My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
Faith in Jesus Christ as the glorious Lord cannot be held together with favoritism toward some people over others. God Himself shows no partiality for wealth, rank, learning, color, or social standing, for such things count for nothing with Him unless surrendered to His service. He measures every person by character, purity, integrity, and oneness with Christ, holding the sincere and contrite soul precious even when poor, unlearned, or cast out. Rich and poor, learned and ignorant are alike loved and bought by Christ, so to honor the rich while slighting the needy is to slight Christ Himself in the person of His saints. True religion therefore gives equal courtesy and care to all, makes no distinction of caste, color, class, or nationality in worship and fellowship, and binds believers together as one family with no selfish preference or unkind judgment.
Faith Excludes Partiality
Faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, cannot be held together with respect of persons or favoritism of any kind. To profess that faith while favoring the rich over the poor is to deny it, for honoring the rich while slighting and neglecting the poor is a crime in the sight of God. People are not to be valued by color, caste, rank, wealth, worldly honor, learning, or intellectual ability, for such things weigh nothing in the judgment, which turns on purity, nobility, character, oneness with Christ, and love for Him. The sincere and contrite soul is precious even when poor, unlearned, or socially outcast, and whoever cherishes the light and uses the opportunities given has done what is required, so to refuse fellowship with those whose names are in the Lamb's book of life because they lack worldly advantage brings divine rebuke. Christ welcomes the meek and lowly whatever their calling or intelligence, He is slighted when His needy children are treated with disregard, and His followers are to show equal courtesy, sympathy, and compassion to all, following the example of giving light to both the just and the unjust. Such faith rejects self-seeking and refuses by practice to support or sanction oppression or injustice against anyone, even the least, reflecting instead a self-sacrificing spirit and recognizing Christ's Spirit wherever it is present with equal respect.
That faith must be practiced in daily life through deliberate, thoughtful obedience to God and His moral law. It weighs the evidence conscientiously and obeys God's requirements even when obedience costs something deeply valued. Reading the chapter and doing what it teaches leads a person to recognize the work God gives.
True religion without partiality brings believers together in unity as one family united with Christ, gathering all who are sanctified through the truth. Rich and poor, learned and ignorant are alike loved and purchased by His sacrifice, so at His feet pride and social caste have no place. A heart purified through obedience to truth has no selfish preferences or corrupt motives and shows no favoritism. It puts away all that hinders coming together, makes right every wrong between brethren, and leaves no sins unconfessed when seeking God together, while pure religion receives people of every class in contrast to the world's proud and exclusive spirit that favors only a few.
The chapter therefore calls for self-examination and reform. It condemns conduct that hinders rather than helps the work entrusted to others. Sentimental attachment must not be allowed to foster partiality or to corrupt an institution.
God Values Character Equally
God has no respect of persons and recognizes no caste, color, rank, or party. He does not assign worth by social class, wealth, learning, rank, occupation, social position, real estate or bank stock, talent, education, or intellectual ability. Such things weigh nothing in His scale unless brought as tribute to lay at His feet with the whole being surrendered to cooperate with Him to become a vessel unto honor, and a rich man is not worth one bit more to Him for his riches, position, talent, or education. He does not single out a few for favor and leave others uncared for, and will not lift up one while casting down and oppressing another.
God estimates men as men, and character decides their worth with Him. He values character, purity, nobility, integrity, and love for Christ, and judges people by these rather than by color, caste, rank, wealth, worldly honor, or position, which will not affect the final judgment. True worth rests on oneness with Christ. The sincere and contrite soul is precious to Him even when poor, unlearned, or socially outcast, and whoever cherishes the light and uses the opportunities God gives has done what is required. The humble, contrite heart is what He values, and the attributes He prizes most are purity and love.
Jesus Himself corrected the world's false standard for valuing men. He sought no admiration or applause of the world, commanded no army and ruled no earthly kingdom, passed by the wealthy and honored and did not associate with the leaders of the nation, and dwelt among the lowly of the earth as to all appearance merely a humble man with few friends. Though exalted, He served even the lowliest, teaching believers not to feel superior to the humblest fellow Christian. At His feet pride and social caste have no place.
Seeing people in the light of the cross gives the right measure of their worth. Rich and poor, learned and ignorant, are alike loved by God and purchased by Christ's sacrifice. God's gifts of sun and mercy reach rich and poor alike, and this impartial generosity should guide how people treat one another and share spiritual and temporal blessings. All have the same heavenly Father and the same Redeemer who loved all and gave Himself for all without distinction, and all are part of the great web of humanity to help one another and pity and sympathize with and love one another. Every soul has equal value before God, and Christ died for all.
