In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own people. Gandhi left the church and never returned, “If Christians have caste differences also, “ he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.” That usher’s prejudice not only betrayed Jesus but also turned a person away from trusting Him as Savior. (Source Unknown)
James 2
first test: trials, second test: temptation, third test: the Word of God
fourth test, do you practice favoritism?
2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in [a]fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in [b]filthy clothes, 3 and you [c]pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not [d]shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you [e]show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Outline: What is favoritism or partiality? What is an example of how it comes into the church? Why is it sin? How will it be judged?
I. What is favoritism or partiality?
2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. (respect of persons)
unfair bias in favor of one thing or person compared with another; favoritism.
They should be treated the same---there is no reason or justification to treat them unequally. And this truth cuts both ways. Not only are you not to mistreat the poor, you are not to treat the rich well, and fail to treat the poor with the same favor.
“The roots of the word mean to lift up somebody's face, to judge someone by the face or to exalt them strictly on a superficial level”
do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ… with partiality. (respect of persons)
Saying that I hold the faith of Jesus Christ and at the same time having respect for persons is contradictory. Test of genuine faith
Well, do we do that? To one degree or another, yes! We use different words; prejudice, stereotype, It is very human to take a first look at someone and immediately assign them value. Dress, skin color, wealth, carriage, smell, education—7 seconds—we’ve already established what we think of a person
It is very human---but if we name the name of Christ, we don’t aspire to be like everyone else---we want to be like God. Even though those 1st 7 seconds may prejudice us for or against a person, the Spirit within us instructs us to set aside our judgments and show love equally to everyone.
II. What is an example of how partiality comes into the church?
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in [a]fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in [b]filthy clothes, 3 and you [c]pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not [d]shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
"a gold- fingered man in shining bright apparel and there come in also a poor man in shabby clothes..."
A. Gold-fingered man in fine apparel
Rings were common among Jews.
Luke 15:22, “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out athe best robe and put it on him, and bput a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
Gold rings were uncommon because they were so expensive.
This man is gold-fingered, not just one ring but he's got them all over his fingers. If a rich person wanted to parade his wealth in front of the community he might wear rings on every finger except the middle finger, even the thumb. There were actually people in the ring rental business.
Not only does he wear all these rings…
fine apparel. The word is "lampros," it means bright shining. It can mean loud colors. It can mean glittering sparkling brilliant with ornamentation.
It is the same term used of the garment of the angel that visited Cornelius.
Acts 10
30 So Cornelius said, [a]“Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
He is a visitor—an unbeliever
This guy is decked out. I read this and think, who would come to church dressed like that. We have to realize that we look at this through our cultural lenses. To bring it home, we might say that a man, a family come to church, wearing the finest suit. Expensive clothes. Driving a luxury car.
What would we do? We would jump on them…extend the warm hand of fellowship. We need your kind in church. May I say that there is almost an assumption when people come to church who are dressed really well. What is that assumption? We assume they are already believers.
Let me add this; there is nothing wrong with offering guests to our assembly the best seats. It is wrong by comparison to the way the poor man is treated.
James is describing the same tendency in the early church. Why would they fawn over a rich man? Because the church was full of poor people. And their culture naturally elevated the rich. The poor were slaves, the rich were masters. And the church was full of poor people.
Was everybody in the church poor? No, there were some people who weren't particularly poor.
John 19:38- 39
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.
Nicodemus was with him. There must have been some wealthy people in the early church because whoever was selling things to get the money to give to the poor must have had something to sell.
Acts 6:7 7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Acts 8:27 the conversion of a man of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He was the eunuch, the chamberlain, the financial manager of this queen of Ethiopia.
Cornelius the first great story of Gentile conversion in Acts 10 was a centurion of the band called the Italian band.
Acts 13 a high-ranking official by the name of Sergius Paulus, a prudent man who called for Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear the Word of God. He believed, it says in verse 12,
Acts 16:14 Lydia, a converted lady was a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira.
The list could go on. Chapter 18 priscilla
But this rich guy comes as a visitor to their church. In addition, a poor man comes.
B. Poor man in filthy clothes
tokos means he's so poor he has to beg. No rings, no splendid clothing-probably only owned one robe. He stinks. Vile means filthy smelly dirty shabby, He sleeps, sweats, works, and lives in his clothes.
He comes in to the same service as the rich man.
Now notice, nobody stops him at the door and tells him about the church dress code.
There is no dress code for the poor or the rich when they visit a church service. We might think that the rich man’s clothes were inappropriate. Or we might think the poor man should have at least washed up before he came. But neither of these are the issue. But that’s not the partiality problem that James is addressing.
What is the problem?
C. Seating arrangements
verse 3, "And when they come you have respect to the one that wears the fine clothing and you say to him, Sit here in a good place." and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
What is this? Well in the early church, like the synagogue, chairs were a luxury. A chair might be offered to someone who is feeble. Many people sat on the floor, others stood around the wall. An honored guest might be offered a chair---let me say---there is nothing wrong with offering the best seat to a visitor. That’s hospitality. Then what’s wrong?
and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,”
They could have offered both guests a seat. But they didn’t. The good place was offered to the rich man. But what was offered to the poor man?
