Partiality
Notes
Transcript
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My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 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? 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?
what is partiality?
Why were the people James is writing to tempted to be partial?
what would be the difference between sitting and standing in a certain place?
what does it mean that James 2:5 “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?” ?
why does James bring up the fact that the rich are the ones abusing them?
what does the theme of judgment mean running through this passage?
Partiality - προσωπολημψία
Every other occurence of this word refers to God’s impartiality
Romans 2:11 “For God shows no partiality.”
Ephesians 6:9 “Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.”
Colossians 3:25 “For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.”
to what standard of impartiality is James calling his audience to?
What is the Law all about?
What is the Law all about?
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.
how do we fulfill the law?
are/can Christians fulfill the law?
what do you think the “law of liberty” means?
what about the Torah forbade partiality?
Since in the LXX and the NT “law” (nomos) only very rarely refers to an individual commandment, it is unlikely that “the royal law” (2:8) is the commandment to love the neighbor (Lev 19:18b) as one commandment among others (and “royal” as sovereign over the others). It must be understood as the commandment which summarizes the whole law (cf. Matt 22:40; Rom 13:8–10 [note that Paul, like James, instances commandments from the second table of the Decalogue]; Gal 5:14; Sipra Lev 19:18). The law is “royal” in that it pertains to the kingdom (2:5), and perhaps as interpreted by Jesus (with emphasis on the love commandment) in his preaching of the kingdom. James’s point is that the law is a whole, summed up in Lev 19:18b, in which the prohibition of partiality is a necessary part. One cannot love one’s neighbor while dishonoring the poor. One cannot pick and choose which commandments to obey and to be judged by.
Richard Bauckham, “James,” in Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible, ed. James D. G. Dunn and John W. Rogerson (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), 1487.
Two proverbs, Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful and Mercy triumphs over judgment, perhaps coming from Jesus himself, close the section and make a bridge to the next. The OT clearly teaches that God is a God of mercy (Dt. 4:31) and that he commands his people to act in the same way (Mi. 6:8; Zc. 7:9). Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy’ (Mt. 5:7). He also said, ‘In the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you’ (Mt. 7:2). Therefore in not being merciful to the poor they are heaping up strict judgment for themselves. They are not showing mercy in the worldly sphere; they will not receive mercy in the eternal sphere. That mercy triumphs over judgment is also the teaching of Jesus (Mt. 6:14–15; 18:21–35). By showing mercy to others now (which means exhibiting the character of God) they will discover that their own judgment has been reduced. Their cause is not hopeless nor is there any need for them to pile up their own judgment.
Peter H. Davids, “James,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1360.
Memory Verse
Memory Verse
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.