Are You Prejudiced?
Article by H.E. Phillips
Searching the Scriptures, Jan. 1967
Introduction
I. Prejudice is one of the most dangerous and insidious states of mind
among men.
A. It is a sin against the God of heaven, a destroyer of its victims
and a hindrance to the cause of the truth wherever it is found.
B. Every person has some prejudice to some extent regarding
some things.
1. He may have a preference for some things, such as foods,
clothing, colors, books, etc.
2. These may not endanger his soul or hurt his personality or
influence upon others but it may deprive him of something
he would otherwise enjoy in this life.
C. Prejudice does not always mean that the individual is
wrong in his view, but it always means that he does not
hold the views out of conviction from real evidence,
otherwise it would not be prejudice.
II. Before going further it may be wise to discuss just what
prejudice is.
A. Our English word is from two Latin words: “prae”, before; and
“judicium”, judgment.
B. Webster’s New Twentieth Century Dictionary, unabridged says of
prejudice:
1. “Prejudgment; an opinion of mind formed without due examination of
the facts or arguments which are necessary to a just and impartial
determination; an unreasonable predilection for or objection to a person
or thing.”
2. “A previous bent or bias of mind for or against any person or thing;
prepossession.”
Three things may be noted in this definition:
a. An opinion, decision or judgment rendered without
due examination of facts – not based upon truth.
b. It favors or disfavors a person or thing without real
evidence of facts to warrant such a state of mind.
c. It is an unreasonable bent or bias of mind either for or
against a person or thing.
C. W.E. Vines says that prejudice, in I Tim. 5:21 denotes “pre-judging – to
judge beforehand.”
D. Thayer defines “prokrima” as, “an opinion formed before
the facts are known, a judgment, a prejudice.”
III. Prejudice does not necessarily mean that the person is wrong in his position,
but it does mean that his position does not rest upon self proven evidence
and facts – which bring conviction.
A. Prejudice is a conclusion before and without examination
of the facts.
B. After the prejudiced conclusion is reached, any facts
relating to it must be reformed to fit the conclusion or
else ignored.
1. He cannot change.
2. That would be inconsistent and contrary to his prejudiced position.
IV. The attitude and action of the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and elders
among the Jews toward Jesus is a perfect example of prejudice and its
consequences.
A. How they could witness his miracles and not believe in him is amazing
1. Peter said on Pentecost that Jesus was, “approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did
by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know” (Acts 2:22)
2. But the Jews were not convinced by this.
B. The very scriptures they claimed to revere and hold in such high esteem
told of Christ in detail, but they were not convinced.
C. After Christ was crucified and arose from the dead according to the
scriptures (1 Cor. 15:1-4), the empty tomb which they could neither deny
nor explain, was ignored and a lie was invented and circulated to replace
this fact they knew, yet refused to accept (Matt. 28:12-15).
D. The miracles of Jesus, his perfect life, his superior teaching, their own
scriptures, and the resurrection from the dead did not convince these Jews
that the was the Son of God.
1. The only explanation is that their hearts were so filled
with prejudice that no fact would be accepted by them.
2. Their conclusion that He was an imposter and blasphemer
was not based upon any fact, so they created what
“evidence” they needed to try to prove to others that they
were right in their charges against Christ.
a. He was charged with perverting the nation, forbidding to pay tribute
to Caesar, and claiming to be king himself (Lk. 23:2).
V. The statement I made earlier about prejudice being sinful is supported by the
teachings of the apostle Paul.
A. "I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angles
that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality"
(1 Tim. 5:21)
B. Timothy was charged to observe these things without prejudice.
1. That charge is directed to all.
2. We to have the awesome responsibility observe thing without prejudice.
a. Telling other people your are open minded will not help.
b. Such will make them think you are trying to convince yourself.
Body
I. One can be prejudice toward other people.
A. One of Webster's definitions of prejudice is "an irrational
attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a
race, or their supposed characteristics."
