There Is No Partiality with God

11For there is no partiality with God.

The whole world is struggling under a pandemic. A prayer offered from the heart has power to work, so we must join together and pray that the whole world will find its footing again. I also ask you to pray for our brothers and sisters in countries that persecute the faith, who pray with tears to hold on to their faith and so suffer twice over. This hardship, like a dark tunnel, will soon pass; may you take care that the lamp of faith in your hands does not go out. Like a seesaw, where one side rises as the other sinks, we have met a trial no one saw coming; yet I believe your faith will grow all the more mature through it. Of course, when we cannot come to church, idleness can become a habit. But the bad habit of neglecting wholehearted worship leads to spiritual ruin, so I hope you will gather your own strength and draw near to God.

John 4:21-24

21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. 22You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jesus said this to a Samaritan woman who had come to draw water at the well. The Jews insisted that worship belonged in Jerusalem, while the Samaritans held that Mount Gerizim was the rightful place. After the Jews came back to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon, the Samaritans built a temple on Mount Gerizim, and from then on the two peoples hated each other and would have nothing to do with one another. Seeing this quarrel, Jesus told the woman that it was not right to fight over a place of worship, whether Gerizim or Jerusalem. He told her that God can be worshiped anywhere, and showed her how much it means to offer spiritual worship. This points to the worship of the new covenant, in which we believe in God as our Father.

Spiritual worship matters greatly: the worship offered by one who has received the Holy Spirit, knows God as Abba, Father, and lives according to his will. When Jesus said this, he was not saying that the place of worship is unimportant; he was stressing that what matters is worshiping God in spirit and truth. Worship that does not know the one to whom it is offered is not complete. Jesus, who became flesh, atoned for every sin on the cross and rose again. He showed his risen body to the disciples and to many others, ascended, and became the King of kings. Once Jesus Christ had fulfilled the whole plan of redemption, the Holy Spirit came, and he now makes us understand God’s will and his word and helps us offer God true worship. Worship offered to God under the Spirit’s leading is complete worship. In a season like this, when we cannot often come to church, faith can waver. But if you truly know Jesus Christ, you can offer God true worship wherever you are. To be sure, we ought to come to the sanctuary and worship together with our brothers and sisters in the faith, but in this dark world we may face harder days than these. That is why God’s people need training to worship him at any time and in any place. These are hard days when you cannot come to church, but I earnestly hope you will offer God sincere worship in the name of Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Spirit.

God’s love does not discriminate between people. Because the door of salvation stands open to everyone, all who receive Jesus Christ can be saved without distinction. The people of the world know what the cross means. Confessing faith in the God who forgives sin and calls them is now their part. Jesus said that he is the door to heaven, and since that door is open to anyone, he longs for people to stop wandering in a dark world and come in.

Romans 2:11

11For there is no partiality with God.

God has said that he gives glory, honor, and peace to those who do good, and oppression and anguish to those who do evil. He rewards and judges each person according to their deeds, so no one can complain about the reward or punishment God gives after death.

Judging people by outward appearance is wicked human behavior. James said that when a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into the synagogue, to seat him in a good place but tell a poor man in shabby clothes to stand there or sit by my footstool is the sin of partiality. That James writes this tells us such things were really happening in the church. People who do not know the words of Jesus Christ judge others by appearance and rank them high or low by their worldly possessions. In fact, pastors and elders must restrain their words and actions, because what they say carries more weight in decisions than what other members say. They hold a power the congregation cannot refuse. That is why those who hold church office need to serve humbly from a low place. If they cannot take off the cloak of the world and behave in church as the world behaves, they will not realize that they themselves are hiding the glory of God.

We must strive to share the gospel from a lowly place, as Jesus did in his humility. And we are to labor for the salvation of others, and for our own as well. To draw near to God, we need purity of the flesh, because greed, lust, and a hot temper stand in the way of spiritual growth. If we are too idle to persevere, and greed, lust, and temper run strong in us, we cannot live a holy life however much we long to. Without that growth we may even leave the truth, so purity of the flesh is essential.

