Faith & Favoritism

James 2:1–13 NASB95

1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? 8 If, however, you are fulfilling 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. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

INTRO: Have you heard the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover?”

I have to admit- I sometimes do in fact judge a book by its cover. That is harder to do with all the e-books and such.

But what about people. Do you ever find yourself prematurely passing judgment on someone? There is no place where I see this more than in middle and high school.

Maybe it’s changed, but I remember that you were labeled by what kind of clothes you wore, what kind of car you drove, who your friends were, etc. But that’s public school.

In society, there will always be social distinctions. Some people will get more attention or have advantages over others. You can try to give people the same opportunities, but because people have different gifts, there will always be those who are the rich and those who are poor. There will be those who have paparazzi following them just to get a picture, and those who get cropped out of photos.

However, to show favoritism or partiality in the church poses problems.

We’ve learned in chapter 1 that the temptations and trials of life often reveal the depth of our love and devotion for God. This extends to our actions in ministry which demonstrate both our love of God and our love of neighbor. Chapter 1 ended with the admonishment to keep oneself pure (holy) and minister to those in need. This, James says, is true devotion/ worship.

Chapter 2 continues this theme by addressing practical matters that were evidently present in the lives of James’ readers. It appears that there were a number of professing Christians who really only did the professing part, not so much the practicing part. (1:26)

This is a problem James addresses in depth in this chapter especially. Verse 1 lays out the issue: (READ v.1)

IOW- Salvation is not selective.

You cannot pick and choose when to act Christian or who to act Christianly towards.

You cannot hold both faith in Christ in one hand and worldly attitudes of partiality in the other.

Now before we get into the teaching and explanation here, we need to understand what we are NOT talking about so we can better see what we are talking about.

This is not to say that you cannot have closer relationships with some people than with others.

This is not instruction to give full trust to every person who walks in.

This is not a call to throw out discernment.

Instead, this is a call to authentic Christlike attitudes within the church. And although James addresses the sin of partiality in particular here, I hope you will see that in the greater framework is the plea for the church to resist the temptation to operate like the world.

So, if you have a bulletin, open it up and use the enclosed sermon guide to follow along with me this morning. The sermon is titled, “Faith & Favoritism"

Let’s dive in:

The first part of James argument is:

Favoritism is Contrary to the Gospel (2-5)

(READ 2-4)

It’s not difficult to see the illustration drawn here. Let me see if I can adjust that to our day:

Suppose 2 people walk in to our church. One man came in a nice car- like a brand new Super-Duty. He was dressed nicely and he even put some money in the offering box on his way in. You might even know him. The other rode with Taylor Mackey. His clothing was a bit dirty and his hair a bit of a mess. The sole of his right shoe flopped up and down as he walked in. You know him too.

Now, if you were to greet the first guy, thank him for coming, and offer him the best seat… I guess that would be the back row… while half ignoring the second guy- maybe you say hello and quickly move on; have you not just allowed the value system of the world to influence your actions instead of the Gospel?

You see, we are, in many ways, discipled by our American culture. We have learned to value people or things based upon what others think or what personal benefit we may derive.

This is not a new problem- it was evident that James’ audience also dealt with this temptation. Though this is a hypothetical story, James is addressing the way that these Christians were behaving in their gathered worship. The world crept into the church. James calls these motives evil.

When we look at v. 5, we understand a bit more what he is saying (READ v 5)

God did not choose to come to us in a palace or mansion. Instead, Jesus was born in a stable. His first visitors were not the noble and elite of society, but lowly shepherds. This was a precursor to his life and ministry, for the gospel is for all people regardless of their social status.

The thing is though, that in order to love God with all your heart, wealth is sometimes a stumbling block. Think of the parables of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich young ruler, and about the treasure in the field.

The point of Jesus’ teaching here is that the gospel redefines our value system. James helps us to see that God sees the heart- just like when Samuel went to anoint David to be the king of Israel. The worldly ideals set us up to be idolators or swindlers.

When we show favoritism, we are attempting to rank and score people. The gospel teaches us to see with God’s eyes, for He entered into the brokenness of humanity to demonstrate his love for all people.

Favoritism is Contrary to the Gospel because it is the adoption of worldly values over Godly ones. As we continue through the passage, we see also that:

Favoritism is Consistent with Unbelief (6-11)

(READ 6-8)

Do you believe that you should love your neighbor as yourself?

That sounds like a loaded question, doesn’t it. If we are honest, sometimes we feel like our neighbor doesn’t deserve to be treated as good as we do. But let’s look a little deeper.

v. 6-7 paint a picture of how the hypothetical situation was not only dishonoring to the poor man, but hypocritical even based upon worldly logic.

