Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

This is the third message in a series called Church 101. We’re spending four weeks digging deep into the New Testament book of 1 Timothy. This book is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to a young church leader named Timothy. This book is God’s blueprint for how the church is designed to function.

Paul told Timothy, “I am writing you these instructions so that…you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:14b-15, NIV)

As we’ve been saying throughout this series, the hope of the world is the local church. The church is God’s household, God’s family. Jesus died for the church. His message is delivered through the church. He is coming back for the church.

This church thing is a big deal to God, so we need to be sure that we’re doing church God’s way. We’re walking through this book to learn how we’re supposed to conduct ourselves as the church, as Paul said.

So far in this series, God has commanded us to stop majoring in the minors. Don’t take what is a Scriptural gray area and try to turn it into a black and white Biblical command. We talked about being unified on essential truths, and at the same time, giving one another room to disagree on disputable matters.

Then last week we talked about how leadership in the church is designed by God. God showed us how the church and its leaders are designed to work together. The church is called to honor its leaders as they strive to lead in a way that honors God.

This week, we’re going to explore how the church is not supposed to function. How can we dishonor God and derail our mission as a church? How can we slip into a sin that is so subtle, and yet so deadly? It’s a lot easier to do than you might think.

All we have to do is begin basing our decisions, our direction, our vision, and our mission on pleasing people instead of pleasing God.

The phrase you’ll hear in the leadership meetings of a lot of churches is “Keep ‘Em Happy.” Everything in their church centers around the “keep ‘em happy” principle. If people aren’t grumbling and complaining, then everything is right with the world. They have accomplished their mission to keep their people happy.

But the danger is that, while all the people might be happy, God might not be. This is why Paul gives Timothy a stern, direct warning about showing favoritism in the church in 1 Timothy 5.

Let’s pray and we’ll get into our third message.

1 Timothy 5:21, “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.” (1 Timothy 5:21, NIV)

This is one of those times when we need to be very careful not to overcomplicate the Bible. This verse is about as clear and straightforward as anything you’ll ever read in Scripture. It is a direct, clear command not to show partiality or favoritism in the church. We’re going to spend the rest of our time this morning unpacking the simple, but difficult, truth of this verse.

So let’s start breaking it open. Paul told Timothy, “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels…” not to show partiality or favoritism.

God, Jesus, and the elect angels. That’s quite a jury, isn’t it? I think I’d rather appear before Judge Judy than this panel that Paul talks about. Paul charges the church before this heavenly tribunal to avoid showing favoritism to anybody.

Simply put, this is a big deal. When the Bible calls us on the carpet before God, Jesus, and the elect angels…that should be enough to convince us that this actually matters to God. This is a pretty big deal.

When we show preferential treatment to a person or group of people, when we kowtow to them and make it our mission to keep ‘em quiet by keeping ‘em happy, we need to know that we’re on very dangerous ground. It is specifically prohibited in Scripture. It is a big deal. And as we keep reading, we find out why it’s such a big deal.

It’s a big deal because, when we show favoritism, we compromise God’s truth. When we shift our priorities to a “keep ‘em happy” mentality, we put ourselves on a slippery slope toward compromise when it comes to our view of the Bible.

The Apostle Paul writes, “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality…”

Keep these instructions. This verse is in chapter 5. There are only 6 chapters in 1 Timothy, so Paul is just about finished writing this letter. He’s given Timothy all kinds of direction and instruction about how the church is designed to function. And so, as he begins wrapping up his letter, he reminds Timothy to “keep these instructions without showing partiality” and favoritism. He was encouraging the young leader to hold tight to the Word of God, no matter what.

The plain fact is that, in the church, there will always be a great temptation to compromise God’s Word because it is always easier.

In the book of 2 Timothy, which is a second letter Paul wrote to his young protégé, he writes, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:2-3, NIV)

There will always be people who don’t want the church to hold fast to Biblical teaching. Instead, they expect the church to bend the Scripture around their personal beliefs and preferences. And, a lot of churches oblige them. They have twisted, tweaked, changed, and deleted portions of the Bible. They have chosen to be politically correct instead of Biblically correct. Paul told us in 2 Timothy that it was going to happen…and it’s happening every week in churches around the world.

Why would they do that? Because there are times when Biblical truth is not easy to teach and it’s not easy to hear. Sometimes we portray the Bible as this book that is just full of God’s comfort and God’s peace and God’s love. And of course, the Scripture teaches all of those principles.

But there are also times when the truth of the Bible jumps off the page and slugs you in the gut.

Hebrews 4 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12, NIV)

Does that sound like book that is just some nice bedtime story for children? Not by a long shot. God’s Word penetrates your very soul. It judges the very thoughts and attitudes of your heart. And when the Bible finds you living in sin, it will slice you into ribbons.

A lot of people are offended when we preach and teach the truth. But can I make an observation? The only time the truth offends you is when you’re living contrary to it.

