Favoritism/Judgment

Last week we ended with a statement made by James in v. 27. “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world. He bases this statement on what He has just told them about being doers of the Word rather than hearers of the Word. Specifically when He tells them that we are to be ones who look intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it. In our passage today James is going to go more in depth as to what it means to look into the law of freedom. And the main point that James wants us to get is that...

We should love our neighbor as an overflow of our joy in God’s mercy toward us.

And full disclosure here. This passage is a difficult one. I think Brad was trying to set me up when he asked me if I would preach this week. But in all seriousness, there are some beautiful truths in this passage but also a very honest look into our own hearts and to the type of people we want to be.

In this passage James supports his main point by telling us two truths. First that mercy brings relief to our hearts. Second, favoritism reveals that we have not yet grasped God’s mercy in our lives.

Mercy brings relief to our hearts

Now usually I start my sermons with an illustration but as I searched and searched one that fit our passage today the best one, unsurprisingly, comes from God’s Word. It is in the parable of the unforgiving servant Jesus tells in Matthew 18. In this parable Jesus tells of a man who owes a great debt to a king, and so the king brings the man before him and tells him he will throw him in prison but the man begs and pleads and says “be patient with me, and I will pay you everything”. So the master shows him compassion and releases him and even forgives him of the entire loan. Then that man went out and found one of his employees who owed him far less then he owed the king and grabs this servant and chokes him and says “pay what you owe!” And the employee begged and says “be patient with me, and I will pay you back.” But the man was unwilling to show mercy and threw him into prison until he could pay what he was owed. When the king heard of this he brought the man before him and says “you wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And he threw the man over to the jailers until he could pay everything that he was owed.

The main point of this parable is not “look how mean the man is” or “look at how terrible the punishment for being unwilling to forgive”, and it isn’t even “look at how much the man owed”. The main point is “look at how forgiving the king was.” Because in a surprising turn of events he doesn’t just release him, he didn’t just have compassion by giving him more time to pay it. He decided to completely pay the entire debt that the man owed, every single penny. It says the man owed ten thousand talents, which doesn’t mean much to us. But it is about 20 years worth of salary, an amount that would take an entire lifetime to pay. So this is not something simple to pay, in fact this man must have made some terrible mistakes to find himself in this amount of debt. Yet all of it is forgiven because of the mercy of the king. This is the type of mercy that James talks about.

In one commentary on James there was is this quote on mercy. “The mercy we show towards others shows our desire to obey the law of the kingdom and, indirectly therefore, of a heart made right by the work of God’s grace…our merciful attitude and actions will count as evidence of the presence of Christ within us. And it is on the basis of this union with the one who perfectly fulfilled the law for us that we can have confidence of vindication at the judgment.”

How incredible is it that we have vindication of judgment based on the presence of Christ with us? How amazing that we will not get what we are owed? how beautiful God’s mercy in our life that even in our wretched state the God of the universe decided to send his perfect Son into the world to forgive us of our sins?

How much more willing should we be to show others God’s mercy? How much more willing to be not just hearers of the Word but also doers of the Word?

What we are called to do is act as those “under the law of freedom”. James reveals to us what this means at Which means that we act as people who God has shown His mercy to. If we are those who have heard God’s Word and understand God’s grace and mercy in our lives, than our doing should be treating others with the same mercy and love that God has shown us. Because we would not like judgment without mercy.

Because if the standard we like to set on others is the same standard God set for us we would never receive salvation. Because when we care for those in need we often like to put stipulations in place, we want it done on our terms, and if they don’t use the gift that we have given them exactly as we want them to then we don’t want to give it. We ask “I wonder how they are going to use that.” and If we deem that our money won’t be used properly we question whether we should give at all. But God has shown us His mercy and offered us salvation recognizing that we will not use His salvation in our lives perfectly, that we will sin, we will act selfishly, we will use what God has given us for our interests and not for others, that we won’t share the Gospel with others in all the circumstances God has called us to. Yet God still offered us salvation anyways. See God gave to us recognizing that we won’t use it exactly as He desires for us to, so why do we hold a different standard towards those who we have been called to help? I think what James tells us is that

Favoritism reveals that we have not yet grasped God’s mercy toward us

Some of your may remember in 1975 there was an advertising campaign run by Pepsi called the “Pepsi Challenge”. This came about because Pepsi had run blind taste tests around the country in public locations where they took two different cups. One with Coke and one with Pepsi but without any label. They asked people to take a sip and tell them which they thought tasted better, then after the taster gives their opinion they would show them what they were drinking. What they found was that a majority of people enjoyed Pepsi more than Coke. But in any taste test where you should them what they are drinking they would say they enjoy Coke more than Pepsi. Because what we often have is confirmation bias, we interpret facts based off of existing beliefs and feelings. If you have grown up drinking Coke then you will immediately have a preference towards Coke.

