What I’m going to be talking about today is race. I’m not going to talk about racial reconciliation or racial justice or critical race theory. If we understand and apply what the Bible says about race, then we’ve won half the battle. If people would simply follow the biblical guidelines on this issue, things would be far more peaceful.

First, let’s consider a couple of definitions:

What do we mean by the word “race”? In common, popular thought, race is the idea that there are natural, biological differences between various people groups. The differences between people are fundamental and deep. E.g., skin color, hair color and texture, eye shape, and other physical markers are rooted in major biological differences. That’s what people usually mean by the word “race.” There are many races because there are many differences among people.

Ethnicity is a bit different. It’s more based on language, culture, nationality, citizenship, and religion. Ethnicity has to do with where you came from, your people-group, or your ancestral background.

We sometimes use the terms “race” and “ethnicity” synonymously, but they are not precisely synonymous terms.

Let’s consider several things the Bible teaches us about this important topic.