But because we do often choose to live in opposition to the truth, we would prefer to simply not hear the truth at all. Living in self-imposed ignorance is a lot easier than dealing with the conviction that comes from God’s Word.

Because of this, preachers often feel pressured to “tone it down.” Churches are tempted to take a soft stand on issues that are clear, black-and-white Biblical commands. “Just keep ‘em happy. Don’t preach things that will offend people. Don’t take strong stands on Biblical issues if it’s not politically correct to do so. Keep ‘em happy.”

But what if in the process of keeping ‘em happy, you are offending God? Let’s just call a spade a spade. The mamby pamby, shallow, self-help style of preaching might win a preacher a lot of disciples, but it won’t win very many disciples for Jesus. Taking weak stances on clear Biblical issues might save a church some criticism, but God is offended when we disregard his Word.

Now, I’m not suggesting that we don’t do this in love. We speak the truth, but we speak it in love. When we speak out against something that is sinful, we do it in a Christlike spirit.

For example, and this is just one example, I see so many churches railing against the evils of homosexuality. The Bible consistently calls homosexuality a sin. It never calls it anything but a sin.

However, I see so many churches today that seem to enjoy condemning homosexuals to hell. They do it with a smile on their faces. When the preacher yells and screams and rants and raves about gays and lesbians and other terms that I won’t use, he gets all kinds of “amens” and “preach it, brothers” from the crowd.

Can you show me one place in Scripture where the people of God enjoyed condemning someone to hell? Where they talked about another person’s sin with unfiltered delight?

I’ve heard Christians tell derogatory and demeaning jokes about homosexuals. What other sin do we do that with? I don’t hear a lot of Christians joking about lying, or gluttony, or pride, or lust.

The fact is that sin is no laughing matter. And making someone who is caught in sin the butt of your jokes, I can’t think of a more arrogant, prideful, stupid thing to do.

The ugly truth is that we often condemn the sins that we don’t struggle with. And we joke about the people who do. And that is despicable.

God has called his church to speak the truth. Even the hard parts of the truth. And the truth is that homosexuality is a sin.

But God has never called his church to get on some sick, twisted high by gleefully condemning a select group of sins. Homosexuality is a sin that separates people from God. Just like your sin. Just like my sin.

God’s church is called to speak the truth of God in the love of God.

I don’t know who said this originally, but they were absolutely spot on. “Truth without love is dogmatism. Love without truth is sentimentality. Speaking the truth in love is Christianity.”

Where do you fall in that continuum? Some of us speak the truth, but we tend to do it in a not-so-loving way. Others of us love people, to the point where we bend on the truth so as not to offend them. Either way is wrong. Either way is an unbiblical approach.

When it comes to my preaching, I have claimed these verses from Psalm 40 as my own. “I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.” (Psalm 40:9-10, NIV)

As your pastor, it is my goal every week to give you God’s love and God’s truth. Any week where you get one and not the other is unacceptable.

That same goal in my preaching also extends into my personal relationships. As God’s people, we’ve got to aspire to Ephesians 4:15 relationships.

“…speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15, NIV)

In this verse, the Bible tells us that speaking the truth in love is a mark of Christian maturity. When we speak the truth in love, we grow up in Christ. Anyone who speaks truth with no love or love with no truth is a spiritual baby. Doesn’t matter how long they’ve been a Christian. In God’s eyes, they’re infantile in their faith.

In 1 Timothy 5, Paul tells us to “keep these instructions without partiality…” Bending God’s truth to keep ‘em happy isn’t an option. The truth of God is offensive at times. People are offended by the truth. But let’s remember that the truth is offensive enough as is. We’ve got to keep our attitudes in check. We don’t have to heap on our own superiority complexes by unnecessarily bludgeoning people over the head with the Bible.

Here’s where we have to land on this. We will hold lovingly, but unswervingly, to God’s truth. When God says something is right, then it’s right. When God says something is wrong, then it’s wrong. And if that offends people, that’s ok. Because the offense didn’t come from our arrogant attitude. It simply came from speaking God’s truth in love.

But when we show favoritism, it will inevitably lead us to compromise God’s truth.

It will also lead us to confuse our priorities.

So many churches and church leaders operate out of the “keep ‘em happy” mindset. Last summer, there was a new family that moved in on our street. So one day, I saw the fellow outside and I went over and introduced myself. We talked for a few minutes, and in the course of the conversation, he asked me what I did for a living. I told him that I was a minister.

He said, “Wow. That’s a tough job, trying to keep everybody happy.”

Not, “Wow. That’s a tough job, preaching God’s Word.” Or, “Wow. That’s a tough job, seeking out God’s vision and direction for the church.”

His response was, “Wow. That’s a tough job, trying to keep everybody happy.” That was the sum total of his perception of my job. I don’t know this for sure, but I would guess that somewhere in his life, he was part of a “keep ‘em happy” church.

Let’s go back and read our verse from 1 Timothy 5 in its entirety again. “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.” (1 Timothy 5:21, NIV)

Did you notice that last phrase? “Do nothing out of favoritism.”

