The General Epistles, James, Partiality
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James 2:1-10
James 2:1-10
Introduction: In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days
he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity.
He believed that in Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India.
So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian.
But, when he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat
and suggested that he go worship with his own people.
Gandhi then...left the church and never returned,
“If Christians have caste differences also, “ he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.”
and the point is...that usher’s prejudice...his...having respect of persons...not only betrayed Jesus
but it also turned a person away.. from trusting Him as Savior
And not just any person...but a person...who...without question...became a man....
with great...persuasive ability!
And...with that in mind...lets read our text....for this evening
which...as I've said....is in James 2)).
the Bible says
-in James
Chapter 2:1
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
-lets pray
(Pray)
I. The problem
Review
Now then, Notice our text if you would
Here in chapter 2
Pastor James
In writing to the 12 tribes, That were scattered abroad
Said (James 2: 1
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
He was saying
Don’t show partiality
As a Christian
Don’t show favoritism
And
By way of definition
The word favoritism
Means unfair bias in favor
of one thing
or of a person
compared with another
But
James
Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God
Said (James 2:1
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
-Don’t do that, he said
And
James made that statement
He gave that command
Because the fact is
People sometimes
Do just that
They show favoritism
Even Christians
Christians sometimes show favoritism
Toward this person
Or that person
For example
I’ve been to churches
Where some of the members
Were exclusive
With regards
to who they hung out with
And even with regards
to who they spent time talking to
. at church
That
When there were times of fellowship
Either organized
Or not organized
Some of the people
In some churches That I’ve attended
are exclusive
In who they spend time fellow shipping with
They
Will talk and fellowship
With brother so-and-so
Or with sister so-and-so
But
They won’t spend time
A whole lot of time
Talking and fellow shipping
With this brother
Or that brother
And
The reasons vary
But the fact is
Some born-again believers, Show partiality
Where other born-again believers
are concerned
But James Wrote
(James 2:1
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
What an important statement
That is
That Pastor James made
To that Jewish congregation
And
tonight
As we continue our study
In
The general epistles
And as we look into the book of James
I want to preach about
The folly of favoritism
The folly
Of favoritism
But before I do
I want to spend
a little time
Reviewing, what we have talked about
thus for
now
As we have studied
the book of James
We
Began our study
By talking about trials
And let me Remind us that
Trials
Are part of life
Aren’t they?
They are part of life
And as I said
You are either in the midst of a trial
You’ve just come out of a trial
Or you’re about to get into a trial
That’s life
and James said
Back in chapter 1:2
(James 1:2
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
-Be glad about it
And the reason
We ought to be joyful
In the midst of a trial
And that’s what the word temptations means there
It means a trial
But the reason
We Should be joyful
In the midst of a trial is
Because (James 1: 3-4
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
See
Trials are there
To make us better
They make us perfect and entire
Lacking nothing that we need
Now it’s true
That Satan uses trials
To make us bitter
But
It is God’s desire
To make us better
And therefore
When trials come our way
And as we have a willingness
To remain under them
God will make us
a better Christian
It’s like the apostle Paul
Wrote about
In the book of 2 Corinthians
And in chapter 12
Paul said in 2 Corinthians12:7 – 9
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn (trial) in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
He was saying
I had this trial
But the Lord Jesus promised me
That He Would strengthen me,
In my walk with Christ
We also talked about
The importance of wisdom
As we studied the book of James
And in chapter 1
He said in James 1: 5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
And wisdom
You will recall
Is the proper application of knowledge
And as believers
We all need wisdom
We need wisdom
For example, to know how to spend God’s money
We Need wisdom
To know where to live
And sometimes, who to talk to
We need wisdom
In our business dealings
And in our ministry dealings
We need wisdom from God
And
Like Solomon
We Ought to be willing to ask God for it
Because
God has the ability
To give wisdom to us, liberally
That word means bountifully
But we need wisdom
And then
The last time we studied The book of James
Two weeks ago
We talked about temptation
Where James said (James 1:12
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
now...the word Temptation
There in verse 12 describes
A solicitation to sin
And James said
Blessed is the man
Blessed is the person
Who has the ability
To endure temptations
That is
To remain faithful and true
In the midst of temptation
And God us
The opportunity, to do just that
In fact
The apostle Paul said
In 1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
So
What James was saying
Back in our text is
If we just remain faithful
In the midst of temptation
God
Will then grant us
The crown of life
What a great prize
But tonight
As we continue our study
In the book of James
Let’s talk about partiality
Among believers
And
In order to get our bearings
Let’s notice, What James went on to say Here
In chapter 1
In Chapter 1: 17 (James 1:17, James said
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Now think about that
God gives gifts
To His people
Which is a blessing
But James calls The Lord
The Father Of lights
That is
the source and fountain
of all light.
