Christian Partiality

Good morning children of God! I have always found it interesting when people form cliques within the church. Now, I get it. There are some people we gravitate toward; similar interests, likes, dislikes, etc. Those two words on the screen should never be put together in a sentence or practiced as they go against the very teachings and nature of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the book of Acts, Peter gives us a reminder about the nature of God. Now, you may not be God, but we are each called to take on the very nature of Christ who is God. In Acts 10:34, the Apostle Peter learned a hard lesson and he shares it with us:

Acts 10:34 NLT

34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.

God does not care what you look like, what your position may be, what title you may hold, how much is in your bank account, or what you drive or don't drive. Our LORD cares about your heart, your soul, and your eternal life with Him.

As we continue in the book of James, we find that they faced similar issues in the early church that we face today. People showing partiality and favoritism. Now, it goes without saying that not everybody is going to be the best of friends, I mean Jesus had three people in His inner circle, The sons of thunder (James and John) and Peter. You ever wonder why there were three in His inner circle? It was not because he was showing them favor. Jesus treated them all with the same love and dignity. It is because Jesus shunned popularity. We must be careful of showing partiality toward some people because it alienates other people. We have all seen it, and some of us have been part of showing partiality or favoritism. Let’s look at James 2:1

James 2:1 NLT

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?

Right off the rip, James nails it. Recall that James is the half- brother of Jesus, head of the church at Jerusalem, and known throughout the world at the time. He refers to every believer to ever read this letter “My dear brother and sister.” James relinquishes any and all titles for himself or his status by including himself with everybody else. Now, can I tell you that I am honored and humbled that you choose to call me Pastor. It is a title I never thought I would have, sometimes I am still not sure I want it, and I know I do not deserve it. But know this, the titles of child of God and brother in Christ means more to me than any position or title that could ever be put in front of my name.

James goes on to say “how can you claim to have faith in our Lord if you favor some people over others?” We are all His children and we are all covered by the same blood of the perfect Lamb. Of all the people on earth, the very people who should not show partiality are believers. Everyone who places there faith in Jesus Christ bows before the same Lord of Glory! No one is higher than another and no one is more acceptable than another. James gives us a powerful example.

James 2:2 NLT

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.

James 2:3 NLT

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,

This is a picture of two extremes. The very wealthy and the poor smelly beggar. The super popular person and the quiet loner. The educated and uneducated. The person who thinks they are better than others and the person who knows they are not. If partiality or favoritism is shown in even the most extreme cases, then we have failed brothers and sisters and we are not representing Jesus Christ, whose arms were stretched out on that cross for all people.

James 2:4 NLT

4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?

Evil motives. This immediately caused me to reflect. What judgments drive my thoughts and heart? It is easy to say “God drives all I do!” Really? I have yet to meet a believer who can honestly claim that they follow God in all things. That is something we say when we don't want to look bad in front of other believers. Let’s be honest with ourselves. The truth is I know there are times when my words and actions are far from Christ like. What motives drive you in how you treat people? What are your motives in certain relationships? Are you showing partiality?

See, that partiality can go either way. James is not saying that the rich are not saved. I know some very wealthy believers, and they love the LORD. I also know people who are not wealthy, but suffer from “wealth envy.” These people are jealous and envious of those who have done well financially. So much so that they will bash a brother or sister, who is wealthy, just because they have money. Like Pastor Paul said before, it is not the money or lack of money, it is the heart of the believer that matters. Money in and of itself is not evil.

You can be rich and have evil motives, you can be middle class and have evil motives, and you can be poor and have evil motives. Everybody on this planet, you and me included, have had evil motives at some point. So many of us still struggle at times with thoughts and behaviors that do not align with our Savior. I know that because the word of God tells me we struggle.

The way we behave toward people indicates what we really believe about God! We cannot separate human relationships from divine fellowship. 1 John 4:20

1 John 4:20 NLT

20 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?

This is a representation of our Spiritual health. When we show partiality based on money, race, position, education, popularity, gender, or what a person looks like, we are putting ourselves in the judgement seat of God. We may not realize it, but in our hearts we are deciding who is worthy to worship God and who is not worthy to worship God. Who is acceptable to God, and who is not acceptable. It is God alone, brothers and sisters, who makes that determination.

James 2:5–6 NLT

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?

