Equal in the Kingdom
Notes
Transcript
This morning, I’d like us to start off by listening to an Old Testament passage that reveals a facet of God’s character. The passage comes from Deuteronomy 10 where Moses is instructing the people how they are to live in obedience to the Lord.
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
and verses 17-22
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”
Moses makes clear who we are dealing with. The is the Lord Almighty - none is greater. This is the One to whom we should have a healthy fear.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
If we are going to be knowledgable and wise, if we going to live into the people that our God created us to be, then we must fearfully, with awe and reverence, listen to the One who made us and walk in His way. Just as a little child watches his father and imitates what he or she does, so to must we imitate our heavenly Father.
What do we learn from our Creator in this and other passages? God shows no partiality. He defends the cause of the weak, the oppressed, those who hold no worldly influence or power. If that is who God is - then who are we to be?
This lesson is taught throughout the Bible. This characteristic of God is found in the book of Acts when Peter, a Jew, is sent to the home of Cornelius, a Roman gentile. Acts 10:34-36 “Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
And of course, in Jesus Christ we see the clearest picture of the character of God. Consider his interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. When she approached the well, he asked her for a cup of water. We read in John 4:9, “The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” Jesus intentionally violated social norms of his time to speak to a woman and offer her living water.
The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
This Samaritan woman becomes the first person that Jesus openly reveals himself as Messiah. In that day, in that culture, the fact that the Jewish Messiah first publicly announces who He is, not to a Jewish priest, or Jewish elders, but to a Samaritan woman would have been shocking. Jesus does not show partiality.
Our Lord does not show partiality and as those who believe in Him and follow Him - we are not to practice favoritism either.
Yet showing favoritism is ingrained in us from childhood. How many of you remember gym class when the Phys Ed teacher would tell the team captains to pick their teams. The Phys Ed teacher would always chose the star athletes or most popular kids to pick teams – and that is when we all learned about pecking orders. There would be times when the selection would narrow down between me and watercooler – and they’d chose the watercooler!
But it is true – it is in our nature to show favoritism. I believe it comes down to self-protection and self-promotion, we tend to choose or side with those who we think will benefit us. If I can surround myself with the right people, I will have better opportunities come my way.
That is not the way of God’s Kingdom.
James gives a hypothetical illustration that is probably not too far off from what his church was guilty of doing. Two men come to their meeting – the man with gold rings on his fingers and fine clothes and the man wearing worn out shabby clothes. Those gathered judged by appearance – which man is more likely to strengthen the church, to improve our standing, to increase our influence? And which one is more likely to be a drain on our resources, to need something from us, and who offer nothing in return?
It is impossible to read the book of James and not feel the sting of his instruction. Where do we see favoritism in our church today? Let’s be honest. When we look around - is our church reflective of the make up of Cambridge? And why not? What would we have to change in order to be more in line with the population of Cambridge - since “the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality.”
It is our sinful, human nature to show favoritism. James warns us, commands us, that such thinking goes against God’s character and His will for His church. This is the upside down, inside out, way of the Kingdom of God. Jesus takes the status quo and flips it over – exposing the evil underbelly of our way of thinking. If we are to be obedient to God, we need to hear what He is saying to His church and then do it.
James asks his church, and us, is it not the rich who exploit you? Do they not drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the royal name of Jesus Christ?
One of my Bible commentaries on this passage explains that…
The Wesleyan Bible Commentary, Volume 6: Hebrews–Revelation (B. The Ingratitude of the Rich and Powerful (2:6b–7))
It was the practice of the rich to pull into the courts and prisons those who did not pay them, even when they were so poor as to have to borrow at the creditors’ exorbitant rates in order barely to exist. How could the Church be prejudiced in favor of such mercilessness?
When we look at the imperfect human systems and structures of our fallen world – is there not ample evidence that those with money and power tend to use the systems, regulations, laws, courts and political influence to protect themselves and their property at the expense of those who are poor?
Now to be clear – the Bible is not saying that every rich person is greedy, nor does it say that every poor person is a saint. What it says is “do not show partiality – do not show favoritism.”
Treat everyone equally and in time, it will be revealed to you by their actions and words, where their heart is. But simply going by their outward appearance and status - that will lead to trouble.
Jesus’ Church, His body, is not supposed to operate like the world – it is to be holy.
1 Cor 1:27-29
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.
In the first line of today’s passage, 2:1, James says “My brothers and sisters, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.”
Our Glorious Lord. He calls us to remember who we are following:
Jesus Christ, the Son, being in very nature God, left his position of power over all Creation and became a nobody. He was born in most humble of circumstances. He came to serve those He created. As a child, he and his family were persecuted refugees who fled to Egypt. He belonged to a people who lived under constant oppression from the world power of the day, the Romans. From the time he began his ministry, he was homeless – depending on the hospitality of others. He was ridiculed and mocked by those in positions of authority and he was rejected by the people in his own hometown. He hung out with the wrong crowd, he spent a lot of time with the poor, he made friends with lowlifes, he did not have a dime to his own name. He openly criticized the misuse of power – he flipped the tables and chased out the rich merchants. When those with wealth and influence invited him into their dinner party, they did so to put him in his place – to humiliate him. They denied him the basic customs of courtesy given to every other guest – the washing of his dusty feet when he entered the home. And who honored him? A scandalous woman from town who cleansed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
And we know the rest of the story. He was betrayed by those closest to him. He was falsely accused and arrested of crimes he did not commit. He was beaten and tortured as the mobs called for his execution. He was crucified between two criminals and buried in a borrowed tomb.
And three days later, he defeated death and rose from the grave. He now sits at in the highest position of honor and power. He is our Glorious Lord – that is who we serve.
So it is a mockery of who He is when we, as a church, show favor to those who have money, power and prestige and we fail to invite, welcome, befriend, encourage, and love those who lived like Jesus did – the people he spent the most of his time with.
We must ask ourselves – how can we welcome the those not like us into our church family? How can we make all welcome?
James says “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.”
Church – this is what we must aim for. Imagine what it would be like if no matter who you asked in Cambridge, no matter what neighborhood you were standing in, if you asked the question, “what is your impression of Grace Church?”
What if the answer was “they love everyone like family.”
That is who we must be. Because that is living into God’s character.
Now James also warns us what happens when we do show favoritism. We break God’s law. “But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”
God has given the law to instruct us how we are to live as his people. The same God who said don’t murder also says do not show favoritism. When we do so, and we are made aware of it, then we are to confess and repent – which means to correct your path.
The author of one of my commentaries on James, his name is Scot McKnight, says that “sin is the perverse desire and choice not to do what one knows is good and is an act against God’s will and against relational love and mercy; upon confession and prayer, sin can be forgiven by God.”
James warning to his church – and to us – is that one day we all stand before God in judgment and that judgment will be whether or not we lived as Christ taught us to live – loving others as we love ourselves. We may not have done it perfectly – that is why every Sunday we confess and pray for the forgiveness of our sins – but did we follow His commands – did we grow as disciples. If we did not, if we willfully sinned and went against God’s commands, if we did not confess and change our ways, then we are lawbreakers and will be denied mercy.
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
God’s Word is the law that gives freedom. Jesus himself gives freedom. But it is not enough to hear what He says, we must do it. Jesus did not show favoritism. God commands us not show it either.
Let us take some time and silently kneel before the Lord in prayer. Let us ask the Spirit to examine our hearts and show us where we have been guilty of showing partiality. Let us confess and repent.