The Mercy of a Loving and Impartial God

James 2:1-13

As we continue today in the letter of James to the churches, James changes direction. He has spent the 1st chapter of the letter setting a solid foundation for the principles that should be present in the life of the believer. That we should rejoice in our trials because we know the outcome. That we should not let temptation turn to sin when we are tempted by immoral ways to escape our trials. Finally that we should be quick to run and hear the Word of God taught, slow to speak both in our knowledge of what God’s Word says and when dealing with others as we walk with them through their own trials and temptations, and slow to wrath. That we should not be quick to blame God and get angry at Him, and we should not be quick tempered in our actions and reactions to others.

Psalm 37:8 “8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”

Proverbs 15:1 “1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

That God demonstrates our response to situations and to be slow to wrath in His constant grace and mercy that He shows us daily.

Psalm 86:15 “15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

These principles build the foundation for the letter that James is writing, these are the principles that should be evident in the life of the Christian and James is instructing the early church, as they experience persecution and tribulation within and without the church, how to appropriately respond. James continues in chapter 2 with the details now that the foundation has been laid. The first detail is that caring for the needy is one of the marks of someone that possesses true faith in Christ.

I want to preface this, and will most likely remind us every week as we go through this letter, our actions and our works do not, can not, and never will save us. This is important as it is easy in our humanity to lose sight of this at times and think we must do something in exchange for being saved from sin. Our salvation is the free gift of God’s grace. The early reformers established this and their teachings were later summarized with the 5 Solas of the reformation, or the 5 Only’s. These were all responses to Catholicism, which had added to God’s gift by making requirements to obtain this gift. They turned the free gift of God’s grace into something which must be earned to receive, and this is completely contrary to God’s Word.

These 5 Sola’s became the heartcry of the reformation and the Gospel message proclaimed, that we are saved by:

Sola Gratia - Grace Alone, it is only God’s grace that allows us to be saved. Nothing we can do ourselves.

Romans 11:6 “6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”

Sola Fide - Faith Alone, that it is only through faith in Jesus Christ and His completed work at Calvary that we are given salvation. This faith is given to us by the Holy Spirit when God’s grace is shown to us.

Romans 3:28 “28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”

Solus Christus - Christ Alone, Salvation is by none other than Christ.

Acts 4:12 “12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””

Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone, that Gods Word is an all powerful and living Word and it is only through what is given to us in God’s Word that the Gospel is found. There is nothing more or less needed, than the Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:15–17 “15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Soli Deo Gloria - Only for God’s Glory, that the entire work of salvation is not to raise us up or lift us up before others but it is to glorify God alone and shows His goodness.

Colossians 3:17 “17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

“Ultimately, the five solas are not merely a summary of Reformed theology. They guard and clarify the gospel, mounting a friendly offensive attack on an unbelieving world, transforming Christ’s enemies into His friends. The word alone is important in the solas. Alone secures the God-centered character of the gospel and of the Christian life. The five solas do not say all that needs to be said about true theology, faith, and life, but they are a good start and a clear guide to keep us on the right track.” (Ryan McGraw Ligonier Ministries)

James was a controversial letter with the early reformer Martin Luther because he felt it contradicted Pauls teaching in Romans that we are not saved by works. Instead James lays out the fruit that should be evident in our lives as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, kept for Christ to Salvation, and walk forward in the process of sanctification, or being more like Christ in all we say and do. Works do not save us but they are an outward manifestation of an inward change in our lives.

English Standard Version (Chapter 2)

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

2 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,

3 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,”

4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

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?

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

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

8 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.

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.

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. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

The Deity of Christ (James 2:1-4)

James begins here with the sin of partiality, or showing preference and describing the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must know and understand the majesty of our King, Jesus, as we go through this letter. James says that we must hold faith “IN” Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory. The thing we as Christians should prize the most is our faith in Jesus Christ.

Opening Up James The Poor Are Often Rich in the Very Thing that Christians Prize Most (vv. 1, 5)

Why do Christians so value and esteem the Lord Jesus? It is all here in James’s words.