Slighting needy people who are dear to Christ is a slight to Jesus. Honoring the rich while slighting and neglecting the poor is a crime and sin in His sight. Neglecting the poor is neglecting Christ in the person of His saints and in His people. To slight a brother for his color is to slight Christ.
Impartiality Toward All People
Rich and poor are to receive equal interest, attention, courtesy, sympathy, compassion, and care, following the example of giving light to both the just and the unjust. Honoring the rich while slighting and neglecting the poor is a crime and sin, wealth is no reason to value a person above a poor neighbor, and wealth, rank, and position will not affect the final judgment, which is by purity, nobility, integrity, and love for Christ. Seeing people in the light of the cross gives the right measure of their worth, for gifts of sun and mercy reach rich and poor alike and should guide sharing of spiritual and temporal blessings. A poor person who belongs to God is an heir to the immortal inheritance, and neglecting the poor may mean neglecting Christ in the person of His saints.
Those surrounded with comforts and petted because they are rich do not feel the need of sympathy as do those whose lives have been one long struggle with poverty with little to make them happy, who will appreciate sympathy and love and especially need tender consideration. Physicians and helpers must in no case neglect the poor, and pure religion receives people of every class while the world's proud and exclusive spirit favors only a few. God's children are one family united with Christ, and the poor must not be neglected or oppressed in favor of the wealthy.
There is to be no decided distinction of caste, color, class, or nationality among God's people in assembling together, in seating, in worship, or in labor for souls. Christ would not seat the dark-skinned in back seats and the light-skinned in front seats nor draw a curtain between colored and white, and doing so grieves Christ and the Spirit of God. When love fills the heart there is no caste and no pride of nationality, and no proud heart that turns from any soul who loves God or ceases to labor for any soul for whom Christ died. By truth all have been quarried out from the world and taken into worship from all classes and nationalities to be prepared for the temple and for the same heaven, for there is no caste or nationality and no divisions or parties.
Color of skin is no criterion of the value of a soul, because all have the same heavenly Father and the same Redeemer who loved all and gave Himself for all without distinction. Converted men and women who love God and do His will are as valuable whether white or black, however educated and talented and however much embarrassment has been endured. Contempt for a person because of God-given color reproaches God Himself, since no one is responsible for skin color and no one can change it. Having this faith means recognizing the Spirit in whomever it is revealed, being unashamed to speak with an honest black man in any place and to shake him by the hand, ignoring skin color, and living in the atmosphere in which Christ lives.
Colored people are Christ's property just as much as white people and must not be excluded from places of worship but accepted as equal members alongside white believers. Efforts are to be made to undo the wrong done to them and to restore as far as possible what was lost through years of privation and slavery, and to encourage and help them upward and educate to clean, pure souls. This does not make racial intermarriage a teaching or practice, and although separate schools for whites and blacks in the South are maintained because of particular prejudice, no contempt is allowed there. Prejudice and contempt over color belong to the irreligious and show ignorance of God's mind and work, and all men white and black are free and equal and one brotherhood.
In the church and in institutional life, personal preferences, influence, and position must be exercised without bias, favoring no fellow worker while treating another harshly, indifferently, or unjustly according to status. Giving special favors to some while passing over worthy people who are suffering displeases God, develops character, is recorded in heaven, and is especially offensive when those neglected are faithful and conscientious. Those brought from sin to righteousness are precious and should be treated with care rather than indifference.
Having no respect of persons means refusing to support or sanction by practice any oppression or injustice against anyone including the least, and refusing to ignore another's rights, for God does not single out a few for favor and leave others uncared for, and will not lift up one while casting down and oppressing another. It means not living in luxury and self-indulgence while suffering ones are around, but manifesting Christ's self-sacrificing spirit heartily and not by halves in every branch of work. It means rejecting self-seeking and self-aggrandizement and not studying personal aggrandizement and favoring some above others, relinquishing selfish delights, unholy passions, and love of applause, being willing to be humble and unknown and even to sacrifice life, and condemning the world's folly, impenitence, idolatry, and iniquitous practices by a well-ordered life and godly conversation.
The religion of Jesus does not degrade or make people coarse and rough but makes them kind in thought and feeling toward those for whom Christ died, leaving no room for caste or unkind judgment that leads to self-exaltation. It condemns slavery, caste, racial prejudice, oppression of the poor, and neglect of the unfortunate as unchristian evils the church is appointed to oppose, and to slight a brother for his color is to slight Christ. It requires working from the Bible standpoint and not the world's, using influence against prevailing customs, acting nobly and courageously regardless of gain or loss, making Christian effort where most needed, elevating character, and helping those less favored in gratitude for advantages received.
