Impartiality

I Timothy 5:21 -  I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism.

Galatians 3:27, 28 - For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment.  There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Impartiality is the righteous law of the Christian faith.

James 2:1 says: “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.”

The way Christians deal with the sin of favoritism or partiality is the fourth test in the book of James. He begins by addressing them as “My brethren”, so they are fellow believers who are expected to live according to Christian virtues. The problem was… many of them weren’t. As Christians, we still have to deal with our sinful attitudes and prejudices, especially toward fellow believers who may not look and sound like us. This is all about how we hold the faith with regard to other believers. The emphasis of verse one is on the glory of Jesus Christ. In other words, His glory is bigger than how you were raised or where you now live; this is about Jesus. And if someone wants to look down on a fellow member of the Body of Christ because of external differences, then Jesus has a major problem with that—and they’re going to have to deal with Him. So James gives an example of this principle being violated in verses 2-4…

²For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, ³and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

• Charles Grant, 2005

As we embark on a new week, I encourage all of us to take a look at our attitude toward our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Do we sin by treating one better than another because of their social status, monetary worth, title or lack thereof?  Or, do we regard each other as just as valuable as the other because of who we are in Christ?  Let us love one another as Christ commands us to do so.

Have a Marvelous Monday!

Scott Forsythe

Dean of Student & Spiritual Life