My response to whites and blacks worshiping together

May 25, 2012 Pastor Ron Nichols response to certain individuals who feel that Whites and Blacks cannot worship together. There are categorically no Scriptural grounds or biblical authority in the Old Testament or the New Testament to teach the forbidding of Whites and Blacks worshipping together. This idea or thought that says churches should be segregated is nothing but a white man’s KKK mentality. People who attempt to stop others from worshipping God are not really using the Word of God as a defense. They take certain scripture’s out of context in their defense. Scriptures such as II Corinthians 6:14. They use the first part where it says to not be unequally yoked together. However, they fail to finish the verse when it speaks of unbelievers. They cut and paste what they want for their own use. The Word of God is clear on this matter and we can go a step further by saying the Word of God is clear about whites/Blacks marrying as well. I have heard people say that when they saw a White/Chinese married that that were ok. But when they saw a white/black married, it was not ok. The Bible is clear on this subject as well. Intermarriage is not a sin and nowhere in the Bible is it preached against; Old or New Testament. Here is a common list of Scriptures that people use in their defense of speaking against interracial marriage. Once again, they pick and choose and not use the entire verse. They must see that these verses are not talking about races, but faith. Genesis. 21: 21 took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. Genesis. 24: 3 not take a wife . . . of the daughters of the Canaanites. Genesis. 26: 34 Esau . . . took to wife Judith the daughter of . . . the Hittite. Genesis. 27: 46 I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. Genesis. 28: 9 Esau . . . took . . . the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife. Deuteronomy. 7: 3 neither shalt thou make marriages with them. Joshua. 23: 12 remnant of these nations . . . make marriages with them. Judges. 3: 6 gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. Judges. 14: 3 a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines. 1 Kings. 11: 4 his wives turned away his heart after other gods. Ezra 9: 2 they have taken of their daughters for themselves. Ezra 10: 10 transgressed, and have taken strange wives. Nehemiah. 10: 30 not give our daughters unto the people. Nehemiah. 13: 25 not give your daughters unto their sons. Malachi. 2: 11 hath married the daughter of a strange God. II Corinthians 6:14 unequally yoked…with unbelievers. Now, if these verses stress that it is not speaking about races toward marriage, then how come you cannot use the same ones in relationship to worshipping? I am going to cut and paste a lengthy website submission from Dr. Steve Davis: Our Pastor is trying to integrate our church! Q: “Our pastor (who probably reads your website) is trying to integrate our church. We’re a white church and have always been white. He’s trying to bring in blacks and Mexicans, and he’s going to divide our church down the middle. I say, they have their own churches, let them go there and let us worship in our church. How do you feel about this? Does it make you proud that people read the kind of things you have on your website and then split their churches over it?” A: No, it does not make me proud. It makes me ashamed before the Lord. Ashamed that any human being could worship his or her Creator and deny another human being the right to worship the same Creator under the same roof. What’s wrong with this picture? After church, we can all go down to the buffet, and stand in line together. At the buffet bar, a black woman can stand ahead of a white man and pass the ladle to him after she puts food on her plate, and he in turn can pass the ladle to the Mexican, who then passes it to the Asian who passes it to the white person next in line. Then, they all go to tables under the same roof and eat, fellowship with their families and then leave and go to the mall or to Wal-Mart afterwards – where again, all are under the same roof. Monday through Friday, these same whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians work at the same companies, eat in the same restaurants, go to the same doctors, and take classes at the same colleges, while their children all are in the same classrooms. But, come Sunday, they can’t (make that “won’t”) worship their Creator under the same roof. One other comment I hear a lot about is that whites and blacks worship differently and therefore should not worship together. Blacks and whites might also eat differently and buy different types of products. But somehow, the local buffet has figured out how to bridge that gap to suit the appetites of all the customers in the area, and so have Wal-Mart and the other national chain stores. How can they do it and the people of God not be able to figure it out? The only answer I have come up with is that they wanted to and we didn’t. http://www.stevedavis.org/mixed%20church.html I love his comments on “worship differently” toward the end of his answer. There is no need for me to paraphrase his comments. It sums it up about right. So, I will end my defense by stating that I feel that three things are in place here. 1: You are ignorant. Christ was a Jew. People who are anti w/b worshipping together still on a whole worship Jesus Christ. Why? If you hate blacks so much… I think the story of the Good Samaritan explains that answer somewhat. The religious leaders passed the man by, but the Samaritan stopped. His family hated the Jews. But, yet he forsook family traditions of hatred and helped a fellowman. You are ignorant because if you really knew the love of Jesus, you would not feel this way. 2: You are evil. That may sound harsh, but you can eat beside a black man. You can work in a truck with a black man. You can bring your old use clothes to a black man’s house if it burns down, but you cannot sit beside that same black man in church? If that man was dying on the streets you would most likely lead him to Christ. But yet, you cannot sit beside him in church? If that black man was hungry you would make him come to your back door and give him food. But yet, you cannot sit beside him in church? Moses married someone from a different race. His sister complained and she was punished. She learned a valuable lesson. She was evil until her evilness was removed by God 3: You are afraid. What if you attend a church and the church elects a black man over you as a Deacon? What if the church elects a black Pastor? What if your Sunday school teacher of your kids was black? This troubles you because you might have to sit in the board meeting with a black man. Jesus died for only the whites? Jesus died for only the blacks? Jesus died for all. Peter opened the door when he had to go to the house of Cornelius after being told by God in a vision. He was just like you. But, when he allowed the Holy Spirit to change his views…