Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover

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James 2:1–13 (ESV)

The Sin of Partiality

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.

Introduction

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”

It’s a phrase we’ve all heard before.

Something we were told as a kid.

It’s this idea that we shouldn’t judge based on what we see on the outside.

But if you’re like me, you’ve been guilty of this more times than you can count.

Illustration

One example of this in my life was with a popular movie that came out not too long ago.

The newest Superman movie.

Not to be a hater, but… historically, in my mind, DC movies have not matched the level of Marvel movies.

They’ve just been lesser quality in my estimation.

Like I’d rather watch The Avengers way more than watch Aquaman.

No offense if there’s any Aquaman fans in here.

So my brother and I were hyping up this Superman movie but in the worst way.

We thought it was going to be a joke.

The first few commercials for it seemed a little bit cheesy, and because of that, I completely wrote it off.

In fact, we even went to go see this movie to how bad it was going to be.

But then… we were blown away.

That it was actually far from a bad movie. It was a fantastic movie.

I had to eat my words big time.

I had made a judgement call based off of the trailer, when the movie was in fact really good.

Maybe you’ve done something similar. With another movie or TV Show, or an actual book.

To give different example of this:

Consider raisins for a moment.

(kinda weird, I know…)

If you like raisins in the room, listen, I love you. God loves you.

But I don’t get it.

They always just looked strange to me. They were the misfit of the trail mix family.

Anytime I have the trail mix pack, I’m avoiding them like the plague.

Now the peanuts? The cashews? The M&M’s? I’m fishing for those.

But the raisins… I would only eat them if one accidently snuck into the pile I poured in my hand.

But, to tell you the truth, after giving them an honest try, I came to the realization…

That they taste just as bad as they look!

Sorry raisins!

But in all seriousness: Isn’t this what we do?

We make judgement calls based on appearances.

Not just in movies. Not just in our trail mix. But we do this with people.

This idea of partiality - that is, showing favoritism to people based on looks, wealth, or other external reasons - is a serious issue.

The word partiality, in it’s literal greek form, means to “Receive the face”. To receive someone based on what you see.

What does God’s Word have to say about this?

Today in our passage, James is addressing this very issue.

The Christians to whom James wrote to were treating people differently based on appearances. And we Christians today aren’t so different.

And what James is trying to tell us is:

Main Idea

Partiality has no place in true faith.

We’ll see three reasons in this passage why partiality has no place in true faith.

The first thing we’ll see is:

Sermon

I. It Judges People Wrongly (v. 1-4)

Explanation

Right from the start, James opens up by giving this command: 1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

This is as clear as it gets. Show. no. partiality. This is the foundation of our sermon today.

And in case we don’t understand what this means, James gives an illustration of what this actually looks like. He says,

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?

Notice the two people James highlights here: the rich man, and the poor man.

The rich man comes into the gathering with a gold ring on and fine clothing. He looks nice. He’s well put together. Probably smells good. Probably has his hair nicely fixed.

And then you have the poor man. The one who walks in with shabby, filthy, unclean clothes. He doesn’t look all that nice. He isn’t well put together.

The wealthy man is given star treatment: “Here, take this seat. It’s the best in the house”

While the poor man is given poor treatment: “Yeah, you can stand over there. Or if you want to sit, sit down at my feet.”

James says, if you do this, you’ve made distinctions among yourselves. You’re basically saying: “You deserve a better spot because of your looks and wealth. You make us look better.”

While to the poor: “You? well… you’re not as important. You don’t fit in. You definitely don’t add anything by being here. Come sit at my feet.”

Illustration

It makes me wonder: if Jesus were to walk into our gathering, how would we treat Him?

Some depictions of Jesus have Him looking tall, wearing a white gown, nice long hair, blue eyes...

Isaiah 53 says that Jesus:

Isaiah 53:2 (ESV)

…he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

Visually, Jesus would not have been a standout in our gathering.

How would we treat him?

Church, making these kinds of judgements is wrong. This sort of thinking is evil.

James says when we do this, we become judges with evil thoughts.

And this wasn’t something new James started teaching. Being a Jewish Christian, James knew God’s law. He knew Leviticus 19:15: “…You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”

Judging Others

Now, this brings up a really important question: are we supposed to judge others?

Maybe you’ve heard someone say, “Only God can judge me.” Maybe you’ve said it yourself.

I mean after all, James just said that being partial means we become judges with evil thoughts.

Kinda seems to have a negative connotation to it.

And later in James 4, he says

12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

But Leviticus 19 just said “in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor”.

And Paul when addressing the church in Corinth says

1 Corinthians 5:12–13 (ESV)

12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

It seems like these are conflicting answers.

But God’s Word does not contradict.

It is perfect, without error, without contradiction.

So what’s the answer? Are we supposed to judge?

The answer: yes and no.

Here’s where we have to consider the whole counsel of Scripture on this.