In all of us we have a tendency to show favoritism. We enjoy certain personalities, certain hobbies, have similar interests, in a similar state of life. But what James shows us is that this can become dangerous if we don’t view all relationships in light of God’s mercy on us.

It says that we should not show “favoritism”. This word refers to “receiving the face”. As in making a judgment based on appearance. Whether it is clothes, socio-economic status, physical appearance, or the color of the skin. Any of these are based on the immediate thoughts we have of a person. It says that we should not show this favoritism but to hold on to our faith in Christ. I like the way that the NASB translates this “do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.” It says “our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” because He also wants to remind us that Jesus is perfectly righteous and sits on the judgment seat, He has authority over all things. He is saying “you can’t hold judgment towards another and not also receive the Lord’s judgment.”

James makes favoritism and our faith in Jesus as diametrically imposed to one another. You can’t hold your faith but also hold discrimination towards another. They can’t work together.

James then gives an example of two men who walk into their assembly. And you could read this description of the well dressed man as saying “he came in wearing Polo Ralph Lauren” or for a women maybe “she walked in with a COACH hand bag”. And then it gives a description of the poor man and it says he comes in with “dirty clothes”. This refers not just to physical dirtiness. Certainly you can imagine someone with tattered clothes, who has a smell of body odor and may not have the greatest hygiene. But the description goes past physical to the spiritual. When people in the church see the person with dirty clothes they also assume they are spiritually unclean as well. They assume they have not made the right choices in life, that they have brought their uncleanness on themselves and if they only worshipped God more and prayed more that they wouldn’t be in this situation. They assume impure motive, “maybe they have come trying to get some money”, “maybe they are an addict and I don’t know if I want that type of person in my church”. They even look at the color of their skin and make judgments. Because we also in this hear some language of Jew and Gentile divide. They saw someone of a different ethnicity and automatically assumed they were of lower moral character, that they were dangerous, or that they wanted something.

And notice how James says “your assembly”, almost like these believers have taken possession or ownership of the place that they worship. That this is “my church” and only the people they welcome are allowed in. They have taken a place meant to worship God and made it a place to keep them safe, a place where they control who stays and who goes. And how they receive each person is different. One is invited with excitement, they already have honor for someone they may not even know and trust their judgment and believe them to have good moral character because of their outward appearance. While the poor man they welcome at arms length, already questioning their motives for coming to worship.

But they went even farther, they told each of these men where to sit. To the rich man, “hey why don’t you sit next to me and my family and we can get to know you and you can feel comfortable here in our place of worship.” But to the poor man, “sorry, I sit in this spot every Sunday so you can’t sit here…but there are some seats in the back that you can grab!” One you present in the open for people to greet and meet, while the other you hide in the back hoping that they go unnoticed or that they do not come back.

So James tells them “haven’t you made distinctions between yourselves?” So he identifies that they have not just discriminated against outsiders, they have also discriminated against those in the body of Christ. They have divided based on who looks like them, based on who has similar interests and hobbies, based on who they are friends with while they ignore those who are different.

He calls them “judges with evil thoughts”. Saying that they come to unfair judgments or conclusions of others based on unfair criteria. They bring no judgment or little judgment on their friends when they sin. They defend them and may even get angry at someone else who brings any accusation against someone close to them, true or not. While someone else they hand out harsh sentences even when it is undeserved. When someone makes a minor mistake, or when they do or say something that we take personal then we find a reason to make a judgment on them.

