July 2005 chaplain's corner
The Chaplain's Corner is a monthly message for chaplains.
Chaplain’s Corner – July 28, 2005
Rev. Rich Hines
Inmates Need To Know God Doesn’t Play Favorites
This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as
their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve as a chaplain in a jail, prison
or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue mission – in the United States.
All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the
Bible, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a
text, any deviation from the NKJV text is placed within parenthesis signs ().
These usually occur as direct translations from the original languages,
or as notes from the original setting to help apply the text to today’s
culture. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize a text, or to make
a comment about a biblical text.
This month I want to focus on something about God Himself. It relates to how we
think and act. I want you chaplains to consider focusing both inmates and those
that minister to them on the same thing about God, and how that applies to
their lives and ministry.
It’s the fact that God, the true God, looks at all humans the same way – the
way they really are. They’re sinful rebellious criminals against His holy law
and rule. That being so, HE IS NOT FAVORABLY IMPRESSED BY THE
HUMAN CELEBRITY OF ANYONE.
When it comes to His righteous judgment or who He wants to hear about His
wonderful mercy and grace, we’re to realize that God doesn’t play favorites AND
NEITHER SHOULD WE! Inmates need to know that!
In the old Authorized Version (King James Version) this comes through time and
time again as the Lord who “regardeth not persons,”
or is “no respecter of persons.” The newer English translations like the NKJV
and the NASB generally say He does not show “partiality.”
The idea conveyed by the Old Testament Hebrew words mean,
“to lift up upon the sight of”. Here are some examples:
Job 37:23,24 (the context is about God’s excellent power in judgment and
justice)
“As for the Almighty, … He shows NO PARTIALITY to any who are wise of heart.
Although the words for respect of person or partiality is not used this next
verse, certainly the concept is here.
1 Samuel 16:7 (the context is when the prophet was sent to anoint a son of
Jesse as king over
“…the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical
stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for
man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’ ”
Deuteronomy 10:16-18 (the context is God’s instructions to the Israelites on
how they should respond to His love)
16 …circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.
17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God,
mighty and awesome, WHO SHOWS NO PARTIALITY NOR TAKES A BRIBE.
18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the
stranger, (classes of people in ancient times that were looked down on) giving
him food and clothing.
The New Testament Greek word is similar to the Old Testament Hebrew. It comes
from a phrase meaning, “to the face of.” It means the practice of a judge who
has a special respect to the position, rank, popularity or circumstances of an
individual instead of their intrinsic condition. Conversely, the same person
predisposed to this partiality, does not respect those who are not of high
position or celebrity.
Here are some New Testament examples of the way God is:
Rom. 2:11 (the context is God’s judgment)
…there is NO PARTIALITY with God
Eph. 6:9 (the context is the Lord’s instructions to Christian employers on how
to treat their employees)
…knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, (that is God) and there is NO
PARTIALITY with Him.
1 Pet. 1:17 (the context is a Holy God’s call to live a holy life)
… the Father (God, the Father), who WITHOUT PARTIALITY judges according to each
one’s work,…
Acts 10:34,35 (the context is in giving the gospel
message, the messenger is to realize this) Peter said:
…“In truth I perceive that God SHOWS NO PARTIALITY. But in every nation whoever
fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
Inmates are very sensitive to anyone receiving undue preferential treatment.
Yet, the same inmates often fall into the same pattern that everyone else falls
into – within their own inmate culture. They put some people “up” and “look
down” on others in the facility.
The definitive New Testament passage on how believers are to LIVE OUT THIS
TRUTH OF GOD, is found in James 2:1-10
A basic Christian principle -
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of
glory (lit. “the Glory”) with partiality.
THE BASIC PRINCIPLE God wanted to communicate in this verse is: a person cannot
be one that is constantly holding to the ultimate truth of who Jesus is – God –
and at the same time harbor a readiness to show partiality.
James 2:1 does say Jesus is God by calling Him, “The Glory.” In a Jewish
context that is connected to the Shekinah of God!
This verse actually commands professing believers to stop an action which they
had been repeatedly practicing. We could translate it: “My brothers and
sisters, you MUST STOP holding to the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
The Glory, WITH CONSTANT PARTIALITY.” In other words, “you can’t say you’re a
Christian and at the same time be partial or prejudiced.” Prejudice is the flip
side of partiality or favoritism.
