Posted on 06/17/2018 5:11:51 PM PDT by metmom
"My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism" (James 2:1).
Because God is impartial, we as Christians must be impartial too.
People are prone to treat others differently based upon external criteria such as looks, possessions, or social status, but God is utterly impartial. He never shows favoritism and always judges righteously.
Favoritism can be defined as a preferential attitude and treatment of a person or group over another having equal claims and rights. It is unjustified partiality. James 2:1-13 confronts it as sin and admonishes us to avoid it at all costs.
God's impartiality is seen throughout Scripture. For example, Moses said to the people of Israel, "The Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt" (Deut. 10:17-19). Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, warned his judges to rule without partiality because God Himself has "no part in unrighteousness, or partiality" (2 Chron. 19:7).
God's impartiality is also seen in His gracious offer of salvation to people of every race. In Acts 10:34-35 Peter says, "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right, is welcome to Him."
God is also impartial in judgment. Romans 2:9-11 says that God will bring "tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil . . . but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good. For there is no partiality with God."
Our text is a timely admonition because prejudice, discrimination, and bigotry are ever-present evils in our society—both inside and outside the church. I pray that God will use these studies to guard you from favoritism's subtle influences and strengthen your commitment to godly living.
Suggestions for Prayer
Ask God to reveal any partiality you might be harboring. As He does, confess it and turn from it.
For Further Study
Read Ephesians 6:5-9 and 1 Timothy 5:17-21. How does God's impartiality apply to how you should respond to your co- workers and your church leaders?
Romans 9
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Esav was angered and outraged and felt cheated by his brother stealing his good blessing. He assumed he got the short end of the stick. So does everyone else.
The blessing (and comparing the wording of the two) reminds me of those little stories about a Dad giving his son a Bible for a 16th birthday gift, when all the boy wanted was a car. So in anger he tosses the Bible aside, unware that a car key had been placed inside. Twenty years later he finds that Bible in a box of his old stuff, opens it up for the first time and.. whoah.
Timing is everything, as any comedian knows. The religious experts, not so much.
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Yes, as the prophet Jeremiah tells us, christianity is the imherited lies wherein there is no profit.
The lies of iniquity (rejection of Torah)
The covenant is the path to the righteousness of Yehova. As James called it: The perfect law of Liberty.
I'll pray for you.
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Who do you pray to?
Yeshua’s way is not “christianity”
Christianity is a 4th century invention of Eusebius and Constantine.
It was further corrupted when Dispensationalism was concocted by John Darby.
Why reject the way that the apostles preached?
They would vomit their guts out if you accused them of “Christianity.”
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I also go to a church with a history tracing back to Darby.
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Darby is one of the worst corruptors of the word!
His notes were the work of the adversary destroying the clear word of Yehova.
He was the original author of the “rightly dividing” lie. The word is not to be divided from itself. It is to be divided from the work of the adversary, as Paul clearly told Timothy. It wsa the theme of the epistle.
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So what church/denomination do you attend?
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I have nothing to do with any “denomination.”
They all preach the “lies wherein there is no profit” that Jeremiah spoke of.
What “denomination” do you think John, Peter and Paul favored?
The secrecy of your "fellowship" speaks volumes, as does the other nonsense you write.
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