Partiality

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a great honor to share the Word of God with the Saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church this morning. Our church exists by grace, for glory, in love.

Throughout our various meetings, week to week, whether that be here on Sunday mornings, or at the park on some summer evenings, we have put a heavy emphasis on the grace of God. Just this past Sunday night, we looked at the grace of God’s relation to our past, present, and future and just what a great gift it is. Week after week, we have discussed operating our lives for God’s glory, both as individuals and as a church. That has been particular emphasized as we have walked through the first chapter of James and saw how we are to read, divide, and apply the Word of God in such a way that honors the God of our salvation. The undercurrent of everything we do, is love. Love for God, love for one another, and love for our neighbors. In the four years that I have been at Durbin I have heard it consistently called a loving church. A church in where the bonds of Christ are so close that the goodwill and affection are palpable to those who come here. That is good thing! A testimony to the love of God that we know and enjoy.

But love in a church, love within a community of believers cannot always be assumed. The sin that lives in us and the temptation of Satan often seeks to divide an otherwise loving body. And jin some churches and Christian organization, there are great divisions in which the undercurrent of love has been forgotten and neglected.

Many Christian bodies tend to grow, then calcify, and become elitist. The become social clubs rather than rescue centers. There once was a woman who lived across the tracks, from the bad side of town, that expressed her interest in joining the fashionable, seemingly booming church in her town. As the story goes, “She talked to the pastor about it, and he suggested she go home and think about it carefully for a week. At the end of the week she back [still desiring to join the church]. He said, ‘Now, lets not be hasty. God home and ready your Bible for an hour every day this week. Then come back and tell me if you feel you should join [this church].’ Although she wasn’t happy about this, she agreed to do it. The next week she was back, assuring the pastor she wanted to become a member of the church. In exasperation he said, ‘I have one more suggestion. You pray every day this week and ask the Lord if he wants you to come into our fellowship.’ Then the pastor didn’t see the woman for six month. One day, he came across her on the street and asked her what she had been up to. She said, ‘I did what you asked me to do. I went home and prayed. One day while I was praying, the Lord said to me, ‘Don’t worry about not getting into that church. I’ve been trying to get in myself for the last twenty years.’”

Listen, meaningful membership is good thing. Many of you all know that we have created a membership class as a next step for those who are interested in joining our church. The intention behind that is so that people know what being a member of the church means biblically and practically, not to add barriers that are intended to keep out those that we think are not deserving of joining the church because of where they come from, their socio-economic position, or ethnic heritage. Let it be known that whether you born with a silver spoon, classy or classless, there ain’t a one of us WORTHY in and of ourselves to be included in Christ’s church! We are all sinners who fall desperately short of the glory of God.

With this in mind, open your Bibles to James chapter 2, if you have not already. Today we are looking at the first half of this chapter and we will be focussing on the disgrace of partiality amongst God’s people. As a refresher, this book oscillates through various aspects of living out faith in the day-to-day life of the follower of Christ. Consistently throughout this book we are reminded of the deep humility that comes from seeing the great glory of God. Begin with me here in verse 1.

V1 The Theme of the Day: Partiality

James 2:1 ESV

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

In this first verse, we are introduced to the primary topic that follows, “Partiality.” Before we get into the specifics of partiality, we are given two great reminders that frame the tone for the rest of the teaching that follows. First we are reminded of humility. “My brothers” a transition to a new topic while also appealing to the commonality of among all Christians. Remember as we discussed in the beginning of the first chapter. James is the pastor of the Church in Jerusalem. He is the literal half-blood brother with Jesus. But instead of throwing out titles and distinctions, lording authority, James addresses this group of scattered Jewish Christians as brothers.

That is the wonderful thing about the church! Here there is no jew or greek, barbarians, or Scythian, slave, or free, for Christ is all and in all! We may have different roles to play within this body. There are certainly times when the pastor has to give direction and correction, as we are about to see James do in our text this morning, but their is equal dignity, value, and worth amongst all God’s people. If each of us were to look to our left and right this morning, the incredible reality is that you are no better than the people that you see, holding up your nose, AND as we will see towards the end of our text this morning, you are no worse! Every single person who believes in the Lord Jesus as their Savior is a sinner saved by grace AND a joint heir to the promises of God! These are your brothers and sisters! Cherish that fellowship!

