It's too easy to make an argument and then hook on a couple of verses from the Bible as if to suggest the entire case is biblical. That's how pastors push their own ideas and opinions. It's another thing altogether when we let the Bible make the argument. Then the preacher and the hearer sit under God's Word together.
Together, we should examine an account of racism in the early Church and feel the conviction of a much more significant problem than racism among our local churches. If racism weren’t bad enough, racism might only be but a nasty symptom of a deeper cancer that, when address, might bring about significant health that the Church in American is sorely missing.
Acts 6:1-7 records a problem in the First Century Church. Likely, it was racism. Among the Jewish people, there were Hellenistic and Hebraic people. There's much debate if this were a distinction of origin, history, or language, but Scripture is clear that the Hebraic Jews were wrongly treating the Hellenistic widows. As we read this account and their solution, we discover that the American Church has a few more problems than racism alone. We also see that only a healthy church deals with problems in a biblically healthy way.
The Church had evangelized to people different than themselves. The Church was caring for the poor and the "least of these." The Church heard the Hellenist's concerns of mistreatment. The Apostles understood their responsibility to prayer and the Word of God. The congregation was able to select men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom to deal with the matter, and the people trusted and submitted to their leadership. Men, mature in the Lord and willing to serve in thankless, challenging ministries, could be found in the Church. And the result of the Church's handling of this matter meant the gospel spread, the Church increased in number, and even a large group of priests became believers.
Acts 6:1-7 should compel us to ask if all these things are a reality in the Church today. Indeed there's a problem of racism. But are we able to rightly deal with racism in the American Church as they did in Jerusalem in the First Century? Are our churches healthy enough to deal with racism? The challenge before us exposes that there may be a few things missing.
The Church had evangelized to people different than themselves.
There's so much focus today about diversity in the local church. Actually, there's a great deal of discussion about diversity in predominantly white churches, but a conversation by God's standard should apply to all local churches. If we are led by God's mandate to make disciples of all the earth, we should hope to see diversity that matches the community in every Christian church. The problem comes when we select a "target" group of people to evangelize rather than everyone in our community. Have we proclaimed the gospel to all of our neighbors without trying to skirt the mandate, asking, "who is my neighbor?" Do we believe Jesus? He said our neighbors include both the Pharisee and the Samaritan. How about those on "the other side of the tracks"? The rich neighborhoods? People who don't look like us? How about those who have different preferences than we do? Speak a different language and come from different cultures? If we’re not evangelizing them, we should get on that. If we’re not evangelizing them, maybe racism is wrongly affecting our evangelism and obedience to make disciples. If we are and have proclaimed the gospel to them, then it's time to expand the geographic circle and find more neighbors.
The Church was caring for the poor and the "least of these."
The problem of racism wasn't far outside the church but within the church's ministry. The church in Jerusalem was caring for the widows, that is, the poorest of the community without means of getting food. The local church offered welfare to widows. The Roman government didn't need to supply a handout because the Jerusalem church was already providing. And it was within the church's care for the widows that God was sanctifying the servants, calling out their favoritism and racism while they served. For the Early Church, dealing with racism in food distribution was a course correction to prepare the Church to take the gospel to the Gentiles. By serving, they knew the Hellenistic widows and learned how to mortify racism in their hearts because the sin was tied to relationships inside the faith-family. Are local churches and members personally serving the "least of these" in ways that stretch and grow us, mortifying our sin? Or are we a parked, non-moving, non-serving church with no room for course-correction and sanctification?
The Church heard concerns of mistreatment.
The Hellenistic widows were overlooked in the daily distribution, but notice that it wasn't the widows who brought the complaint. It was other Hellenistic Jews who said "their" widows were unfairly treated. Others were speaking up for those who likely didn't have much of a voice. And notice what's not recorded in the account. There wasn't a race to agree with one side or the other. There wasn't an effort to discredit the Hellenists or Hebraic Jews to burry the matter or to save face. It wasn't a blame game or a blame shift. Instead, brothers and sisters were heard, and it would seem time was given to seek solutions. Hearing is different than agreeing or affirming, but before agreement or disagreement was reached, the church heard the problem. Sin tempts us to silence the conversation or get so loud that there is no hearing. Humility is hearing the voiceless, and a servant's heart should lead us to stand for the unheard so that they may be heard. Hearing requires patience to take the time to listen, think, and rightly respond.