And by the way
Light, in the Scriptures,
is the emblem of knowledge,
purity,
and happiness;
and
God is often represented as light.
In the Scripture
But notice carefully
He said
with God
There is no Variableness
No shadow of turning
Which means simply
That God is not fickle
He is constant
In every way, shape and form
And
I don’t know about you
But I’m so glad
That
that is part of God’s nature
James
Went on to say
In verses 19 – 25
Here in chapter 1 (James 1:19 – 25
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
What an important lesson
Don’t just hear
What God says
But do it
Because
In doing what God said
You will be blessed
See
It is not enough to just hear it
God wants us to obey it
James then
Concluded Chapter 1
By saying (James 1:26 -27
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
But that brings us
To chapter 2
And our text
Let’s read verses 1 – 2 together again
James said (James 2:1 – 2
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Now
When I read that Passage
And particularly
The last phrase there in verse 4
I get the sense that
Showing partiality
Is something that is evil
He said (James 2:4
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
He is saying
Partiality
Showing partiality
Is something
that is evil
When you in your mind
Show partiality to one
You’re having an evil thought
But the unfortunate truth
Is that sometimes
People have the tendency
To show partiality
For example
There's a True story
about a Chicago bank
that once asked
for a letter of recommendation
on
a young Bostonian
Who was being considered for employment.
and
The Boston Investment House
could not say enough
about the young man.
They said
his father, was a Cabot;
his mother was a Lowell.
and further back
In his family
Line
was
a happy blend of Saltonstalls,
Peabodys,
and other
of Boston's first families.
so
His recommendation was given
without hesitation.
but
Several days later,
the Chicago bank sent a note saying
the information supplied was altogether inadequate.
The note
said
"We are not contemplating using the young man
for breeding purposes.
Just for work."
That bank didn’t care about the personage
Of that young mans Family tree
And by the same token
Neither is God a respecter of persons
but He accepts those
from every family, nation,
and race
who fear Him
and work
for His kingdom (Acts 10:34-35).
In fact
What does the Bible say
In Acts 10:34-35
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
But the unfortunate truth is
While God is no respecter of persons
Sometimes people are
And yes, even Christians
For example
Preachers are sometimes
Respecters Of persons
I’ve seen it happen
At fellowship meetings
The sad truth is
I’ve known preachers
Who have shown favoritism
Where race is concerned
And where financial status is concerned
I’ve
Heard about deacons
Who do likewise
And other church leaders
Who show partiality
I’ve
Seen members of churches
Be partial
Favoring this member
And not that member
But listen
If God is no respecter of persons
We have no business
Showing favoritism either
But again
Sometimes people do
Don’t they?
Even Christians
But again
James wrote under inspiration
Of the Holy Spirit of God
He wrote to Christians
And said (James 2:1)
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
He is saying
When you exercise your faith
As you live your Christian life by faith
Your Christian life based on the Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord of glory
He said
Don’t have respect
Parent of persons
II. The partiality
Declaration
But then
Don’t miss verses 2 – 4
James said (James 2: 2 – 4
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Now then
Think about what James was saying
James seems to be insinuating
That in days gone by
In their congregation
Some
Very wealthy people
Had came into the church
And it was evident that they were wealthy
Because they were Dress luxuriously
They were adorned
With rings made of gold
They were wearing goodly apparel
By the way
Albert Barnes the commentator
Said
Rings were common ornaments of the rich;
and probably
then, as now,
of those who desire to be esteemed
to be rich.
