By Ivor Myers

ust as God sent Moses to deliver the captives from the house of bondage, so His plan is to send people with the gospel, a message of deliverance, to those bound on the plantation of racism.

God calls those whom He has delivered already from the plantation of the slave master. Some have been bound by the crops of addictions, of abuse, of hopelessness.

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness” (Romans 6:16-17, KJV).

According to the text, Christ set us free from the plantation.

The book of Philippians tells us that, “Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:5-9, KJV).

Christ left His glory in heaven and came to earth. What was the glory He left? The glory of the rainbow. He put off His glory of many colors to become a servant.

Do you remember the story of Joseph? “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours” (Genesis 37:3, KJV). His brothers were envious of him. They took his coat from him and sold him into slavery.

“And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit.” “Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father” (Genesis 37:23-24a; 27; 31-32a, KJV).

Note how they dipped his coat of many colors in the blood of a slain animal.

The point is too clear to miss: Christ died to redeem the entire human race; He died for every color. Every color is covered by the blood. No color is more important than another.

In accepting Christ, we are delivered from the plantation of the slave master, set free from hate, set free from pride.

But the plan does not stop there. God sent Moses back to Egypt to deliver the slaves still in bondage. Today, there are others still under Pharoah’s rule. And God calls upon those He has set free to go back and do the same work—to deliver our brothers and sisters from the ignorance of racism.

Romans 10:13-15 puts it this way: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (KJV).

When the children of Israel were delivered from the slave masters, the Bible reveals that many Egyptians saw the error of their ways and left Egypt with them to follow the God of Israel.

“And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle” (Exodus 12:37-38, KJV).

How did God command Israel to treat those who were once their oppressors but had now repented and left the plantation themselves?

“Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21, KJV).

“And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34, KJV).

This means that the men and women who are now on the plantation of racism, who practice the ignorance of Eugenic philosophies, are our very brothers and sisters who have been taken captive by Satan himself. And God wants us to fight for them, to rescue them from the plantation as if we were rescuing our very own family members. In other words, love is weaponized; we look beyond flesh and blood and fight against the principalities and powers which have held captive souls on the plantation of racism.

We are our brothers’ keepers. Like the Underground Railroad of old, God calls us to go into enemy territory and rescue the souls of men. He calls us to be a different kind of abolitionist, abolishing racism from the hearts of people through the true gospel of Jesus. By focusing the eyes of these slaves on the true slave master, we must encourage an uprising, a rebellion against Satan.

The battle we fight must be two-fold: While we must fight against unjust laws and policies, the battle is incomplete if we ignore the deeper issue of the heart. And only the true gospel, only the law of God written on the heart in full—not a counterfeit—can change the heart to care for the oppressed.

Finally, the Sabbath truly kept will bridge not only the gaps of inequality and disparities, but also the gaps caused by unrest and racism. Only the principle of Sabbatismos can bring peace and rest in our society. It’s time to join this battle and become a “repairer of the breach” and an abolitionist.

IVOR MYERS, author, teacher, speaker, and founder of Power of the Lamb Ministries writes from Huntsville, Alabama, and is pastor of the online church community, Living Manna. To find out how you can become engaged in being a repairer of the breach, sign up at oneracemanycolors.com.