• We prize Jesus because he is Lord—the sovereign, exalted ruler of the universe.

• We prize Jesus because he is Jesus. This is his human name. Wonder of wonders! The sovereign Lord took our humanity and dwelt among us.

• We prize Jesus because he is Christ. This name refers to his office or function. It means ‘anointed one’, and the Lord Jesus was anointed by God to discharge a threefold office—prophet, priest and king. As prophet, he faithfully declares the truth of God. As priest, he offered himself as the sacrifice for sinners. As king, he rules over his people.

• We prize Jesus because he is the Lord of glory. He is the Lord from glory who perfectly reflects the glory of God and will eventually take his people to share in his glory.

• We prize Jesus because we, by the grace of God, ‘hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ’. Faith is the means God gives by which we apprehend or appropriate who Christ is and what he has done. We know Christ by faith.

Just as God does not show partiality, or discriminate against who He calls to salvation, we are to follow His example and treat all equally as brothers and sisters in Christ. James gives here the example of a rich man and a poor man that walk into the assembly. The historical view in this example would be they were walking into the scene of a church court. This is a picture here of two believers that have a dispute against each other. While James doesn't use the word rich here, the description he gives of the one would indicate his wealth. That he has a gold ring on his finger and he is wearing fine clothes. The translation here would mean shining clothes that had been bleached white. The other comes in wearing shabby or filthy clothes. These clothes are all the man has to wear, and they are dirty and soiled because he has been working in these clothes and sleeping in them.

The man of wealth is offered a seat while the poorer man is told to sit on the floor. This shows from the beginning that this is not a fair trial, and that preference is being shown. Jewish law demanded that both parties of the dispute must sit at the same level or they must stand. Jewish law also demanded that if one person had more wealth they must either dress like the poorer person, or provide garments for the other person to be dressed in the same manner as him. That there must be an equality shown in how the two parties are seen so that judgment in matters might be done fairly. In this situation the difference between the two could cause the church to respond and show favoritism towards the person with wealth and they would then become “judges with evil thoughts.” They would not be following the example of our God who shows no preference or partiality and demands the same from us.

Deuteronomy 10:17 “17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.”

1 Peter 1:17 “17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,”

*aprosópolémptós: not accepting the person, i.e. without respect of persons

The Greek that is translated as impartially is aprosopolemptos. The word is “often used with reference to God’s judgment before which there is no respect of persons.

It is not that the rich are doomed and cannot know God but God chose time and again the poor to be rich in faith. Jesus did not come from the right area of the country, Nazareth was not a respected area. He grew up as a carpenters son learning a trade. He didn’t have the specialized schooling at the synagogue, He began His ministry and traveled with a ragtag mob of people, He had no home to lay His head, yet as James points out at the beginning of the chapter, He was the glory of God made flesh. Jesus lived a life of humbleness and meekness. A life not surrounded by riches and palaces. This is why God told Samuel:

1 Samuel 16:7 “7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.””

The story is told, and whether fact or fiction, makes a very strong point.

Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning.

He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him.

He asked people for change to buy food – no one in the church gave him change.

He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back.

He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.

As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such.

When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation.

“We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek.” The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation.

The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with all eyes on him.

He walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited,

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

‘The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame.

He then said, “Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?”

He then dismissed service until next week.

God does not show favoritism towards anyone regardless of their race, their social standing, their wealth but He judges all the same and rewards all the same. The way we behave towards people indicates what we really believe about God! We cannot – and dare not – separate human relationships from divine fellowship. We should show the love of Jesus to all we come in contact with.

The Grace of God (James 2:5-7)

The emphasis here is on God’s choosing, and His choosing is all only because of His infinite grace. If we had to earn our salvation then none of us would ever achieve salvation, but it is by grace alone that we are given new life in Christ.

