Read Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."Tolerance and equality are words we frequently hear nowadays in the news, particularly in the political realm. Minorities (including various races, women, and the gay community) claim discrimination and persistently fight for more rights. This fight for equality has definitely entered into the church, where women want to take on pastorate roles and homosexuals want to be church members and clergy. What is the Christian response to all this talk on equality and tolerance? Galatians 3:28 is the verse often selected to defend the "equal rights" agenda in the church. I want to address what this verse means, as well as what it does not mean.
In order to fully understand what this verse is talking about, we need to first look at the context. In Galatians 2, Paul talks about his argument with Peter. Peter had at one time eaten freely with Gentiles (non-Jews), but when Jewish people came around, he would stay away from the Gentiles. What is all this Jew and Gentile stuff about? Well, after Jesus came to earth, died for man's sin, and rose again, everything changed. Before this, the Jews were the only ones who were God's people, set apart for Him (though a few non-Jews were grafted into the covenant). Because they were God's people, God had given the Jews laws and regulations to live by in order to set them apart from the pagan nations. One of the main ways they differed from foreigners was that they had a certain diet that they had to pertain to. There were certain things they weren't allowed to eat. Like I said, this changed when Jesus came. From that point on, salvation would be available to all who believed, regardless of whether they were Jewish or not. The Jews no longer had to follow those dietary restrictions, because God declared everything clean (Acts 10). Another major distinction for the Jews was circumcision.
With the gospel spreading and many Gentiles becoming Christians, many Jewish people still struggled with prejudice against them. They couldn't wrap their minds around the fact that these uncircumcised, pork-eating foreigners could be God's people as well as themselves, who had carefully followed God's law all their lives. In Galatians 2, Paul rebukes Peter and the other Jews for their hypocrisy, and in Galatians 3, he explains the truth about salvation. People are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, not by following the Law (Gal. 3:26). From now on, anyone who believed in Jesus would be counted as one of Abraham's descendants...as children of God and heirs to the promise originally reserved only for the Jews (Gal. 3:29).
When you read Galatians 3:28 with this context and background, it is easy to understand the meaning of the verse. The verse is saying that all ground is equal at the foot of the cross. No matter who you are, what you've done, or where you're from, you can be saved by faith in Jesus. Jesus doesn't care what your status is. You could be a homeless person or the president of America. He doesn't care how much money you have, what race you are, what you look like, etc. If you put your faith in Him, you will be saved.
So we see that this verse is not talking about equal rights in society but is talking about salvation. We are equal in the eyes of Christ, but that doesn't mean that we all serve the same function. We see in passages such as 1 Timothy 2:12 and Ephesians 5:22, that God has given men and women different roles in the church and in the home. He has chosen men to be the head of their wives and to serve in the authority positions in the church. Does this mean that God loves men more or that women are inferior in His eyes? Galatians 3:28 tells us that this is not the case at all.
Because of Galatians 3:28, we can see that God does not condone racial or gender prejudice. God created all races and both genders in His image and He loves them equally. Eternal life is offered to all. As a result, there should be no room for racism or discrimination in the church. However, this verse is not saying that we should condone sinfulness (such as homosexuality) in the church and pretend that God doesn't mind that people are disobeying His law. This verse doesn't change the fact that God regards homosexuality as a sin against Him (1 Cor. 6:9-10). It also doesn't mean that men and women don't have distinct, God-ordained roles in the church and home. They are equal in essence but different in function. I hope this careful look at Galatians 3:28 sheds light onto the Christian response to prejudice and discrimination. I am so thankful that we serve a God who saves by faith alone, no matter who you are~
