for there is no respect of persons
with God. The very first word of verse
11 proves that the text is connected with what precedes. Let us go back and begin with
verse 6 now and read straight through verse 16. Who will render
to every man according to his deeds. to them who by patient
continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor, and immortality
or incorruption eternal life. But unto them that are contentious
and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation,
and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth
evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile. but glory, honor,
and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also
to the Gentile. For there is no respect of persons
with God. For as many as have sinned without
law shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned
in the law shall be judged by the law. verses 12 through 15 have been
misunderstood and they need to be interpreted. For not the hearers of the law
are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. Does that mean that a person
is justified by observing the law? For when the Gentiles, which
have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law,
these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which
show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience
also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing
or else excusing one another, in the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. I think you can see from verse
15 that when we get to that fact, there will be at least three
messages from verse 15. We have the subject of the human
heart, the human conscience, and also human thoughts. They
must be all dealt with extensively. I assure you that this portion
of Scripture verses 11 through 15, yes, even 16, will put each
one of us in his proper place before God. God is no respecter of persons. This is a tremendous subject.
I have studied it in the past. Usually when I have studied this
subject, it has been in connection with the subject of divine election. Persons who are opposed to God's
absolute sovereignty and salvation are always quoting this text. Along with Acts 10, verse 34,
God is no respecter of persons. How are we to understand this
verse in Romans 2, verse 11? How are we to understand the
statement found in Acts 10, verse 34. God is no respecter of persons. I want to quote a statement made
by Dr. Barnhouse in his work on Romans. He was quoting H. G. Wells. H. G. Wells, during the height of
the war between England and Germany, when England was being devastated
by bombs, Mr. Wells made the statement,
and I quote, either God has the power and does not care, or God
cares and does not have the power, end of quote. Similar statements have been
made by men during times of war, during times of calamity, but not one stated, I think,
just like H. G. Wells made the statement. Let me give it to you again.
Everything is wrong with it. Nothing is right with this statement. The statement came from a mind
void of divine truth. Quote, either God has the power
and does not care, or God cares and does not have
the power, end of quote. Dr. Barnhouse went on to give
another alternative and he did a good job of it, but I'm not
using his statements from his work on Romans this morning except
to quote the statement by H. G. Wells. I want to begin this morning
by way of introduction to the statement made by Mr. Wells with a statement. A superficial inspection of God's
government leads men to false conclusions. A superficial investigation of
God's government leads men to false conclusions. I can't emphasize that too much. There are too many superficial
inspections made by men today, men who have not the wisdom of
God, men who are possessed with the wisdom of the world but are
strangers to the wisdom of God. Nothing is more natural than
that the government of the infinite gods should present mysteries
to finite man." Will you agree with that statement?
There are a lot of things about God's providential dealings with
mankind that I do not understand. I am not capable of understanding. You aren't either. I can honestly say that as a
Christian, I have never questioned God in his providential dealings
with mankind. What about you? A lot of things I don't understand,
but I realize that my finite mind cannot embrace the infinite
wisdom of God. There are a lot of things that
God has not revealed to you and me. It isn't necessary for him to
do so. The main reason why he does not
is in order that we as believers in Christ might exercise faith. Men are in no position to form
a correct estimate of God's proceedings. I'll give you the proof of this.
God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Said Isaiah the
prophet in Isaiah 55 verse 8. His ways
are beyond the ways of men. If God's thoughts are higher
than my thoughts, higher, yes, even than the heavens are above
the earth. And if his ways are not my ways,
then I cannot, as a finite person, comprehend or embrace the infinite
wisdom and mind of Jehovah God. There's a great variety in God's
dealings with mankind. Now this must be understood by
us. I said a great variety in God's dealings with mankind.
I want to make this as practical as I can this morning. As practical
as I'm capable of doing. God's providential dispensations
are, notwithstanding their great variety, impartial. I want to
repeat that. God's providential dispensations
are, notwithstanding their great variety, impartial. You see, all men enter into life
in the same state of depravity. We all come into this world in
the same state of depravity. Let us not forget that. There is great sameness in the
occupations of men. I agree that there are differences
of rank and station, but beloved, it is difficult
for me to say which rank and which station is higher than
another rank or another station in life. I want to illustrate
that. Some of you are in managerial
capacity. That's fine. There are some in
this church family who are not in that capacity. You who are not, do you envy
those who are? I want to show you something. The person who is not in that
office, so to speak, I'm talking about in a managerial capacity,
might feel like, well, I'm being deprived of something in life.
