True Equality
Notes
Transcript
Handout
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”
Final reduction of the 7 commandments in Animal Farm.
Irony: the plan was to overthrow man’s oppression, but the pigs became men.
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
Third major theme of James: Partiality
Partiality = preference for something
Fine when we speak of things.
e.g. Chinese vs Greek food, Apple vs Android.
Not fine when we speak of people.
Partiality is being encouraged in society today.
Intersectionality.
Explain, with examples!
Presenting Issue
Presenting Issue
Inclination of the church to favour those with outward blessing.
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?
We all have this temptation.
How would you react if a great footballer / musician / preacher came to church today?
The temptation is “coolness by association.”
Ability to name-drop.
Heart Condition
Heart Condition
Discontentment with our life.
If only I had … I’d be happy
How many of us have fallen so in love with this world that, if we knew we were to die tonight, we would experience genuine sorrow because of missed opportunities for various earthly pleasures?
This thinking misses the bigger point: it is not about this life.
11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
The Humble Exalted
The Humble Exalted
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation,
Lowly = humble.
Particular focus is on being materially poor.
Due to the contrast with “rich” in verse 10.
Note the irony: the humble person is called to boast.
But it is not boasting in his own work.
The object of the boasting is God’s work in us.
While the lowly may be down-trodden and ignored today, their reward will be great.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This encouragement of looking to the end ties the lowly here to the one who goes through trials in verses 2–4.
Which makes sense, as trials will make us more humble.
This should also be of comfort to us if we are made more lowly due to persecution.
Fines, loss of jobs etc.
The first place the enemy will attack us is our bank accounts.
Revelation - mark of the beast required to trade.
If the humble are to boast in the blessings that are to come, what are those who have blessings today to boast in?
The same!
The Exalted Humbled
The Exalted Humbled
10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
The boast of the rich brother is that their end is the same as the lowly brother.
Death is the great leveller.
It doesn’t matter how much you have when you die, you can’t take it with you.
Parable of the Rich Fool
16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Our lives are fleeting.
Just like wildflowers that spring up for only days before they wither and die.
This is for both rich and poor.
Being rich does not prevent one from dying.
There are only two categories of people in the world:
Those who are saved by grace, apart from any works they have done.
Those who continue in their rebellion against God.
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.
God may give some people more in this life.
This is to demonstrate that material possessions are neither good nor evil.
If they were good, only the good would get them.
If they were evil, only the evil would get them.
The question is how we use what we have been given.
God has placed each of us, with our gifts, talents, and blessings into the body for a purpose.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Therefore, we are not to boast in what we have, but in who has us. Christ.
23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”