Faith in Jesus Christ as the glorious Lord cannot be held together with favoritism toward some people over others. God Himself shows no partiality for wealth, rank, learning, color, or social standing, for such things count for nothing with Him unless surrendered to His service. He measures every person by character, purity, integrity, and oneness with Christ, holding the sincere and contrite soul precious even when poor, unlearned, or cast out. Rich and poor, learned and ignorant are alike loved and bought by Christ, so to honor the rich while slighting the needy is to slight Christ Himself in the person of His saints. True religion therefore gives equal courtesy and care to all, makes no distinction of caste, color, class, or nationality in worship and fellowship, and binds believers together as one family with no selfish preference or unkind judgment.
Faith Excludes Partiality
Faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, cannot be held together with respect of persons or favoritism of any kind. To profess that faith while favoring the rich over the poor is to deny it, for honoring the rich while slighting and neglecting the poor is a crime in the sight of God. People are not to be valued by color, caste, rank, wealth, worldly honor, learning, or intellectual ability, for such things weigh nothing in the judgment, which turns on purity, nobility, character, oneness with Christ, and love for Him. The sincere and contrite soul is precious even when poor, unlearned, or socially outcast, and whoever cherishes the light and uses the opportunities given has done what is required, so to refuse fellowship with those whose names are in the Lamb's book of life because they lack worldly advantage brings divine rebuke. Christ welcomes the meek and lowly whatever their calling or intelligence, He is slighted when His needy children are treated with disregard, and His followers are to show equal courtesy, sympathy, and compassion to all, following the example of giving light to both the just and the unjust. Such faith rejects self-seeking and refuses by practice to support or sanction oppression or injustice against anyone, even the least, reflecting instead a self-sacrificing spirit and recognizing Christ's Spirit wherever it is present with equal respect.
That faith must be practiced in daily life through deliberate, thoughtful obedience to God and His moral law. It weighs the evidence conscientiously and obeys God's requirements even when obedience costs something deeply valued. Reading the chapter and doing what it teaches leads a person to recognize the work God gives.
True religion without partiality brings believers together in unity as one family united with Christ, gathering all who are sanctified through the truth. Rich and poor, learned and ignorant are alike loved and purchased by His sacrifice, so at His feet pride and social caste have no place. A heart purified through obedience to truth has no selfish preferences or corrupt motives and shows no favoritism. It puts away all that hinders coming together, makes right every wrong between brethren, and leaves no sins unconfessed when seeking God together, while pure religion receives people of every class in contrast to the world's proud and exclusive spirit that favors only a few.
The chapter therefore calls for self-examination and reform. It condemns conduct that hinders rather than helps the work entrusted to others. Sentimental attachment must not be allowed to foster partiality or to corrupt an institution.
God Values Character Equally
God has no respect of persons and recognizes no caste, color, rank, or party. He does not assign worth by social class, wealth, learning, rank, occupation, social position, real estate or bank stock, talent, education, or intellectual ability. Such things weigh nothing in His scale unless brought as tribute to lay at His feet with the whole being surrendered to cooperate with Him to become a vessel unto honor, and a rich man is not worth one bit more to Him for his riches, position, talent, or education. He does not single out a few for favor and leave others uncared for, and will not lift up one while casting down and oppressing another.
God estimates men as men, and character decides their worth with Him. He values character, purity, nobility, integrity, and love for Christ, and judges people by these rather than by color, caste, rank, wealth, worldly honor, or position, which will not affect the final judgment. True worth rests on oneness with Christ. The sincere and contrite soul is precious to Him even when poor, unlearned, or socially outcast, and whoever cherishes the light and uses the opportunities God gives has done what is required. The humble, contrite heart is what He values, and the attributes He prizes most are purity and love.
Jesus Himself corrected the world's false standard for valuing men. He sought no admiration or applause of the world, commanded no army and ruled no earthly kingdom, passed by the wealthy and honored and did not associate with the leaders of the nation, and dwelt among the lowly of the earth as to all appearance merely a humble man with few friends. Though exalted, He served even the lowliest, teaching believers not to feel superior to the humblest fellow Christian. At His feet pride and social caste have no place.
Seeing people in the light of the cross gives the right measure of their worth. Rich and poor, learned and ignorant, are alike loved by God and purchased by Christ's sacrifice. God's gifts of sun and mercy reach rich and poor alike, and this impartial generosity should guide how people treat one another and share spiritual and temporal blessings. All have the same heavenly Father and the same Redeemer who loved all and gave Himself for all without distinction, and all are part of the great web of humanity to help one another and pity and sympathize with and love one another. Every soul has equal value before God, and Christ died for all.
