M.P.S. Faith and Favoritism cannot co-exist in the life of the believer.

Transcription

1 The Royal Law James 2:1-13 Introduction It s the thought that counts. That might work with gifts from children, but it doesn t work in real life. If your employer brought you into the office later this year and told you, I just want you to know that I have thought long and hard about how you deserve a substantial raise. And while I m not going to give you that raise, I just wanted you to know that I thought about it. You would not say, Well, you know, it s really the thought that counts. No. Actions reveals a person s true values. Our actions reveal our true values. Talk is cheap. And in the book of James, talk about what you believe is meaningless if you do not act like you believe it. James is concerned with how actions accord with beliefs, and this morning, we are going to consider the relationship between how we treat others in church and the faith we claim to have in Christ. M.P.T. James taught his audience that they could not claim to have faith in Christ while showing favoritism to rich people in their church to the neglect of poor people. Such acts of favoritism contradicted their confession of faith in Christ. M.P.S. Faith and Favoritism cannot co-exist in the life of the believer. James 2: My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, You sit here in a good place, while you say to the poor man, You stand over there, or, Sit down at my feet, 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Exposition As I have already mentioned, this morning s passage comes to us in a context that is concerned with how faith in Jesus works itself out in love for God and love for others. James desired to provoke his audience to not only be hearers of the Word, but also doers of the Word. So, as we study this morning s passage, we must keep this context of doers of the word in mind. The point of this morning s passage is simple: Faith and Favoritism cannot co-exist in the life of the believer.

2 James develops this simple but profound truth in James 2:1-13, beginning with the clear command in verse 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. The word, partiality, that we have in our passage literally means, to receive someone according to their face. In other word, partiality or favoritism that we are prohibited to hold while believing in Christ is a partiality that makes a judgment about people on the basis of their outward appearance. This become even more clear in verses 2-4, where James illustrates what he has in mind when he thinks about partiality. Look with me at verses 2-4, James writes, For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, You sit here in a good place, while you say to the poor man, You stand over there, or, Sit down at my feet, have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? James presents two radically opposite images of guests in the assembly. One is obviously rich while the other is seemingly poor. And preference is given to the rich man, which in the early church, almost makes sense, right? I mean, how much good could a rich man do in the early church? He had political pull. And resources. He was a man of means, and if he joined the church, just think about how much good would be accomplished? They would probably name a wing of the church after this man. These are types of people that the church needs, right? Not people like poor man in shabby clothing, right? If the church fills up with poor people, then that just means there will be more needs to have to meet. More mouths to feed. More people to have to care for. Less giving potential. I mean, what could the poor man offer the church? James has strong words for anyone who would prioritize the rich man over the poor man in the church. Those who would make such distinctions between rich and poor in the church on the basis of outward appearances have become judges with evil thoughts. As one commentator stated, James statement regarding evil thought anticipates his comment in James 4:12, where he will declare that there is only one lawgiver and judge. Furthermore, James believes that not only have the Christians undermined God s role as judge, but they have failed in their evil judgments by ignore Christ s command to love one s neighbor, as we will see in a few verses. While there are multiple ways that we could apply this passage to our lives, one of the clearest ways that we as a church can apply this passage is related to our mission in this community. We must not, in fact, if we want to remain a Christian church, we cannot, discriminate against people on the basis of their outward appearance. We cannot become judges with evil thoughts toward other people and still hold on to our faith in Christ Jesus. As we think about our mission in this community, that is, our call to glorify God by making disciples of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, we must not look with judgment at anyone, rich or poor, black or white, smart or simple, blue-collar or white-collar, tattooed or nottattooed, blue jeans or three-piece suits, strong or weak, attractive or unattractive, dirty or clean, we must not show partiality and treat people different because we do not feel like we have anything to gain from their presence in our midst. 2

3 Let me tell you, if God chooses to fill this church up with the poorest of the poor from our community, I have no doubts that we will lose some people, but I am also equally certain that God will provide for every need that we encounter as a church. God will not bless a church that harbors favoritism and partiality on the basis of what is seen outwardly. A church that practices favoritism cannot rightly hold their faith in Christ, and a church without faith in Christ is no church at all. Faith and Favoritism cannot co-exist in the life of the believer or in the life of the church, but why is this the case? Why is favoritism in the church inconsistent with faith in Christ? James gives two reasons for why faith and favoritism contradict one another The first reason is this: Favoritism is contrary to the very nature of God. Look with me at verses 5-7, where James writes, Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? Based on these verses, to disregard the poor was to be ungodly, for God himself was concerned with those who were poor. As verse 5 states, God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. This verse hearkens back to Jesus instruction in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, where Jesus stated plainly, Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. God has intentionally chosen those who are regarded as poor in the world to inherit His kingdom. To be clear, though, it is not as if poverty saves a person. Note what James says, He has promised the kingdom to those who love him. So, poverty does not save a person. Instead, faith in Christ that works itself out in love results in salvation. Furthermore, we must realize that James is speaking into his specific historical context in which it was typically the wealth members of society who were opposing the Christian church, especially in the Jewish community. His instruction does not mean that all rich people are condemned or are beyond the grace of God. There is clear evidence that wealthy people in the first century were followers of Christ. It was not inherently evil for a person to be wealthy. The evil related to wealth was rooted in a person s love of wealth and riches. Not necessarily their possession of the wealth. Though, we need to be clear, there are ample warnings aimed at people who are wealthy. Now, if you are tempted to think, well, I m not wealthy. I m not rich. I m more likely to be the poor man in the congregation than the rich man. You need to be aware that we live very insulated lives in America. Most of us have no real idea what the rest of the world lives like, but to give you an idea, consider this: If you only made $15,000 last year, you are still richer than 92% of the rest of the world. That s right. If you made $15,000 last year, you are in the top 10% of the wealthiest people in the world in terms of yearly income. 3