B. Nathanael was prejudiced against anyone coming out of Nazareth.
1. John 1:46 "And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any
good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him,
Come and see."
2. He was prejudice against a city, but not so bad that he
couldn't accept evidence.
verse 47-50 "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and
saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me?
Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called
thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the
Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and
said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under
the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these."
C. The Pharisee was prejudiced against the publican (Lk. 18:9-14)
1. He put the Publican, who was praying nearby, into the same
category with all other publicans.
2. He judged guilt by association.
a. We need to beware of categorizing.
b. For example, if we know a certain person of a certain
race or political party who is dishonest and shiftless,
we need to beware of categorizing every one of that
category as being . . .
3. It should help us to overcome prejudice toward people
if we consider:
a. Christ died for all (I Tim. 2:6);
b. Christianity is worldwide in scope;
c. In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile;
d. "God is no respecter of persons";
e. And God looks on the hearts of men, not their external circumstances.
II. What Produces Prejudice?
A. Usually, prejudice may be traced to early impressions and associates.
1. Parents have a profound influence upon children
in forming their views, especially in political
and religious matters.
2. Children grow up favoring some positions and
opposing others solely upon the grounds that
their parents held these positions.
B. Ignorance and superstition may generate prejudice.
1. The less one knows about a subject the more
inclined he is to become prejudiced one way
or the other about it.
2. Superstition hinders the acquisition of knowledge
and causes one to become prejudiced because he
does not have the truth facts in forming his conclusion.
C. Jealousy and envy will produce prejudice.
1. When Paul and those with him came to Antioch in
Pisidia and preached in the synagogue on the
Sabbath, some requested that he preach to them
again the next Sabbath.
a. When the day came “almost the whole city” came
together to hear the word of God.
b. Now then, watch prejudice work and see what caused it.
“But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were
filled with envy, and spake against those things
which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and
blaspheming” (Acts 13:45)
2. This is a biblical example of prejudice caused by
jealousy and envy – we’ve all seen other examples.
D. Pride and selfishness produce prejudice.
1. A proud and self-centered person will not see with
his eyes nor hear with his ears anything that is
against himself and his own interest, regardless of
the evidence to the contrary.
2. Instead, he will see what is not supported by evidence
that he construes as favoring himself, his position and
his interest.
a. The effort to justify his actions and words will
cause him to act from prejudice rather then truth.
b. Pride is a terrible sin, as it so often results in being
guilty of others sins that were due to his pride.
E. Catch phrases are adopted by prejudiced people to
create prejudice in others.
1. Those against church support of orphan homes are
often spoken of as being “orphan haters”.
2. Those who insist on following the command to allow
the unmarried to have a marriage are charged with
promoting adultery and being for divorce.
3. There may not be a shred of evidence to support a
charge that a prejudice person makes, which was solely for
the purpose of creating prejudice in others.
III. What Prejudice Produces
A. Prejudice is dangerous because of its fruits in the
hearts and lives of those who are influenced by it.
B. At least four conditions of the heart result from prejudice.
1. It produces willful ignorance.
a. A prejudiced person willfully closes his eyes and
ears to any facts that go contrary to his preconceived positions.
Jesus spoke of this class when he said, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not;
and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled
the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive:
for this people’s heart is waxed gros, and their ears are dul of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
(Matt. 13:13-15)
b. These do not see nor hear nor understand because they do not want to.
1) This is ignorance by choice: willfully refusing to see and hear the facts
lest they learn the truth and be converted.
2) This is a bitter fruit of prejudice.
2. A 2nd condition of the heart that is due to prejudice is:
It hinders repentance.
a. Growth, both mental and physical, is the process of changing.
1) The very reason God gave us the Bible is that man might be
changed – turned to God.
2) We must change to please God and be saved when this life is over.
3) The apostle Paul’s mission was to open men’s eyes and to turn
them from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18).
b. I hear someone occasionally brag about the fact
that he has never changed on some controversial
Bible subject, and some even say they have never
changed on anything.
