Worthy Sermon Week 3

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Intro/Welcome

Good Morning One Hope

If you are joining online we are so glad you are here.

My name is Justin

We’ll be in James 2:1 today, picking up right where we left.

We are going to be talking about favoritism today and why James says it is antithetical to the gospel.

In fact, it leads to all sorts of problems.

Have you ever been accused of favoritism?

Worthy Series

We are finishing a short Series called “Worthy”

What is a worthy life to God?

What is a life worthy of the Gospel?

We’ve been looking at the Book of James

James is concerned that we would not just talk about Jesus a lot but that we would walk in the way of Jesus.

In fact he says that if we are not becoming more like Jesus over time we need to reconsider whether our faith is in fact alive, a living faith or if its dead.

Week 1: We said “You matter to God (so much he died for you)”

Because you matter to God it matters to God how you live

Last Week: We looked at James 1:27 - True Religion — True Devotion to God is:

Caring for Widows and Orphans

Call to Thrive — Some interest

SRC Food Drive

Purity of Life (unstained from world)

This Week pick it up in the very next verse - James 2:1

Look at the sin of partiality.

What we are going to see today is that

Favoritism is not of Faith

Next Series: Exodus

Books in back

ESV Journal Bible in Exodus

Nav Bible Study

150 days of Prayer

Day 77, passed 1/2 point

Praying for:

Spiritual Awakening, Spiritual Health, A Place to Call Home

Join the prayer movement.

Pray

pray

The Sin of Favoritism

James 2:1 My brothers, show no partiality (favoritism) as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

There it is:

show no partiality/favoritism + as you hold the faith in Jesus.

These two parts are very important.

Favoritism is antithetical to the gospel.

If you confess faith in Jesus and are treating people preferentially

you have misunderstood the gospel

Favoritism is a form of wordly desire (James 1:27)

What is Favoritism?

Defining favoritism: to make unjust distinctions between people by treating one person better than another, ‘to show favoritism, to be partial, partiality’

He gives us an example in James 2:2-3

right there in their church — favoring the rich, the well dressed, the upper class, the wealthy.

Story of a Pastor who sat outside begging then preached on caring for the poor.

James says this favoritism is not from faith but is sin

James 2:9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

Favoritism comes from sin.

There are subtle forms

cliques that from

exclusive groups.

there are more dangerous forms such as racial or ethic prejudice.

harming or attempting to eradicate entire groups of people.

At its core these are forms to favoritism and they fail to grasp the enormity of the gospel.

We do this sort of thing all the time.

We separate people by:

Social classes, socio-economic status, political affiliation, race, ethnicities.

MLK “11:00 on Sunday is the most segregated hour in America”

It still is.

Favoritism is a sin. Racial Prejudice is a particularly egregious form of favoritism.

In light of MLK day and striving for fair treatment of all — impartiality

let’s talk about race relations in America.

Race Relations in the U.S.

Does America have a race problem?

Barna Statistics

self-identified Christians who say their faith is very important in their lives and have attended a worship service within the past month

“Do you think our country has a race problem?”

2019 - Answered Definitely:

78% Black Self-Identifying Christians (72% non-christian)

38% White Self-Identifying Christians (46% non-Christian)

46% All Ethnicities (49% non-christian)

2020 - Answered Definitely: (In the Summer of 2020)

81% Black Self-Identifying Christians (76% non-christian)

33% White Self-Identifying Christians (37% non-christian)

43% All Ethnicities (46% non-christian)

Historically, the United States has been oppressive to minorities.

2019 - Agreed with this statement

68% Black Self-Identifying Christians

43% White Self-Identifying Christians

50% All U.S. Adults

47% All Self-Identifying Christians

2020 - Agreed with this statement

78% Black Self-Identifying Christians

48% White Self-Identifying Christians

57% All U.S. Adults

56% All Self-Identifying Christians

What do you think?

I would say yes

Because Sin is real and we are all prone to show favoritism both in subtle forms and more egregious forms.

There is no question we are a divided people.

Division comes from Favoritism

The Church is called to Unity

not around any particular cause but around a particular Person.

Jesus Christ.

The question is what do we do? How do we respond?

James actually alludes to it:

The answer is quite simple:

“Love your neighbor as yourself”

James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

This is the simplest command

Yet so few of us actually live by this

You can only truly love your neighbor if you have loved God becuase God has loved you.

If every human being simply lived this out, there would be no problems.

We may know the right thing to do, the problem is we don’t to it

becuase we can’t do it

at least not on our own.

How do we move forward?

I believe the Church is the hope of the world

There is no lasting solution without the gospel of heart transformation.

Two things:

We need to see reality for what it is

We need to move past our fear of losing

True Reality

We’ve got a problem in our culture

In the age of Information

We are in an information crisis

No body knows who is right

what is true

You can find a book written justifying any position.

Lot’s of literature in the last few years in particular

White Fragility, White Awake

How to not be a racist…etc.

How do we know what’s true?

Answer: God’s Word

James tells us right here

The Bible has outlasted every culture it has been in

It is written outside of our time and culture and thus can speak objectively into it.

