Christians should be transformed by God’s word, not the other way around.

A very small church in Kentucky has been getting a lot of attention this past week and not the kind of attention I hope for from a church.
It seems that a Free Will Baptist church in Pike County Kentucky has an issue with interracial couples and last Sunday the church voted 9-6 in favor of barring mixed-race couples from joining or participating with the congregation.

This all started when Stella Harville invited her black boyfriend, Ticha, to worship with her at her family’s church (which happens to be all white). Whenever the two were in town, they would go and worship at the Free Will Baptist church and Stella even said there was one time when her boyfriend sang before the congregation.

Then apparently, a church member back in August informed Stella’s father that Ticha was no longer welcome to sing at the church anymore. This was eventually followed by the resolution passed last Sunday.
This resolution that was approved last Sunday by the 9-6 vote, states that; “parties of such marriages will not be received as members, nor will they be used in worship services and other church functions, with the exception being funerals.”

Needless to say, this church is being barraged with criticism, even the national group of the Free Will Baptists has distance itself from this particular church’s stance and put out a press statement saying it; “neither condemns nor disallows” interracial marriage.
Could it be the church was somehow in the right, and the Bible does teach against interracial marriages?

Well, short answer…of course not.

But you may not know, that the Bible does in fact talk about interracial marriages.
In the Old Testament there was a law that commanded the Israelites not to engage in interracial marriage.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4
“Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.”

But, as always, context is important, and in context this verse is not about race per se but religion. In this instance the people of other races worshipped idols and false gods and God did not want the Israelites to be lead away from Him.
The Bible is clear not to partake in ugly favoritism.

James 2:1-10
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

God created everything and God created everyone. Racism has no place in God’s Holy Church and man has no right to inject his own prejudice into it.

Acts 17:24-26
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.”

Galatians 3:28
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”