And
Adam Clark said
With regards to the goodly apparel
That
splendid garb
was proofs of a man’s opulence
That is, of his great wealth
But Pastor James
In James 2)
seemed to be insinuating
That in their congregation
There
Had been some very wealthy people
Who came into their assembly
But on the other hand
And by contrast
There Had been some very poor people
Who came into their assembly
Those whore vile raiment
That is, dirty clothes
But then
He seemed to insinuate
That some of the members of their church
Were showing favoritism
They favored the wealthy people
And they disfavored the poor people
They told
The rich people
To go sit in this wonderful place
The best seat in the house
But they
Told those who were poor
Those, whose clothes smelled
You go sit
Way back Yonder
Or sit at my footstool
Which meant
to be treated as
if he were not worth
the least attention.
But
Let me ask you a question
How do you think
That made both the rich and poor feel
When one is elevated
And when The other
is dis-esteemed
Well I’ll tell you
The rich man
Would be tempted to be Prideful
That’s true
But
That poor man
who had come to church
Hoping to Find fellowship
With the people of God
And
and who desired
to hear
The Word of God
Yet if he came to church
And was forced to sit
In a place of dis-esteem
He would’ve been very disappointed
And no doubt discouraged
And let me tell you
I’ve been there
As a Christian
And that hurts
And
When you treated that way
And if you’re not careful
It can cause you to do things
That are spiritually dangerous
In fact
That same poor man
Who was told to go sit
Away from the crowd
Could become discouraged
And decide that
If that’s the way Christians are
I don’t want any part of it
If
They don’t want me here
That I don’t want to be here either
I don’t go
Where I’m not wanted
What a terrible thing
To have happen
And perhaps that took place
In the church that James pastored
Perhaps there were some
In their congregation
Who treated the wealthy
As very special
And yet who treated the poor
As outcasts
And James said
Doing such things
Is evil
When you show favoritism he said (James 2:4
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
But then notice
Versus 5 – 9
James said
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
Man
James didn’t mince words
He said when you do those things
When you show partiality
You are committing sin
When
You would prefer to fellowship
With one person, Because of their station
But yet
You won’t fellowship with another person
Of a lower station
When
You will give that person
In the lower station
A place of dis-esteem
You are convinced
That is
Admonished by the Law
That you are a transgressor
You are breaking God’s law
And worse than that
You are doing that
Because you despise the poor
That is,
you treat them shamefully
But
Far worse than that
You are Not only
disesteeming the poor
You
are disesteeming
The very Word of God
And
The sad truth is
The problem that existed
In the church
that James wrote to
Is a problem
That sadly exists
In churches today as well
Churches
And church members
Who show favoritism to One person
Over another
is a problem today
By the way
As I was studying for tonight
I read an excerpt
From a sermon
By Sam storms
He was preaching
About the poison Of partiality
and prejudiced
And he said
This is a secret sin
In fact
He said
All of us know that some sins are more conspicuous and overt
than others.
Public drunkenness,
for example, or profane speech
are readily identifiable.
It’s obvious to even the casual observer
if someone is intoxicated.
The same is true
He said
of obscene or profane speech.
If
you have eyes and ears
you can know instantly
whether such sins are being committed.
but
Other sins, however, are more covert and secret.
He said
I may be wrong,
but my sense
is that, in 2015,
the most secret sin of all may well be
that of partiality and prejudice
He went on to say
I say it is secret not only because it can’t be seen
or smelled or touched
but especially because we are passionately committed
to denying that it even exists.
But again
That problem, exists today
In both churches
And Among church members
There are those
Who
Show favoritism and partiality
for one person
Or one group of people
Over another person
Or another group of people
And
The problem is
They sometimes delude themselves
Into thinking
That it is not such a big deal
It’s okay for me to be a little partial
After all
I just seem to click with this person
And not with that person
And therefore
I don’t see a problem
In showing a little bit of favoritism
With John Doe
Over Jim Smith
That’s not really a big deal
But don’t miss
Verse number 10
James went on to say (James 2:10
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
So
If God says don’t
And you do
You are guilty
If God
Says in verse 1
Here in chapter 2 (James 2:1
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
Yet
If you have respect to persons
You are an offender
Your guilty of Disobeying God
And when you do that
You not only cause
Disappointment and discouragement
For the one you are dis-esteeming
But at the same time too
You are deluding yourself
That your behavior is not all that bad
But it is
Determination
And in the Bible,
There are examples
That we can read about
With regards to Favoritism
and partiality
Which by the way,
caused division
See
Favoritism not only causes
Disappointment and discouragement
And it not only breeds Delusion
But
In a church
Which is a family by the way
Respect of persons
can cause Division
And to illustrate that
Turn back to the book of Genesis
If you would please
Genesis 25)
And
Read with me
Versus 20 – 28
The Bible says
In Genesis 25:20 – 28
And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her,
Two nations are in thy womb,
And two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;
And the one people shall be stronger than the other people;
And the elder shall serve the younger.
