From the very beginning, the Bible affirms the dignity of every human being. All were created by God and made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). The New Testament makes this plain and simple. It’s taken even further when Paul writes that Jesus, by his blood, destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility. His purpose was, and is, to create one new person—namely, the church—thus creating peace (Ephesians 2:11-18).

When we show hatred toward our brothers and sisters, we are going against God’s desire, purpose, and design, which results in one thing: sin. When we fail to love our neighbor as ourselves we harm and oppress other image-bearers of God.

Racism is evil, and it is especially not acceptable in Christianity and the church. We believe what Jesus taught—that the second greatest command is like the first: that to love our neighbor as ourself is like loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30-31). We cannot say we love God if we hate our brother or sister, or show any kind of racism. 

In the Kingdom of God, there are people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. We can rejoice in the fact that one day there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more oppression. And while this will not happen until Jesus Christ returns, we must work to bring the Kingdom of God here on earth. 

Racism and Christianity cannot coexist. A few things you can do to respond now are to pray, peacefully protest, contact your civic leaders, get involved in your local communities, be aware of the ongoing conversation, and be connected in the ministries our church has that seek to give dignity to minorities and the ones society oppresses. We at Hawthorne Gospel Church seek to uphold the dignity, worth, and equality of every human being and we will continue to promote justice and equity and in our future. We are here for you. If you are struggling and would like to reach out to someone for counseling or prayer, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Some of us may not be able to fully understand what our brothers and sisters go through on a daily basis, but we can educate ourselves on the histories, stories, and culture to learn how we can better understand each other. So we would like to sit at the table and listen. We want to help bridge this racial gap and learn how we can better love and appreciate our diversity as a congregation. We seek what the book of Amos says in Amos 5:24, “Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-ending stream.”