But I'll tell you what, if you're working for the hour, When you
quit your job and go home, you can forget it. You can sit down to the supper
table, so to speak, and enjoy a meal because you have done
your work and you don't have to carry your work home with
you. A person who has a tremendous amount of responsibility can
never really leave his job. It's difficult for him to do. So I'm not one to say that I'm
going to be envious of that person because he has a higher position
in life. His problems, and he has them,
are not your problems, and your problems, if you're not in that
capacity, are not his problems. But his problems might be far
worse than your problems. You see what I'm talking about? All ranks and stations have their
advantages and disadvantages. Let us never forget that. I said
all ranks and all stations of life have their advantages and
disadvantages. Every once in a while some young
fellow thinks, well, he ought to occupy this pool pit. You
know, he gets that notion. I've had that to happen a few
times in my pastoral work. If he could just be in that position,
he'd have it made. And he doesn't know what all
is involved in that position. But as he sits in the pew, he
doesn't think there's much to it. Very easy life. And we heard
a person confess recently that he thought the minister was something
glamorous, but he learned different. So you are not to be envious
of another person's position because all ranks, all stations
of life have their advantages and their disadvantages. For instance, I can think about
some of you men, Brother Pennington for instance, Brother Anderson,
others have tremendous responsibilities, Brother Huber, others. You're in a position, you have
a lot of responsibility. But I'll tell you what, you know,
I like to live as I'm going along. I like to enjoy things. Sometimes
a person's work can become so responsible, involving so
many things, that he just doesn't have time you think, to give attention
to some things of far greater importance. Sometimes an individual will
look at a professional person like a dentist or a doctor and
say, oh, they make good money. I want you to know they deserve
every dime they get. When you're called all times of the day and
night and they don't know what it is to have a day off like
most of you have, They have their advantages, but
their work have also disadvantages. You see what I'm talking about?
There's great sameness in the occupation of men, while there
are differences of rank and station. But it's difficult for me to
say, when I contemplate the whole of one's being, which rank or
which station is to be preferred. I hope you get the point. Let's
go a little further than this. This is my introduction to the
subject. Partiality means injustice. That's the meaning of partiality,
injustice. 1 Timothy 5.1 and James 3.17. Now I want to raise the question.
Do all sinners have a right to favor from God? Do all sinners have a right to
favor from God? That's an important question,
beloved. No, sinners do not have a right
to favor from God. Since none have a right to God's
favor, I said none have a right to God's favor. And there can be no partiality
with God. Now, get this next point, please. If sovereignty is to be classified
as partiality, then the Bible is full of partiality. Did you follow me there? Matthew 20, verse 15 speaks,
and this speaks of God's sovereignty. He has a right to do what he
pleases with his own. Are you going to argue with God
about that? You may, but not this preacher. Secondly, look at Matthew chapter
11, verses 25 through 27. I said if sovereignty is classified
as partiality, then the Bible is full of partiality. Listen to what the Lord Jesus
said. And that time Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast
revealed them unto me. Now, notice what the Lord Jesus
said. You see, he is acknowledging
the sovereignty of the Father. Even so, Father, verse 26, for
so it seems good in thy sight. It is good in the sight of God
for him to hide things from the wise and prudent and reveal them
unto them. Verse 27 climaxes the statement. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father neither
knoweth any man. The Father saved the Son, and
he to whomsoever the Son revealed." What appears to be partiality
in providence? I said, what appears to be partiality
in providence, such as circumstances? condition of body and health,
natural abilities, and external advantages must wait for that
time for the solution of some of people's doubts. Listen to this. This will help
you. It is man's future alone. that
can determine him happy or unhappy upon the whole. You see, man's
present condition is perpetually changing. All men pass through the vicissitudes
of life, such as good and evil, tribulation, times of joy, Even temporal happiness, I'm
talking about temporal happiness. Now this is good for all of you
who are unsaved, listen to this. Even temporal happiness depends
on something more than external. Temporal happiness depends on
something more than external. Such things as poverty and pain
and disappointment are not always real calamities. I'm going to repeat that. I said
such things as poverty, pain, and disappointment are not always
calamities. If these things come into the
life of the Christian, they are God's chastening of the Christian. And chastening is for the Christian's
good. If, however, these things take
place in the life of an unsaved person, they are manifestations
of his wrath poured out upon them at that time. So they would be judgment upon
the unsaved. They would constitute the disciplinary
action of God in the life of a believer. Now we've gotten to our subject.