Ephesians 1:4–7 “4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Even before the foundations of the World were created, while we were enemies of God, HE CHOSE US as His children. The beauty of the Gospel is that God looked throughout eternity and said, that will be my son, or that will be my daughter. He knew all the filth we would wallow in, He knew the sins we would commit, the blasphemies we would speak, and said I am going to save them. That He gave His own Son to provide salvation for the very people that spit in the face of His holiness with their actions.

James poses 4 questions with affirmative answers here to show why preferential treatment was wrong.

First, Hasn’t God chosen those of you who are poor in the material sense, but are rich in your faith, to inherit the kingdom of God. The promise in verse 5 is that no matter what you possess here on this earth, if you love God, and follow Him with all you have then you will be rich spiritually.

Second, Aren’t the rich in society the ones that drag you to court and oppress, extort, and slander or blaspheme the very name of Jesus? At this time one of the major persecutions of the early church was this very thing. Those in society that had wealth and influence were using it to gain property and possessions from the Christians who could not afford to defend themselves.

Third, aren’t these rich the ones that are dragging you to court to take your possessions?

Fourth, aren’t these the ones that are slandering the name of Jesus before others.

These questions and answers would force the church to recognize that ignoring the poor and favoring the rich made no sense at all. As we said God does not show any type of partiality and neither should the church or the believers within the church. The Gospel was not just for the Jews but was spread to the Gentiles as well. That whether Jew or Gentile God will judge the same for sin (Romans 2:6-16) and give grace the same for salvation. (Romans 10:1-13)

Romans 9:15 “15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.””

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Rich Man, Poor Man (James 2:1–13)

It is possible to be poor in this world and rich in the next, or rich in this world and poor in the next (1 Tim. 6:17–18). Or, you could be poor both in this world and the next, or rich in this world and the next. It all depends on what you do with Christ and the material wealth He has given you. God promises the kingdom to “those that love Him” (James 2:5), not to those who love this world and its riches.

We must show love to our brothers

1 John 4:20 “20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

This is a travesty seen in many churches throughout history and today. That fighting amongst the people of God causes division and strife and destruction. If someone is your brother and sister in Christ, it doesn’t mean we have to agree with them on everything, it doesn’t mean we won’t be hurt by them and possibly experience deep hurt by their words or actions, but it does mean that we must still love them because if we cannot love them then how can we truly love and follow God. Here is the amazing thing about God and how He shows us how we should act.

God looks at the heart of man and sees one of two things. He either sees a dead man that is lost in the bondage of sin and worthy of condemnation and eternal damnation or He sees Christ as our propitiation for our sins. This means that Christ took our punishment on Himself. He who did not sin took all our sin past, present, and future on Himself, so that when God looks at those He has called to salvation, He sees only Christ and not the sins that would damn us to hell for eternity. The entire story of God’s mercy is put this way by Paul Washer, “It is as if in one hand God is holding judgment and damnation and is holding it back until that time of final judgment, while the other hand is reaching out in Love saying come to me.” Gods sacrifice for our sins allows God to remain true to HIs character and provide a way out of our judgement, a way out of our slavery to sin, because He no longer sees our sin and the judgment we deserve but He sees Christs righteousness on us.

I saw this posted online last night and thought it fit to add to this portion of the sermon. Just because you forgive someone doesn’t not mean restored relationship. Just as we will talk about in a minute. Choices do have consequences and sometimes you may need to forgive someone who isn’t asking for forgiveness. It is ok to forgive someone and still keep a boundary in place to prevent further hurt, but if we hold on to anger and un-forgiveness against someone, all it does is build bitterness and resentment in our lives. Christ forgives us of so much, and we must forgive those who have hurt and wronged us, especially if they are our brothers and sisters in the faith, but that does not mean restored relationship and that does not mean consequences are removed from their actions. It is ok to forgive and still keep a boundary of protection in place.

When we look at our brothers and our sisters in Christ, we need to remove our earthly, sinful, viewpoints towards favoritism or partiality, we need to remove our personal hurts and pains, and we should see them with the love of Christ. We see that they are no different than us, but are sinners that have been redeemed by the blood of Christ shed on the cross. We see mankind, made in the very image of God, the Imago Dei, and a fellow sinner that has been clothed in the righteousness of Christ and who is our family in God’s gracious mercy.

