How can God be no respecter of persons and give to His children?
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Since the scriptures say “God is no respecter of persons,” how can or does He interfere in the fate of a Christian?
The Bible has a lot to say about being a respecter of persons, or showing partiality to one person over another for some particular reason. In Deuteronomy 10:17, Moses said, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.” In Deuteronomy 16:19 the same principle is commanded to men: “You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.” In these contexts, showing partiality has to do with applying God’s law to all people equally, and specifically, not allowing a person’s place in society, personal wealth, or offering of bribes to change the law in their favor. This same principle is reiterated in 2 Chronicles 19:7, Job 34:19, and Psalm 82:2.
In Matthew 22:16, the Herodians, a group of Jews who were followers of Herod, said to Jesus, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.” Luke records as much in Luke 20:21. What the Herodians meant in this context is that Jesus applied God’s truths to all equally and did not exempt the Pharisees, Sadducees, or any other special interest group that existed in His day and time. Many were afraid of the Pharisees and Sadducees and would let them get away with their various excuses for not obeying God’s law, but Jesus did not let them do that.
In Acts 10:34-35, Peter says, “In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.” Peter was talking about God’s plan for salvation. God has one plan of salvation for all, both Jews and Gentiles, and whoever obeys and follows that plan will be saved. This is what Peter was referring to.
In Romans 2:11, the apostle Paul wrote, “For there is no partiality with God.” In this context, Paul is speaking about God’s judgment upon men for either eternal life or eternal condemnation, and God uses the same standard of righteousness to judge all. This is also his point in Colossians 3:25, and Peter’s point in 1 Peter 1:17.
In Galatians 2:6, Paul wrote, “But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.” Paul’s point here is that just because someone thinks himself to be something doesn’t mean anything because God doesn’t respect a person’s status in society as being anything special when it comes to membership in the church. He makes the same point in Ephesians 6:9 also.
In James 2:9, James writes, “but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” He was talking specifically about the practice of preferring the rich over the poor. In the church we do not show such partiality, because the possession of wealth is a false standard for judging the righteousness of one person over another—wealth doesn’t make a person righteous or unrighteous.
So, what do we conclude from all of this? God doesn’t want the law to be applied differently to different people because of the position they hold in society, the amount of wealth they have, or what they may think of themselves. God has set a standard of right and wrong for all; He will judge all by the same standard; God’s plan of salvation is the same for all, and those who desire to be saved can be saved by exactly the same plan. None of this has anything to do with God’s relationship with His children in which relationship God may favor His children with His grace, answering of prayers, providing for help in life, healing of sickness, and other personal matters that have nothing to do with God’s standard of righteousness, or salvation.
For example, take a county judge. In his job as judge, he is expected to apply the law equally to everyone. This means that both the wealthy and the poor should be treated equally by him in court. However, when he goes home to his family, he may bring his children gifts. Does the fact of his being a county judge mean that he has to give gifts to all the children of the county? Of course not. It is only in his application of the law as judge that he must be impartial. In his home, he may bless his own children without concern for being impartial.
So, when the Bible says that God does not have respect of persons, it doesn’t mean that God must bless everyone exactly the same. If that were the case, there would be no men or women, children or adults, wealthy and poor, intelligent and non-intelligent, strong and weak, etc. God does bless different people with different gifts as His grace is extended to each. This is not the same thing as God showing respect of persons relative to salvation. God may bless who He so chooses in whatever way He chooses to bless them, and He continues to be impartial regarding salvation and judgment.