So before we get into the particulars of understanding partiality, we are reminded of our individual humility and equal footing in the body of Christ. Then at the end of the verse our attention is pointed towards Christs’ supremacy. While there is equality amongst the body of believers, there is someone who is to be exalted above the rest and it is the one who is the object of the bodies’ faith. “our LORD Jesus Christ.” The very “Lord of glory!”

While it is not wrong to encourage one another and recognize the good things that have happened within a group of believers as we will do next week in our homecoming celebration, it is not the ultimate point nor focus of what we do! Jesus being described as the “Lord of Glory” reminds the original recipients of this letter and us today that Christ is the one ultimately to be exalted. Any of the fond memories we have in the 84-87 year history of this church was ultimately produced through the Lord of our salvation that drew us together and spurred on our work! We don’t worship this bricks, or windows, or people, or even the fancy new parking lot we hope to have installed by next week. We worship the King of kings and Lord of lords who lived and died and rose again, commissioning His church to accomplish His will!

In the bookends of verse one we are reminded of human humility and Christ superiority. In the midst of these reminders sits this command to show no partiality.

So now what is partiality? Partiality is particular bias against something. For instance, my man Troy wont eat rice. I keep telling him he’s missing out on some awesome shwarma, but he’s got it in his head he wont like it. Now, in food, this is no big deal, you can have personal preferences. You ain’t gonna get me to eat a fresh red tomato. But in regards to people, particularly how we treat people within the church, partiality is a very big deal and something to be repented of immediately should it rear it’s ugly head.

How does partiality play out in our lives and church? See the next set of verses.

V2-4 The example: rich v poor, a fallen, natural division

James 2:2–4 ESV

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?

The way that James writes this example, seems to suggest that he’s not just speaking the hypothetical, but is addressing a real concern that has been displayed in the practice of some of the people that would receive this letter.

The picture doesn’t need much explanation. Two people walk in. One dressed very nicely, exhibiting wealth in their adornments. The other wearing nothing but rags. The greeters meet them at the door. One is met with a smile and walked to the best spot in the room, the other told to go stand behind the column, out of the way, where its hard to hear and see.

Now, if you’re anything like me, when you read through the Bible you often get so mad at the characters within the various narratives for doing something so obviously foolish and against the revealed will of God. You might even make that distinction here. Why are they treated them different!?

But if we are being honest with ourselves this morning, we can be very quick to do the exact same thing. We’re quick to go out of our way to introduce ourselves to those that look, in our minds, respectable, but then someone comes in that looks differently than us and we keep our space.

I would hope that is never the case here. From what I have witnessed, that doesn’t happen regularly. We try to ensure that each and every visitor get the same smile, the same assistance in finding their way around, and the same cookbook to take home with them. And that is how it should be. Leave your superficial observational bias at the door.

The wording in this passage reminds us how partiality reacts to externals rather than to what is of real value. “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).”

For the ones whom James is writing to, Not only are they being judges, but they are being WICKED judges, responding to external markers of the wealth of their guests. At root, their discriminatory behavior is nothing more than a greedy, self-centered attempt to enrich their own coffers or status through superficial flattery. They are like corrupt judges who sway the opinion of the court because they have promised a back door deal.

Now this type of judging and flattery makes a whole lot of practical sense in the business world. Business leaders want to surround themselves with people who can further their interests and make them money. But while we are trying to be good stewards of the church and see our mission go forward for perpetuity, we must remember to never look at the people in this room and think, “What can they do for me?” Instead we look around this room with a grateful thought, “Oh my! What God has done for us!”

We must reject the natural inclination to assume usefulness and give greater treatment to those who appear well put together. Look to the next few verses with me as we see the spiritual significance for rejecting partiality.

V5-7 The Significance of Partiality: The natural division is inverted from God’s relationship to the World

James 2:5–7 ESV

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?

The primary reason we ought to reject partiality is that our values, the Christian’s values ought to align with God’s Values. James reminds his readers that God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom! The very things He gives to those who love Him!