1) This is nothing to brag about because the
evidence in God’s word requires them to change
if they are in error, and changes are they will
draw some erroneous conclusions on some things.
2) Some are so prejudiced about some matters that they all
but say they will never change regardless of the evidence.
c. Prejudice makes a man take a position before the facts
are examined.
1) Once he has taken the position, no amount of
evidence will change him.
2) The scribes and Pharisees were not changed
by all that Christ did and taught.
3) Prejudice hardens the heart to the extent that
evidence in abundance will not change it.
3. A 3rd condition of the heart that is due to prejudice is:
It makes one dishonest.
a. The individual who is governed by prejudice will
be dishonest with himself.
1) He will often realize that the truth facts are
against him.
2) But he will continue to deceive himself into thinking that these
facts are not really pertinent to his case.
b. He will be dishonest with others; especially those
who try to show him the truth.
1) Prejudice leads one to deliberately misquote,
misrepresent and misapply the words of
another, and this includes the word of God.
2) He will appeal to matters that have nothing to
do with his case, and he knows it.
a) He will even lie to avoid facing the real
evidence that proves him wrong.
b) Anything that causes a man to be so
dishonest with God, himself, and his
fellowman has to be a terrible sin.
4. A 4th condition of the heart that is due to prejudice is:
It creates anger, hatred and murder.
a. This is a serious indictment against prejudice, but
the word of God sustains it.
1) Christ was hated by the Jewish leaders of his
day because His teachings would require a
change in their lives and religion.
a) Their prejudice against Jesus would not
allow for the change to be possible.
b) Their anger developed into hatred for him
unexcelled in history.
c) They lied to Pilate about the charges against him (Lk 23:2).
d) They demanded his death and finally secured it.
e) The evil hearts of these men who were guilty
of crucifying Christ were made so by their prejudice.
f) Their doctrines and conduct were against truth, yet
they continued to reject truth and instead contended
for their own system of things.
g) Anyone who stood opposed to their prejudiced
views were on their list to be destroyed.
b. This is what prejudice does for one, and that is the reason
we should make a careful examination of ourselves to make
sure we are not motivated by prejudice.
IV. How To Eliminate Prejudice
A. If prejudice is to be eliminated from the heart the
individual must do it.
1. No one else has the power to remove it.
2. One must realize that prejudice is willful ignorance
and the only way to begin to remove it is to desire
the truth which is able to make one free (Jn. 8:32).
3. We must have an honest heart in the search for truth.
4. We must have a love for the truth and be willing to
accept it from anyone who can teach us.
B. First, we must accept the fact that we may be wrong
about any matter, no matter how much we have studied
the question and searched for the truth.
1. If we reach the point that we feel we can not be
wrong, we have cultivated the heart for prejudice.
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith:
prove your own selves” (II Cor. 13:5)
2. If you accept the fact that you could be wrong, you
will more likely accept the truth when presented if
you have been wrong.
C. Never accept as final any position until all the facts
are in and examined.
1. All too often one will jump to a conclusion after
hearing only a small fraction of the evidence.
2. If he concludes that his position is final he probably will
develop a prejudice against any other evidence.
a. We should always be ready to receive new
evidence from any source at any time.
b. To do less is evidence that one is not confident
with his position, and that he has a closed mind.
D. We must also have the state of mind to be willing to change
if we find that we have been wrong on some matter.
1. Unless this is true, the obtaining of new evidence
will do us no good.
2. Just remember God not only wants us to learn truth He
wants us to change (repent) when we learn that we
have been wrong.
3. This is true whether it concerns God or man.
E. Finally, we must take only the word of God as evidence
in spiritual matters.
1. We can not allow tradition, opinion, doctrines of men,
etc., to govern our thinking in those things that have
to do with our eternal destiny.
2. We must be willing to go to the revelation of God
and take all that it contains for us.
Conclusion
I. Let the word of Christ rule our hearts all through life.
II. Do not allow prejudice to hinder your hope of eternal life.
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