From the basic principle in verse 1, the Holy Spirit through James gives A
SPECIFIC EXAMPLE in verses 2-4 -
2 For if (hypothetical, out of politeness at this point) there should come into
your assembly a man with gold rings (note the plural), in fine apparel, and
there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes,
This verse points to the late arrival of first a rich man, and then a poor man
at a synagogue where the early professing Jewish believers in Jesus were
meeting for worship and the study of God’s word. The spiritual state of the two
men that visited the assembly is not stated. We shouldn’t assume they were
professing Christians. They well may have been interested seekers. Church
meetings were normally open to any that wished to investigate the faith.
The rich man came first with an ostentatious display. He may have been used to
doing that whenever he went out in public. Or, he may have been “putting on the
dog” to go to church.
Verse 2 says he arrived literally, “gold-fingered.” In the ancient world, the
richer you were, the more rings you wore to show it off. They had rings for
every finger and every joint of every finger. Note also the man with the many
gold rings came wearing “fine apparel.” Literally “in bright,
glistening clothes.” History records wealthy Jews often wore very
expensive white glistening robes. So, what an entrance this rich man made!
But then, presumably a little later - a very poor man, probably a slave who had
only one basic garment, showed up. His “filthy clothes” which he worked in,
were literally “dirt-covered and shabby.” He didn’t wear them to the Christian
meeting to make a statement, rather it was the only thing he had. The supposed
hypothetical reaction the church members gave these two visitors was NOT
ACCORDING TO THE FAITH THAT JESUS LEADS. Rather, it was according to the world,
and it was altogether sinful. Note this in verse 3 -
3 and you pay attention (meaning ‘special attention’ – literally it says they
“looked upon him,” which indicates they couldn’t take their eyes and minds off
his wealth) to the one wearing the fine clothes and say (kept on saying) to
him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say (just one time) to the poor man,
“You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil
thoughts?
The word “partiality” in verse 4, is a little different from the word in verse
1. In verse 4, it literally means, “to judge by dividing, to make
distinctions.” This is the flip side of partiality. It refers to the act of
DISFAVORING the one not shown the special attention.
A judge enacts the sentence of the law against someone. When the Christians
unduly favored the one on the sole basis of his external appearance, the other
was made to feel bad and hence, judged. The stated result of the incident
brought up in verses 2-4 was professing Christians made themselves “judges” that
meted out punishment on the poor man, simply for being poor.
Furthermore, that started a terrible plague of evil. The “evil thoughts”
mentioned in verse 4, were not just bad thoughts, but MALIGNANTLY INFECTIOUS
BAD THOUGHTS, THAT SPREAD THROUGH THE GROUP toward the one so dishonored.
Now the text moves from the hypothetical to the actual. It shows THE
SERIOUSNESS of showing partiality and its flip side prejudice, in verses 5-10.
FIRST, IT ENDS UP DISHONORING PEOPLE WHOM GOD LOVES. That’s brought out in
verses 5-7
The whole section begins in verse 5 with a command,
“LISTEN!” God is saying, “Pay attention now!” With three questions that expect
a “Yes” answer, James reminds his hearers of what is right. In doing so, he
shows them their wrong. The first question is in verse 5 -
5 LISTEN, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be
rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those that love
Him?
His point is most saved people come from the ranks of the poor. That was
especially true in the first century. Jesus said in Luke 6:20 -
“Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.”
A poor person (or anybody for that matter) gets to heaven on the basis off
FAITH ALONE in God’s provision of salvation, in Christ alone. But the rich
generally have a much harder time trusting in Christ and not trusting in their
riches. Jesus taught in Mark 10:24,25 -
“Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of
God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter the
The ranks of the saved throughout the ages are much more from the poor than
from the rich. “Yes,” God has chosen many of the poor of this world. James
continued in verse 6 -
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. (That points
to a specific time THEY HAD ACTUALLY DONE what was described as hypothetical in
verses 2-4) Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?
The answer here was also “Yes.” And the oppression acted out was by dragging
Christians into debtor’s court. It was constant and continuing. The word
“oppress” means “an exercising of power over others” by persons unsaved society
gives undue power to, simply because of their standing in the society.
In the ancient world there was a custom known as “Summary Arrest.” If a
creditor met a debtor on the street, he could seize them by the neck of their
robe, throttle them, and literally drag them into the law courts. They could do
this AGAINST ALL PRIOR AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS, DEMANDING INSTANT FULL
PAYMENT.