4 So, that means that wealth is relative and most of us in this room are wealthier than people in other parts of the world could ever imagine. And there is no need to feel guilty about possessing such wealth as long as we understand that God has granted it to us that we might be a blessing to others. That we might not show favoritism. That we might not show partiality to the people who are like us. But rather that we would use the wealth that comes from God to show mercy to those in need, just like our God did with us. It is the nature of our God to shower his blessings of grace on those who do not deserve it. God has chosen to show mercy and grace to the poor of the world, and if we would be like our God, that is, if we would be godly, then we too would show mercy to those who are in need. This brings us to the second reason that Faith and Favoritism contradict each other and cannot co-exist in the believe or in the church Favoritism breaks the Law of Christ. Look at the verses that remain in our passage. James says, If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. As followers of Christ, we have been called to obey His law. Christ s summarizes His law in the two great commandments, which we saw two weeks ago in Luke 10: love the Lord with the entirety of your being and love your neighbor as yourself. Here in James, the focus is on loving one s neighbor, which his audience seems to believe that they are already doing, but James calls their bluff. While they may claim to love their neighbor, they are showing partiality. They are showing favoritism to the rich in their assemblies. How could they claim to be fulfilling the command to love their neighbor while disregarding and dishonoring the poor in their midst? James teaches them that if they have broken one aspect of the law, then they are guilty of breaking all aspects of the law. They could not isolate the command to love their neighbor from their obligation to care for the poor in their midst. James calls for some consistency. Yet, it is as if his audience is saying, Well, James look, I know we showed partiality to the wealthy man, but it is not like we killed someone. It s not like we are committing adultery. James, there are worse things that we could be guilty of. But James will not endure their excuses. They are pulling at the threads of a seamless garment. For, as they attempt to remove the string that pertains to honoring the poor, as they pull at it, the whole garment of the law of liberty begins to pull apart. James point is that regardless of whether they have killed a man, or they have committed adultery or they have dishonored the poor, they are guilty of breaking the law of Christ and they will be held accountable if they do not repent of their sin, face the consequences of their sin, and ask God to forgive them. 4

5 And to draw the argument to a stinging close, James states plainly that those who do not show mercy should not expect to receive mercy in the final judgment. In other words, as Ralph Martin writes, Those who fail to demonstrate a living and consistent faith are in danger of facing harsh judgment at the end, for they live as though ethical issues were of no consequence. To modernize James words for us this morning, if you are not a merciful person toward others, you should not expect God to be merciful with you. Now, some will hear this and think, Does this mean that I must be merciful in order to receive mercy? Are you saying that I have work for God s mercy by being merciful myself? No. This verse do not mean that you will receive mercy if you are merciful person. Instead it means that those who have already received mercy from God will already be showing mercy to others. Thus, our merciful actions toward others are predicated upon our reception of God s mercy. However, those who do not show mercy should assume that they have not yet received God s mercy in this life. So, this final verse sounds a word of warning and a word of hope for us. It s a word of warning to those who are not merciful. If you are not a merciful person, it is because you have not yet received God s mercy. And if you have not received God s mercy in this life, then you should not expect to receive it when you stand before Him in judgment for your rebellion and dishonorable actions toward others in this life. If, however, you have received mercy in this life and you find yourself to be a merciful person because of God s work in your heart, then you can be confidant that on that final day, the mercy of God will triumph over judgment in your life and you will enter eternal life. Thus, these final verses show that while favoritism is contrary to faith because it breaks the law of Christ, the royal law, those who keep the royal law, that is, those who obey Christ by faith, they can be confident that they truly received the grace of God. Conclusion So, what about you? Are you holding faith in Christ with partiality? Are you attempting to maintain faith and favoritism? James would tell you that this is an impossible endeavor. You cannot persist in faith in Christ while treating others with favoritism. Such faith is a dead faith, because it does not reflect that life of God as active in your life. So, again I ask, how are you following the Royal Law of Christ? How would you treat the poor man or woman that enters into this building? Would you judge them by their appearance? Would you be ashamed of their presence? Your answer to that question says a lot about how you hold your faith in Christ Jesus, the Lord of God. If your understanding of faith in Christ allows you to treat people with partiality, then your faith is not in keeping with the character of God nor is it in obedience to the Royal Law of Christ. We cannot claim to trust in Christ while refusing to show the mercy of Christ to others. We cannot claim to obey Christ while neglecting to care for others who are in need. As James has so clearly told us, A life without mercy indicates a life that will be judged without mercy. 5

6 For the sake of your eternal soul and obedience to Christ, I, with James, urge you to show no partiality as you hold the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Love your neighbors as you love yourself without partiality. And when you are tempted to ask, How could I possible do this? How could I possibly fulfill this call? Remember the type of people that God has chosen in this world. Not many wise. Not many rich. Not many powerful. He has chosen the weak in this world. Do not boast in yourself. Do not think highly of yourself. Do not think that you were chosen by God because of all your potential. He chose you as a weak vessel in order that in your weakness, His power might be seen as great. When we wandered into his assembly, he did not look upon us with dishonor, but with grace, and welcomed us, just as we are to do with others. 6