Bible Study on You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

By staff - Jan 22, 2010 -

Bible Study Guide

Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

Acts 10:34-35

Teacher Notes

This is a suggested Bible study for any size group. The accompanying sermon notes (“You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover”) serve as a resource as you prepare to lead this Bible study. Answers are provided with the questions when appropriate, but do not be too quick to give the answers. Allow the participants time to talk about the questions among themselves and offer their own thoughts and reflections.

Bible Study Instruction

Create Learning Readiness: Using the information in the Context section of the accompanying sermon, describe the background of the passage.

Say: “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” How often we have heard that said. It means you cannot look at the exterior of something and make an uninformed decision about what is inside. For example, a tree may look perfectly healthy when you look at the exterior. But inside, it may be rotten to the core.

Who among us has not prejudged a book or a movie or television show and thought it would be great to read or watch, only to discover after a few minutes of reading or watching that it really wasn’t what we expected at all? The consequences of these kinds of decisions are not that great. We may have spent a little money—O.K., based on today’s prices, maybe a lot of money—and a little time.

It is when we do the same thing with people that the problems arise. That is called prejudice. And if that prejudice is based on the color of someone’s skin or the set of their eyes or some other characteristic that indicates they are different than us, that is called racial prejudice.

It is evident that the Jewish people of biblical times were racially biased. They loathed the Samaritans because they were a mixed breed (part Jew, part Gentile). Almost all Jews during those days would avoid going through Samaria by crossing the Jordan River to by-pass it. They also would have little, if anything, to do with the Gentiles for fear of becoming unclean through touch or association and, therefore, become disqualified to participate in worship until restoration was made.

How did this happen? At the risk of being too simplistic, the people of Israel were God’s chosen people—called to be holy even as God is holy. The word holy denotes a separation from anything sinful or unclean. They assumed that this meant that they were to isolate themselves from anyone that might render them unholy (CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4, CC5). But this holiness was never intended to cause prejudicial attitudes among the people. Leviticus 11:45 indicates that this holiness was to be a reflection of the holiness of God—a reflection of His nature and His heart. But they pushed that which was meant to be good to the extreme and made it into something more than God ever intended.

In Acts 10, God brings correction for that wrong attitude.

Ask someone to read Acts 10:9-16 aloud.

Say: In this passage, we see God using an illustration to teach Peter a truth he needed to learn. The method God used was a vision He gave to Peter.

Ask: What was that vision? (A descending sheet with animals considered unclean, verses 11-12)

Ask: What was the message that God communicated to Peter in that vision? (The long-standing prejudice of the Jews was not what God had intended and He did not approve of it.)

Say: God repeats this process three times (14-15).

Ask: Why do you think God repeated this three time? (The long-standing prejudice against non-Jews would be difficult to overcome. God was simply reinforcing the message so that it could not be misunderstood.)

Ask: Why do you think God used the vision to communicate to Peter? Why not just say what He wanted to say? (This was a truth that would be difficult to accept. The hard truth would be softened through the use of an illustration.)

Ask: Does God ever use this method to speak some truth to us that is hard to understand or receive? If so, can you give an example?

Ask someone to read verses 17-20 aloud.

Say: While Peter is trying to figure out what this vision was about, God was already at work to apply the illustration. He told Peter to go and meet those who were coming to him. Note that God was at work on both ends of this situation to bring about His desired resolution.

Ask: Have you seen evidence of this in some situation in your own life? If so, can you share it with the group?

Ask someone to read verses 21-35 aloud.

Say: Peter responded by meeting those who came from Cornelius. Even though Peter was “perplexed” about the meaning of what he had just experienced, he apparently was beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Four things point to this conclusion: [1] Peter met with the Gentiles who came (vs. 21), [2] Peter entered the house of Cornelius (vs. 25), [3] Peter made no distinction between Cornelius and himself (vs. 26), and [4] Peter’s statement concerning God’s lack of favoritism (vs. 34).

Say: Peter seems to have gone through a process of coming to grips with the lesson that God was teaching him through the vision. By the time he made that last statement in verse 34, the whole truth of it seems to have become firmly settled in his mind. Though it went against all he had been taught from his early childhood, he was ready to accept what God said as final.

Ask: How has God used a process to teach you something significant for your life?

