It’s a tragedy when those in the church are more about their self-promotion and self-protection than getting behind what God is doing. When this happens, the church becomes more of a social club and full of cliques, rather than a group of people serving and loving one another. Let’s just think for a moment what is really going on when those in the church are self-focused—ministry is being withheld from people whom God has worked in with his regenerating and sanctifying grace. The Holy and Transcendent Creator God has chosen to be lovingly gracious, yet some sinners who have received that treatment refuse to pass it along to others. The absurdity of that is what drives the conclusion Peter comes to at the end of Acts 10 and the beginning of Acts 11.
What Partiality Does in the Body
We can pull out this principle from Acts 11:17—If God wants to graciously give his gift of salvation to someone, who are we to withhold ministry, or in other words, withhold what God has given us in the form of spiritual gifts and resources from that person? To do so is making a distinction; it’s the sin of partiality or in our modern terms, elitism, and elitism operates with the mindset that “the grace of God came into my life because I was better or more worthy than others.” Just as in the case of Cornelius and his household, God is not partial with his grace and therefore who are we to create man-made distinctions? We must be on guard against this brethren or our ministry to others will be limited, which case we could be found hindering the Lord’s work.