Sin or Skin
Introduction
1 Corinthians 10:31-33 "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.
Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved."
This is one of the more important verses in the New Testament because it shows a Christian how God has divided "...all men..." (verse 33). This division applies to the New Testament Church age.
A careful study of the Bible will reveal that the way God deals with men in the New Testament is not the same as He did in the Old Testament. Bible students call this difference "dispensations".
In the Old Testament God primarily deals with one Nation. It is the history of how God called out Abraham and divided him and his family, and still later the nation of Israel, from the other nations. In the New Testament God primarily deals with individuals inside of nations. God's emphasis in the Old Testament was to develop society (and the individual) using the nation. In the New Testament God's instrument for developing society (and the individual) is the church. It is the ongoing history of how Jesus, rejected by the nation of Israel as their Messiah, is preached to "every creature" in "all nations" in "all the world" (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19, 20).
It is important to notice that God is a divider. One of the first things God did in creation is to divide the Light from the Darkness (Genesis 1:4). In a practical sense, division is good. It brings order and organization. It produces more because from one thing you get two things. It brings tactical strength in times of battle (see Genesis 14:15 and II Samuel 10:8-14). It creates more variety. It doesn't take long in reading the Bible before you get the sense that God is not for everybody getting together (Genesis 11). But it is also important to note that God is also for unity. In salvation, your spirit and God's Spirit become one (I Corinthians 6:17). In marriage, a man and a woman become one (Matthew 19:5, 6). The local church is supposed to be unified (I Corinthians 1:10). God, being balanced, knows that some things go together and that some things should be kept separate. "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." It can be properly deduced that what God hath put asunder, let not man join together! It is vitally important to know what God's standards of division and unity are. The Christian, having the Bible as his standard, is able to make these discriminations in a way that pleases God and is beneficial to society (The word discrimination is not a bad word because it is essential to tell the difference between right and wrong; good and bad; godly and evil.).
All through the Bible, God divides mankind based upon moral, cultural, and spiritual grounds.
NOT ON SKIN COLOR!!!