The Apostles understood their responsibility to prayer and the Word of God.
Ephesians 4:11-16 informs us that the Apostles (as well as prophets, evangelists, and pastors) have a specific responsibility to equip the saints for maturity, unity, and the excellent work of the ministry of God. The Apostles also understood that it was necessary to fix the bread distribution system. Still, it was only through the Word of God and prayer that the more significant problem of racism could be rectified within the Church. The Word of God and prayer are necessary for a healthy church and only a biblically healthy church will correctly deal with racism. Chrysostom (an early theologian and commentator in the Church) wrote, "The needful must give precedence to the more needful. But see, how they take thought directly for these inferior matters and yet do not neglect the preaching" (Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles). Certainly, this is not to say we shouldn't fix broken systems. We should! But we should see that God uses a variety of people within the Church to do the work, to include preachers of God's Word, the selected people to fix the broken systems, and the entire Church that does the work of ministry. Too often in our local churches today, the preachers have drifted from proclaiming God's Word, few are willing or able to fix broken systems, and the bulk of the Body thinks it's the church staff who are supposed to do the work of ministry. However, challenges like the inequality in the food distribution are opportunities for the Body of Christ to grow in unity, mature, and do the work of the Lord. So are the challenges we face in the Church today. And it is by the Word of God and prayer that a healthy church will face these challenges as God intends.
The congregation was able to select men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom to deal with the matter, and the people trusted and submitted to their leadership.
There are two condemning charges here. First, most of today's churches only know the people they see on stage and few, if any, others. The church of the First Century seemed to relate to each other well enough to know who the men of good, godly character were in the church. It’s important that a church know each other, especially if it’s necessary to have men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom. Deeply rooted problems like racism require more than surface-level relationships. Second, is the church willing to submit to the other lay leaders tasked with fixing problems? Many in the church desire to press their preferences and get their way or they leave to another local body. This shouldn’t surprise anyone when there are no significant relationships between the brothers and sisters. How can we work issues to godly solutions if we don't know each other beyond superficial greetings on Sunday morning? It’s no wonder so many people struggle to submit to the local leaders placed over them in the local church. It’s difficult to trust strangers.
Men, mature in the Lord and willing to serve in thankless, challenging ministries, could be found in the Church.
They found seven godly men of godly character. They may have been appointed as deacons, but the Text does not make that clear. Today, too few men dedicate themselves to live Godly lives and service in the local church as faithful lay members. Many churches would have no ancillary ministries if not for the faithful women who serve. Where are the godly men? How many men serve on the children's ministry rotation? How many men volunteer to serve in the unseen or unpopular ministries? And when there are men present, is it not always the same few guys who show up early or stay late to help, even if there's a football game on somewhere? Why are so many men absent in the church beyond Sunday morning services? Where are they? What does biblical leadership in the home look like today? Might the sin of racism be mortified if men were insuring the Bible be read and taught in their families instead of grumbling when the wife tries to get the family to pray at a meal or read Scripture together? It's no wonder the church and the broken systems look like they do—too many man are apathetic to the ministry of the Lord. They’ve hamstrung the Body of Christ!
In conclusion, the result of the Church's handling of this matter meant in the gospel spread and the Church increased in number.
How often does resolving conflict in a local church or correcting systemic issues in the Church at large grow the church and cause the unconverted to hear the gospel and become regenerated in Christ? When was the last time a growing congregation was the result of problems and challenges in the Church? It could be that the Acts 6 daily distribution of bread matter was an anomaly, or it might be that we in the Church have a bigger problem then we think. If the solution to dealing with racism in the Church is godly and the Church is healthy, we should expect to see gospel propagation and growth. If the solution does not proclaim the gospel and grow the Church, it might be a worldly solution adopted by an unhealthy Church.
Racism within the hearts of Christians is wrong. Only a healthy church has the ability to deal with a problem as challenging as racism. I pray that we might take some lessons from Acts 6 and see not only racism mortified, but many other matters of our church also redeemed and made well. We need to see the Church in America become healthy. Otherwise, an unhealthy Church can't make much of anything right, let alone the evil of racism. May God help us.
