The Sin of Favoritism

James 2:1–13 NKJV

1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen 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. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

What Is Partiality?

Partiality, or favoritism, is judging according to outward appearance rather than gospel reality. t is the sin of prioritizing and judging someone’s worth by their wealth, status, usefulness, comfort, or resemblance to ourselves.

The word that James uses for partiality seems to have been invented by the New Testament authors and can be translated as, “Receive the face.” To “receive the face” means to make judgments about someone by their external appearance.

To address that sin, James opens with a staggering claim:

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

That title matters. The Lord of glory is the One who took on poverty, humiliation, and shame. When James highlights his half-brother, the Lord, as the Lord of Glory, he is reminding us that Jesus is exalted in the Heavens and will return to judge. So, for James, where Christ is truly honored, favoritism cannot survive. James is doing a play of words of sorts by essentially saying, “If you’re bent on giving glory to men because of their status, you’re not truly interested in giving glory to the Lord.” Or, in essence, favoritism is antithetical to the gospel you claim to believe.

Now, if this issue is so big that it apparently undermines the gospel, we can’t play games with it. So, since this is so serious, James will teach us how to kill favoritism.

I. Accept God’s Prohibition (2:2-4)

James 2:2–4 NKJV

2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

A. An Example (v.3)

Two men enter the assembly:

One visibly wealthy, adorned, impressive.

One poor, shabby, forgettable.

Notice, the church doesn’t kick the poor man out, they just conveniently put him off to the side, or in a less impressive place. I can imagine that before this example, people would’ve said, “But James, it’s not like we kicked the poor guy out.” In any case, the situation here is pretty clear. The Christians in this community fawned over rich people and treated the poor like a nuisance.

So, James isn’t critiquing hospitality preferences here; rather, he’s exposing their values.

B. An Application (v.4)

“Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

By calling these Christians “judges with evil thoughts,” James is showing them that they’ve set themselves up as judges in the stead of God. Basically, they’ve decided that instead of judging by God’s standards, they’ve decided they’re better judges than He is, and that their standard of determining worth is by how you look or what you offer.

I often hear Christians online talking about how awesome it would be if God would save Jordan Peterson or Joe Rogan. They’ll often say that if God would save these people, they would be huge in turning people to Christ. Now, while I definitely pray that God saves these men, and while I’m not denying that influence is a real thing. We need to remember that the Christian faith’s bread and butter has always been that God saves the undesirables of society and uses them to confound the wise.

I think a good way for us to gauge whether were guilty of this sin is to ask, “Do I find myself giving preferential treatment to people who have something to offer me? Do I avoid those who I don’t believe will benefit me?” If so, we need to recognize this next point:

II. Acknowledge God’s Position (5–7)

James 2:5–7 NKJV

5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen 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. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?

So, James now reorients us by asking: Whose instincts are you following—God’s or the world’s? As James moves to dismantle favoritism in our lives, he first seeks to make us acknowledge God’s position towards the poor.

A. How Does God Treat the Poor? (v.5)

“Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?”

The first thing that James seeks to remind us of is God’s electing love. If we are beneficiaries of God’s electing love, who are we to despise those that He loves? Now, James isn’t saying that God bases His election on poverty levels. However, the NT seems to teach us that the wealthy regularly trust in their riches. This is why Jesus tells us that the poor are blessed in Luke’s gospel and that it is harder for the rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven than it is for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle.

So, poverty strips away illusions of self-sufficiency. The poor are not spiritually superior by default, but they are often more aware of their need. The reason being is that a life of suffering often causes people to look for hope and answers, which ultimately are found in God alone.

This echoes the marrow of the gospel: God justifies the ungodly, exalts the lowly, and gives the kingdom to those who receive rather than achieve. The next thing that James seeks to do is to contrast God’s position towards to poor with the how incoherent it is that we favor those who tend to hate us.

B. The Inconsistency of Favoritism (vv.6–7)

James is brutally honest:

The rich exploit.

They drag believers into court.

They blaspheme Christ’s name.

Now, this is not all rich people. For instance, we know that God saved many wealthy people in the NT such as Lydia. But in James’ context, it seems that there was enough persecution from the rich to make the point, which is: why are you so quick to approve of those who are most hostile to Christ while neglecting those He delights to save?

Partiality often baptizes worldly power while distrusting gospel weakness.

III. Avoid God’s Punishment (8–13)

James 2:8–13 NKJV

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James now presses the matter home. Favoritism is not a “minor flaw.” It is a sin that it places us under divine judgment. So, how do we avoid this?

A. Recognize Favoritism as a Real Sin (vv.8–9)

“If you really fulfill the royal law… you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin.”

The “royal law” is Leviticus 19:18—love your neighbor as yourself. Favoritism doesn’t merely fail at love; it violates it.

Leviticus 19:18 NKJV

18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

James refuses to let us excuse this as personality or preference. Scripture names it plainly: sin.

B. Realize Favoritism Is a Big Sin (vv.10–11)

James 2:10–11 NKJV

10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Breaking one command breaks the Lawgiver’s authority.

This isn’t about tallying infractions; it’s about allegiance. Selective obedience still crowns us as king. Favoritism says, “I’ll obey God where it costs me little.”

James will not allow us to minimize what God takes seriously.

C. Remember Favoritism Isn’t Christian (vv.12–13)

“So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.”

The law of liberty is the gospel-shaped life—obedience flowing from mercy received.

And then the warning:

“Judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

This isn’t works-righteousness. It’s evidence. Those who have been crushed and restored by mercy cannot comfortably withhold it from others.

Christ did not show partiality when He went to the cross. He bore judgment so mercy could reign. A merciless church betrays a misunderstood gospel.

Closing Pastoral Note

Favoritism is not cured by better etiquette but by deeper union with Christ. The more clearly we see ourselves as spiritually poor, welcomed by sheer grace, the harder it becomes to rank others.