“You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” “There” indicates “apart” from me. Just find a seat. Get out of the way. And worse than that is; Sit here at my footstool. It indicates that the one instructing the visitor not only will not give up his chair for the visitor, but he also has a footstool to prop his feet on, and he won’t give that up either. He says, sit here next to my feet.
What happened? 3 and you [c]pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes---you have respect for---pay attention to, give your attention and care to. You are considerate of the rich man, but not the poor man.
And if you do so,
D. You become judges with evil thoughts
You are judging the value of a person based on a sinful, evil criteria---how well dressed a person is.
James lists this as a test of true faith. If you are a real Christian, then you won’t show partiality to one type person or another, based on superficialities. That reminds me of an illustration I read.
A young American engineer was sent to Ireland by his company to work in a new electronics plant. It was a two-year assignment that he had accepted because it would enable him to earn enough to marry his long-time girlfriend. She had a job near her home in Tennessee, and their plan was to pool their resources and put a down payment on a house when he returned. They corresponded often, but as the lonely weeks went by, she began expressing doubts that he was being true to her, exposed as he was to comely Irish lasses. The young engineer wrote back, declaring with some passion that he was paying absolutely no attention to the local girls. "I admit," he wrote, "that sometimes I'm tempted. But I fight it. I'm keeping myself for you."
In the next mail, the engineer received a package. It contained a note from his girl and a harmonica. "I'm sending this to you," she wrote, "so you can learn to play it and have something to take your mind off those girls." The engineer replied, "Thanks for the harmonica. I'm practicing on it every night and thinking of you." At the end of his two-year stint, the engineer was transferred back to company headquarters. He took the first plane to Tennessee to be reunited with his girl. Her whole family was with her, but as he rushed forward to embrace her, she held up a restraining hand and said sternly, "Just hold on there a minute, Billy Bob. Before any serious kissin' and huggin' gets started here, let me hear you play that harmonica!"
Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, pp. 17-18.
If he had remained faithful, the evidence was that he would have learned how to play the harmonica. If we are true Christians, the evidence is that we will not show favoritism.
III. Why is it sin?
3 reasons
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
Your values are not God’s values.
A. God chose the poor for salvation
Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
We already noted that the church was chiefly comprised of the poor.
There is evidence of the early church being chiefly comprised of the poor. “Around 178 A.D. Celsius wrote his diatribe against Christianity and his whole attack on Christianity was based upon the fact that Christians were such common insignificant poor people.”
“First, however, I must deal
with the matter of Jesus, the so-called savior, who not long ago taught new
doctrines and was thought to be a son of God. This savior, I shall attempt to
show, deceived many and caused them to accept a form of belief harmful to the
well-being of mankind. Taking its root in the lower classes, the religion
continues to spread among the vulgar: nay, one can even say it spreads because
of its vulgarity and the illiteracy of its adherents. And while there are a few
moderate, reasonable, and intelligent people who interpret its beliefs
allegorically, yet it thrives in its purer form among the ignorant.”
― Celsus, On
the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians
Uncultured, ignorant. Said about the disciples in Acts "Aren't they uneducated Galileans?" Jesus was mocked because he was from Galilee. Most of the church was poor. Do you remember 1 Corinthians 1:26? "You see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble but God has chosen the foolish, the weak, the base."
James 2:5, "Listen, my beloved brethren, has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he's promised to them that love Him?" The majority of people in the church have always been the poor...the common people.
Why would the poor generally, inherit the kingdom? The poor are not self-sufficient. The Poor cry out to God more often. The poor are more aware that life can be snuffed out at any moment; especially the kind of poor people that James is referring to. They are the beggars of the world. If they don’t get their next meal, if they lose the coat that warms them as they sleep outdoors at night, if their cold turns to pneumonia, if someone hurts them, their life could be over today.
So, the first reason it’s wrong to prefer the rich---God chose the poor.
B. Rich people oppress you and drag you to court
That's civil court. And history will tell you that the rich have oppressed the poor. When it says oppressed, that is the word tyrannize,
OT examples of rich oppressing the poor
Nehemiah 5: Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. 2 Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”
3 Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”
4 Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery.Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”
6 When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. 7 I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them 8 and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.
Amos 2:6-8 6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three sins of Israel,
even for
four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver,
and the
needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They
trample on the heads of the poor
as on the
dust of the ground
and deny
justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so
profane my holy name.
8 They lie
down beside every altar
on
garments taken in pledge.
In the house of their god
they
drink wine taken as fines.
C. Rich people blaspheme the name of Christ
In the book of Acts---Peter and Andrew were arrested by the Sanhedrin.
Wealthy Christ-rejecting Jews, no doubt, in that community rejecting Jesus as their Messiah were blaspheming the name of Jesus, dragging these poor people in to courts, harassing them. This is the worthy name by which you're called.
When you side with the rich, you side with the blasphemers.