Say: There are some lessons that we must learn from this passage about racial prejudice. First, like Peter, we must be open to receive God’s truth about any form of prejudice. (Ask two people to read Romans 10:12 and James 2:1-9).

Ask: Can you give any examples of something or someone that you have prejudged because of the outward appearance?

Say: The second lesson is that, like Peter, we must learn that racial prejudice goes against the nature and heart of God. And third, like Peter, we must apply these lessons to our own situation. (If appropriate, use one or more of the items found in OS3 through OS7.)

Say: Most people do not feel comfortable openly admitting to harboring racial prejudice in their heart. Many people grow up in homes where racial prejudice is the accepted practice. But if Christ really lives in our heart, there is no room for that prejudice. Our Lord declared all of us to be equal, no matter what the color of our skin might be. I want us all to bow our heads in prayer and, in the silence of your own heart, ask yourself this question: “Am I guilty of being prejudiced against anyone who is different than me?” (Pause for time of meditation.) Next, if you discovered any prejudice in your heart, would you take a few moments to ask God to cleanse that from your heart and give you a new love for those who are of different races than you?

After a few moments of reflection, close in prayer.

What Can One Person Do?

  1. Ask God to show you any racial prejudice that might linger in your heart so that you can confess it to Him.
  2. Seek to gain an understanding of the customs of other ethnic groups in your community. Are any of those customs a possible source of racial prejudice?
  3. Ask your church to participate in a joint worship service with another ethnic group.
  4. Ask your church to invite a pastor from another ethnic group to preach at your church.

Other Helpful Scriptures

Bible verses about Race Relations:
Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3:20; Genesis 9:6; Deuteronomy 10:17; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Proverbs 24:23; Isaiah 66:18; Malachi 2:10; Luke 10:29-37; John 4:7-10; Acts 2:5-11; Acts 2:17a; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 10:15, 28; Acts 15:9; Acts 17:26; Romans 2:11; Romans 3:23; Romans 10:12; 2 Corinthians 5:16-20; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:14-22; Colossians 3:11; 1 Timothy 5:21; James 2:1-9

Word Studies (WS)

WS1 —favoritism—“from (prosopon) and (lambano); an accepter of a face (individual), i.e. (special) one exhibiting partiality :- respecter of persons” [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (Austin, TX: WORDSearch 7 Electronic version, WORDSearch Corp., 2004)].

WS2 — favoritism— prosōpolēmptēs —denotes ‘a respecter of persons’ (prosōpon, ‘a face’ or ‘person,’ lambanō, ‘to lay hold of’), Acts 10:34” [Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Austin, TX: WORDSearch 7 Electronic version, WORDSearch Corp., 2004)].

WS3 — favoritism—“To show favoritism; to show partiality. It means to regard with partiality and favoritism; to favor a person because of looks, position, or circumstances. The great point of this chapter is that God has no favorites and no prejudice against anyone. He shows no partiality or discrimination whatsoever. He does not accept a person because of nationality, race, caste, social standing, or class . . . Person or appearance, possessions or position, abilities or works, health or stature—these things do not make a person acceptable to God. ‘God is no respecter of persons.’ He has always said so, but men, including Peter, had not paid attention to Him (cp. Deut. 10:17; 2 Chron. 19:7; Job 34:10; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; James 2:1; 1 Pet. 1:17). They just went right on ignoring the truth of God’s Word and feeding their prejudices” [Practical Word Studies in the New Testament (Austin, TX: WORDSearch 7 Electronic version, WORDSearch Corp., 2004)].

Commentary Citations (CC)