The Word of God (James 2:8-11)

James goes back to the Old Testament and shows that this favoritism or distinction breaks what is called the “royal law” where God gave the command in

Leviticus 19:18 “18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

a law that is repeated and added to by Jesus when asked what the greatest commandment in the law is

Matthew 22:34–40 “34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.””

God commands that we are to love God first with all we have and then we should love our neighbours. This means that showing favoritism would break the law of God. Even Jesus did not show favoritism toward others. We see time and time again that Jesus went to the least of these and ministered. That those that were outcasts of society, He showed love to. Even the disciples He chose to follow Him were the least of these, a tax collector for the romans, fishermen, laborers, those who had no societal influence or power.

The question here can be asked, “Who is my Neighbor?” This would be the wrong question to ask though, instead the question is “To Whom Can I Be A Neighbor?” Finding who our neighbour is cannot be looked at as a piece of geography but as an opportunity to serve others who are in need. When Jesus gave the Great Commission in

Matthew 28:18–20 “18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

He didn’t say go to your friends, He didn’t say go to your neighbourhood, He said go to all nations! Go to the World! The World is our Neighbor and we are to love them by sharing the Gospel message with them. This means that every time we walk out of the doors of this church building we are to go to the world, wherever God leads us, to share His love and truth.

A church I went to when I was very young had a sign above the doors as you were leaving the church that said, “You are now entering the mission field.” We share the love of God with our literal neighbors, with our communities, with our co-workers, in our schools, wherever God may lead us, and even to those that hate us and despise us, we share the Gospel message.

James tells us that whoever fails to keep the law in even one point has failed to keep the entire law. James uses the example here if you don’t commit adultery, but you commit murder, then you are guilty of both. He points out the sin of partiality is breaking the law of God. If you commit this sin of partiality or favoritism, it is no different than committing any of the other sins of the law such as murder and adultery.

There is an evangelist in California that does street witnessing to share the Gospel, named Ray Comfort. I love watching his videos and how he leads people to understand the hopelessness we have of actually being good people without Christ. He will ask them if they are a good person or if they think they are going to heaven, and they will usually answer I’m a pretty good person so I think I will. He then begins to question, have you ever lied, have you ever looked at pornography and lusted, have you ever stolen something, have you ever dishonored your parents……and he shows these that think they are good people, that in God’s eyes they are not. That there is no partiality in sin but that if you commit one sin and break the law of God, you have broken the entirety of God’s law in His eyes. That our only hope is to trust in the one who never broke the law of God, Jesus and that because of His sacrifice we can have right relationship with God and be forgiven for our sins against God.

We must understand, God does not show partiality to people, and He does not show partiality in judgement. While we may look at sins and categorize some sins as much worse than others. James shows us here, by lumping the sin of Adultery and the sin of Murder in one sentence, that in the eyes of God they are all the same. Romans 6:23 tells us the wages of sin is DEATH….sin kills and there is no difference in what the sin is. Whether it is a small lie or murder, all sin brings death. Thank God that the verse does not stop there but continues, BUT the Gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

How beautiful is it to think that this is a gift. There is nothing we can do to earn or achieve it. It is freely given and while freely given to us it came at a great cost. The ultimate price was paid for this gift, by God, so that we could receive it.

Another area to consider is while God does not show partiality in judgment, He also does not show partiality in reward. We see in the parable Jesus told, in Matthew 20, the man who went and got workers first thing in the morning and told them he would pay them a denarius to work in his vineyards. Three hours later he goes and finds workers standing idle and tells them to go to his vineyards and he will be fair with them. He repeats this the 6th and 9th and 11th hours of the day. When the day ends, he pays all workers the same. Those that had only worked the very end of the day received the same pay as those that had spent the entire day in the vineyard working.