And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
Now as you read That passage
You get the sense
That both of those parents
Showed favoritism
Toward one child
And not the other
Isaac it said
Loved Esau
While his wife Rebecca
Loved Jacob
And by the way
It is my guess
That Isaac loved Jacob
And that Rebecca loved Esau
Its just that
Isaac favored Esau more
Then he did Jacob
And Rebecca favored Jacob More
Then she did Esau
They showed favoritism
And we know what happened
In chapter 27
As a result of that favoritism
The Bible says
In verses 1 – 10
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth: And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
Now think about that passage
Isaac and Rebekah
Were Engaging in favoritism
It’s easy to see that
But the results
Were division
Their favoritism
Caused division
in that family
Because in the end
It says in verse 41 – 42
“Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.”
And
Do you know what I find today
When there is favoritism
That is taking place
In a church family
It not only causes
Disappointment
And discouragement
For the one who is dis-esteemed
For the one who is discarded
And
It not only creates
A spirit of delusion
For the one showing the favoritism
But it brings about Division
In a congregation
It can cause
Camps to rise up
Within a congregation
Factions
And
those can be destructive
In the church
of the living God
But at the same time too
Not only can
Showing favoritism in the church Family
Bring about disappointment
And discouragement
And
Not only can showing favoritism
In a church family
Bring about delusion
In the hearts of God’s people
And
Not only can Favoritism
Bring about division
In a church family
But
It can certainly
Bring about distrust
Because
Can you imagine being Esau
In that passage in Genesis 27)
Can you imagine
Being Jacob
That must’ve caused them
To distrust members
Of their own family
And in like manner
When members of churches
Show favoritism
For one person over another
It
Can likewise cause
A spirit of distrust
Among the members
And let me give you
An example of what I mean
Let’s say that John Doe member
Is the poor one
The one
Who doesn’t have nice clothes
Or maybe he is the one
Who is a little awkward
Maybe
He doesn’t speak As clearly
As the others
And he doesn’t relate as well to people
So
He comes to God’s House
Looking for fellowship
As well as to be fed spiritually
he
Is hoping to be encouraged
By good Christian friends
But when he gets to church
He is told
Go sit way down there
Or stand over there
Or sit at my footstool
That is
he is dis-esteemed
By some
So let me ask you
How does he feel
About those things
How does he feel
When
Even a leader of the church
Treats him that way
he No doubt...feels distrustful
Am I right?
He can start thinking
I don’t trust these people
They talk about unity
They talk about 1 Corinthians 13)
And how important it is
To love one another
But
They sure don’t love me
They might say they do
But they treat me
As though I’m not even second-class
But third class
So
Do you see how dangerous
Favoritism can be
It can cause discouragement
It can lead
To delusion
In the congregation
Favoritism
Can lead to division
In a congregation
And even distrust
But
Let me also say that
Favoritism
Having respect for persons
Can
Likewise lead
To disloyalty
Between members
See
We are a body
All of us Are important
We all have a function
God
Gave each of us
Certain gifts and talents
that He Wants us to use
in His church
To help this body function
And
In the words of the apostle Paul
In 1 Corinthians 12:21
And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
But
When there is favoritism
Taking place in a church body
It can lead to disloyalty
In the body of Christ
And let me
Give you an example
Of how that could have occurred
In the Scripture on one occasion
Now
It thankfully didn’t happen
But it could have
turn to the book of 1 Corinthians)
If you would please
And
To chapter 1
Now, in this book
Paul was rebuking
A divided church
And
One of the problems
That existed in that church
Was there was respect of persons
Taking place
Some were showing favoritism
For one preacher over the other
Because
In 1 Cor 1)
The Bible says
In verses 10 – 12 (1 Corinthians 1:10 – 12
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
Now
Do you know what he meant
When he said there
Some of you are saying
I am of Paul
And
Others are saying
I am of Apollos
Or I am of Cephas
When
Paul said that
He was pointing out the fact
That some of them
were showing favoritism
Over one preacher
As opposed to another
And
As I have already said
When someone shows favoritism
For one person
Over you
That
Can cause discouragement in your heart
And even distrust