CC1 —“In truth, the bitter hatred which the Jew bore to the Gentile can only be explained, from the estimate entertained of his character. The most vile, and even unnatural, crimes were imputed to them. It was not safe to leave cattle in their charge, to allow their women to nurse infants, or their physicians to attend the sick, nor to walk in their company, without taking precautions against sudden and unprovoked attacks. They should, so far as possible, be altogether avoided, except in cases of necessity or for the sake of business. They and theirs were defiled; their houses unclean, as containing idols or things dedicated to them; their feast, their joyous occasions, their very contact, was polluted by idolatry; and there was no security, if a heathen were left alone in a room, that he might not, in wantonness or by carelessness, defile the wine or meat on the table, or the oil and wheat in the store. Under such circumstances, therefore, everything must be regarded as having been rendered unclean. Three days before a heathen festival (according to some, also three days after) every business transaction with them was prohibited, for fear of giving either help or pleasure. Jews were to avoid passing through a city where there was an idolatrous feast—nay, they were not even to sit down within the shadow of a tree dedicated to idol-worship. Its wood was polluted; if used in baking, the bread was unclean; if a shuttle had been made of it, not only was all cloth woven on it forbidden, but if such had been inadvertently mixed with other pieces of cloth, or a garment made from it placed with other garments, the whole became unclean. Jewish workmen were not to assist in building basilicas, nor stadia, nor places where judicial sentences were pronounced by the heathen. Of course, it was not lawful to let houses or fields; nor to sell cattle to them. Milk drawn by a heathen, if a Jew had not been present to watch it, bread and oil prepared by them, were unlawful. Their wine was wholly interdicted—the mere touch of a heathen polluted a whole cask; nay, even to put one’s nose to heathen wine was strictly prohibited . . . Painful as these details are, they might be multiplied.”

Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (McLean, VA: Macdonald Publishing Company, n.d.), 91-92.

CC2 —“Verse 28. It is an unlawful thing. This was not explicitly enjoined by Moses, but it seemed to be implied in his institutions, and was at any rate the common understanding of the Jews. The design was to keep them a separate people. To do this, Moses forbade alliances by contract, or marriage, with the surrounding nations, which were idolatrous. See Leviticus 18:24-30, Deuteronomy 7:3-12; comp. Ezra 9:11,12. This command the Jews perverted; and explained as referring to intercourse of all kinds, even to the exercise of friendly offices and commercial transactions. Comp. John 4:9”

[Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament (Austin, TX: WORDSearch 7 Electronic version, WORDSearch Corp., 2004)].

CC3 —“Peter was well aware of the consequences of his fellowshipping with Gentiles in their homes (cf. 11:2-3), but he had learned the lesson of the vision well. The command to eat unclean animals meant he was not to call any man impure or unclean. So he came without protest”

[Bible Knowledge Commentary (Austin, TX: WORDSearch 7 Electronic version, WORDSearch Corp., 2004)].

CC4 —“Peter declares the direction God gave to him to come to those Gentiles, v. 28, 29. They knew it had never been allowed by the Jews, but always looked upon as an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or come unto one of another nation, an uncircumcised Gentile. It was not made so by the law of God, but by the decree of their wise men. They did not forbid them to converse or traffic with Gen¬tiles in the street or shop, or upon the exchange, but to eat with them. They might not come into the house of a Gentile. Thus scornfully did the Jews look upon the Gentiles, who were not behindhand with them in contempt. ‘But now,’ saith Peter, ‘God hath shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.’ Peter, who had taught his new converts to save themselves from the untoward generation of wicked men (chap. ii. 40), is now himself taught to join himself with the towardly generation of devout Gentiles. He assures them of his readiness to do them all the good offices he could. Having now received per¬mission, he was at their service: ‘Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for.’ He enquires wherein he might be serviceable to them: ‘I ask, therefore, for what intent you hare sent for me?’”

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), 1676.

CC5 —“God is no respecter of persons—He does God esteem a Jew, because he is a Jew; nor does he detest a Gentile because he is a Gentile. It was a long and deeply rooted opinion among the Jews, that God never would extend his favor to the Gentiles; and that the descendants of Jacob only should enjoy his peculiar favor and benediction. Of this opinion was St. Peter, previously to the heavenly vision mentioned in this chapter. He was now convinced that God was no respecter of persons; that as all must stand before his judgment seat, to be judged according to the deeds done in the body, so no one nation, or people, or individual, could expect to find a more favorable decision than another who was precisely in the same moral state; for the phrase, respect of persons, is used in reference to unjust decisions in a court of justice, where, through favor, or interest, or bribe, a culprit is acquitted, and a righteous or innocent person condemned”

[Adam Clarke’s Commentary (Austin, TX: WORDSearch 7 Electronic version, WORDSearch Corp., 2004)].

Other Sources (OS)

OS1 —Prejudice:

  1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
  2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
  3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, esp. of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.
  4. such attitudes considered collectively: The war against prejudice is never-ending.
  5. damage or injury; detriment: a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority.
  6. without prejudice, Law. without dismissing, damaging, or otherwise affecting a legal interest or demand.