I want to give some introductory things to be helpful if I can.
What is respect of person? That's the question. What is
respect of person? Can you define it? Do you think you can? I'm going
to discuss this under three headings, and I'm sure this will be as
far as I'll be able to get this morning. First of all, respect
of persons is to look with favor upon persons with respect to
their external privileges without any real concern for their internal
state. I'll repeat. Beloved, this that
I'm discussing with you this morning, as you will see before
I finish, the study of this subject is very important, very practical
for the day in which we are now living. You and I are faced with
some things today that make this subject of utmost importance
to us as Christians. Now, what is respect of persons?
Respect of persons is to look with favor upon persons with
respect to their external privileges without any real concern about
their internal state. I'm talking about their internal
state of character. Now, we see this demonstrated on Abraham
today. It is demonstrated in the area of politics. It is evidenced in religious
institutions. Everywhere you turn, you see
a manifestation of this very theme that I'm talking about. You don't have to go outside
of your own family. Just look within your own family
circle. Look within the circle of the
church family. Look within the circle of our
political sphere. Wherever you go, you see this
evidence. Looking with pain upon persons
with respect to their external privileges without any concern
for their state of character. America is filled with people
today who don't care one bit. about the character of the politicians
so long as they can get what they're after. Am I telling you
the truth? I challenge you to deny it. Most of the people in America
today, and this man brought out some of these things this morning
in his speech, and he was not speaking as a preacher. He was
not speaking as a Christian. He was just giving a good speech. People today are concerned about,
number one, it's what I can get. And if I can get it, I'm not
concerned about that person from whom I get it. I'm not concerned
about his character. I just want what I'm asking.
And beloved, as Roger Gray said just before we started the service
this morning, America is on the edge of the brink. And believe
me, it is. whether you believe it or not.
We in this country are at the point of no return, and don't
forget it. That isn't only true in the political
sphere, it's true in the church. I should say in the religious
institutions of our time. People are not concerned really
about the character of the preacher so long as they get what they're
after when they go to the church house. They overlook anything in his
life, just as long as they find self-satisfaction. Lovett, you're going to see before
I get through, this is a timeless subject. a timeless subject. Now, I have defined it and I'll
give some more things on it in a moment, but let's break that
down a little bit. If you'll look with me at Jude,
verse 16, this is what Jude had in mind when he said, quote,
having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. Isn't that simple? having persons
in admiration because of advantage. Today people will admire an individual
as long as they can get what they're after. You see, have
great admiration for persons. As Jude expresses it, having
men's persons in admiration because of advantage, that is because
of personal advantage. Don't you see it every day? Listen to what Solomon said in
Proverbs 24, 23. It is not good to have respect
of persons in judgment. It is not good to have respect
of persons in judgment. If the wicked man be great in
wealth, Exalted in social influence and political power, there is
a tendency in all ranks below to overlook the wickedness for
the sake of personal advantage. You can't deny that. That's evidence
everywhere you look today. You may see it on your job. You see it in every sphere of
activity. Men will overlook the wickedness
of a man who is a leader if they can simply receive some personal
advantage from it. Now I want to show you how James
condemned this very thing in the church. Will you turn with me, please?
to James chapter 2. I want to illustrate it now.
James chapter 2. Actually, in order to do this
point justice, we would have to study the first nine verses
of James 2. You know as well as I do, we
do not have time to do that, so I'll simply point out some
important things. It's all I can say at this point,
but I wanted to give you that because you might get the wrong
impression. Now let's get the picture. The time has come in
an assembly when there is a difference between, say, two men. One of
the men might be a poor man. The other man, a wealthy individual.
One man is not able to make much contribution monetarily speaking
to the church. The other man is a man of means. And so he comes in. So James
says now, when they come in, don't say to one man, the man
who has the means. Oh, you come over here, brother,
and you sit down here. We want to make things comfortable
for you. Beloved, I've seen this until I became so sick of it,
when I was in the denominational work, I wanted to vomit. They're
always catering, denominationalists are always catering to men of
influence, to men of money. Let a poor fellow come along,
that could be right, I mean right, upholding a principle, but he
wouldn't receive the recognition. This is what James is condemning.
Let us go ahead and read. Verse 4, Are ye not then partial
in yourselves? In other words, you're making
distinction among yourselves, and are become judges of evil
thought. Hearken, my beloved brethren.
