Even on the Gentiles (2)

I. God is Impartial

Deuteronomy 10:17 ESV

17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.

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A. God treats people impartially

Matthew 5:45 ESV

45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

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B. God judges impartially

Colossians 3:25 ESV

25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

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C. God does not distinguish between people on the basis of external appearance

1 Samuel 16:7 ESV

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

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D. God does not discriminate against different races or classes

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Galatians 3:28 ESV

28 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.

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Acts 15:7–9 ESV

7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

II. The impartiality of Jesus Christ

A. Jesus Christ’s teaching was impartial

Luke 20:21 ESV

21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God.

See also a parable of Jesus Christ about divine impartiality

B. Jesus Christ showed impartiality in his dealings with people

Jesus Christ contravened accepted boundaries of partiality in this encounter.

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III. Impartiality commended

James 2:1 ESV

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

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James 2:9 ESV

9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Humanity should judge impartially

Proverbs 24:23–25 ESV

23 These also are sayings of the wise. Partiality in judging is not good. 24 Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations, 25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.

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IV. Showing impartiality to all people is commanded

A. Impartiality to foreigners

Exodus 22:21 ESV

21 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

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B. Impartiality to children

Deuteronomy 21:15–17 ESV

15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.

C. Impartiality to the poor

Exodus 23:6 ESV

6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit.

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V. Ways to avoid partiality

A. By not accepting bribes

Exodus 23:8 ESV

8 And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

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B. By not following the crowd

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Exodus 23:2 ESV

2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice,

Mark 15:15 ESV

15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

VI. Christians should be partial towards spiritual principles

Matthew 6:24 ESV

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

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Isaac and Rebekah to Jacob and Esau; Jacob to Leah and Rachel; Jacob to Joseph and his brothers; Elkanah to Hannah and Peninnah