“Prejudice,” www.infoplease.com/ipd/A0601035.html (Infoplease Dictionary)

OS2 — “The Gentiles were far less sharply differentiated from the Israelites in Old Testament than in New Testament times. Under Old Testament regulations they were simply non-Israelites, not from the stock of Abraham, but they were not hated or despised for that reason, and were to be treated almost on a plane of equality, except certain tribes in Canaan with regard to whom there were special regulations of non-intercourse . . . But as we approach the Christian era the attitude of the Jews toward the Gentiles changes, until we find, in New Testament times, the most extreme aversion, scorn and hatred. They were regarded as unclean, with whom it was unlawful to have any friendly intercourse. They were the enemies of God and His people, to whom the knowledge of God was denied unless they became proselytes, and even then they could not, as in ancient times, be admitted to full fellowship. Jews were forbidden to counsel them, and if they asked about Divine things they were to be cursed”

[International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Austin, TX: WORDSearch 7 Electronic version, WORDSearch Corp., 2004)].

OS3 —“Christ knows how to reshape a prejudiced heart. Many people need to be freed from the blindness of prejudice today. Truth frees one to behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

A. Charles Ware, Prejudice and the People of God (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2001), 18.

OS4 — How does one become cross-culturally sensitive? In the book Intentional Diversity: Creating Cross-Cultural Ministry Relationships in Your Church, Jim Lo gives ten suggestions:

  1. Understand yourself—Our predispositions formed by our culture determine “how we perceive others, the way they think, and the way they do things.”
  2. Empathize with others—We must look at things not only from our own viewpoint but from the viewpoint of others as well.
  3. Loosen up—Don’t be afraid to reach out to people from other cultural backgrounds.
  4. Keep your sense of humor—Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself and with others.
  5. Don’t be afraid of mistakes—Everyone makes them and most people are willing to forgive if asked.
  6. Do not make quick judgments—“People should put aside critical thinking until they have had an opportunity to see the other person’s viewpoint. This requires careful listening and patience.”
  7. Be tolerant of ambiguity—Not everything about someone else’s culture will be as clear and precise as we might like.
  8. Develop intercultural traits—Those suggested include curiosity, courage, friendliness, flexibility, and communication.
  9. Take a stand—Don’t tell, or allow others to tell, ethnic jokes. They are demeaning to those of other cultures.
  10. Recognize that we do not live in a colorless or cultureless world—Not everyone is the same. Allow people of other cultures to be who they are, not what you expect them to be.

Jim Lo, Intentional Diversity: Creating Cross-Cultural Ministry Relationships in Your Church (Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2002), 61-73.

OS5 — Author Clarence Shuler suggests replacing the term “racial reconciliation” with “racial partnership.” He explains: “The strength of the term racial partnership is that, first of all, it implies that equal parties are involved. This is something racial reconciliation doesn’t necessarily do. Second, partnership implies a working together for a desired goal or result. This is hard work because you are forming something out of nothing! Partners starting a business very often have to work through their differences if they are going to be successful…most partnerships are formed because the goal can’t be achieved by one person or company. If it could, then there wouldn’t be a need for the partnership. The same is true of us in the areas of culture, race, and even spiritual gifts in some of our own churches. We all need each other—we just pretend we don’t because we are often afraid of what we may lose personally (control, for example) and what the finished product may look like.”

Clarence Shuler, Winning the Race to Unity (Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), 142.

OS6 —“To love others is easier said than done; however, we must manage to incorporate it into our daily lives. We must wrestle with, and ultimately overcome, our prejudices that we bring to bear on the relationships we form with others. Our love for others must be based on our recognition of them as having desires and needs just as we do, as having the basic sameness as we, as having a truly transcendent reality about themselves as we do.”

Michael F. Thurman, “Love: Fundamental Ingredient of the Christian Life,” in Timothy George and Robert Smith, Jr., editors, A Mighty Long Journey (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2000), 68.

OS7 —“It is going to ‘cost’ anyone—any church or organization that is serious about and committed to improving race relations among Christians today. This cost will always be more than we anticipate because that is the faith aspect of it. An attitude of flexibility, teachability, and patience must be developed by those of the majority race who desire cross-cultural relationships with minorities. This is something they can learn to do. After all, in order to survive in any culture, minority children must master the system of the majority race without losing their own identity.”

Clarence Shuler, Winning the Race to Unity (Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), 141-142.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Citizenship, Racial Reconciliation,