Notice now what he says. Hath not God chosen the poor
of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which
he hath promised to them that love him? Now let's stop a moment. Salvation
is the same in every person. And salvation puts all men on
the same level. I don't care if he has a dollar
or ten million dollars. And the man who has ten million
dollars is not to be treated any different than the man who
has a dollar. Now look with me, if you will,
at the sixth verse. But ye have despised, in other
words, you've dishonored, is what the word despise here means,
the poor. By telling the poor man when he came in, you stand
over yonder. You don't have much to offer,
so you stand over here at one side. Beloved, this is seen everywhere
today. You've seen it. You see how important this is? Do not rich men oppress you and
draw you before the judgment seat? Do not they blaspheme that
worthy name, that honorable name of Christ, by which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according
to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,
ye do well. But if ye have respect of persons,
respect of persons, He commits sin and are convinced of the
law as transgressors. I think you can get the picture.
So James condemns such respective persons in James 2, 1 through 9. Respect
of persons was forbidden in the Mosaic law. Partiality in judicial
decisions, take down these references, Deuteronomy 117 and Leviticus
1915. Therefore, James was not referring
to a regular assembly meeting in which people came together
to worship, but meetings which were appointed for deciding matters
of difference among the members of the church. Beloved, by grace I have never
catered to people. I said by grace I've never catered
to people just because they might have influence or a little money. Now let's look at the second
point. All respect of persons is not
sinful. All respect of persons is not
sinful. If it were, There would be no
place for authority in the assembly or civil government. This is
important. Too many people today have only
a one-sided view of things, and that is a tragedy. I said all
respect of persons is not sinful. If it were, there would be no
place for authority in the assembly or civil government. Now let's
break that down into two parts. First of all, there is a holy
respect of persons by God. There is a holy respect of persons
by God. God is said to accept the faces
of his people. We find in Genesis 4 and verse
4, God is said to respect men's persons first and then their
services. God does not respect men's services
and then their persons, but the order is always the reverse.
And you know why? You see, the person of evil was
accepted before his offering and not for the sake of his offering. You know what that condemns?
That condemns the idea of works for salvation. So when you study
carefully the first verses of Genesis chapter 4, you will find
that God first of all accepted the person of Abel and then he
accepted his service. So God is said to accept the
faces of his people. Yes, there is a holy respect
of persons by God. Second, there is a justifiable
respect of persons by man. There is a justifiable respect
of persons by man. Now this is where you and I come
in. This is important for you and me. There is a respect of persons
for their age. Isn't this taught in the scriptures?
the younger are to respect their elders. Paul gave this admonition in
the 5th chapter of 1 Timothy, verse 1. Even the younger elders, when
they had to rebuke the older persons in the church, They were to rebuke them not
in the same manner that they would rebuke others. There is
a respect that is due age. Beloved, I don't see much of
that today, do you? I'm showing you now from the
Scriptures that there is a justifiable respect of persons by man. Secondly,
there is a justifiable respect of persons because of the person's
calling. Here is a man who has been called
of God to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. There is to be a certain respect,
and I'll explain that more in detail in a few moments. But
there is to be a certain respect, there isn't even that respect
manifested today. And I can understand it to some
extent because we have so many quiets. There is a justifiable respect
from the standpoint of the office of a person. Let's think about
the office of the presidency. And I will give to you at this
time a classic example of this by using John Knox as an illustration. It is said that John Knox would
certainly bow to the office of the queen, but he would rebuke her when
she was wrong scripturally. You see what I'm talking about? We may bow to the office of the
presidency without submitting to things that are demanded of
us that are contrary to the Scriptures. So there is to be respect of
persons for their office. There is to be respect of persons
for their gifts and graces. Now listen closely. It is lawful
for you and me to put a respect upon them because of the difference
that God has given to them. Now turn with me if you will
please to 1 Corinthians 4 and 7 and I'll prove what I've said.
1 Corinthians 4 verse 7. For who
maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? Who is it that makes a difference
between men? It is God. It is God. Therefore it is lawful
for you and me to put a respect upon persons because of their
gifts and graces. Why? Because the difference has
been made by God himself. When it comes to salvation, however,
all are equal. That's why the Bible refers to
the common salvation. It doesn't make any difference
if a person is the president of some university or an individual
who has never finished the third grade. They both are on the same
level in Jesus Christ, the common salvation. Common salvation. However, in
respect of gifts and calling, all men are not equal. I said all men are not equal.
