-Strength for Today- “Is Our Conduct in Step with the Gospel?” - Galatians 2:14.

For much of Christian history, many saw no conflict between “keeping the faith,” or?“keeping or trading slaves.” Even until the Civil War, the Bible itself “was often used to justify slavery.” But to the slaves,?“the Bible wasn’t seen” as “window through which one could attain hope;” but as a “twisted theological document,” to “justify owning a human being as personal property.” ?

This “twisted theology” was even indorsed by Christian leaders such as, “C.I Scofield,” and “Jonathan Edwards,” just to name a few. But that’s not enough. This “heretic mind-set" was also taught in many of the “New England Bible Colleges and Universities.” In fact, “Massachusetts was the first colony to legalize slavery, in 1641.” ?

With such hypocrisy “running through the veins of America's history,” even today, “only God can bring about oneness.” I say this because “the truth has been missed.” And “where there’s no truth,” “there’s no freedom.” So, from “West Quoddy Head, Maine,” to “Cape Wrangell, Alaska,” the greater cause for racial problems “lies squarely with the church’s failure,” to come to grips “with racism from a biblical perspective.” -Ephesians 3:10.??

?In the same way that God’s “purpose,” presence,” and “power” in the Old Testament” was to flow from His people in the temple. Even so today His “purpose” “presence,” and “power,” should flow “from the church,” into “the wandering lostness of the world?around us.” - Ezekiel 47:1-12.?

My closing plea is that “we shouldn't pretend such hypocrisy isn’t possible for us.” Because “redeemed sinners,” never reach the point in this life where they’ve moved “beyond the possibility of hypocrisy.”? In Galatians:?“Peter and Barnabas were led astray and was found guilty of hypocrisy, and needed to be confronted and corrected.” - Galatians 2:11–14. So, if “Peter,” “Barnabas,” “C.I. Scofield,” “Jonathan Edwards,” and “the documented New England biblical college's universities,” needed to be corrected, “we should humbly welcome the warning of history,” and “the warning of Scripture” and: ?

1. We should “eagerly pray for grace” to “see where our conduct isn’t in step with the truth of the gospel” -Galatians 2:14, and?
2. We should “plead for grace to grow in our ability,” to?“hate what’s evil and “...cleave to that which is good,” (Romans 12:9c), as we navigate the true course of “lessons learned from the past,” and live?life today?according to God’s justice, and righteousness” - Amos 5:24.?

Author: Plez Lovelady, Jr., PhD

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