Home > Biblical Proofs > Biblical Proofs: VI. Our Responsibility

(iii) Not to be a Respecter of Persons:

God has given us His instructions on how we are to live and worship Him, that as we have received Christ Jesus our Lord, so also are we to walk in Him. Since God's perfect character is not a respecter of persons, it is our responsibility to be like Christ and do the same. God's loving grace extends to everyone who fears and obeys Him, regardless of the individual or the years of their life. We are not to hinder that loving grace to others, but help promote it in the Gospel.

Leviticus 19:15 - AFV

15.   You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment. You shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty, but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.

Deuteronomy 16:19 - AFV

19.   You shall not pervert judgment; you shall not respect persons, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 25:1-3 - AFV

1.   "If there is a controversy between men, and they come to judgment, and they have been judged, and the righteous one is declared righteous, and the wrongdoer declared guilty,
2.   Then it shall be, if the wrongdoer is worthy to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down. And one shall strike him in his presence, enough for his wrong, by a certain number.
3.   He may give him forty stripes, no more, lest he should exceed and beat him above that number with many more stripes, then your brother be degraded in your sight."

Acts 10:9-28 - AFV

9.   And on the next day, about the sixth hour, as these were journeying and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray.
10.   And he became very hungry and desired to eat. But while they were preparing the meal, a trance fell upon him;
11.   And he saw the heaven opened; and a certain vessel descended upon him, like a great sheet, bound by the four corners and let down upon the earth;
12.   In which were all the four-footed beasts of the earth, including the wild beasts, and the creeping things and the birds of heaven.
13.   Then a voice came to him, saying, "Arise, Peter, kill and eat."
14.   But Peter said, "In no way, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."
15.   And a voice came again the second time to him, saying, "What God has cleansed, you are not to call common."
16.   Now this took place three times, and the vessel was taken up again into heaven.
17.   And as Peter was questioning within himself what the vision that he saw might mean, the men who were sent from Cornelius, having inquired for the house of Simon, immediately stood at the porch;
18.   And they called out, asking if Simon who was surnamed Peter was lodging there.
19.   Then, as Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are seeking you;
20.   Now arise and go down, and go forth with them, doubting nothing, because I have sent them."
21.   And Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius and said, "Look, I am the one you are seeking. For what purpose have you come?"
22.   And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and who has a good report by the whole nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house, and to listen to words from you."
23.   Then he called them in to lodge there. And on the next day Peter went with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
24.   And on the next day, they came to Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his kinsmen and his intimate friends.
25.   And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet, worshiping him.
26.   But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up, for I myself am also a man."
27.   And as he was talking with him, he went in and found many gathered together.
28.   And he said to them, "You know that it is unlawful for a man who is a Jew to associate with or come near to anyone of another race. But God has shown me that no man should be called common or unclean." (C.R. Acts. 10:34)

James 2:1-9 - AFV

1.   My brethren, do not have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2.   Now then, if a man comes into your synagogue wearing gold rings and dressed in splendid apparel, and there comes in also a poor man in lowly apparel,
3.   And you give preference to the one who is wearing the splendid apparel, and say to him, "Seat yourself here in the best place"; and you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or, "Sit here under my footstool";
4.   Then have you not passed judgment among yourselves, and have made yourselves judges with evil opinions?
5.   My beloved brethren, listen. Did not God Himself choose the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love Him?
6.   But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and do they not drag you into the courts?
7.   Do they not blaspheme the worthy name by which you are called?
8.   If you are truly keeping the Royal Law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well.
9.   But if you have respect of persons, you are practicing sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors;