A Study in James - Christian, It's Time to Grow up Part 3: Favoritism and Christians

James 2:1-13

We are continuing our sermon series through the book of James entitled, Christian, its time to grow up.

The first chapter of this series is available at ZeltmanMinistries.org.

A few quotes about maturity:

Immature is a word that boring people use to describe fun people.

Few women admit their age, few men act theirs.

How am I supposed to grow up and make life choices when I still use my fingers to count, and I still sing the whole alphabet to find out which letter comes next.

My wife said I was immature, but I think she was the one that was immature. I'd be at home in the bath and she'd come in and sink my boats.

James 2

I. Verse 1: Favoritism and Christians

a. My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.

b. This verse could be the foundation for so many great messages.

i. We could spend hours talking about replacement theology and how many Christians feel as though we have completely replaced the Jewish people as the elect of God.

ii. I have been studying this concept over the 10 years or so and it is amazing how the teachings and attitudes I have seen and heard over my life are so different to that of what the bible truly says.

iii. I can’t pinpoint a single message or conversation, but realize I, like many other Christians, grew up feeling that after Jesus came and died on the cross, that the Jewish faith and people became completely irrelevant and that all of the promises made to the people of Israel were automatically transferred to Christians. The belief was that Jews of the following generations up to today did not accept Jesus so the favor and blessings of God left them and went to the Christians. It is what is called replacement theology. And sadly it is rampant across churches in America and world wide.

iv. This is a wrong understanding and the apostle Paul addressed it in Romans 11

1. Verses 1-29 - 1I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? 3"Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life." 4But what is the divine response to him? "I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 5In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice. 6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. 7What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; 8just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day." 9And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them. 10"Let their eyes be darkened to see not, And bend their backs forever." 11I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! 13But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. 15For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. 17But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, 18do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." 20Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? 25For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery-so that you will not be wise in your own estimation-that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob." 27"This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins." 28From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

v. We see from this chapter that God has not forgotten the promises he made to the Jewish people and has a plan for their future and salvation.

vi. Christians that feel that they have the personal favoritism addressed in the first verse of James 2 need to better understand the 11th chapter of Romans and God’s plan and favor of the Jewish people.

c. We also see Christians feeling they have personal favoritism from God and think they are better than non-believers and in some cases other believers.

i. Before we move to verse 2, I want to address personal favoritism and nonbelievers.

ii. Sometimes Christians feel as though they have favoritism with God because they are saved and children of God.

iii. Yes, you are living under the cover of God’s blessings and yes you are one of God’s elect.

iv. But if you have an attitude of superiority about it or act like you are superior because of it. What message are you sending to the non-believer?

v. I have always believed that as Christians the best portrayal we can make to the world around us is one of living in God’s abundance. If a non - Christian sees you living a happy, successful, blessed life, they are going to want to know the secret to your success. What a better opportunity to share the gospel of Christ.

vi. I have had people say to me through the years how things just seem to work out for me. And trust me, many times it has not felt that way to me, but others feeling that way has led to me to opportunities to share the secret to my success, which is to share the gospel.

vii. I often think of the lyrics of the Newsboys song Shine that says, “Shine Make 'em wonder what you've got

  Make 'em wish that they were not

  On the outside looking bored

  Shine

  Let it shine before all men

  Let'em see good works, and then

  Let 'em glorify the Lord

viii. While all this is good, making someone feel as though they are not as good as you, or that you are condescending to them because they are not Christians has the opposite effect and turns them off to you, to Christians, and ultimately God. Be cognizant as to how others perceive you.

II. Verses 2-4

a. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool," 4have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

b. How many times have we judged people that walk into our church, our work, or other places in our lives? We judge their hair, or lack thereof, clothes, weight, makeup, tattoos, piercings, cars, houses, you name it.

i. Sadly we are all guilty of it. I am bad about people using poor grammar.

ii. We all have our issues with this.

iii. But what does God think about this?

1. Matthew 25:42-45 says, for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' 44Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' 45Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'

iv. When someone walks into a room, or the church, or your work, or your house, do you treat them differently because of how they look? Or because they are different?

v. When a homeless person approaches you, do you treat them the same way as you would treat someone that just stepped out of a Ferrari?

vi. As Americans, our culture teaches us to turn a blind eye or ignore the homeless person in the street. Have you ever hurried out of the way to not speak to someone?

c. Verses 2 through 4 provide a completely different approach to interacting with all people.

d. God wants us to be a reflection of him and his love to others. As you read through the gospel, Jesus again and again sought out the lowly and people that were really troubled. Do we do that or do we look the other way and try are best to not have to interact with people we have judged by their outward appearance?

III.  Verses 5-7

a. Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom ,which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?

b. What does God say about the people we avoid? God says he called them to be to be rich and faith and heirs of the kingdom.

c. Think about the sermon on the mount. Blessed are who? Those who dress well? Those who have nice hair, or money, or a great job, or a big house?

d. No, blessed are those that mourn, those that are gentle, those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, those that are merciful, pure in heart, are peacemakers, are those that are persecuted.

e. Do those characteristics sound more like the person we ignore or like the one we make a fuss over. Look again at the second part of verse 6 and verse 7.

f. Does the rich guy sound like someone that is gentle? Or is merciful? Or a peacemaker?

g. God judges the heart and sees what is on a person’s inside. We need to follow his model. No matter who the person God puts in front of you, get to know them. Respond if they have a need. Ask this simple question, what would Jesus do?

IV. Verses 8-9

a. If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

b. Showing partiality among men is a sin.

c. Acts 10:34-35 says

i. Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, 35 but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.

ii. If a man fears God, it does not matter what he looks like, how educated he is, or how much money he has.

iii. If he does not fear God, it is our job to still not show partiality but instead to show the love of Jesus so that through us, they may find salvation.

d. Instead, we should love our neighbors as ourselves. Not to do so in verse 9 is listed as a sin.

e. Now, James did not just leave it there by calling it a sin. Instead, he wanted to ensure the point of how serious this is and at the same time he reiterated the fact that no matter how big or small a sin may seem to us as humans, sin is sin to God and is a serious matter.

V. Verses 10-11

a. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

b. If you tell a harmless white lie to save another persons feelings, you have transgressed the law, which puts you among the murder and the adulterer.

c. It doesn’t matter even if your motive was good. Pastor George used to teach, if you have the right heart, the right motive, and the right action, that is the only time an action was right.

i. If you do the right motive and get the right result, but your heart was in the wrong place, the entire action is wrong. Or, if you heart is right, and your motive is right, but the action is wrong, it is wrong and you are a transgressor of the law.

ii. Even though the white lie started with perhaps the right heart and the right motive, the action was wrong making it wrong.

iii. We see this explained more in Matthew chapter 5

1. Verses 21-22 then 27-28 "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 27"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; 28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

iv. It’s not just your actions or the results of your actions, but your heart and the motive of the actions.

d. Sin is sin. Big or small it does not matter in the sight of God. God cannot be around sin and sin separates us from God no matter how big or small that sin is. Isaiah 59:2 says, But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

e. Separation from God is separation from God. Sin, big or small is that separator and only the atoning blood of Jesus Christ can reconcile us. Jesus had to suffer on the cross just as bad for the white lie as he did the murder.

VI. Verses 12-13

a. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

b. The theme of this sermon series comes out in these two verses. Act like a mature Christian. Reflect the love of Jesus in every aspect of your life and emulate Him.

c. We see strong words here about showing mercy.

d. Are we merciful to others in our actions?

e. Is it merciful when we ignore the homeless man on the street, or avoid the person that looks different then us?

f. We need to show mercy in everything that we do and to everyone we interact with.

g. When we have a business interaction, are we merciful?

h. When someone wrongs us, do we show mercy?

i. Again, when we are in these types of situations, we should take a step back and ask, what would Jesus do. It may not always provide the easiest solution, but it will provide the best solution.

VII. Applications – Growing up in our faith

a. Being a mature Christian is simple, it’s just hard.

i. Changing how we interact with people different than us is hard, but it is what God wants.

ii. Being humble and learning that we do not have personal favoritism from God over the Jewish people or over non Christians is hard, but is what the Lord teaches us.

iii. Loving your neighbor as yourself is hard, but God commands it.

iv. Not showing partiality is hard, but doing so is sin

v. Showing mercy is hard, but God wants us to be merciful.

vi. Matthew 7:13-14 says "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

vii. God’s plan for salvation is simple to understand, but living like a mature Christian is hard. That is why this verse refers to it as a narrow gate. It is easy to get lost in sin and ultimately death, but it’s hard to enter through the narrow gate.

b. We need to show the love of Jesus to everyone we meet in every circumstance, no matter how they appear, not showing partiality.

i. Again, this is simple, but is hard.

ii. What the book of James calls for is a complete change in our hearts, our nature, and everything that comes easy to us.

iii. How do we do this? Romans 12:1-2 says, 1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

iv. Notice the word “mercies” in there.

v. We need to keep ourselves in the word of God, in prayer, and seeking God’s will in every situation in our life.

vi. There are so many things in the world from what we watch on television, to what we hear on the radio, to our friends around us that present a world contrary to how God wants us to live our lives. Staying in God’s word, praying, and seeking His face will help us overcome our flesh and be a reflection of Jesus to everyone we meet in every circumstance.

vii. We need to continually renew our minds.

c. We need to be merciful

i. This may be the hardest part of this section.

ii. But God wants us to show mercy to everyone in every circumstance.

iii. Again, this is against our nature, but it is what God wants us to be like.

iv. Consider, to someone in your life, you may be the only true Christian they ever know. They may form their opinions and ideas about Christians and God from your actions.

v. If you are always merciful, they will see that. The world being the way it is, it is completely the opposite of merciful. By being merciful, you WILL be different than everyone around you and be a reflection of Christ to those around you.

vi. Maybe that is why verse 13 is as forceful as it is.

Prayer:

Now may The Lord bless you, and keep you; may The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; and may The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.