When we investigate what the Bible actually says, the clear message from cover to cover is that God loves all people and is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, emphasis added throughout).

Part of the cultural backdrop of the early New Testament Church was the false idea that God favored the Jews more than all other nations or races of people. For this reason, there are numerous clear statements in the New Testament dispelling the notion that a person's ethnicity or nationality impacted their salvation. Peter was specially commissioned by God to teach the truth that "God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him" (Acts 10:34-35). The apostle Paul also combated racism in his writings. Perhaps his most famous and poignant teaching on the matter is Galatians 3:28, which says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

In light of such powerfully inclusive teachings, there is certainly no basis in the New Testament for racism, but what about the Old Testament? Despite how certain passages have been misconstrued and abused, there is not a single scripture that promotes racism in the Old Testament. Instead, we find that God has always regarded people by one standard only: whether they love and obey Him. This was echoed in Acts 10:34-35 above, but is actually found as far back as the Ten Commandments, where God Himself said, "I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Exodus 20:5-6).

Even from the very earliest interaction between God and Israel, namely the Passover just before the Exodus, God included a provision for non-Israelites to become a part of His people if they would obey His law (Exodus 12:48-49). Within the nation of ancient Israel, God made dozens of provisions in the law to protect, care for and respect foreigners living in the land, and to allow them to participate in worship of Him at the Tabernacle (see Exodus 20:10, Exodus 22:21, Leviticus 19:10, Leviticus 19:33-34, Leviticus 24:22, Leviticus 25:6, Numbers 15:15, and many more!).

There are numerous occasions in the Bible where God did pronounce judgment and punishment against a nation or group of people; however, this was always based on their actions, never their race. In Jeremiah 18:7-10, God explained that His blessing or curse on a nation was entirely dependent on whether they obeyed Him, and that any nation that repented would receive mercy. That same mercy and fairness extends to the individual level as well. Consider that Ezekiel 18:4-9 says: "Behold, all souls are Mine . . . the soul that sins shall die. But if a man is just and does what is lawful and right . . . He shall surely live!"

From the very beginning of the Bible, God has consistently shown grace, mercy and favor to anyone willing to repent and obey Him, regardless of their race. Attempts to interject race into stories such as those of Ham and Cain are completely without basis. Such interpretations are in direct conflict with Scripture. Such claims display an ignorance of God's love for all mankind and His desire to honor us as His sons and daughters for all eternity. God's love for every race of people is summed up well in Revelation 7:9, which envisions "a great multitude . . . of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."