In the early church era, there were political and social elites who used their influence to make things better for themselves, and oppressive and difficult for those who might be considered middle or lower class. They had the money and status and so they would be able to lend to the poor with high interest rates. Then, when the poor person could not seem to dig out of this hole, they would drag them into court and force them to give up land or freedom.

Further these same elites would mock the Christians for their seemingly odd faith, perhaps even claiming that their religious beliefs were dangerous, radical, or oppressive.

Logically, it would not make sense to suck up to such a person, but how many of you have seen someone swoon over a celebrity? How often do Christians end up treating someone different because they think there is something to gain for them?

Now, this is where we really need to step back and understand the Christian worldview.

James is not saying you should not be kind to a rich person who enters the church - this is not a call to mistreat the rich. He’s not advocating that you should show favoritism to the poor either. Rather he is saying that you should be consistent and treat all people with neighborly love.

His point is that if you show favoritism, then you are ignoring the clear teaching of God’s Word, thus indicating that perhaps you do not truly believe God. Look again at. v.9-11 (READ)

His example might sound extreme, but the point is this: you cannot expect to pick and choose what parts of Christianity you are going to accept. One part of God’s command is just as important as other commands.

ILL: In our world, there are a lot of people who like to sprinkle Christianity in where it’s convenient. They are ‘good people’ as far as many can see. But what James is saying is that your obedience or innocence in one area does not nullify your guilt in another.

If you are arrested for murder and you go to trial and they ask, “What is your defense?” And you plead- Hey! I am a good person! I didn’t cheat on my wife! Does that make you innocent?

Similarly, we must realize that when we let the world dictate our values as Christians, we not only contradict the gospel, but in effect, our actions indicate that we do not truly believe God.

Favoritism is contrary to the gospel and consistent with unbelief. Finally, James demonstrates that:

Favoritism is Conquered by Mercy (12-13)

(READ)

Here we see James appeal for his listeners to remember the Gospel by which they have been saved.

V. 12 reminds us that as Christians, we will be judged by Christ, covered in his righteousness. The law of liberty is his way of telling his audience that we were once prisoners. The law of God demands perfection and our sins testify that we are guilty.

Remember that James’ audience was Jewish Christians. The OT Law was a constant picture of God’s holiness. And, because of their sins, they were like the bulls and sheep that were offered as sacrifices. In Leviticus, these sacrifices are depicted as shackled to the altar and awaiting death.

But in Christ, we have been set free from our sins! Rom. 8:1

Romans 8:1 NASB95

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Because of the mercy shown to us by Christ, so also we are to be merciful to others. When we begin to see others through the loving eyes of Christ, we throw favoritism out the door.

When we understand the depth of God’s mercy and grace towards us, then we reject the worldly standards and extend Christ’s love to others- rich or poor, pretty or not, skinny or not, regardless of education or skin color.

Why? Because mercy triumphs over judgment.

ILL: I am so thankful to have witnessed our church welcoming in those who might otherwise be rejected. Just a few short years ago, a man who was a societal outcast was welcomed into our congregation. I watched several of you go out of your way for him- giving him rides, helping with his finances, caring for him…

He wasn’t easy to love, but if you think about it, none of us are. That sacrificial love is what Christ demonstrated- he gave his life for people like him; people like me.

Listen church, you and I will often be tempted to make this assembly about us. We will be tempted to allow someone who has a bigger bank account to dictate what happens operationally.

We will be tempted to apply societal standards and values instead of godly ones. We’ll be tempted to assemble in clicks and ignore ‘outsiders’ or those who aren’t like us…

But we are Christ’s Church. We exist to bring glory to God through both our character and our ministry.

This morning, I want to extend this invitation to you: If you feel rejected, ignored, or unworthy, there is a place for you here. Jesus has taken your shame upon himself and stands, arms open wide to receive you. You are made in the image of God and thus are inherently and immeasurably valuable.

And I want to issue a challenge to those of you who are members of this congregation: Don’t adopt the world’s standards. Don’t exclude or ignore those who don’t fit your social preferences. Instead, show the love of Christ to them. Walk with them and rejoice as they experience the mercy and victory of Christ.

I want to encourage you this morning, as the Spirit moves in your heart, respond. I’ll be down front and glad to pray with you.

[PRAY]

Discuss: What worldly values do you see that contradict the gospel?

Discuss: What steps can you take to be consistent in your Christian walk?

Discuss: What does the Bible teach us about showing mercy?