Prejudice

INTRODUCTION

When we began this series last week, I talked about the practical and straightforward teachings in the Book of James.

Last week we started the series with a practical message about living out the message.

As we spend time together in James, we will examine ways to live out the faith we proclaim.

One of the things we tend to do in life is to overlook areas of weakness in our faith when the area of weakness is a societal norm.

Have you noticed that there are inconsistencies in our faith that we really do not give much thought to?

We understand big ones like, murder, stealing, etc...

Other inconsistencies in our walk are a little more subtle.

On the surface, they do not seem to cause much harm; they usually are the ones that do not get much thought.

James, of all people, would not speak on a subject that was not an issue.

James moves from a focus on faith in action to teachings on prejudice.

The subject at hand is one way we can either live out the message or not live out the message.

Prejudice is nothing new; it has happened as long as we have been on the planet.

One would think of all people, this would not be an issue for Christians, but it is.

Throughout history, the issue we will cover today has existed in various forms, from favoritism within a family, like the case of Joseph, and Jacob and Esau, to discrimination based on economic divisions, to out-and-out racism.

Racism was not invented in America; it has existed since the fall.

As incredible as it may sound, professing Christians took part in the injustice of slavery, and to this day, there are people, including professing Christians, who struggle with prejudice.

The dictionary defines prejudice as an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.

Biblically the flavor of the word is close to the same; it would include showing favoritism, which includes treating one person better than another or giving favor to one group at the expense of another.

The big idea for today's message is that true religion (faith) does not show prejudice toward others.

Let's turn to James 2, we will begin in verses 1-4.

Today we will examine three reasons why there should be no room for prejudice toward others in the life of a follower of Jesus.

James 2:1–4 (NET 2nd ed.)

1 My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

2 For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes,

3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”?

4 If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?

SERMON

I. Prejudice dishonors people.

James dives right into the problem at hand in verse 1.

He tells us that if we possess faith in Jesus, we are not to show prejudice toward others.

The command to not practice prejudice is rooted in the depth of our faith.

James appeals to a single fact that holds us together.

It is our faith in Jesus.

We are told that as we possess our faith, we are to listen to this command.

In the direct context of the passage, James speaks of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The church struggled with the Jew versus Gentile issue in the beginning, but apparently, they also struggled with rich versus poor.

The term "prejudice" or "partiality" (προσωπολημψία, prosōpolēmpsia) comes from the Greek root for "face" (πρόσωπον, prosōpon).

Prejudice, favoritism, is judging others based on appearance, that is, at face value.

It reflects the Hebrew idiom "to lift up the face," that is, to show favor to someone.

James & Jude (A. Favoritism (2:1–7))

Partiality, that is, judging appearance instead of the heart, is directly contrary to the character of God

Gary Holloway, James & Jude, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub., 1996), Jas 2:1.

Deuteronomy 10:17–18 (NET 2nd ed.)

17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,

18 who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.

Having faith in Jesus means we are called to do the same.

Luke 4:18 (NET 2nd ed.)

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,

The church was doing the opposite.

James saw them as giving preferential treatment to the wealthy, therefore being prejudiced toward the poor.

One of the many reasons prejudice is so insidious is that it dishonors people who God loves and wants to be saved.

Leviticus 19:15 (NET 2nd ed.)

15 “ ‘You must not deal unjustly in judgment: You must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly.

We will not judge or treat others well when we are prejudiced toward others.

Have you ever had people show prejudice against you?

It is not a good feeling.

When we are prejudiced toward others, we are guilty of judging others by the world's standards, not God's!

The phrase

James & Jude (A. Favoritism (2:1–7))

The phrase, “discriminated (διακρίνω, diakrinō) among yourselves” points not only to division in the church but to division in the heart; it can be translated, “divided within yourselves.

Favoritism during Jesus' day was a common practice; even Jesus' disciples wanted preferential treatment (Mark 10:35-ff)

Imagine being the person who gets passed by like you are nothing.

Verse 6 reminds us that showing prejudice dishonors the one who we oppress.

James 2:6 (NET 2nd ed.)

6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

We are not to dishonor people because God does not do so.

Jesus died for the person you are prejudiced against.

