Mensa Otabil - God Shows No Partiality (10/11/2025)
This week we are looking at things that will help us become the people God wants us to be, and we’ve looked at the fact that God has a high calling for us. We’ve also looked at the fact that God has given us what we need to live that life. Today, we are going to look at a very important concept: that God shows no partiality. Acts chapter 10, verse 34: «Then Peter opened his mouth and said, 'In truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality.'» It’s a very sober realization for Peter. Why? Because Peter is a Jew, and the Jews felt that they had a corner on God’s grace; they are God’s people. On the day of Pentecost in the New Testament, when the Holy Spirit came, He came to the upper room, and all the people who received the Holy Spirit were Jews.
Now Peter goes to the home of a Gentile, an outsider, and he preaches the word of God, and they receive the Holy Spirit in a similar manner as they did on the day of Pentecost. He came to the conclusion that if God would give Gentiles the same Holy Spirit as the Jews received on the day of Pentecost, then God shows no partiality. It’s a very sobering thought for him because he grew up thinking they are the chosen people, that they are unique, and their experiences cannot be appropriated or enjoyed by others. But God showed Peter that He shows no partiality. That truth that Peter found is the truth today: God shows no partiality. We need to drill down that concept in our minds because sometimes we live our lives thinking that some people are more favored than others. God gave them more than He gave me. God shows special treatment. Have you noticed that when you look around the world, the people who end up doing so much often come from backgrounds with no advantages?
Some came from orphanages, some from poverty, some from dysfunctional families. Some of the richest people came from very poor backgrounds; some who end up leading nations came from very distraught backgrounds, and yet they got there. Why? Because where you start in life is not as important as where you are going in life. God shows no partiality; even what you think is a disadvantage is working out for His good. God does not have favorite children; He doesn’t have some people He listens to and others He doesn’t. He doesn’t have some people He favors and others He doesn’t. He doesn’t have some people whose sin He will forgive and others whose sin He will not forgive; God has no favorites.
When you read the Bible, you notice that even the heroes of faith, the people God chooses, when they make mistakes, God treats them just like everybody else. He doesn’t cover the sins of Moses, doesn’t cover the sins of David, doesn’t cover Samson’s sins; He deals with everybody on equal measure. Why? Because God shows no partiality. What He can do with one, He can do with another. The door He opens for this one, He can open for that one. Many times we exclude ourselves because we think, «Oh, I’m not God’s favorite. Life has not been good to me; I’m not favored. I come from a bad family.»
We think this way, sometimes as a joke, but it’s a mindset that imprisons us. God does not show partiality. One of the biggest mistakes you can ever make in life is to let somebody’s success loom so large before you that you feel very insignificant. «Oh, if this guy can do this, then who am I? I can’t do anything like that.» We think God has favored them. These days people use the phrase, «God has graced them,» and say, «We are not grace mates.» But we are all grace mates because God’s grace is the same for all people. People apply themselves differently and get different results, but as for God, He will give us all favor; He gives us all grace; He gives us all opportunity. What you do with it will determine the outcome of your life. God shows no partiality, and God has no favorites anywhere, in any country, in any continent, in any class of people. If you can trust Him at any time, He will show you His favor.
Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, Your goodness toward me is the same as toward all Your children. I am blessed beyond measure. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.