Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  2024  Day 139

May 18;       I Timothy 5:21;        195/260;        ‘No Partiality’

1 Timothy 5:21 I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.

Jesus taught us in John 17 that we, believers, are in this world, but we are not of this world.  We still live here on earth, once we become born gain, but we live by a very different set of rules.  Those rules are found in the Bible.  Romans 5:5 tells us that once we are saved, the love of God is deposited into our spirit by the Holy Spirit.  The love of God simply says I love you, regardless of anything else.  The New Testament Law is love.  There is no room for prejudice or partiality.  The local church should be the one place on earth where everyone is treated the same, with courtesy and dignity.  If this is not the case, the Lord Jesus cannot bless the church to the degree that He could and wants to.  Every believer who is part of a local church must be treated the same.  The entire congregation should be encouraged to serve in the local church they attend and this is biblical to use the talents and abilities given by the Lord to bless and help others.  Promotion in the church is based on spiritual maturity and faithfulness.  Someone could have many talents, given to them by the Lord, to be used powerfully in the local church.  If that person is not faithful or has a poor attitude, God cannot use them.  A common, deceptive and destructive area of partiality in a church is financial.  A Christian must not be treated with favoritism based on their giving of finances in the church.  Wise is the church staff that knows the devil uses this to cause strife and refuse to treat anyone differently. Jesus treats us all the same. Let’s follow His example.