In the church bulletin, above, the concept of physical race, as taught in the Holy Bible, has been discussed. Now, the concept of spiritual race is discussed. In Ezra 9:2, it is written ( please read this entire chapter to get the immediate context ), "' 2 h For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the i holy race6 has j mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost. '"
The phrase " i holy race,6 " here, has a cross-reference to Deuteronomy 7:6, which reads as follows, namely: " 6 For p you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be p a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. " The sentence " For p you are a people holy to the LORD your God, " here, has nine cross-references, the eighth of which is to 1 Peter 2:9, which reads as follows, namely: " 9 But you are z a chosen race, a a royal bpriesthood, c a holy nation, d a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you e out of darkness into f his marvelous light. " In 1 Peter 1:23, it is written, " 23 d since you have been born again, e not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through f the living and abiding word of God. " The phrase " d since you have been born again, " here, has three cross-references, the second of which is to John 3:3: verses three through five read as follows, namely: " 3 Jesus answered him, ' Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is n born o again4 he cannot p see the kingdom of God. ' 4 Nicodemus said to him, ' How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? ' 5 Jesus answered, ' Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born q of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. '" The phrase " q of water and the Spirit, " here, has six cross-references, the third of which is to Acts 2:38: verses thirty-eight, forty-one, and forty-seven, in the King James Version ( KJV ) of the Holy Bible, with center-column references, read as follows, namely: " 38 Then Peter said unto them, aRepent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the 1remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.… 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.… 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. Anda the Lord added to the church daily such as 1should be saved. " Denominational baptisms are condemned in the Bible, for in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, it is written, " 10 I appeal to you, brothers,1 by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no p divisions among you, but that you be united q in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is r quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that s each one of you says, ' I follow Paul, ' or ' I follow t Apollos, ' or ' I follow u Cephas, ' or ' I follow Christ. ' 13 v Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you w baptized in the name of Paul? " The answer to each of the three rhetorical questions in 1 Corinthians 1:13 is " No. " Furthermore, in asking each of these three questions, the apostle Paul ( see 1:1 ) establishes ( see 9:1 and 16:21, for example ) that denominational baptisms ( i.e., baptisms that are associated with religious division ) wrongly claim that the head of that religious denomination, party, or sect ( i.e., a human being ), was crucified for the church ( see Luke 23:26-49 ( especially verse 33, for example; KJV, for example ) and Ephesians 5:25, for example ), and that that human being died for the sins of all those who will keep the commandments of Jesus ( see John, chapter 10 ( especially verse 11, for example ); chapter 14 ( especially verse 15, for example ); and chapter 15 ( especially verses 12-14, for example ), for example ). In other words, when someone wrongly tries to justify denominational baptisms, he or she is also wrongly justifying religious division. Paul's three rhetorical questions, here, form a very powerful argument in condemning religious division and denominational baptisms.
This means that there is only one spiritual race that belongs to God — the church of Christ. The Bible teaches that God discriminates based on spiritual race — not physical race ( see James, chapter 2, for example ). God says that anyone who is not a member of the church of Christ is not a Christian, is not saved, and is not following Jesus ( see also John, chapter 9 ( especially verse 28, for example ), for example ).
Clouds and thick darkness are all around the LORD. We must tremble at the LORD's word ( see Isaiah 66:2, for example ). Please examine the Scriptures daily ( see Acts 17:10, 11, for example ).