Then does God want us to be partial to the poor? No. The rich young ruler came to Jesus---Jesus received him and had compassion on him.
Not every rich person blasphemes the name of Christ, nor does every poor person love the Lord. But James’ point is that if you are partial to the rich, you are showing favoritism to a people who characteristically reject Christ and you are shoving aside the poor, who characteristically embrace Christ. Your perception is skewed. Your values do not match God’s values.
IV. How will partiality be judged?
Okay, so I show partiality. Is it really that big of a deal?
Any Violation of God’s law brings judgment.
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you [e]show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
In what sense is this a violation of God’s law?
1. Partiality is a violation of the royal law.
verse 8 – “Since you are fulfilling the royal law” ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,’ you do well.”
Why is ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,’ the royal law?
Because it is one of two commandments that are the basis for all of God’s laws. Remember when someone came to Jesus and asked, “What is the greatest commandment in the law?” and Jesus said that the first commandment was to love God, and the second was to love your neighbor as yourself.
And Jesus said that “on these two commandments hang all the law and prophets.”
So, to show partiality is to violate one of the two laws which are the foundation for all other laws.
And the next logical step in his argument is,
2. Violation of the law makes you a transgressor
“But when you have respect of persons, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
“You who continually practice favoritism are working sin.” The law says don’t do it; you did it. So, the law is your conviction. The evidence brings conclusive conviction that you are guilty.
Notice, he didn’t say that you broke a law. Rather, you are a transgressor of the law. It is not that you slipped and committed a sin. The character of your life is that of being a sinner.
Just like in another part of James it says that we are to be “doers” of the Word, not hearers only. He doesn’t say, “Do good deeds.” He says, “Be a doer of good deeds.” Let it characterize your life. Make it who you are.
And if the character of your life is as a transgressor---you are constantly showing partiality---then you exhibit the behavior of an unbeliever—not a believer.
Then comes step three in the logical argument.
3. One transgression shatters the whole law.
Verse 10 - here’s why it’s such a serious issue. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law” – okay? – “and yet offend in one area, he is” – what? - he’s what? – “guilty of all.”
It’s like car glass windshields. In earlier days, car windshields were made of the same type of glass as home windows. But a problem was discovered. When a person was in a car accident, the windshield would break into slivers, and severely cut or kill the occupants of the vehicle. So someone designed glass that, if the impact was enough, would completely shatter. This was to allow the glass to shatter and fall away from the occupants, causing fewer fatal injuries from the glass.
That’s how James describes the impact of breaking one of God’s laws. But what he is saying is that one small crack, one law broken, will shatter the entire glass.
How many laws do you have to break to be a lawbreaker? One. How many laws do you have to break to be a transgressor? One. How many sins do you have to commit to be characterized as a sinner? One.
Matthew 5:19, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, she shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.”
It’s not like bowling or horseshoes.
And no one can justify himself by saying, “Hey, I only knocked down two; eight are standing” – or – “I only committed little sins like prejudice, partiality, indifference to the poor; I certainly didn’t commit the biggies.”
Step 4 in the logical progression.
4. Judgment comes to those who break the law
“Listen, you hit the law of God with a hammer, and you smash the whole thing. So, don’t kid yourself that you’re some kind of righteous person because your sins are minor. Any violation of God’s law plunges you instantly into hell, condemnation. See it there in verse 10; even if one keeps the whole law and offends in one area, he has literally shattered the whole thing though he stumbles only one point.”
“For He that said” – somebody comes along – “He who said” – refers to God – “He said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ and he also said, ‘Do not kill.’” God said both those things.
The thing that these two sins have in common is they required death.
“Now, what is curious to me is the fact that James uses these two illustrations. The illustration of murder and the illustration of adultery seemed pretty far beyond the idea of favoritism. But I think James puts favoritism in very serious company to make his point.”
5. Especially those who show no mercy
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
And not only do you shatter the whole law by committing just one sin---even if you consider it a small sin
He goes on to point out that partiality is no small sin===why?
Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall” – what? – “obtain mercy.”
Because mercy, and compassion toward the poor is a cornerstone of the salvation message.
Matthew 6:12-15 12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not
lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
[a]For Yours is
the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Impartiality, along with how you handle trials and temptations, and your response to the Word of God are evidences of true faith. Those who have true faith will have the Spirit of God in them, and the Spirit is loving, compassionate, impartial---how you treat people is a sign of who is in you.
Zacchaeus ---tax gatherer---why is he eating with him
In Luke 19 verse 8, Zacchaeus when he was converted, that man who was the chief of all tax collectors and he was rich, it says in verse 2. When he was converted to Christ it says, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the...what?... poor." Why? Because all of a sudden the heart of God was controlling Zacchaeus. "And if I've taken anything from anybody by false accusation, I give him back four fold. And Jesus said, This day is salvation come to this house." How do you know that's true salvation? Because you see the heart of God, the attitude of God. The attitude of God is to help the people who are poor, downcast. That's just so evident through the ministry of Jesus. His particular concern was for people who had little.