Let's move to verses 5-9.

James 2:5–9 (NET 2nd ed.)

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

7 Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to?

8 But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators.

II. Prejudice dishonors God.

If you were paying close attention to the first point, this point dovetails right in.

The early church had many poor people, so it was tempting to pay special attention to the wealthy that would come because of the benefits that could come.

We must be careful not to judge people by the world's standards.

The world embraces wealth, fame, and good looks.

The world looks at the external more than what is in a person.

We also need to remember that Galatians 3:28 says that we are all one in Christ.

We have wrong intentions when we show preferences for who we reach with the gospel.

We need to see people as Jesus saw them.

Jesus reached out to all people.

We need to treat each other with equal love and attention.

We are a family, and when there is preferential treatment within a family, it causes all kinds of trouble.

Remember Jacob and Esau?

Remember Joseph and his brothers?

When we show prejudice, we hurt ourselves because we become judges with evil motives; that is something we do not want to become.

We are taking the place of God when we show prejudice because the person we are rejecting is the one God wants to accept!

Jesus' first followers were ordinary people; they were people who were locked into their position in life.

Jesus' message was that this life is not all there is.

He told them they would have a great reward waiting for them in heaven.

When we are financially well off, there is a tendency to forget God and not rely on Him.

We are called to treat everyone equally because to not do so dishonors God, and we make ourselves to be God.

The god who decides who gets to hear the message of salvation, the god who determines how others get treated in the body of Christ.

Verse 6 reminds us that showing prejudice dishonors the one who we oppress.

Some people would rationalize their preferential treatment by saying that they were fulfilling God's law to love your neighbor as yourself.

Our neighbors are more than the people we know; we must love everyone equally.

James says it in plain language, if we show prejudice, we are committing a sin.

The early church was not carrying out the mission that Jesus gave to them in Acts 1:8 to go into the whole world and be His witness.

They felt that Jesus was just for the Jews; it was not until the stoning of Stephen and the following persecution that the church finally got out of Jerusalem.

Then it took Paul and later Peter in Acts 10:34 to take the gospel to all the nations. Peter discovered that there is no prejudice against God.

When we show prejudice to others, we are dishonoring God.

James 2:10–13 (NET 2nd ed.)

10 For the one who obeys 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.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law.

12 Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom.

13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.

III. Prejudice dishonors you.

With the Old Testament Law, if you broke ONE bit of the Law, you broke them all.

That is the point James makes here.

He is not taking us back to the Law but instead is going from a lesser to greater argument.

If one violation of the made you guilty of breaking the entire law, then imagine how God sees it when we show prejudice to others.

In this way, we dishonor ourselves because we would be acting like one who is not saved by the blood of Jesus!

We should judge like we want to be judged.

Matthew 7:1–2 (NET 2nd ed.)

1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.

James & Jude (B. The Royal Law (2:8–13))

No one wants to be judged by a harsh, stringent law but by “the law that gives freedom.”

To James, the true purpose of the law is not to chain the evildoer but to set him free.

The law of Christ gives freedom from sin but also sets one free from selfishness.

It frees from fawning over the rich to gain their influence.

It frees from the oppression from the rich, turning trials into joy.

It frees one to love those who are unlovable by worldly standards.

It frees from the constant competition and self-promotion society takes for granted.

Verse 13 points out the thought that we want to be judged mercifully, so we need to do the same.

CONCLUSION

Favoritism may seem trivial to us, but it is an essential thing for us to guard against.

If we try to win only certain types of people to Christ, we are showing favoritism. God will not bless that type of attitude from us.

If we bring people into the body (the church) and they do not feel loved and accepted, then we will lose them as quickly as we bring them in.

Favoritism is not consistent with the teaching of Jesus; it shows a lack of mercy.

As a Christian, this is one of the many areas where we cannot be like the world.

Let's ensure we love and care for each other without partiality.

Let us make sure that when people walk through our doors, they feel and are shown the love of Christ no matter who they are or what they look like

Let us love people because of our love for Jesus.

As Christians, we have to rid ourselves of prejudice toward anyone.

Application Point: Since we are all created in the image of God, we betray our faith in God when we show partiality within the body of Christ and throughout our lives.