AVOID FALSE DICHOTOMY

Critical Theory

The rise and embracement of Critical Theory

There is much to affirm in this field of study

We don’t have the time to dissect but there is a major point that requires clarification.

Niel Shenvi — Lots of great articles looking at Critical Theory from a Christian Perspective

Critical Theory

basically teaches there are two categories of people:

Critical Theory

The Oppressed

The Oppressors

While that’s true, biblically there is a deeper truth.

James affirms this:

ADD

James 2:6 ... 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?

Biblically there are two categories of people:

Sinners

Sinless

James makes this point.

look if you have broken one aspect of the law (no matter how minute) you have now entered the type of person known as ‘transgressor of the law’

or — Sinner

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

Have any of you ever committed any sin?

then you are in the first category.

Where Critical Theory will fail is that it doesn’t go deep enough.

It certainly does not have a Biblical Worldview at its foundation.

The oppressed eventually become the oppressors

Line in Dark Knight — you either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain.

WHY?

B/C only Two categories: Sinner and Sinless

Any solution void of the gospel — of ‘having faith in Jesus’ will fall short and will end a new cycle of sin.

But through the Gospel

Jesus makes a third: Saved Sinner

This has changed everything.

This is where the church exists.

and it is a people who have embraced the gospel

who have faith in Jesus, the Lord of Glory

that can overcome the fears we all have.

Overcoming Fear

The second path forward is for us to not give into our fear

specifically our fear of losing.

The Church is the only place where people can live without fear.

Without fear of losing, becuase in the end we will gain everything.

What are you afraid of losing?

We all tend to grasp onto the things we have: power, security, money

Or the things we think will solve our problems.

But Biblically if we ‘hold onto the faith’

We are called to live for the sake of another

for our neighbor

James says it in James 2:8

Phil 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

How did you vote? —

for the benefit of yourself

or the benefit of others

Fear is central to so many of our worlds ills.

Fear of losing.

Gospel Power

Where do we get the power to live this way?

This kind of Fear is not from God

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

A Spirit of Power, Love and self-control (or sound mind)

The power comes from the gospel

We look to Jesus, who

Philippians 2:5–7 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

it saved you it sustains you.

Freed from the penalty of sin, condemnation

freed from the power of sin

freed from presence of sin

hold to faith, trust in Jesus.

James says you are all sinners

but live in accordance with the law of liberty

James 2:12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

James 2:13 ...Mercy triumphs over judgment.

mercy triumphs over judgment

Application

So Church, this is the call before us.

Do you show favoritism in your life?

Will we be part of the reconciliation that needs to happen?

What does this look like for you?

Is it a march? a rally? a protest?

a facebook post? a twitter argument?

Maybe some of that stuff is helpful, maybe

But it is more simple and more fundamental than that.

It’s about relationships.

Who has God placed around you?

Who can you extend the hand of friendship to?

Where can you show impartiality in your life?

who you dine with? who you hang out with?

Proximity breeds empathy. — NFL Teams

What this whole discussion needs in our culture is exactly what James has prescribed:

1. Be quick to listen

2. Slow to speak (doesn’t mean don’t speak)

3. Be slower to anger (don’t react out of anger)

why? the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God

Can we be angry? Yes, you should be

but as we’ve seen don’t sin in your anger (Psalm 4:4)

Most importantly:

4. Be doers of the word, not just hearers

that means leave here having heard the word

the word of God’s love

the word of reconciliation

the word of reaching out

And be a doer of that work — ME TOO

If you want to continue the conversation

talk with myself or Rebecca Go after service.

Let’s Pray

God shows partiality

WHY? — God shows no partiality.

this again is life in the image of God

We are called to be like God

Jesus is the perfect image of God (Col 1:15) the exact imprint of his nature (Heb 1:3)

we are to be impartial becuase God is impartial.

But what does this mean that God shows no partiality?

This word ‘partiality’ shows up only a few times in the Bible.

In fact, outside of James it always refers to God

Eph 6:9 (in the context of servants and masters) Col 3:25 (judgment) Rom 2:11 (judgment or glory)

Let’s look briefly at one example Romans 2:6-11

Romans 2:6-11: He will render to each one according to his works:

7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;

8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,

10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.

11 For God shows no partiality.

...13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

What does God’s impartiality look like?

all who sin and are self-seeking will be judged

all who do good and obey God will receive eternal life

In other words, all will be under the judgment of God

God will judge all sin regardless of race, economic status, political affiliation…etc.

But, God also saves with no partiality

This was the big surprise in the coming of Jesus

The kingdom of heaven was opened to all the peoples of the earth, the nations.

There is no distinction now, gentiles, jews…all are welcome to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

All are condemned, all can be saved through Jesus

The decision is theirs.

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

This is James point.

When we understand the gospel, that we were saved becuase of nothing we did in ourselves, but completely by grace

How could we then set any conditions upon anyone else?

The one condition is Faith in Jesus Christ

That makes us all equal

The ground is level at the cross.

We are all equally sinners

We are all equally saved by Christ’s Work