No

We are not to judge others based on favoritism. We are not to judge based on things such as wealth, status, education, family, and so on.

We’re also not to make a final judgement on someone.

To write someone off entirely.

To say there’s no hope for them.

To think we have all the knowledge on someone to make a definitive call on the status of their life is operating out of our jurisdiction.

That’s not for us to do. That’s for God to do. He alone has the right to make those determinations because He knows all things. He is the great Judge.

We do not have that right.

Yes

At the same time, considering what Paul says, we are called to judge those within the church.

By judge, meaning: hold them accountable to the standard by which they have claim to abide by.

Now: what does this look like?

This doesn’t mean calling our brothers and sisters out in an aggressive, abrasive way.

This doesn’t mean gossiping about them, and looking down on them.

Friends: this kind of “judging” is far from that.

Instead, it is loving correction carried out from a humble heart.

The Christian who is living an unrepentant sin should be lovingly judged and addressed by fellow Christians. If you want proof of this, read Jesus words in Matthew 18.

There is a proper way we are to judge those within the church.

But this is not to be done in a spirit of ultimate authority or superiority, but in humility.

We must remember church: we are not God, therefore we are not the ultimate judge.

And we should not make final judgement calls on other people.

Nor should we judge others based off of appearances.

Application

Take a moment and examine your heart.

Are you quick to judge people based on what you see on the outside? Are you quick to make final judgements on someone?

Declare the verdict before their life is over?

Here’s the kicker: Where this happens most is in our thoughts.

We may not say these things out loud…

But how often do we think less of others based off what we see?

The principle of partiality goes beyond just looks and wealth. It can be based on other things too. Someone’s occupation, their physical abilities, their race, their family or upbringing, the school they went to… and so on.

Keep in mind: this is not how God looks upon people.

1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

7…For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Bridge

And if we are to have true faith, we must look past the external, and consider the internal. We must not judge people wrongly.

James wants us to know that not only does partiality judge wrongly…

II. It Dishonors Those God Honors (v. 5-7)

Explanation

It dishonors the very people Christ died for. And in turn, dishonors God.

James continues and says, 5 Listen [pay attention!], 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?

James asks this question to remind his readers that God has chosen the unimpressive, the overlooked, the lesser, the poor, to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom.

Now James is not saying that God only chose the poor. That is not the point here.

The point is that the Kingdom is much more broad than meets the eye.

It consists of all kinds of people. The poor, the wealthy, the young, the old, the sick, the healthy.

It ultimately consists of those who, as Jesus says, are:

Matthew 5:3 (ESV)

3 …poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This idea of being poor in spirit means that we are spiritually bankrupt apart from Christ.

If you’re not a Jesus follower in the room, have you considered this reality before?

That apart from Christ, we all are spiritually bankrupt, headed towards an eternity separated from God?

It is only when we become poor in spirit that we see our need for Him.

When we recognize there is absolutely nothing we can do to save ourselves.

James continues to address this reality of a broad kingdom in verse 6, saying:

6 But you have dishonored the poor man.

The exact opposite of how Christ treats the poor. And the exact opposite of how we should treat the poor.

We are called to:

Romans 12:10 (ESV)

10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Especially those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

No matter how different they are from us.

No matter their economic status. Their skin color. Their checking account.

In the context within which James is writing, he is addressing Jewish Christians who are facing persecution and are not known for their financial wealth.

So notice what James says in the rest of verse 6:

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?

He’s saying: you’re dishonoring the poor among you, when it’s the rich people who have you in court! It’s the rich people who blaspheme the name of Christ by which you were called!

You treat the rich well while they’re the ones looking to take advantage of you! To exploit you! To oppress you!

How backwards this is.

Why were the Christians in James’ context doing this? Why do we do this?

Maybe we honor the rich because there’s something in it for us.

Maybe the reason we’re inclined to treat the rich better than the poor is because the rich person might do something for us.

We want to stay on their good side. You know… just in case it benefits us.

But the poor?

What do they have to offer us? Not a whole lot. So we write them off. We disregard them.

This is dishonoring a very image bearer of God. And this dishonors God Himself.

Application

In what ways have you and I dishonored those around us based on their looks? Their wealth? Their status?

In what ways have we treated others better with selfish intentions? To gain something from them?

When we dishonor our brothers and sisters, or anyone for that matter, we dishonor God.

For God shows no partiality. (Rom 2:11)

Instead of dishonoring others, may we, as Paul says in Romans 12:10, Outdo one another in showing honor.

Bridge

That’s what true faith looks like. It goes above and beyond to show honor to others.

It’s what Christ did. And it’s what we are called to do.

Partiality judges people wrongly. It dishonors those God honors. And finally, what you’ll see is:

III. It Violates The Royal Law (v. 8-13)

Explanation

Look at verse 8 with me:

He says, 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.

When you see the term “royal law” think about the entire law as summed up by Jesus: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus says all the law and prophets hinge on this command. Love God and Love Neighbor.

