The UK Riots: How should we respond?

by Jordan Round

Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed several protests that have turned to violence, disturbingly, in the name of England and the protection of its borders. Even in our own city of Plymouth, the last place one might expect rioting to break out, we saw people out in droves standing in opposition to the diversity of our nation.

How should we, as Christians, respond to these frankly terrifying and quite unbelievable scenes? I imagine that it would be in a very similar way to the vast majority of the country, in condemnation. But for believers, the stakes are higher, and it’s not merely a matter of right and wrong today, but it is truly a gospel and Kingdom of God issue, and that deserves our attention.

Here are a selection of passages that talk about the identity of the people of the Kingdom of God:

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Gal 3.26-28

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Matt 28.18-20

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. 4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Genesis 26.3-4

       “Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

       for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

10    and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

Rev 5.9-10

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Rev 7.9-10

The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

Rom 3.22-24

As you can see from this survey of verses from across the Old and New Testaments, the Kingdom of God has no boundaries when it comes to nation, race, language, immigration status, sex, age, or any other identifier. The people of God are multi-cultural, international, and universal and as Paul reminds us in Romans, there is no distinction because all of us need a saviour, and that saviour is Jesus Christ, who himself broke through cultural boundaries by spending time with sinners and rejects. Jesus came to save those who needed him, no matter who they were or what they had done.

So what can we do?

1. We can stand in opposition to all kinds of racism and discrimination based on who someone is, where they are from, or what language they speak.

2. We can openly condemn the violence we have seen in our streets, challenging anyone who seeks to find any justification for these actions.

3. We can pray for our city and our nation. Pray these verses above and pray for an outbreak of the kingdom of God here today. As the Lord’s prayer says, “Let your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

4. Pray for the victims of these riots, on both sides. We must pray for our enemies as fervently as we pray for those who are of like mind with us (Matt 5:44).

5. Ask God to stir up righteousness in our hearts. We should be feeling angry about these scenes, and just as Jesus was “deeply moved in his spirit” (John 11:33) in righteous, indignant anger about the presence of sin and suffering in the world, so should we. The fact that we are not is a desensitisation to the heart of God.

Feel free to pray this prayer with me:

Heavenly Father, you alone are worthy of our praise, you are the maker of all things, and all creation bows in worship to you. We are devastated and angered at the events of recent weeks in our nation, where some have gathered to cause division and animosity between those of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We know that this is all part of the brokenness of the world we live in and that we are all, in some ways or others, tainted by it, but we stand in repentance and bow to your will, and we pray that all those who are the aggressors will come to realise the same thing, that they are sinners in need of a savour. We ask that all those negatively affected by these events are comforted in your love, and we stand with them, and we suffer with them, longing for the day when you return, and all pain and suffering cease.

In your name Lord, we pray, Amen.