Slighting needy people who are dear to Christ is a slight to Jesus. Honoring the rich while slighting and neglecting the poor is a crime and sin in His sight. Neglecting the poor is neglecting Christ in the person of His saints and in His people. To slight a brother for his color is to slight Christ.
Impartiality Toward All People
Rich and poor are to receive equal interest, attention, courtesy, sympathy, compassion, and care, following the example of giving light to both the just and the unjust. Honoring the rich while slighting and neglecting the poor is a crime and sin, wealth is no reason to value a person above a poor neighbor, and wealth, rank, and position will not affect the final judgment, which is by purity, nobility, integrity, and love for Christ. Seeing people in the light of the cross gives the right measure of their worth, for gifts of sun and mercy reach rich and poor alike and should guide sharing of spiritual and temporal blessings. A poor person who belongs to God is an heir to the immortal inheritance, and neglecting the poor may mean neglecting Christ in the person of His saints.
Those surrounded with comforts and petted because they are rich do not feel the need of sympathy as do those whose lives have been one long struggle with poverty with little to make them happy, who will appreciate sympathy and love and especially need tender consideration. Physicians and helpers must in no case neglect the poor, and pure religion receives people of every class while the world's proud and exclusive spirit favors only a few. God's children are one family united with Christ, and the poor must not be neglected or oppressed in favor of the wealthy.
There is to be no decided distinction of caste, color, class, or nationality among God's people in assembling together, in seating, in worship, or in labor for souls. Christ would not seat the dark-skinned in back seats and the light-skinned in front seats nor draw a curtain between colored and white, and doing so grieves Christ and the Spirit of God. When love fills the heart there is no caste and no pride of nationality, and no proud heart that turns from any soul who loves God or ceases to labor for any soul for whom Christ died. By truth all have been quarried out from the world and taken into worship from all classes and nationalities to be prepared for the temple and for the same heaven, for there is no caste or nationality and no divisions or parties.
Color of skin is no criterion of the value of a soul, because all have the same heavenly Father and the same Redeemer who loved all and gave Himself for all without distinction. Converted men and women who love God and do His will are as valuable whether white or black, however educated and talented and however much embarrassment has been endured. Contempt for a person because of God-given color reproaches God Himself, since no one is responsible for skin color and no one can change it. Having this faith means recognizing the Spirit in whomever it is revealed, being unashamed to speak with an honest black man in any place and to shake him by the hand, ignoring skin color, and living in the atmosphere in which Christ lives.
Colored people are Christ's property just as much as white people and must not be excluded from places of worship but accepted as equal members alongside white believers. Efforts are to be made to undo the wrong done to them and to restore as far as possible what was lost through years of privation and slavery, and to encourage and help them upward and educate to clean, pure souls. This does not make racial intermarriage a teaching or practice, and although separate schools for whites and blacks in the South are maintained because of particular prejudice, no contempt is allowed there. Prejudice and contempt over color belong to the irreligious and show ignorance of God's mind and work, and all men white and black are free and equal and one brotherhood.
In the church and in institutional life, personal preferences, influence, and position must be exercised without bias, favoring no fellow worker while treating another harshly, indifferently, or unjustly according to status. Giving special favors to some while passing over worthy people who are suffering displeases God, develops character, is recorded in heaven, and is especially offensive when those neglected are faithful and conscientious. Those brought from sin to righteousness are precious and should be treated with care rather than indifference.
Having no respect of persons means refusing to support or sanction by practice any oppression or injustice against anyone including the least, and refusing to ignore another's rights, for God does not single out a few for favor and leave others uncared for, and will not lift up one while casting down and oppressing another. It means not living in luxury and self-indulgence while suffering ones are around, but manifesting Christ's self-sacrificing spirit heartily and not by halves in every branch of work. It means rejecting self-seeking and self-aggrandizement and not studying personal aggrandizement and favoring some above others, relinquishing selfish delights, unholy passions, and love of applause, being willing to be humble and unknown and even to sacrifice life, and condemning the world's folly, impenitence, idolatry, and iniquitous practices by a well-ordered life and godly conversation.
The religion of Jesus does not degrade or make people coarse and rough but makes them kind in thought and feeling toward those for whom Christ died, leaving no room for caste or unkind judgment that leads to self-exaltation. It condemns slavery, caste, racial prejudice, oppression of the poor, and neglect of the unfortunate as unchristian evils the church is appointed to oppose, and to slight a brother for his color is to slight Christ. It requires working from the Bible standpoint and not the world's, using influence against prevailing customs, acting nobly and courageously regardless of gain or loss, making Christian effort where most needed, elevating character, and helping those less favored in gratitude for advantages received.