Church Planters Don't Show Favoritism

 

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

When we first see people we have never met before, almost without thinking we quickly observe what kind of person we are talking to.  Are we talking to a man or a woman, a boy or a girl?  Based on appearances, are we talking to an educated person or a person with little schooling?  Based on appearance, are we talking to a rich man or a poor man?  Are we talking to someone from my country, my tribe, my clan, or are we talking to a person from a different ethnic group?  There is nothing wrong with such observations.  They are perfectly normal.  But if we are not careful, our accurate observations can lead to poor decisions about how we relate to the new person we have recently met.

James, the brother of Jesus warned us about bad decisions based on appearances in chapter 2 of his letter to believers living in many nations. He said,

“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.  Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.  If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

James’ instruction was very clear. Believers in the Lord Jesus must not show favoritism.

The apostle Paul was a church planter.  He said,

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  On account of these, the wrath of God is coming… Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”

Paul had learned not to show favoritism based on what people look like, where they come from, or what language they speak.  He understood that all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Paul the church planter knew that only Christ could save people and that every person needs to turn from sin and trust Christ.  He said, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”

When I started planting churches, we had many more men in the church than women.  Why? It seemed that women believed that men were sinners who needed to be saved, but they were good enough already.  Paul says we all need to repent of sin and be sanctified by Christ. Paul understood that Jesus loves people from every ethnic group. And he loves all men, women, boys, and girls.  He loves us so much that he wants to transform us all. So when Paul looked at people, he did not make distinctions based on outward appearances.

What about you?  Who are the people you have met that are different from you, but like you need to be transformed by the power of the Gospel?  Who are the people in your village who are from a different tribe or a different religious background who need Jesus?  How do you see them?  How do you treat them?  Do you by faith see Christ in all of them as Paul did?

Take care my brother, take care my sister how you view people.  Jesus wants to use you to bring transformation to all sorts of people who may not be like you at all.

This has been Multiply, a podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

If you have found this message to be helpful, please forward it to fellow church planters and disciple-makers who may need encouragement.  Feel free to share it on What’s App, Facebook, and other platforms you use to connect with others.

And be encouraged, God is with us!

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Colossians #NoFavoritism

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