I'll prove it to you from 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Several scriptures
I'd like to give, but I do not have time to give them all, so
I'll give those that really hit at the point that I'm seeking
to make. So turn, if you will, to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
As far as salvation is concerned, we're all on the same level.
But as far as gifts and calling are concerned, all are not on
the same level. We begin with verse 1 of chapter
12. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not
have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away
unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore, I give
you to understand that no man speaketh with the Spirit of God,
calleth Jesus accursed, and that no man can say that Jesus is
the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of
gifts with the same Spirit, differences of administrations but the same
Lord, verse 5, diversities of operations, verse 6, but it is
the same God which worketh all in all, but the manifestation
of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. Part of
one is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom to another, the
word of knowledge and so forth, and he mentions these nine gifts.
Now drop down, if you will, please, to verse 28. And God has set
some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues. Then he raises the question,
are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?
No! No, beloved. As far as salvation is concerned,
we're all on the same level. But as far as callings and gifts
are concerned, all are not on the same level. It is God who makes the difference.
There is a respect, a lawful respect to be put upon persons
because of the difference that God has given them. Thirdly, there is a sinful respect
of persons. I said there is a sinful respect
of persons when judgment is corrupted. by some external appearance or
advantage is taken into consideration.
A simple respective judgment. Doing things for advantage's
sake. That's the language of Jude,
verse 16. Several things I want to discuss
with you on this point. First of all, there is a divine principle.
of impartiality enjoined in the Scriptures, a divine principle
of impartiality. Listen to this, in Leviticus
19.15, I gave you the reference a moment ago, now I want to read
it to you. The Lord said to Moses, ye shall do no unrighteousness
in judgment. thou shalt not respect the person
of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty, but in righteousness shalt thou
judge thy neighbor. Beloved, if you can overlook
something evil in a man's character, for personal advantage, And then
your guilt of this very sin of respective persons are showing
partiality. I want to illustrate that in
a very classical way. Years ago I was pastor of a church.
We had a man who was a member of the church. He was drinking
heavily, doing a lot of other things that he should not be
doing as a Christian. It became necessary for the church
to take action against this man. The man who lived next door to
him with only a driveway between their homes. He knew it. He saw him every
day. Now I want to ask you a question this morning. I want to put it
right down where all of us live. If you live next door to a man
like that, could you Could you bring a charge against him? Or
would you want someone else to do it because you live next door
to him and you don't want to have to face him every day? I'm
putting it right down where you and I live. Do you have enough of God's grace
to take a stand against a man who is your next door neighbor? Can you judge him righteously? Or would you rather someone else
do it so you won't have to suffer the brunt of what you might receive
from that person living next door to you? Listen to the text again and
I'll continue the illustration. Ye shall do no unrighteousness
in judgment. Thou shalt not respect the person
of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. But in righteousness
shalt thou judge thy neighbor. You know when that came up one
Sunday morning? I want you to know I was surprised when the
man who lived next door to that man got up and said, I make a
motion that unless this man repents and gets right, he be excluded
from the church. What would you do? I had to take
my hat off to that man. He was right in what he was doing.
He knew some things firsthand. And he was exercising a righteous
judgment, if you please. Now, he suffered some consequences from his actions. And don't think
that when you take a right stand that you're going to not suffer
some consequences. I'll tell you one of the first
consequences he received as soon as a man was excluded from the
church that morning and this man walked out, this man's wife
was standing there and she wham slapped him in the face as he
walked out the door. That was the first. Are you willing to be slapped?
in the face and the kisser for judging righteously. This is good for us, isn't it?
I haven't even touched the subject yet. There is to be no special kindness,
follow me now, shown to the guilty poor. Neither is there to be
flattery or overlooking of the guilty rich or mighty. You know,
sometimes I get amused at people today. I agree 100% with you
that the colored people in this country have been treated badly
through many, many years. But sometimes I get amused at
people when they talk about prejudice. They hate prejudice so much that
they're prejudice against prejudice. You see what I'm talking about?