Now we have to be careful here, we always have to interpret Scripture through Scripture. We must be clear that being rich or being poor in and of itself does not have a particular bearing on our position before God. Abraham was no stranger to having great possessions. King David would end up very wealthy while being a man after God’s own heart. Many wealthy benefactors supported the early church. Jesus would call the tax-collector Matthew to follow Him. Joseph of Arimathea donated his own tomb for Jesus’ body to have it’s three day resting place. At the same time, Jesus’ ministry showed great compassion for the poor, marginalized, and disenfranchised. He also said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” However, his point is not that there is salvation is somehow reserved for the exclusively for the materially poor. The disciples would ask, “who then can be saved?” Jesus would respond, “With man this is is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Coming to Christ, entails coming to the end of yourself and seeing the greater and greatest glory of Christ to be your Savior. The reality we see throughout the New Testament is not so much that being poor is good and being rich is bad, but rather, that the materially poor are much more likely to realize their spiritual need and entrust themselves to the grace of God.

The overarching point in this passage is the often repeated refrain, the ground is level at the foot of the cross. God saves kings like Abraham and thieves on the cross right next to Jesus. When God is so rich in in His mercy towards those from such sorted backgrounds, how can we then give special consideration to certain people because of their wealth?

Yet due to the lure of lavish, we so often even subconsciously give deference and priority to the wealthy. James explains a particular reason why this is so misguided for his original recipients. He writes again, “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?”

Once more we have to be careful readers here, understanding the context of the situation. This doesn’t mean that all every rich person oppressed them. Certainly some did while others did not. However this was the general historic experience of the Jews throughout their history, as well as their present experience in the Jewish-Christian dispersion. The Jewish Christians of James’ day were disenfranchised by both Jews and Gentiles. These people had been consistently taken advantage of and exploited by those in the rich, entrepreneurial classes.

The point of this text is not to say that the believers ought to be kicking out the rich people and giving extra special treatment to the poor. The point, rather, is to stop treating people differently! I would love for Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Taylor Swift, or Elon Musk to walk through those very doors next Sunday Morning. And if they do, they ought to be greeted with a smile and shown to a place to sit, the same as we would Billy Joe who walked up from Proud Mary’s or the long disconnected former church member who heard it is Homecoming. We would sing the same songs and preach the same gospel and praise the same God we were intending to do otherwise. A person’s position in life does not change one bit of their need for the gospel nor the dignity with which we ought to show them in our presence. Rich or poor, there’s room at the cross for you.

We see the foundation for rejecting partiality laid out more in our next set of verses. Read with me verses 8 and 9.

V8-9 The Foundation: Declared in God’s law.

James 2:8–9 ESV

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.

The foundation for rejecting partiality is the very Law of God. There are three important aspects of these verses we must understand.

First, James refers to the Law of God as the Royal Law. He has drawn the readers attention back to the This is the third time James has brought up the Law to his readers. Remember that James is writing to Jewish believers. They would’ve been very familiar with the Law referring to what we now call the Old Testament. In chapter one he calls it the perfect law and the law of liberty. Here he calls it the royal law. They word “royal” adds the qualifier of “our Lord Jesus Christ” to our interpretation of the Law. As we saw last week, we are to interpret the Law through Christ. One commentary puts it like this, “All old covenant commands are true for new covenant believers, but each injunction must be considered individually as to how it is fulfilled or explicated in the life and teaching of Jesus.”

Jesus Himself summarized the Law with the greatest commandment being, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And the second [greatest] being love your neighbor as yourself.” When we see this in our verses this morning, we need to understand that James is quoting both the Old Testament and Jesus Himself.

The second aspect of this verse we need to understand is the definition of neighbor. If you are familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan, you can find the full telling of that parable in Luke 10, but Jesus uses that story to explain that anyone that God places in our vicinity is our neighbor! No matter their ethnic background, or in more direct context to our verses in James this morning, no matter the wealth of the individual, those who love their neighbor show care and dignity to all who God places around them.

When this “royal law” is lived out, incredible things happen both horizontally and vertically. One example of this took place in a Japanese concentration camp in 1943. In 1942 the camp was a sea of mud and filth, the scene of grueling labor and brutal treatment by Japanese guards. There was hardly any food, and the law that pervaded the whole camp was the law of the jungle: every man for himself. Twelve months later the ground of the camp was cleared and clean. The bamboo bed slats had been debugged. They rebuilt their huts, and on Christmas morning two thousand men attended a worship service. So, what had happened? During the year a prisoner had shared his last crumb of food with another man who was also in desperate need. Then he died. Among his belongings they found a Bible. Some who witnessed his ultimate act of love wondered, could that Bible be the secret of willingness to give sacrificially to others? One by one the prisoners began to read it. Soon the Spirit of God began to grip their hearts and minds.” God works mightily through His Word and where obedience flows there is much good to be seen even in dire circumstances.