If we cannot persevere through the word whenever trouble comes, and cannot entrust our feelings to God, we will be unable to hold back anger and temper, and failure is certain. Only when we know why we must persevere can we master our emotions, and only when we know whom we serve by faith can we live a holy life. So the most important thing is to know Jesus Christ. Christ gave himself up for sinners; we must think carefully whether our careless words and actions are hindering someone else’s salvation, or whether our temper is hindering our own. I have found myself wondering whether people, even after receiving much grace, meet trouble not by being born again but simply by holding on until it passes.

That thought brought back the time I founded our church. It seemed to me less that I had pastored in the fullness of the Holy Spirit than that I had simply endured those hard moments. I founded the church when I was very poor and physically frail. Looking back, everything was lacking, and I think I believed that enduring was faith. Only by growing spiritually and being filled could I have received deeper grace, but I was still immature. I did nothing but read the Bible diligently. That someone like me became a pastor is the grace of God. I read through the Bible more than ten times a year, yet when I founded the church my understanding was not yet settled enough to teach others, and I did not know how to deliver the word I knew; that is why I was always afraid. With a little money to spare I might have run the church more comfortably, but it was a time when everything was scarce and hard.

Even now I sometimes wonder how I ever came to begin pastoring, because I marvel that I am now doing the very ministry I once declined for lack of confidence. My circumstances allowed only two or three hours of sleep a night, yet I loved studying for sermons, and it was a delight to come to understand the parts of the Bible I had not grasped. I had to divide my time, scurrying like a squirrel between the factory, school, church, and home, but each day’s new insight thrilled me so much, as though God were showing me his heart in detail, that I hardly noticed how hard it was. Thanks to that, I drank nearly ten cups of instant coffee a day and gained more than 10 kilograms, but I count that too as my reward and am content. I led more than ten Bible studies a week to fit the members’ schedules, and I had to feed those who came running to church without having eaten; though I was working in a factory, those were glad and joyful days, and sometimes I miss them.

Even now I think this: because God does not accept people by their appearance, someone as tender, weak, and lacking as I am could become a pastor. Even now I am always afraid that I will fail to explain the Bible in a way the congregation can easily grasp, and that I will fail to lead them in the right way. After twenty years of preaching, I still pray every week that my sermon will be one worth God’s hearing.

Now I have grown into a believer whose understanding and faith are ordered well enough to expound Romans, the book I most wanted to preach in all my ministry. Just as I could grow because God and the congregation waited for me, the congregation too has become a people of faith, grown well through the word. I think I, too, ran very hard to give back the love I had received. Now, like a mother who can cook without a recipe, I can tell others how good Jesus Christ is. Still, there were times in my ministry when I worried that I might lead the congregation astray, and times when I faced decisions that were truly hard and wrestled over them. Pastoring is demanding work, because I must guide the lives of the members, body and soul, within the bounds God has set by his law. If I do not preach the word truthfully, the people in my care will not receive Christ and will fall into hell, and so that responsibility felt like an iron weight hung around my neck.

Understanding the people of a church does not require some grand resolve, yet only after I matured spiritually did I truly take them into my heart. They simply stood in different places, had grown up in different surroundings, had different schooling, and saw from different heights, and it took me a long time to realize this. I was tense, thinking I had to bring every person I met to stand before God, and only with time did I see that this was the wrong way to think. So I sometimes failed, leading the church with human zeal, and I was deeply hurt watching people who did not grow. On the human side I had to heal those wounds alone, and I went through hard times. It was hard because I had forgotten the most basic lesson: ministry is not the pastor leading the church and its people, but following behind as God leads. Ministry seems to be a hard road whether the congregation is large or small. I think it is something pastors cannot avoid going through as a church grows.

God is the Almighty, who sees from a height unlike ours, and we are foolish people who would not presume even to imitate his wisdom. Because our viewpoint differs from his, we cannot judge as he does. Yet God always meets us in the same way, though we are no match for him. Only if we do not forget this love and give thanks for the comfort he gives can we overcome this harsh world. It is true of me, and I suspect that none of you, looking back on your life, could say you have had an easy one. If God accepted people by their appearance, we would be standing in a far more shameful place.

Understanding and embracing another person is never easy, because to embrace them I must empty a place in my own heart. Even so, Jesus gave up his life on the cross to make room for us. Having received such love, we may one day regret that we did not give more now and did not open a larger place in our hearts. The love of Jesus Christ is hard even to imitate, so if you strive to make it known in word and deed, God will commend you.

