James 2:1-13

MPS: Christ is the standard and Christ is the savior of every sinner and every sin

Prayer: Jesus, you are the glorious judge and savior of all people. Forgive us because we are guilty of casting judgements everyday of your people- ourselves and others. We falsely value every kind off person based off their looks, age, money, style, popularity, “cool factor” or whatever. And God, we are such terrible and unfair judges. We are cruel, merciless, blasphemous, foolish and shallow. Please gives each and every hearer conviction and clarity into how we sit as evil judges of ourselves and others. Please make us to be more like you, to rejoice in your law and to live and love by it. Jesus, feed us and free us. Help us find everything we need in you.

Intro: Faith Works

Hello. I’m Pastor Taylor

Guests

Members

Celebrate 5 months as a church

diversity of ages, languages, backgrounds, interests, singles, married couples, widows

Faith works. Last week to this week

What did Jesus talk about the most?

“The kingdom of God” or “kingdom of Heaven.” Over 100 times he says things like, “The kingdom of God is like….”

The introduction of Matthew says that Jesus went proclaiming the Kingdom of heaven is at hand and teaching us what it is like.

He says things like, the kingdom of heaven is like a seed, like a tree, like a field, like…like… like…

What do you imagine God’s kingdom to be like? what differences are there in his kingdom than the world? What will change? What will exist and what will not exist?

That’s what we are talking about today.

that in the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, the Kingdom of Christ, there is no partiality.

[READ v2:1]

Define Partiality.

Favoritism.

When i think of partiality, I think of the root “Part.”

Greater parts and lesser parts. I am partial to sweet food. I love pastries of all kinds with a larger part of my heart than i do vegetables. Thats a fact. I give more attention, affection and thought to danishes than radishes.

We are all like this. We have preferences, favorites, and we are all partial.

Did you know children learn to eat food based off of colors?

As toddlers they learn that fats, proteins, sugars and carbs are all whites, yellows and browns

cheese, bread, cookies, crackers, ice cream, bananas, are all white and brown.

So anything green, anything orange, anything purple on the plate is given less attention.

(all the vitamins and plant fibers and things for holistic growth are dismissed)

the problem is not if we show partiality towards certain foods, activities or experiences,

The problem is when we show partiality towards people.

when we give more attention to certain kinds of people in our lives and not others

when we give more energy to certain people than others

when we give more grace to certain people than others

when we give more patience to certain people than others

Ultimately partiality is having unbalance. Giving more love to one kind of person than to another kind of person.

(uneven scale)

Favor with some, unfair to others

It’s unfair and it’s unlike God.

We all have a plate of people that God puts before us each day. And we engage with them like toddlers do their food:

Many people we don’t even notice,

or we make an effort to ignore

Many people we are quick to listen to

others we are quick to speak over

Some people we are quick to admire and want them to like us

others who want to be our friends we show no interest in

Some people we speak in a nice tone to and we flatter

while others we are short and harsh with our words

Partiality. It’s ugly.

It’s in every heart.

Which means its in every family. Inside of every family dynamic.

Its in every workspace, classroom, friend group, every human to human experience, even as we walk past people on the street or drive next to them on the highway.

It’s present in every church.

We need to be curious as to why we do this.

We are all partial. We are just partial in different ways.

toddlers make their judgements off of colors. How do you make yours?

Color of skin?

Age?

the clothes they wear

their weight or body type

popularity

personality

They way their car looks

big tires, little tires, lifted, low rider, smoke stack or EV.

etc. etc. etc. It’s impressive how we decide the love that we will distribute to one person over another.

As a church we want to make outsiders insiders, not just talk about it

I want us to love others as christ loved us and calls us to love

I want you to find freedom from anger, division in life. Especially as elections are coming up.

Love people as Christ loves us. That is the goal of the church.

How?

Christ is the standard and Christ is the savior of every sinner and every sin

P1: Christ is the standard and the savior

[READ v2:1]

1. “Hold the faith”

“hold”- Recipients holding and clinging some treasure that has been given to us

Every christian in this room. Every member of God’s kingdom- you are a recipient.

What you hold was given to you because you realized that what you once held was worthless and you came to the cross with empty hands

What?

Yes, you are a recipient.

We have all these signs up and down every I-80 exit ramp that say, “no panhandling”

picture that person

empty hands saying, I have nothing.

I make all kinds of judgements about those brothers and sisters and always feel conflicted and unsure of what to do

But that is me

And that is you

We are each panhandler, we are each beggars.

We are recipients

and it is the first dose of the cure to partiality

do not see yourself as different

we are poor and empty handed on our own. Until God gave us christ and his kingdom.

we are a homeless, wandering child apart from God calling us to himself and adopting us in Christ

we are a story of bad decisions and foolishness until the wisdom of God began to shine in our lives

Are you realizing that everything you have tried to hold is worthless, or like sand and water?

Come and receive christ today. He offers himself to you in love.

We are each empty handed without Christ

1st step- humble yourself. Be realistic with your situation. Be sober. judge yourself

2nd step, behold what you hold

2. “The Lord Jesus Christ”

“…faith in”- The object of our faith

Our treasure.

