Bishan church

God is not a respecter of persons. Are we? Part 1

February 15th, 2007

Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons
Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
Ephesians 6:9 And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
Colossians 3:25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

Why is God not a respecter of persons? Truth spelt with capital T is independent of the messenger. If you say the sun rises in the east, it is true whether you are a friend or an enemy, educated or not, rich or poor. God’s Truth does not change regardless of the messenger’s status, possession or character.

It is not good to be a respecter of person. If we are ,this spirit hinders our search for Truth. This is so because we are unable to decouple the message from the messenger.

People who are respecter of persons are partial. Their first instinct is to weigh WHO the person is, instead of WHAT, the weight of the message. If a person talks sense, it is sense even if you do not like him. If he spurts out nonsense, having a PhD or being a CEO of a MNC or being eloquent and entertaining, is not going to make him more credible in God’s eyes.

Yes it is true we individuals sin and make mistakes. On the other hand, as a church we must not encourage a culture of respecting persons i.e. partiality towards men’s glory.

Such partiality has been inoculated in the churches all these years in a very significant way through the pulpit.

I have worked in a well known US MNC for 15 years. Everyone is on 1st name basis even the scientists and engineers in the US research labs. No one knows what your qualification is unless it is deliberately dug up. Yet in the church I often hear speakers being introduced as Dr. this or Prof that. Even in introduction, with much pomposity and formality, we announce a person’s background, achievements and standing in the secular world.

My guess is that preachers who have been educated in US or are used to lectureships forget that they are no more in their alma mater! Maybe they have forgotten they are now in the Lord’s house and no more in bible college or university?

I have worked in the academia for 5 years doing research. In such an environment, researchers , academics and scientists are often introduced with their list of achievements before their presentation. Do you need such a behaviour in the Lord’s house? What relevance is your secular standing in the Lord’s house? What values are you conveying to the flock when we with pomp announce so and so is a PhD or Prof. in this and that? So what?

In the Lord’s house, in His presence witnessed by His priesthood, it does not matter whether the speaker is uneducated. If he speaks from the Word, we should well listen even if he is a carpenter from an unheard of place. If you wish know this person’s background, get to know the speaker personally. It is between you and him. By all means do some background search before inviting a speaker, but avoid too much emphasis on his secular credentials. Spiritual standing and the soundness of the message in the Lord are more important.

I used to mention names and people’s achievements in my sermons. I avoid them now. I am not saying we should not, it is just that I am cautious. I now avoid mentioning nonscriptural books or authors. These authors have their publicists. They earned loads of money. Why should I give them publicity in the Lord’s house? I am aware that some brethren do not read or study the bible during the week. If we offer the flock distraction with the latest best seller or management theory, when is God’s word going to be heard and fed to this brethren?

If I wish to quote someone, I will now say “Someone said/wrote…” “One brother mentioned that………” “It is said……”
If I wish to honour the person, I will contact the person privately or write comments in Readers’Comments in Amazon.com. At most I will honour him in the presence of a small group of people whom he knows on some other occasions. I am just cautious not to shift God’s glory from the pulpit to this and that PhD. or author or managemet guru. It also prevent the slow innoclution of the flock with “respecter of person” virus from the pulpit by our public behaviour.

Have you ever felt you are not up to it? Not good enough? Not smart enough? Not eloquent enough? You can’t compare with brother so-and-so who preaches once a month who is more eloquent, more educated, speaks with an accent? You might be a victim of the “respecter of person” flu virus spreading in the church. You are feeling down because ” the church sees you no up”. Maybe you are not an “active” Christian thus not faithful enough?

Different cultures have ways of showing respect to or honour a person. If we adopt such practices blindly we may be encouraging a culture of partilaity. One such practice is when we elevate roles to titles. Will share more in Part 2.

Entry Filed under: General, Respecter of persons