At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ said “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” James uses the same word found in the Greek that Jesus used for “poor.” The word ptochos (ptoe-koss), in the first century came to mean “those who put their trust in God and not in the hope for material wealth.” Now, we do see wealthy secular organizations dragging believers through court who stand up for their faith in Christ. Don’t be shocked, Jesus told us this would happen. The more important question is “What are you chasing this morning?” Are you chasing after the heart of God, placing our trust in Him, or are we chasing after the world and forgetting what is revealed to us in Christ Jesus? Are we fooling ourselves into thinking that we are doing a good work for Christ when we are actually pushing people away from Christ?

I can tell you, what we see far more often than rich people dragging believers through the ringer is believers who compromise their relationship with God in pursuit of worldly desires, wanting to be right, allowing pride and ego to lead instead of Holy Spirit doing the leading. What I mean is that we can not claim to be rich in faith when we are treating others in a way that is not representative of Christ. When we treat certain types or groups of people in a hateful way, when we are dominated by human emotion, we are trying to drag those people through the courts of God. We are asking God to judge on what we think and what we think we know about that persons heart. Or worse, again, we are elevating ourselves into the judgement seat of God.

James 2:10–11 NLT

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.

You want to get in trouble with other believers? Talk about or study these two verses when a brother or sister is pointing out how bad another believer sins. As we have seen in James, showing partiality itself is a sin and makes a person guilty of the whole law of God. James is saying that we do not get to pick and choose which of God’s laws we follow. We either follow God’s law or we do not follow God. Now, I can already here it “Bob, that sound like legalism! What about Grace!” STOP IT! I am not saying that we fall under the Old covenant and that we have to observe the 613 laws of Moses. Having been reborn in him, drinking from the cup of the New Covenant, we are to observe and put into practice the two commandments that Jesus Gave us!

Mark 12:30–31 NLT

30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Like John said, If you love God, you must love others without partiality. Jesus tore the walls of partiality and favoritism down! He TORE THE VEIL! If we love the LORD, we are going to treat others in the way that God, the Moral law giver, commands us to treat others. If we show favor to some while shunning others, we are violating the commandment that tells us to “love our neighbor as ourselves.” Let me say real quick here that if you are one of the people who say “I don't love myself so I do not need to love my neighbor, learn to love yourself as Christ loves you.” You are loved enough that he met a criminals death so that you could know His agape love and be free.

If you are showing partiality or favoritism,If you think you have a good argument to present to God, go for it. Can I just say though, that according to His Word, you are not going to win the argument with God.

We are going to take communion today. I want everyone to listen close to me first. If you have hatred in your heart this morning toward a person or a group of people, bring it to the LORD. Ask Him to heal you. If you are harboring anger or unforgiveness this morning, bring it to your heavenly Father so that healing and restoration can take place. If you are withholding love from someone as a way of punishing them, go to the cross. Taking communion is serious. Jesus was showing us a representation of His ultimate sacrifice that does not recognize partiality or favoritism.

Communion

The LORD’s Supper. Communion. It was while Jesus and the disciples were eating the Passover meal that Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper. The sacrificial lamb used at meals throughout the Old Testament has always been a picture of Christ, the perfect Lamb of God. Why did He not use the lamb to represent his body? That is what it represented. So why, why the bread and not the lamb? Jesus used bread to signify that there would never again be a need for a sacrifice, as He was the final and perfect sacrifice.

Matthew 26:26 NLT

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”

By taking the bread into His Hands, Jesus was indicating that His death was a voluntary act. His destiny was in His hands.

By giving thanks, Christ was offering praise for a life of provision that came from God for all believers.

When He broke the bread, He was saying that His body would be broken and sacrificed as a victim for our deliverance and your salvation.

By giving the bread and saying “Take, eat, this is my body,” Jesus was saying that He is to be received into our lives.

Matthew 26:28 NLT

28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

When Jesus took the cup into His hands, he was again teaching that His death was voluntary.

When Christ gave thanks, He was expressing praise and appreciation that His sacrifice meant salvation for you.

When Jesus said “Drink from the cup,” He was telling us that He must become part of our very being.

Elements

His blood is the price He paid to bring us into a New Covenant relationship with God. A right relationship with God. Through Him, a perfect relationship. He poured His blood out for the forgiveness of sin of all who place their faith in Him. Forgiveness of all sin. Past, present, and future. No partiality, no favoritism, open to all who would receive him.

Will you take of the bread of Christ, His body that He laid down for you? Will you dip into the New Covenant promise that He made, His blood poured out for you? Will you come this morning?