In your heart
But
If you’re not careful
It Could cause you
To become disloyal
Because think about it
Had
Paul not been as spiritual
As he was
Then
being thought of
As less
than Brother Apollos
Or maybe even Peter
That could have led
To a spirit of disloyalty
Between Paul and them
See
Those three men
The apostle Paul
Apollos
And Cephas, or Peter
Were loyal to one another
They understood
That they were all working together
For the cause of Christ
And they all had their proper gifts
that they were using
To build God’s church
And they understood all that
But had Paul
Not been as spiritual
As he was
He might’ve become disloyal
to those others brothers
Even distrusting them
And that could have caused division
Between him, and them
. Had Paul not been as spiritual as he was
but church
May I tell you something
That’s not what God wants
God doesn’t want brethren to be divided
It’s
What the devil wants
But it is certainly not what
The Lord wants
No
God wants His preachers
Like Paul and Cephas
And Apollos
And Marc And Jacob
To serve God in unity
God wants his parishioners
Each of you
In God’s church here
God
wants all of us
To have a spirit of unity
The psalmist said (Psalm 133:1
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
But
When there is favoritism
In a congregation
and respect of persons
When
A person is treated
As though he/she is third class
Simply because
Of their economic status
Their race
Their lack of confidence
Or whatever else
When
There is favoritism
In a congregation like ours
It
Almost always leads
To discouragement
For the one being disesteemed
When
There is favoritism
In a congregation like ours
It can lead others to be deluded
Into thinking they are better
Or somehow deserving
Of the best seat in the house
It
Can Lead to division
In the church of God
It can cause still others
To become distrustful
Or even disloyal
So that
When that happens
That congregation number 1
Loses the blessing of God
Because they’re living in disobedience
They Can likewise
Lose their heart
For all the people
in the body
And
They will lose their effectiveness
In the community
Because
I submit to you
That had Rebecca’s deed been known
In her community
The favoritism she engaged in
and the under handedness
Had that been known In the community
She could not have effectively ministered to them
I’m just saying
Favoritism
Respect of persons
Is wrong
it
Is wrong in parenting
As in the case of Isaac and Rebekah
And it is wrong in the church
Incidentally
When parents show favoritism toward one child,
the other children hate it.
I mean
Think of Joseph's brothers.
They hated the fact
That Jacob showed favoritism towards Joseph
and
It's not difficult
to think of Instances of favoritism
In our society today
And the hate that it causes
Take for example
Ethan Couch
When Ethan Couch was sixteen years old,
In June 2013
he
killed four people While driving intoxicated.
and in the trial,
his attorney argued that he suffered
from
"affluenza"--
being too rich.
so
It seems that the court
Showed him favoritism Because he was rich
In that he was sentenced to 10 years probation
and no jail time),
and the nation was outraged.
and
It was Only after breaking probation
That he was sentenced to two years in prison.
I’m just saying
When you show favoritism
For some
Over others
It only leads to problems
It led
To problems for Joseph
Where he was hated of his brothers
And sold into slavery
It led
To problems in Isaac’s home
In that it caused Esau
To hate Jacob
Favoritism led
To problems
In the church of Corinth
And in the church in Jerusalem
That James wrote to
Because
James wrote clearly
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
So let me ask you
Do you play favorites
Do you have respect to persons
Did you show favoritism over one
At the expense of another?
If so
You might be the cause of discouragement
In one of God’s sheep
Or
In some lost soul
In fact
You might lead them
To become totally disillusioned
With church
Or
You might be the cause of division
In your church
Or disloyalty
Or of devastation
And in a moment
You might need to come to the altar
And ask God to forgive you
Of the sin
Of showing favoritism
I hope you will
On the other hand
You might be that one
Who was disesteemed
And maybe you’re discouraged
Maybe
You have developed distrust
In your fellow church members
Or disloyalty
Well know this
God is no respecter of persons
And at the very least
You can come to the altar
During the invitation
And
You can thank the Lord
That even if nobody else accepts you
He does
Or
You can ask the Lord
To encourage your heart
I hope you’ll do that
When the invitation begins
When the music begins to play in just a moment
Conclusion: Let’s bow for prayer