Paul knows that favoritism is a powerful motivator. People pleasing, “keep ‘em happy,” it’s a powerful motivator. It is a primary motivation in the business world. It is THE motivation in the political world. But it is strictly forbidden in the church.

The words “do nothing” are very strong. “Do nothing out of favoritism.” Favoritism is never to enter into the equation in the church. No matter what we do, we will offend someone. It’s inevitable. Someone will be offended. Let’s just be sure that the offended party is not God.

In the church, we play to an audience of one. God’s opinion is the only one that counts. That’s why showing favoritism and preferential treatment to certain individuals or groups is strictly forbidden in the Scripture. Because it confuses our priorities. If we begin bending and hedging to “keep ‘em happy,” we lose our “audience of one” mindset. Instead of being laser focused on pleasing God, our priorities drift toward pleasing him or her or them.

Leaders often feel pressured to ignore God’s call for their church because, “if we did that, we would offend some people.” Decisions are made based on politics instead of on God’s Word and on God’s direction. Eventually, “keep ‘em happy” leaders cease to be leaders at all. They become emasculated cowards who avoid tough, risky decisions at all costs. “Keep ‘em happy. Life will be a lot easier if we keep ‘em happy.”

The church who sets its sights on keeping its people happy will end up impotent because God’s power is realized when we follow the risky path he has called us to take.

And by the way, can we be brutally honest? Even in churches where they will move heaven and earth to keep their people happy, they’ll try to lighten up the truth of Scripture, the preacher will pitch nothing but softballs to his people, the leaders will never move with vision or courage because it’s too risky…even in the “keep ‘em happy” churches, not everybody is happy. If a church has more than one person attending, then not everyone is going to be happy all the time. So in an effort to “keep ‘em happy,” they have offended God and despite their best efforts, they have still upset people. That’s called a lose-lose scenario.

Now, who are some of the people or groups of people that some churches seem to cater to? Who are we trying to keep happy? It varies from church to church, but here are some examples.

Some churches show preferential treatment to people of a certain race. There are some churches where a person of color is simply not welcome. And it works the other way, too. There are churches where I, as a white person, would not be welcome. This favoritism based on race is forbidden in Scripture.

The Bible says, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, NLT)

Paul wrote this verse in a very racially charged environment. Jews hated Gentiles. Gentiles hated Jews. And Paul simply said that this type of racism is completely out of place and completely forbidden in the church. That favoritism based on race is forbidden because we are all one in Christ Jesus.

Some churches show partiality to people based on age.

This was brought to my attention this week. Two times in the span of two days, I has somebody tell me that they thought I was pretty young to be a senior pastor. They aren’t part of our church here at Amelia. Just people that I met as I went throughout my day. But two times in two days I had people remark about my age.

There are some churches where I would just be too young. And then, there are other churches where I would be considered just right…right now. But once I get older, I would probably be dropped because I would be too old.

This whole “too young” or “too old” thing is not Biblical. Look at some other verses from 1 Timothy 5. “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” (1 Timothy 5:1-2, NIV)

What do we see in these verses? That people’s age doesn’t matter. Everyone is treated with love and respect, regardless of how young or old they are.

Maybe you’re not a racist, but are you an “age-ist?” Do you show favoritism to someone based upon their birthday? God clearly says that this has no place in his church.

Some churches show favoritism to people based on how much they complain.

If you gripe loud enough and long enough, you’ll get your way in these churches. You are given preferential treatment simply because the leadership knows that if they keep you happy, you’ll be quiet.

The Bible says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure…” (Philippians 2:14-15a, NIV)

When someone is a chronic complainer, we need to understand this for what it is: sinful. Why would a church show favoritism and preferential treatment to someone based on their sin? Doesn’t make sense, does it?

Some churches show preferential treatment to people based on their money. If you’re a tither in these churches, if you’ve been known to drop a big check in the plate, these churches will stop at nothing to keep you happy. You are their bread and butter, and they’ll bend to your wishes every time.

The Bible is so clear on this. In James 4, God says, “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:1-4, NIV)

God unmistakably commands us not to show favoritism based on money. Leaders cannot make decisions based on pleasing those with the biggest wallets. And if you try to use your money as leverage in the church, stop. Just stop. If the money you give to God comes with strings attached, keep it. God doesn’t need it.

I want to show you one more verse as we wrap this thing up. The whole idea of showing favoritism, partiality, and preferential treatment to people in the church…it’s wrong right from the start. It is based on a completely false premise. It’s based on the belief that the church exists to please me. It does not.

In Ephesians 3, the Bible says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV)

The church exists for God’s glory. It exists to please him, honor him, and serve him. Favoritism and preferential treatment for people in the church is out of place because the church doesn’t exist to glorify us. It is God’s church, bought with the blood of His Son. And we exist solely for his glory.

Mike Edmisten

Tags: Church 101, 1 Timothy 5, favortism