The Lord

God

He saw you and gave himself to you

Christ

A savior. crucified for us.

clean us of our sins, pay our debts, fill our hands and give us a home

Jesus did not take a quick glance at you and say, nahhh not my type. he saw you with all your imperfections, knowing all your story, seeing you for who you are and he went up to you, he called your name, he smiled at you, he introduced himself, and he said, “welcome friend, welcome brother, welcome sister, welcome child.”

Behold what you hold

A man and God who showed no partiality in his love

“the Lord of glory.”

Glory

Weight

In the old days, weight was how you valued something.

scales

the British currency is still called pounds. It is their currency and also a measurement of weight

the Jews used the shekel for both weights and currency

To weigh something is to assign it value.

this is worth $15 lbs.

Jesus is the Lord of glory

He is the Lord of all weight, all value.

In other words, he is the standard

He is the weight by which we are measureed.

And we all come up short. very short. Where the scale hits the ground.

Why is this important?

We all have standards for the values we give to people

What is your standard for people?

Who is your standard when you weigh the value of a person?

You weigh the scenario and say, “hmmm… is this a person i want to..

want to say hello to

want to be friends with

want to pray for

want to stop and have a conversation with

want to stop what your doing and pray for or tell them about Jesus

want to invite to church?”

Who is your standard?

yourself? a celebrity? or Jesus?

Christ.

Christ is the standard and the savior

1st step- humble yourself. Be realistic with your situation. Be sober. judge yourself

2nd step, behold what you hold

There is the same savior, and the same payment for you as for any and all other people.

Objections! “we just need to tolerate.”

False. God says, be holy as I am holy. Love as I have loved.

The call is not to tolerate, the call is to love your enemies and call them friends

Consider Christ. He did not merely tolerate, he loved them, sought them out and spent time and energy and love on them, while the proud stood back and said, what is this guy doing spending time with Cripples, lepers, beggars, Samartian women, adulteress women, Romans, tax collectors and drunkards.

The standard is not tolerance

The standard is Christ Jesus.

The only way to be freed from partiality,

is to hold and behold the king of Glory, making Jesus the standard, not yourself

And to behold the Savior, your savior, who loves you despite all your flaws.

You need grace, and you have been given a gracious savior

You need acceptance, and you have been accepted in Christ

Christ is the standard and the savior

P2: Christ is the savior of every sinner

[READ vv2:2-8]

1. Real examples then:

assembly- Sunday gathering, Community groups, etc.

“filter coffee, not people.”

Rich- financially rich, spiritually poor

poor- financially humble, spiritually needy

“blessed are the poor in spirit”

Money cannot buy what God gives freely

In christ, the rich have nothing and the poor have everything.

Favoritism with sinners:

Treating the rich with favor. ie: a good seat, a platform to speak, a better defense or more opportunities

2. Real examples now:

dress

age

background

3. The problem:

1. I’m the judge (v4)

We wrongly sit as judges

(have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges …)

“I’m the standard.”

“If everyone was more like me…”

“If people would just….”

2. I’m and Evil judge (v4)

3 evil things when we pretend to be the judge and the standard:

a. we dishonor God’s ways (v5)

has not God chosen??…

God chose wrong.

(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? )

b. We dishonor God’s people (v5)

 (But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?)

c. We dishonor God’s name (v6)

(Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?)

James is not condemning the rich and showing favor to the poor, he is pointing out the facts:

-putting hope in people over God.

4.  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.

2 If/then statements

If you show no partiality and treat others equal to yourself, then you honor God

If you show favoritism and partiality, you sin against God and condemn yourself

Consider Jesus’ interactions.

Cripples, lepers, beggars, samartian women, adulteress women, gentile men, tax collectors and drunkards.

How? complete impartiality.

Because he knew, he was the standard and the savior.

He came to serve, heal and die for every kind of sinner.

Whoever you are, Jesus has died for you. Receive him and you are accepted by God.

There is no partiality towards yu, or anyone else, just the free gift of God’s grace.

Christians, Go therefor and do likewise.

who are the people you dish out lesser parts of grace to? or none at all?

Your job- identify them, and pray for them. Let God change your heart.

Christ is the savior of every sinner

You say, it’s not people, it’s their actions.

Christ is the savior of every sin

[READ vv2:9-13]

1. Sin is sin

(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.)

Favoritism with sin:

not being, thinking or acting differently than the world. God’s kingdom is upside down.

Showing favor to youth

Showing favor to wealth

showing favor to popularity

showing interest in people based off of worldly measurements

Holding special condemnation for sexually impure:

homosexuality over heterosexual sin, gluttony, envy, etc.

2. act us the judged, not the judge

(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.

3. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Praise God his mercy has triumphed over the judgement I deserve!

go therefore and do likewise

Conclusion:

a

b

c Helping Everyone Find Everything in Jesus

Communion:

Christ is the standard

Christ is the savior

Every sinner

Every sin

Bring nothing to the table. Everyone shows up with the same, their sin, not their signature.