THE
BIBLE PRAYER LINE – Bible Questions Answered
(Copy
and paste, this URL into a new web browser, and hit enter.)
Bible
Prayer Line Index
Bible Questions Answered:
“What
is it being said by God that he does not respect persons...?
Walter/
Breinigsville, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Acts 10:1-36 NLT (Cornelius Calls for Peter)
1 In
Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a
captain of the Italian Regiment.
2 He
was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He
gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.
3
One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw
an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.
4
Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked
the angel.
And
the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been
received by God as an offering!
5
Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.
6 He
is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”
7 As
soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household
servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants.
8 He
told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
(Peter
Visits Cornelius)
9
The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter
went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon,
10
and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into
a trance.
11
He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by
its four corners.
12
In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.
13
Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”
14
“No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that
our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”
15
But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God
has made it clean.”
16
The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly
pulled up to heaven.
17
Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the
men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the
gate,
18
they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.
19
Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, The Holy Spirit
said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.
20
Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t
worry, for I have sent them.”
21
So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for.
Why have you come?”
22
They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a
devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy
angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear
your message.”
23
So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went
with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.
24
They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for
them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
25
As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped
him.
26
But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being
just like you!”
27
So they talked together and went inside, where many others were
assembled.
28
Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man
to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God
has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or
unclean.
29
So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me
why you sent for me.”
30
Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about
this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in
dazzling clothes was standing in front of me.
31
He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts
to the poor have been noticed by God!
32
Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He
is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the
seashore.’
33
So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are
all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given
you.”
(The
Gentiles Hear the Good News)
34
(NLT) Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no
favoritism.
34
(KJV) Then Peter opened his
mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of
persons:
35
In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right.
36
This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel (and
all the world) —that there is peace with God through
Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
34
(NLT) Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no
favoritism.
34
(KJV) Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive
that God is no respecter of persons:
Our Lord said...
Luke
11:43 KJV
Woe
unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the
synagogues, and greetings in the markets.
Luke
18:9-14 NLT
(Parable of the Pharisee
and Tax Collector)
9
Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their
own righteousness and scorned everyone else:
10
“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the
other was a despised tax collector.
11
The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you,
God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers.
I’m certainly not like that tax collector!
12 I
fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
13
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift
his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in
sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’
14 I
tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified
before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those
who humble themselves will be exalted.”
John
1:12,13 NLT
12
But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to
become children of God.
13
They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human
passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
No earthly rank or religious position, gives one person or another, a
place of superiority, before God.
Our
Lord looks for the humble and poor in spirit, (See the blog Poor
In Spirit ).
Acts
10:35 NLT
In
every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right.
Romans
2:9-11 NLT
9
There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing
what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.
10
But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do
good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile.
11
For God does not show favoritism.
James 2:1-13 NLT (A Warning against Prejudice)
1 My
dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our
glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
2
For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy
clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and
dressed in dirty clothes.
3 If
you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but
you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on
the floor”—well,
4
doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by
evil motives?
5
Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor
in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will
inherit the Kingdom He promised to those who love Him?
6
But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and
drag you into court?
7
Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you
bear?
8
Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in The
Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
9
But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin.
You are guilty of breaking the law.
10
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a
person who has broken all of God’s laws.
11
For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also
said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not
commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
12
So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be
judged by the law that sets you free.
13
There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others.
But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges
you.
There's
A Wideness
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows
Are more felt than up in Heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings
Have such kindly judgment given.
For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of The Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal He will not own.
There is plentiful redemption
In the blood that has been shed;
There is joy for all the members
In the sorrows of the Head.
There is grace enough for thousands
Of new worlds as great as this;
There is room for fresh creations
In that upper home of bliss.
If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.
Author: Frederick W. Faber
Hear the music, copy and paste this URL, into a new web browser, and
hit enter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kamADrlPEDs
Prayer:
Nehemiah 9:17 KJV
"...but thou art a God ready to
pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness..."
Psalm 86:5 KJV
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready
to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
Psalm 130:7 KJV
"...hope in The Lord: for with
The Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.