In verse 8, James is again quoting from the Old Testament. This is not a new teaching. Leviticus 19:18 “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

What this shows us is: the heart of God’s law has always been to Love Him (vertical) and Love Neighbor (horizontal).

Maybe you think to yourself: “Okay okay, I get it. Showing partiality isn’t the best thing to do. But it’s not like I’ve murdered someone. Besides, I haven’t broken all of God’s commands.”

I want you to look at verse 10 with me. James says,

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.

What?!

If I break just one of God’s commands, I’ve broken them all?

Yes.

Well how is this the case?

I haven’t murdered. I haven’t committed adultery. How can James say this?

What we need to realize is: the law is not divided.

It’s not a bunch of random thrown together laws that have no correlation to each other.

There is one law of God.

And going even further: Jesus takes the law and shows that it’s not just external actions that make you guilty, but the heart behind it.

Hatred for someone is murder. Lust after someone is adultery.

So James says: if you’ve broken one, you’ve broken them all.

So going back to partiality:

When we show partiality, we are not breaking just one part of God’s law… we aren’t breaking a “lesser” part of the law…

We are breaking the entire law, for we are disregarding the very heart and essence of it: loving God and loving neighbor.

So with this in mind, James gives a final command:

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

What does it mean to speak and act as one to be judged under the law of liberty?

It means that we need to live like we have been freed from the laws demands and our sin guilt: because we have been!

We as Christians are not obeying the law to make God happy with us, but rather we have been freed from our sins and now are given the power to obey God’s law.

For the Christian, it is a law of liberty. A law of freedom. Our good standing with God is secure in Christ apart from the law. Therefore, we obey the law willingly and joyfully.

But notice that when James gives this final command, he does so with a warning:

13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

When we dishonor the poor, when we show partiality, we are failing to show mercy.

And James tells us that judgement will be without mercy for those who show no mercy.

Scripture makes a connection between the mercy we show and God’s mercy shown towards us.

Jesus teaches about this in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.

It’s the story where a servant owed a King a large sum of money but couldn’t afford to pay the debt.

So he begged the king to have mercy on him, and the king forgives him of his debt and releases him.

But then, right after, the same scene happens again, yet with a different outcome:

The freed servant finds one of his servants that owes him a small amount of money. The servant begs him to have mercy on him. Instead of showing the mercy he was shown, he throws the servant into prison.

The king hears about it, and is furious. He calls the man a wicked servant, and has him thrown into jail.

We must show mercy if we are to receive mercy from God.

Matthew 5:7 (ESV)

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

When show mercy, we show that God has truly changed our hearts and lives.

We demonstrate that we belong to Him.

Why is mercy so important?

The lats four words in verse 13 tell us why. Because:

Mercy triumphs over judgment.

In the end, mercy wins.

Mercy wins over any judgment.

Law/Gospel Connection

The reality for us in the room today is: we all have shown partiality. We have broken God’s commands. We are transgressors of the law, deserving of God’s judgement and punishment.

And one day, all people will stand before God Himself and give an account for every thing we have ever done.

What will we say?

How are we going to plead our case?

There’s nothing we can say or do, but to beg for mercy.

But the good news is: mercy triumphs over judgement.

And there’s no greater picture of mercy than Jesus Christ Himself.

Our sins are many but His mercy is more.

The reason we have hope in spite of our sin and partiality is:

I. Jesus is the one who never judged wrongly.

He is the just judge who will always judges rightly.

He has never once shown partiality, for all who are poor in Spirit can come to Him, and He will never cast them out.

The rich, the poor, the young, the old, the fair skin, the light skin, the dark skin, the natives, the foreigners, anyone can come to Jesus.

II. Jesus is the one who never dishonored another person.

He always honors others.

He never mistreats, He never disrespects, He never exploits for selfish gain.

He came to the earth not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.

III. Jesus is the one who fulfilled the royal law and all it’s demands on our behalf.

He loved God and loved neighbor perfectly.

He obeyed every command of God perfectly. To a T.

He died for lawbreakers like you and me so that we could be reconciled to God.

And He rose again showing that we too will be resurrected with Him one day by faith in Him.

Response

Church: look to Jesus today!

He is the perfect Savior.

When you fall short, when you show favoritism, remember your Savior, who showed no favorites, but honored all, and gave up His life for all who would place their faith and trust in Him.

If you’ve never looked to Christ for your salvation, if you’ve felt like you don’t belong because of how you look or the clothes you wear or the car you drive,

Don’t leave here today without talking to someone about what it would look like to place your faith and trust in Jesus.

Come talk to me. Talk to one of our pastors. Talk to whoever brought you today.

We want you to know that Christ is for you too.

Conclusion

As we leave here today, remember: partiality has no place in true faith.

We have all sinned and fallen short in this area.

But mercy triumphs over judgement.

And God is merciful to us.

May the love and mercy of Christ move us to go show mercy to others today.

Let’s pray.