7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
“Yes,” they did! James’ third question, which comes in verse 7, shows the rich
oppressors of the early Christians were not saved people. No saved person
constantly blasphemes the name of Jesus. More often than not, the very people
these professing believers unduly favored and were partial towards, constantly
blasphemed the name of Jesus Christ, the very One they
claimed as their Lord!
So, to unduly honor the rich and mighty and dishonor the
poor, SHOCKINGLY LINES UP THOSE DOING IT ON THE WRONG SIDE, in the ongoing long
war against God. They then also oppose many He has chosen to be in His
forever family.
This brings us to verses 8-10, where we see THE SECOND SERIOUS THING showing
partiality and prejudice does. It breaks God’s HIGHEST LAW FOR SOCIETY: LOVE
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall
love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;
9 but IF YOU SHOW PARTIALITY, YOU COMMIT SIN, and are convicted by the law as
transgressors.
10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all.
The “royal law” (verse 8) is the King’s law. It’s God law in particular given
in Leviticus 19:18, to love your neighbor. In verse 8, James allows that some
of his hearers may not be guilty of showing favoritism. If that’s so, they have
treated all men equal and kept that part of God’s law. But others (implied in
verse 9) hadn’t. God’s highest law for people towards each other is for them to
love their neighbor.
Our neighbor is not only the person that lives next door to us, or in the next
bunk. It is anyone we come in contact with. In the incident described in verses
2-4, it was BOTH VISITORS to the worship service. In showing partiality to the
rich man, the poor man WAS NOT LOVED.
In very plain and simple language, verse 9 points to repeated
times when at least some of the people James wrote to had been guilty of
partiality, favoring some and dishonoring others. The word of God says in doing
that, THEY COMMITTED SIN.
Because partiality is an act that comes out of a prevailing attitude of the
heart, it happened more than once. To sin by showing partiality or prejudice is
to transgress God’s law of love. God’s love towards others starts in our
hearts. But it always must work itself out in real acts of sacrifice and
kindness, overlooking the faults of the ones loved.
All I want to say about verse 10 is the sin of partiality, playing favorites,
and so having prejudices against others, IS NOT A LIGHT MATTER. Verse 10
teaches it’s EQUAL TO BREAKING THE WHOLE LAW OF GOD!
So, WHAT ARE THE APPLICATIONS TO MAKE TO INMATES AND TO THOSE THAT MINSITER TO
THEM?
FOR INMATES:
First, Make sure they understand that even though others may look down on them
as “losers” - before God the people doing that who think of themselves as
better, as “winners,” are in reality losers also. INMATES
NEED TO KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT SEEN BY GOD AS WORSE, OR WITH LESS OF A CHANCE
AT RECEIVING HIS FORGIVENESS than anybody else.
Secondly, THEY MUST NOT FALL INTO THE SAME TRAP, AND OUT OF PRIDE, LOOK DOWN ON
OTHERS. There’s a lot of pride in the inmate culture. It’s a true indication of
salvation and growth when an inmate refuses to show partiality and shows God’s
love to those in governmental authority over them or anyone else they’ve been
taught to hate. We can’t receive God’s forgiveness and not be forgiving to
others. The first thing a truly forgiven person wants is to see all others find
forgiveness from God.
FOR THOSE THAT MINISTER TO INMATES:
For some, it seems they only want to reach the most notorious criminals. The
truth is the notorious, well-publicized criminal and the no-name prisoners are
the same equal objects of God’s love and grace.
A.W. Tozer wrote about how some in ministry seem to
have “an itch for publicity.” That’s very wrong. Teach those that minister to
do the ministry God opens to them silently and without fanfare. It’s the same
grace that reaches the notorious prisoner as well as the no-name prisoner. If
anything really happens it’s all to the glory of God for what He accomplished.
Lastly, teach those that minister to inmates that the staff needs Christ just
as much as the most notorious criminals do. That’s true because, before God,
we’re all notorious criminals. He has no favorites that he offers more grace to
than others.
This is a serious issue. Teach inmates and those that minister in the facility
for Christ these things. May God bless you as you do it.
Remember Luke 16:15 “…what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in
the sight of God.”
Rich Hines, Minister To Chaplains for