A person can even manifest prejudice against prejudice. See how we have to be careful. Respect of persons is manifested
by making external things the ground of respect and affection. Now this person's been good to
me, I just can't afford. I want you to know something,
beloved. I don't care how good any of you are to me. You know,
the penance over at our house the other night, my wife had
made a statement to me a day or two before. She said, honey,
you sure are sweet. I said, well, you ought to tell some of the
people that they don't know it. I was telling the penance that, he
just died laughing. You have to deal with people
honestly. Certainly, I appreciate respect that is shown for the
office and for me, the cost of the office. But I don't care
how good a person is to me, when the time comes that that person
needs to be dealt with, I don't care what you've done. You see,
I'm not going to become obligated to anybody. I'm not going to
become obligated to anybody in the church, if I know my heart,
to the place that I do not stand and take the right stand and
the right judgment, if that time should come that that person
should be judged. One of the church fathers made the statement,
quote, We must not judge of faith by persons, but of persons by
faith. One must never, another person
said, make greatness a cover for baseness. Listen to this. Beloved, this goes from the office
of the presidency down today. Listen to this. One must never
make greatness a cover for baseness and excuse sin by human honor. That's applicable today, isn't
it? Don't make greatness a cover
for baseness. Another said the truth of God
must not be despised because of the person who brings it. Did you know that Erasmus observed
that what was accounted orthodox in the fathers was condemned
as heretical in Martin Luther? That's how people are. When people
become disgusted with an individual, what it says, how good it is,
it's heresy. I just don't like it. You're
wrong when you make a judgment like that. I don't care who the
heretic is, if he makes a good statement, the statement is good,
irrespective of the person who makes it. So the truth of God
must not be despised because of the person who brings it.
And that's why Erasmus observed that what was accounted orthodox
in the fathers was condemned as heretical in Martin Luther. Another statement, respect of
persons is to respect anything besides the matter and cause
itself. Thus it is going from the matter
to the man, from the thing to the person, and swerve from righteous
judgment and true estimation of things. This is the kind of language
we need today. but you don't see too much of
it, you've got to go back a couple of hundred years to find it.
I'll repeat it again. Respect of persons is to respect
anything beside the matter and cause itself. Thus it is going
from the matter to the man, from the thing to the person, and
swerve from righteous judgment and true estimation of things.
This evil cannot stand with Christian profession. A man is to be judged
by his character and not by his coat. A poor soul may be a rich Christian
and a rich man may have a very poor soul. Now we bring this to a conclusion
for this morning. Our text says that God is no
respecter of persons. The texts, the one here in Romans
2, 11, and Acts 10, verse 34, where God is said to be no respecter
of persons have to do with his righteous judgment. Will you
observe the context from which these verses are drawn? Please
do that. Both texts have to do with God's righteous
judgment. Impartiality is one of the chief
qualifications of a judge. Without it, no amount of knowledge
or ability can inspire confidence. But it seems that most men today
are becoming corrupted, even persons who are in official places
of responsibility. And this is the breakdown in
our country. a sad commentary on the history
of our nation. God is absolutely impartial. Man cannot be said to be absolutely
impartial because man does not have all the facts. You see,
I can never be said to be absolutely impartial. because I never have
all the facts. But nothing takes God by surprise.
He has all the facts because he even knows the thoughts and
intents of the heart. He even knows what man is going
to think 50 years from now, if man lives that long. I'm talking
about a particular man. He knows our thoughts are far
off, David says. So God has all the facts. Therefore,
he is absolutely impartial. that cannot be said of any man,
regardless of his ability. The natural man would think that
for the sake of God's honor, God would conceal the sins of
his favorite servants. You know, I was reading this
the other day, and this really attracted me. I was reading the work of
a man who wrote many, many years ago, And he said the average
unsaved person today would think that God would conceal the sins
of his favorite servants for the honor of his own name. But,
beloved, you do not find that in the scriptures. You see, there's
no Watergate idea with God. You see how I'm making it practical? Why, with our official leaders
here in the country, they want to cover things up. for the sake
of their honor. Why even some of the top men
want to cover up things for the sake of their office. They even
feel superior to the sovereign God of the universe. Are you
following me? Even God, the sovereign God,
the all-wise God, the loving God, never has hidden, never
will hide the sins of his most cherished and faithful servant
in order to protect his own honor. You know why? Because there's
a payday coming someday. Let men have warped opinions
of God today. Let men frame their false opinions
of God. All these things men are doing,
and yet God is keeping silent. But one day, the 50th Psalm says,
he's going to roar out of Zion and not keep silent. Payday's
coming. Payday's coming. And the full
honor of God, which is not acknowledged by many persons today, will be
embraced by all when the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth
as the waters cover the sea. even though the name of God is
blasphemed because of the sins of his people. Yes, beloved,
payday is coming.