{"id":69714,"date":"2024-09-08T15:52:50","date_gmt":"2024-09-08T20:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=69714"},"modified":"2024-09-08T15:52:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-08T20:52:50","slug":"without-respect-of-persons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/without-respect-of-persons\/","title":{"rendered":"Without Respect of Persons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Kyle Pope
\nvia Biblical Insights<\/em>, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014\n

James 2:1 declares, “My brethren,\u00a0do not hold the faith of our Lord\u00a0Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality<\/em>” (NKJV). The King James Version and the American Standard Version use the phrase “with respect of persons<\/em>” rather than “partiality.<\/em>” In the original text, the word from which this part of the verse is translated is the Greek word prosopolepsia<\/em>.\u00a0This word is derived from two words:\u00a0prosopon<\/em>\u00a0meaning “the face … countenance … outward appearance” [Thayer, 552], and\u00a0lambano,<\/em> meaning “take, take hold of; receive, get, obtain” [Newman, 106].\u00a0According to Vincent, this is a Hebrew phrase that may be understood to mean, “To receive the countenance” [1.737]. This suggests the idea of favoring someone because of his or her appearance and status.<\/p>\n

The Bible has much to say about this kind of behavior. The Scriptures are emphatic in declaring that God never practices partiality. In Acts 10:34, when Peter came to preach to Cornelius (a Gentile), he began by stating, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.<\/em>” In Romans 2:11, after warning the Roman brethren about hypocrisy and the future judgment of all, Paul states, “For there is no partiality with God.<\/em>” Further, when Paul instructed slaves and masters how they should behave towards one another, he concludes\u00a0by saying, “And you, masters, do\u00a0the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.<\/em>” In Colossians 3:25, we find a general warning\u00a0about God’s judgment being impartial: “But he who does wrong will be repaid for the wrong which he has done, and there is no partiality<\/em>.” Finally, Peter, once again describing the character of God, declares that\u00a0He is one “who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work<\/em>” (I Peter 1:17 KJV).<\/p>\n

Beyond the fact that God does not show “respect of persons<\/em>,” the text in James, from which we began, is one of the most extensive examinations of this tendency in all of Scripture. Immediately after the verse quoted above, James offers an example of partiality. He writes,<\/p>\n

“For 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, and 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,” have you not shown partiality\u00a0among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?<\/em>” (James 2:2-4 NKJV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The message is clear: it is sinful to give special treatment because of appearance, wealth, or status.<\/p>\n

After offering this example, James makes two more statements about partiality: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself; you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors<\/em>” (James 2:8-9). The Holy Spirit declares plainly that Christians should love their neighbor as themselves, and to show partiality is a violation of God’s law.<\/p>\n

How May We Show Partiality?<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • By avoiding those we view as unattractive and yet being anxious to speak to those we find attractive.<\/li>\n
  • By acting with respect toward those with wealth and position but looking down on those with less money and prominence.<\/li>\n
  • By judging someone’s character and ability based upon their race, then overlooking the misdeeds of others who belong to our own race.<\/li>\n
  • By demonstrating great concern for those we enjoy being with but ignoring the hardships of those whose company is less enjoyable.<\/li>\n
  • By praising the efforts of those with talent and ability yet feeling embarrassed by the efforts of those less capable.<\/li>\n
  • By assuming someone is poor because of their own mismanagement while assuming the rich possess “wise judgment.”<\/li>\n
  • By offering the best things to those we like but giving our “leftovers” to others.<\/li>\n
  • By assuming that all people of a different background will act a certain way, and because of this refusing to associate with those who are different from us, and feeling resentment while in their presence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Partiality comes from a failure to\u00a0see others as creatures made in the image of God. It is a sin against someone else and against the One in whose image we have been made. Let us commit ourselves not to judge people based on their race, attractiveness, popularity, wealth, or status. We must always remember “the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart<\/em>” (I Samuel 16:7).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Kyle Pope via Biblical Insights, Vol. 14, No. 9, September 2014 James 2:1 declares, “My brethren,\u00a0do not hold the faith of our Lord\u00a0Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (NKJV). The King James Version and the American Standard Version use the phrase “with respect of persons” rather than “partiality.” In the original text,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1208,1460],"class_list":["post-69714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-impartiality","tag-partiality"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51167,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-god-once-a-respecter-of-persons-during-the-old-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":69714,"position":0},"title":"Was God once a respecter of persons during the Old Law?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was studying Acts 10:34,35 where the Bible says that God is no respecter of persons, but now accepts all nations who fear him (also Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; James 2:1-4,9). Is it safe to say that God at one time was a respecter of persons by only accepting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5233,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-bible-support-the-idea-that-all-men-are-created-equal\/","url_meta":{"origin":69714,"position":1},"title":"Does the Bible support the idea that all men are created equal?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does the Bible support the idea that all men are created equal? Answer: In speaking to the Athenians, Paul stated that God \"has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50854,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-the-differences-between-the-three-names-of-god-in-psalms-1361-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":69714,"position":2},"title":"What are the differences between the three names of God in Psalms 136:1-3?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the differences between the three names of God in Psalms 136:1-3? Answer: \"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the God of gods, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67880,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-outward-appearance-of-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":69714,"position":3},"title":"The Outward Appearance of Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 2, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Jesus \"had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him\" (Isaiah 53:2). Elsewhere, we have discussed the true beauty of Jesus, but here we are going to consider another facet of what the appearance of Jesus implies\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69253,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-the-bible-talk-of-other-gods\/","url_meta":{"origin":69714,"position":4},"title":"Why does the Bible talk of other gods?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening! I have been wondering about certain things in the Bible, specifically the \"Divine Council.\" There are many different verses I can use, but I want to focus on three: The first being Psalm 82:1: \"God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19438,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-vain-thoughts-mean-in-psalms-119113\/","url_meta":{"origin":69714,"position":5},"title":"What does “vain thoughts” mean in Psalms 119:113?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I recently came across a section of the Psalms that concerned me.\u00a0 Psalms 119:113 says in the KJV, \"I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love.\"\u00a0 Doing a Google search for the phrase \"vain thoughts,\" I came across a few articles, mostly from British writers of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69714\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}