Partiality in James

Introduction

This morning I would like to say to each one of you without exception has been wonderfully made and is love by God. Each of us has been created in the image of God intended for his purposes on this earth. I encourage each of you to turn to your neighbour and tell them that they are special to God.

In the opening verses of chapter 2 of James the believers scattered in different parts of the nation about the sin of favouritism as opposed to the royal law of love

Jacob loved Rachel, her womb was closed for a time and then she gave birth to sons one of which was joseph. Joseph was favoured and his brothers became Jealous and threw him in a pit and sold him to travelers and was taken to Egypt. The ending of this story was good although a long time passed but his brothers came and bowed down to him during the famine and they had the opportunity to reconciliation.

What I would like to draw out of this old testament passage is that partiality or favouritism has always been one of the causes of conflict jealousy, envy and even hatred.

Favouritism forbidden

2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as law-breakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’[b] also said, ‘You shall not murder.’[c] If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a law-breaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James gives 3 arguments against showing favouritism to the rich

They persecute the poor - the believers

Favouritism vilates the royal law of love and thus is sin ( the royal law) the law of love (leviticus 19:18) is called roayal becasuse it is the supremelaw that is the sourceofsummation of all such laws (Mt 22:36- 40 Romans 13:8-10

favouritism witll be judged

Revelation22:12 behold I am coming soon my reward is with me and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Respect of Persons

Respect of Persons. Scriptural expression generally used in a negative sense of partiality or favoritism shown to persons. In Hebrew, the expression refers literally to “the lifting up of the face” of another person (2 Chr 19:7), while in the Greek it means “to receive the face” of someone or to accept his external appearance as the real thing and to make an evaluation on that basis.

Because respect of persons or partiality is used biblically in this sense, the Bible declares several times that God is never guilty of such partiality. Paul clearly states in a universal context that God does not show partiality or respect of persons in his judgment of the works of individuals (Rom 2:1–16). God’s impartiality is made the basis for Paul’s command to Christian masters to treat their slaves fairly since there is no favoritism with God, their own great Master in heaven (Eph 6:9). Paul uses this attribute of God to encourage the Christian slave to serve his master wholeheartedly, since he will be repaid by his impartial God in heaven (Col 3:25; cf. 1 Pt 1:17).

Because of these references to God’s fairness in refusing to respect persons, God’s people are not to pervert justice by showing partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but they are to be fair in their evaluation of cases when required to make such judgments (Lv 19:15). They are not to corrupt justice by showing respect of persons because of the fear of man (Dt 1:17) or because of bribery (16:18–20; see also 2 Chr 19:7; Prv 24:23; 28:21).

Point 1

Point 2

Point 3

Conclusion