The third aspect we must recognize in this text is that rejecting the Law, showing partiality, is a sin against God! This is introduced in verse 9 and then explained further in the subsequent verses. Read with me verses 10 and 11.

V10-11 The Weight of the Law

James 2:10–11 ESV

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.

Now, if we aren’t paying attention here, we may think that Pastor James has started chasing rabbits as pastors are apt to do. What does murder and adultery have to do with treating some people a little better than others?

But there are two major truths that we must come to grips with.

First, we need to see the Law of God, the very righteousness of God, is much more binary than we like to think. Our lives our not graded on a curve or in such a way that C’s get degrees. The holiness of God is pass/fail, and even one fault leaves us as a lawbreaker. One pastor said it takes just one lie to make you a lair, one adulterous act to make you an adulterer, one murder to make you a murderer, and one broken law to make you a lawbreaker. So the first truth that we all must come to grips with is that we are all lawbreakers!

Which leads us into the second big truth, we see here. If we are all lawbreakers, and we are, then we ought to be so humbled by the grace of God that we don’t make superficial distinctions between people! James is using the “big sins” at least from our perspective, to show how foolish exhibiting partiality with the church is! The point is that all of our sin is a big deal! Which leads us to where we conclude our exposition this morning.

V12-13 The impact on Divine mercy on temporal mercy and partiality

James 2:12–13 ESV

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.

If we were to leave today with just the reality of verse 11, it would be a fearful thing. We are all lawbreakers. We all stand condemned before God. We’re all lawbreakers.

But while that is a truth exposed in this text, it is not the primary message for us to take home. In verses 12 and 13 as James refers to the law of liberty, and mercy. He is reminding his original audience and us here today, that when we have beens aved by grace through faith in Christ as proclaimed in the Word for the very glory of the Lord of glory, we are then the ultimate recipients of mercy!

If we have experienced the mercy of God, how can we not show in unto others. How can we treat the downtrodden poorly when we were lost and destitute in our sin before we saw the light of the Lord?

Because you have been saved by the grace of God, so speak and so act as those who to be judged under the law of liberty. It is appointed for man to die once and after that comes judgment. For those who do not know the Lord this will be a sorrowful affair. You will have no defense before the all Holy God. He will say to depart from Him and you will spend eternity in a place exempt from the grace of God. But for those who see they are lawbreakers, see that Christ kept the law on their behalf, have faith in Him that He paid the price they could not pay, their judgment will different. “being judged under the law of liberty” in verse 12 refers to when our God will reward us for the good we have done for His glory. We aren’t given very much description of what this judgment will look like other than anything not done for the glory of God will be burnt up. But our specific reward isn’t the point. We should be living this life with the intention of making our heavenly Father happy. Looking forward to hearing, “well done my good and faithful servant.”

Dear Christian, the ones who claim to have faith in Christ as Savior, it is good to live out this life seeking to please your heavenly Father. And as we read verse 13, we see that if we struggle to show mercy, if we are prone to partiality in our lives, harboring disdain for particular groups of people, then we must ask ourselves if we have truly experienced the mercy of God, we ought to be displaying mercy unto others.

“Pray for God’s wisdom to see where you and your church are failing to love your neighbors. Then repent. Trust in the mercy of Christ to cover your sin. Extend his love and mercy, without partiality, to all.”

The undercurrent of everything that we have read and discussed this morning is that the Mercy of God, the grace of our God, is greater than our sin. Understanding that grace leads to living that grace out and extending it to others.

In just a moment, following our prayer, we’re going to have a hymn a response. This is an opportunity to respond both privately and publically to what we have heard this morning. If you have struggled with partiality, with withholding mercy from particular groups of people, may today be the day you gain a greater understanding of the grace God has shown to you. Repent and react! And if you are unsure if you have received the mercy of God, come talk to me. I can tell you this. There is nothing greater than the great grace of God.

Let’s pray.