This coming Sunday (12-17-17), we are going to talk about how our zealous works need to be motivated & stirred up by love. If we desire to be zealous like our Lord Jesus, love must be the primary reason why we want to serve the Lord and one another. The Lord’s love needs to stir us up to be concerned for the physical and spiritual well-being of others.

Here are some passages you can look up and mediate upon to prepare for the lesson:

• 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
• 1 Corinthians 14:1-4; 12
• 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Here are some questions you can also think about:

• Can you enter your name in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7?
  • Do your good works show love towards others?
  • Are your actions motivated by pride and selfishness or by love for others?
• Are there things you are unwilling to do for others?
• Are there people you are unwilling to serve?
• Are you only willing to love if you don’t have to make sacrifices?

​​If you would like a copy of the interactive outline that will be in Sunday's bulletin, click the button below:

I received a question about the sin of partiality that went like this: “Is it showing partiality to have a preference to spend more time with certain people or groups of people (such as physical family) compared to others?”

We all have those who we may prefer to be around, or those we are more comfortable spending time with because we have more in common. We may spend more time with our physical family than we do other people. We may spend more time with families in our congregation with children the same age as ours. We may spend more time with those who have some of the same interests as ours. I do not believe this, in and of itself, is partiality. There are some scriptures in which we are commanded to show preference in some areas, which I believe do show that preferring to spend time with certain people (or groups of people) is not partiality.

For instance, in Galatians 6:10 we are told to “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” I believe this verse is showing that we need to go out of the way more in order to do good deeds for our brothers and sisters in Christ compared to those who are in the world. If I have a choice to spend time with or to do a good work for a nonChristian or a Christian in the same exact time slot, I believe a passage like this shows that I should choose the brother or sister in Christ.

Another example of a passage that shows we should show some judgment (or preference) in who we spend time with is 1 Corinthians 15:33 where Paul says, "Bad company ruins good morals." This passage shows the danger of surrounding ourselves with those who can impact us in negative ways spiritually. The context of this passage shows that it is primarily referring to false teachers, but I believe this can be applied more broadly to anyone who can have a negative impact on our spiritual well-being. We should prefer to spend more time with and to surround ourselves with those who can help us to get to Heaven.

There are more examples I could give, but these two go to show, I believe, that there are some instances where we should, and even must, show some kind of preference in regards to company we keep, and when we do so, we are not showing the partiality that is condemned in the Bible.

But we do need to be careful though that our preferences do not turn into partiality. If our preference to spend more time with certain people got to the point where we would be completely neglecting certain groups of people (ex. those who are not in our physical family or those who are not Christians), then it can get to the point where our “preference” becomes partiality. We need, as disciples of Christ, to be willing to spend time with those who are different from us so we can "love our neighbor" (all of our neighbors) as Jesus commands. Jesus’ command to love is not just for those who we prefer to spend time with. It is for everyone! 

One of the biggest struggles we have in being impartial is that we often only like to be around those who we are “comfortable” being around. We have a certain type of person we prefer to keep company with, and it is usually people who are just like us. This, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. But it can become a bad thing if it leads us to neglect serving everyone else, especially those who are in helpless situations physically and spiritually. James says that pure and undefiled religion is this: “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” James is telling us what we need to do if we want to have “pure and undefiled religion”: we need to serve those who are helpless. James also challenges us to get out of our comfort zones to do so. We need to do more than just make a phone call. We need to do more than just send a card, flowers, or money. Those things are “easy” compared to what James encourages us here. James is challenging us to actually leave our houses and associate with those who are in need. This is what James means when he tells them to “visit.” It is going to the person, showing concern for their welfare, and doing what you can do to meet whatever need there is. The word ‘visit’ is used elsewhere in the Bible. It is used in Exodus when we are told that God “visited” His people in Egypt to deliver them (Gen 50:24; Exo 4:31). Also, Jesus “visited” mankind in bringing them the hope of salvation (Luke 1:68, 19:44). It was much more than a social call. It was much more than just coming to say, “hi, how are you doing.” It was all about coming to those who are in need and making sacrifices to meet the need. This is not usually the most comfortable thing for us to do, and at times, being around those who are in affliction can feel awkward. But those with a “pure and undefiled religion” feel compassion for the helpless, and this compassion helps them to overcome the awkwardness and the discomfort they feel in spending time with those who are different then them. They will learn to go out of their way to meet a need no matter who is in need, just as their Lord and Teacher did (cf. Romans 5:6).

​Are you striving to have an impartial, pure, and undefiled religion in the sight of God?