Yes, we should focus on the heavenly and not the earthly while we are in this life, yes, we should seek to store up treasure in heaven, but this very attribute of God, that He is an impartial judge, means that we will all be rewarded for following Him, whether it is our entire lives, or we turn to him in our final hours.

John Calvin said, “finitum non copax infinitum” which means the finite cannot contain (or grasp) the infinite. Our finite minds can not even begin to grasp how great God’s mercy is and How great His reward is for those who love Him and follow Him.

The Judgement of God (James 2:12-13)

James ends this section today with the judgement of God. That while we as believers in Christ will not stand before God in judgment for our sins, we will stand before God and be judged and rewarded for our work we do for Him

Romans 14:10–13 “10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”

2 Corinthians 5:9–10 “9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

God will judge our words. How we speak to people, how we treat them because we are told:

Matthew 12:34 “34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

When God is judging our words He is looking at our hearts. Are our hearts filled with His love and mercy, or are they filled with our vain desires and hurts.

That our deeds will be judged. That the actions we make on this earth do have consequences and while God does not remember our sins and hold us in judgement for them, our sin affects our character and our works. We cannot continue sinning and still serve God faithfully in what He has called us to do. God forgives our sins when we come to Him in true repentance, but He does not change the consequences of those sins while we are here on earth. We no longer have the wage of death, but while we are here we will still have consequences for our wrong actions.

Our attitudes will also be judged. James contrasts here showing mercy to others and refusing to show mercy. If we show mercy to others, God will be merciful to us, but we must not twist this into a gospel of works thinking that we can earn God’s mercy. This is impossible because if it is earned then it isn’t mercy, it would be a reward. It doesn’t mean we should be soft on sin and never tell others when they are sinning against God, but that we should be loving in our response and declare the mercy God offers to save from those sins.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Rich Man, Poor Man (James 2:1–13)

Where God finds repentance and faith, He is able to show mercy; where He finds rebellion and unbelief, He must administer justice. It is the heart of the sinner that determines the treatment he gets.

The parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35 illustrates this for us. That a man owes a great debt to the king that could never be repayed. He is brought before the king and begs for mercy on his debt. The king shows mercy and erases the debt and sends him on his way. He immediately goes out in the street and finds a man that owes him an extremely small debt and when it cannot be payed throws the man in jail for his inability to pay the debt. The king hears of this and summons the man back and calls him wicked, because he was shown a great mercy, then failed to show a small mercy to someone else. Because of this failure he was cast into prison until he could pay his debt to the king.

This isn’t illustrating salvation, but it is showing how we should forgive each other, and show each other mercy in how we interact. This parable was told in answer to a question

Matthew 18:21–22 “21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

That we don’t keep an account or notes of how many times our brother has done something against us. That we don’t keep a tally to see when we no longer have to forgive. That we show mercy as we have been shown mercy. That we walk this out in the law of freedom. When we obey God’s law we are freed from sin and we walk through life in liberty. Not a license to do what we want but a freedom to be all that Jesus calls us to be in Him!

License is confinement but liberty is fulfillment.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Rich Man, Poor Man (James 2:1–13)

God’s Word can change our hearts and give us the desire to do God’s will, so that we obey from inward compulsion and not outward constraint.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible Chapter 2

But God deems it his glory and joy, to pardon and bless those who might justly be condemned at his tribunal; and his grace teaches those who partake of his mercy, to copy it in their conduct.

One way we are tested in our faith is how we treat others. If we really believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that God gives His grace and mercy freely, and that His Word is true and trustworthy, then our conduct will reveal our convictions. Out of the beliefs and faith God has given us in our heart should outpour to all those around us, behaviour that shows the mercy and love of God and in so doing glorifies God. We must remember that the last shall be first and the first shall be last. The poor and the rich will cease to exist and we will all be rich in the heavenly mercies of the Father and while on this earth we will be rich in the faith that God has given us.

We love each other with the love of God, we declare the mercy of God, and we show the mercy of God in our actions towards others.

Benediction:

2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Philippians 1:27 “27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,”