God's Impartiality
Book of James • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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What is Your Attitude? James 2:1
What is Your Attitude? James 2:1
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
James, the half brother of Jesus and he lived with his humanity and he is calling Him the Lord of Glory or God!
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,
God’s justice means
He administers his law fairly,
not showing favoritism or partiality.
Only a person’s acts,
not his or her station in life,
are considered in the assignment of consequences or rewards.
God expects His followers to emulate His righteousness and justice.
We are to adopt as our standard His law and precepts.
We are to treat others fairly and justly because that is what God himself does.
Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the Lord God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
What is Your Motive?
What is Your Motive?
Rings showed power and wealth
there were even places where you could rent rings to appear wealthy at a party.
Modern day examples would include
speaking to the well dressed wealthy visitors while ignoring the visitors who appear poor.
Poor man describes a beggar
The poor man's treatment is at the heart of this section
The evil thoughts need transformed Rom 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Concerned over outward appearance instead of the inward person
Are you Entertaining Jesus?
“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
God sees the inside of the individual
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
The Motivation is SELFISH!
The Motivation is SELFISH!
Selfish because this is based using the wealthy individual to benefit us
Evil thoughts of partiality
Holy obedience puts to shame all natural and selfish desires. It mortifies our lower nature and makes it obey the Spirit and our fellow men.
Francis of Assisi
What is Your Thinking? James 2:5-7
What is Your Thinking? James 2:5-7
God has blessed the poor
Jesus came into poverty
Born to a carpenter
2 Cor 5:21 He Became Poor
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
"There is nothing that men dread more than poverty.
They will break every commandment... rather than be poor.
But it is God's chosen lot.
He had one opportunity only of living our life, and He choose to be born of parents too poor to present more than two doves at His presentation at the temple. F. B. Meyer
God has not only chose the poor
1 cor 1:26
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.
God's first call has gone out to the weak and poor of this world,
but He also calls the wealthy and the mighty,
yet his first call is to the humble and the poor.
He is not calling us to show partiality against the rich.
Drag you to courts - They often oppress the poor because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
What is Your Choice?
What is Your Choice?
James 2:8-9
Royal Law - to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself
James anticipated the question of it being apart of the law to be nice to the rich also.
James is saying to NOT give preference to the rich which breaks the Commandment of the Royal Law.
Do You Follow the Law of Christ?
What is Your Preference? James 2:10-13
What is Your Preference? James 2:10-13
The Law shows our need for the Savior
It does not save; it brings us to the Saviour. It is not the way of salvation; its purpose is to show us our need of salvation, and to give us some indication of how it is going to come.
The Law: Its Functions and Limits, 169
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
You choose which law you will be judged by
Do you pick and choose which Scriptures to follow?
Vs12
The law of liberty -
it is both liberty and law meaning
God gave us a standard by which we are to live.
The commandments of Jesus and to live a holy life.
All of the Believers will appear before the Judgement seat of Christ.
VS 13
We should always show mercy to everyone by refraining from partiality.
We will need the mercy at the judgement seat.
“For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
We have a tendency to show a small measure of mercy while expecting the full measure of mercy at the judgement seat of Christ.
Mercy will triumph over Judgement.
There is a new start in Jesus!