Sermon Tone Analysis

Toward Mercy and Impartiality

When we think of the attributes of God, His divine nature and characteristics, we usually think of such things as His holiness and righteousness and His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.

We think of His immutability (changelessness), His eternality, His sovereignty, His justice, and His perfect grace, love, mercy, faithfulness, and goodness.

But another attribute of God that is not thought or spoken of so often is His impartiality.

Yet that is a serious and recurring theme throughout Scripture.

God is absolutely impartial in His dealings with people.

When we think of the attributes of God, His divine nature and characteristics, we usually think of such things as His holiness and righteousness and His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.

We think of His immutability (changelessness), His eternality, His sovereignty, His justice, and His perfect grace, love, mercy, faithfulness, and goodness.

But another attribute of God that is not thought or spoken of so often is His impartiality.

Yet that is a serious and recurring theme throughout Scripture.

God is absolutely impartial in His dealings with people.

Deuteronomy

King Jehoshaphat of Judah reminded the judges he just appointed:

The obvious implication is that judges should carefully and reverently reflect the Lord’s holiness and impartiality.

James gives 5 features of Godlike Impartiality.

The Principle

The Example

The Inconsistency

The Violation

The Appeal

The Principle

Having genuine faith in the our glorious Lord Jesus Christ while holding an attitude of favoritism is contradictory and incompatible.

The phrase our glorious Lord Jesus Christ is, more literally, “our Lord Jesus Christ of the glory,” perhaps referring to God’s Shechinah glory (see ; ), the history of which James’s Jewish readers would have been very familiar.

The idea is that we cannot hold the faith of Jesus Christ, who is the very presence and glory of God, and be partial.

The phrase our glorious Lord Jesus Christ is, more literally, “our Lord Jesus Christ of the glory,” perhaps referring to God’s Shechinah glory (see Ex. 40:34; 1 Kings 8:11), the history of which James’s Jewish readers would have been very familiar.

The idea is that we cannot hold the faith of Jesus Christ, who is the very presence and glory of God, and be partial.

In the Greek text, the phrase do not … with an attitude of favoritism is in the emphatic position, preceding hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ and thereby giving special force to the imperative admonition, which carries the idea of continuation, of not making a practice of favoritism, which has no place in the life of a faithful Christian.

A few verses later (2:9), James makes clear that favoritism is not simply discourteous and disrespectful but is a serious sin.

An attitude of personal favoritism translates the single Greek word prosōpolēmpsia, which has the literal meaning of lifting up someone’s face, with the idea of judging by appearance and on that basis giving special favor and respect.

It pertains to judging purely on a superficial level, without consideration of a person’s true merits, abilities, or character.

In the Greek text, the phrase do not … with an attitude of favoritism is in the emphatic position, preceding hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ and thereby giving special force to the imperative admonition, which carries the idea of continuation, of not making a practice of favoritism, which has no place in the life of a faithful Christian.

A few verses later (2:9), James makes clear that favoritism is not simply discourteous and disrespectful but is a serious sin.

The gospel is a great leveler, available with absolute equality to everyone who believes in the Savior it proclaims.

The Example

The gospel is a great leveler, available with absolute equality to everyone who believes in the Savior it proclaims.

James 2:

The gospel is a great leveler, available with absolute equality to everyone who believes in the Savior it proclaims

To understand this a little better, early converts to Christianity were Jewish and poor.

They suddenly lost everything because they were ostracized.

We see this in .

An attitude of personal favoritism translates the single Greek word prosōpolēmpsia, which has the literal meaning of lifting up someone’s face, with the idea of judging by appearance and on that basis giving special favor and respect.

It pertains to judging purely on a superficial level, without consideration of a person’s true merits, abilities, or character.

Also, we see a number of Hellenistic Jews complained against the native Hebrews because their widows were overlooked in the daily serving of food.

And there were a number of early Christians who were wealthy.

Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin, and a secret disciple of Christ, who received permission from Pilate to bury Jesus in a new tomb.

Nicodemus, also a secret disciple, and prominent and wealth member of the Sanhedrin.

Lydia, Aquila and Priscilla, and Titius Justus, Crispus, and others.

1 Timothy 6:

James says it’s evil.

Why is it evil?

Because the Lord shows no partiality to either, whether rich or poor — they are both equal in God’s sight.

So, we should treat them the same.

The Inconsistency

God is impartial and so should we be.

James 2:

James is pointing out the inconsistency in God’s character and the attitude of a believer who is disrespectful of the poor people.

He admonishes them warmly — “Listen, my dear brothers.”

He aims it at their heart and their mind.

James is saying in effect — Think about this for a moment.

Partiality inconsistent with God’s divinely choosing the poor, economically poor, not “poor in spirit.”

The rich who you show favoritism toward, usually don’t respect you they pull you into court and oppress you and blaspheme your faith.

So, when you go against the poor, you go against the Lord’s chosen.

When you favor the rich, you side with blasphemers.

God makes them rich in faith and heirs to the kingdom.

The Violation

Not on is it favoritism and contrary to God’s choosing — it is contrary to God’s Royal Law.

Royal carries the idea of Supreme and Sovereign.

Romans

Loving, godly impartiality does not relate to the highly popularized self-esteem and narcissistic self-admiration that are so much promoted today, allegedly in the name of biblical Christianity.

The Christian who knows, understands, and fully accepts Scripture realizes that, in himself, he is a vile and wretched sinner who deserves only condemnation and hell, and that it is only by God’s immeasurable grace that he is saved, secured, blessed, and destined for an eternity in heaven with the Lord.

And notice his argument in verses 9-10:

This is how important this issue is!

And then to illustrate the point he uses the two most serious social sins.

Both demanded the death penalty if broken.

This is what favoritism is like.

Based on that he then makes an appeal to them.

The Appeal

Consider the severity of the sin of favoritism and the danger of divine judgment.

In other words, Forsake the sin of favoritism and ask the Lord’s forgiveness.

James 2:

And in further warning James says Judgment will be merciless to the one who shows no mercy.

When a man lives without mercy to others in God’s world, he simply shows off the fact that he himself has never responded aright to the immeasurable mercy of God.

The mercy a man has shown others as fruit of a life touched by God’s saving mercy will triumph over judgment.

His own sins, worthy of judgment, are removed by God’s working in his life, dissolving all the charges strict justice might bring against him.

Thus his showing of mercy is not a matter of heaping up personal merit to deserve salvation by his own good works.

The mercy he shows is itself a work of God for which he can take no credit.

When a man lives without mercy to others in God’s world, he simply shows off the fact that he himself has never responded aright to the immeasurable mercy of God.

The mercy a man has shown others as fruit of a life touched by God’s saving mercy will triumph over judgment.

His own sins, worthy of judgment, are removed by God’s working in his life, dissolving all the charges strict justice might bring against him.

Thus his showing of mercy is not a matter of heaping up personal merit to deserve salvation by his own good works.

The mercy he shows is itself a work of God for which he can take no credit.

James brings us to the climax of his great argument.