When people meet hardship, some blame themselves and some blame others. Some complain that they are gifted but were held back by circumstances, by other people, or by poor health, and in complaining they miss the chance to repent. Others reproach themselves harshly, saying they are suffering now because they fell short and chose badly. But whether we blame ourselves or someone else, what matters is that all this time, this very moment, is our life. It matters because the moment of joy and the grumbling heart alike will in the end fill a page of our life. If weeping and complaining change nothing, and fighting in a temper solves nothing, then comfort yourself by pinning a flower of faith on your life, and you will find a wisdom that rises above greed and worry. God himself does not judge people by appearance; how sad it would be, then, for me to judge myself by mine. He chose those who are poor in this world and made them rich in faith, and he made those who love him heirs of his kingdom. That is how far God’s thoughts are from ours. If God does not discriminate against me, should I discriminate against myself? We must not discriminate against ourselves through other people’s eyes, nor against others by the world’s standard.

God has laid down the law that we are saved by believing in Jesus Christ. We have all received the Lord by faith, but some can eat solid food while others still need soft food. So we must not judge and condemn as we please. In a race, the world sets the rules and names whoever crosses the line first the winner, and only that runner is crowned with the laurel wreath. Because everyone wants to win, people look at those running ahead and feel they fall short. Ashamed that they cannot run fast, they fail to see the other fruits of blessing God has given them. Granted, such a rule is unavoidable when the best athlete must be chosen; but God has drawn for each person a starting line suited to them, so that every one of his people may cross the finish line and win. The starting lines differ so that all of them can finish the race.

For those who are weak in faith, the starting line is drawn close, just 10 meters from the finish. Those who can walk by faith he has set to run 50 meters, and those who can bear more by faith, 100 meters. This is God’s love, which shows no partiality. This is how unlike our thoughts God’s are. It is the true grace of salvation, because God in his deep love and care has made a way for all his people to cross the finish line. If, watching someone else run 100 meters, you greedily take your place at that starting line beside them, you will tire on the way and never reach the end. If, after receiving God’s merciful grace, we still think our lives are always unhappy, the fault is ours for not standing at the starting line God drew for us. I hope you will pause for a moment now and bring out what fills your hearts. Is there in you a shame that thinks you are unhappy because you have less than others? But God has said that he chooses the poor and makes them rich in faith, so if you do not stray from the way of truth, you can go on ahead. Do you feel anxious watching the backs of those running ahead of you? Then I pray you will look for the starting line God has drawn for you. You need to check whether you are standing too far from it.

If you are standing where God has placed you and still lag behind others, do not grasp for more; simply walk on in step with God’s will. As you go, you will find one day that you have already crossed the finish line. Walking without greed, looking only to Jesus Christ, you will find yourself rejoicing, with rest and peace in your heart. When your generous faith is held in God’s hand, many people can come back into the arms of Jesus Christ. If you do not leave the way of truth, the world will bow of its own accord, and because that strength and power belong to God, there is nothing you cannot overcome.

Now, of all the feelings you have brought out here, I hope you will put back into your heart only the happy heart, the grateful heart, the contented heart, and the hope of heaven. And may you leave the rest where it lies, rise without regret, and keep walking the way of truth. Lightened in body and heart, you will receive God’s commendation and reward. I bless you, who have run this far. You still have a road of life ahead whose length you do not know, but I pray you will comfort yourself that you can do it, and that all is well. If you comfort yourself that all is well because God is with you, and all is well because you are loved by God, you will keep running well. If you run the road of love God has made, with faith in Christ, and lean on the Holy Spirit whenever it is hard, you can plant the flag of victory.

Your faith is blessed, and the one you love is our Father, who never changes. May you live a life of peace and rest with the God who does not accept people by their appearance. I bless all of you who have lived as Christ’s own. We can run to the end, and we will be held in God’s arms. If we pray for one another and become fellow workers who never waver, every church on this earth will become a church on which God’s eyes rest. My prayer is that, whatever changes the world goes through, you will be God’s people, enjoying peace and rest in the Lord.