all. I want to close with two thoughts. First of all, sometimes when a sermon like this is preached, it’s assumed that he’s addressing a problem. Let me dissuade you of that incorrect belief. I’m not addressing what I see as a problem here at Bumby. I’m highlighting what I see as a beauty at Bumby. And encouraging us to press on, to continue to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to continue to love our neighbor as ourselves. In every way and every day, continue to break down that wall of separation that exists between us.

That wall has been broken down. Let’s not build it again. Will you love God this morning with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, then why not be obedient to him? Putting away all the sins of the past. Come to him, confessing your faith and being baptized this morning. If you need to be forgiven of some sin or to be prayed for by these good brethren, why not come right now? As together we stand and as we sing?