And so James reminds them “hasn’t God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?” He is reminding them “has God not used a different criteria for who enters the kingdom of heaven then what you would use?” Because God does not choose based on material wealth, or human wisdom, or physical beauty, or physical strength as humans do. Rather as Jesus says in the beatitudes “blessed are the poor in Spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

And after reminding them that God has chosen the poor he says “so why have your dishonored the poor man and honored the rich one?” But he even says “this doesn’t even make sense, aren’t those who are rich oppress you by putting unfair financial burdens on you and enslave you by putting you in debt? Don’t they sue you and take your money and legally find loopholes so they don’t have to pay you anything? Don’t they blaspheme God’s name not just with their words, but don’t they also proclaim to believe in God yet when you look at their life they are adulterers, and deceivers who tell you one thing but do something else?

While on the other hand they have dishonored the poor, they have sided with the rich who have done nothing to improve their life while they have told the poor that it is their own fault that they are poor while supporting those who have oppressed the poor. They bring judgment on the poor while they defend those who give little regard for God’s Word, who have manipulated and deceived to get their way, and have used their authority for their own advantage rather than care for the needs of others. They force the poor out of their homes, they use unfair interest rates and hefty prices to keep others enslaved, and they make sure they must come back time and time again for more money.

James is essentially saying, “why are you defending these guys? Look how they have treated you! Have they looked out for your needs? Have they helped you when you were in trouble? And yet that is who you are defending?”

If we look at our own culture we see that Satan is pulling the exact same tricks. He deceives us into believing that the poor, and the refugee or immigrant, and the oppressed are the problem. While at the same time defending the billionaires, and the politicians, and the news anchors and acting as if they are our friends who are looking out for our interests. What an upside down world we live in. Have you ever considered that is where many of our divisions come from? That Satan has used social media, and politics, and the news to divide us by making us believe that our neighbor is the issue! That those who have a different opinion then us are the problem and they just don’t get it, while reserving our judgment for the rich who have told us what issues to care about and telling us who the problem is.

So James reminds them, “hasn’t the law told you to love your neighbor as yourself?”

Love your neighbor as yourself

James says to show partiality is sinning against the whole law. That to discriminate against another is just as severe as adultery or murder, or any other sin for that matter. That if we treat some people with great kindness but others with contempt than we are guilty of the whole law. Because if we keep the rest of the law, but are unable to keep this one law then we have shown to be guilty of all of the rest of the law.

It reminds me of what Jesus says in Matthew 25:35-46 when talking to the disciples.

Matthew 25:35–46 CSB

“ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’ “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’ “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’ “Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Notice it is the least of these, not just the people in the middle, not those like us who are dealing with difficulties, but the least of these. If we ignore them, if we act as if the issues they face are not real issues, or that they aren’t worth caring for then the Lord will say to us “depart from me”. What we will face is God’s righteous judgment because we have been unwilling to show mercy to others.

So who are the least of these? One group is the homeless. Often we are willing to give them small amounts, but as Jesus says in Matthew 6, if all you invite into your home are your friends and neighbors then what are you doing out of the ordinary? Doesn’t every person do that? Or if we give to the homeless but we hold back some because we say “well what if they use it for alcohol?” So we are unwilling to give.

Or if we ignore those who are black in our country and act as if there aren’t still oppressed in this country, then we again are dishonoring the poor while honoring the rich. If we act like “they just receive government handouts” or “the real problem is that there are no dad’s in the home” or “they just like to blame other people for their problems” then we are dishonoring those in need. A study was done a few years ago of over 1.8 million births in the US. And it found that when a white doctor delivers a black baby that this baby is 3 times more likely to die than a white baby. But when a black doctor delivers a white baby there is no disparity between them and black babies. Or another study that sent in the resume under two different names, one that sounded white and one that sounded black. The resume under a white name was 50% more likely to get a callback. So if we have someone who is black come through our doors and we see them as lazy and unwilling to work, or act like they have put themselves in this position then we are dishonoring the poor. There is a saying that I’ve heard before, that Sunday is the most segregated day of the week, and that is still true today.

In the book “The Insanity of God” by Nik Ripken, a missionary who spoke to Christians who are oppressed all over the world. He makes this statement “Our hope is that believers around the world will get close enough to the heart of God that the first images that come to mind when we hear the word “Muslim” are not Somali pirates or suicide bombers or violent jihadists or even terrorists. When we hear the word “Muslim,” we need to see and think of each and every individual Muslim as a lost person who is loved by God. We need to see each Muslim as a person in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. We need to see each Muslim as someone for whom Christ died.”

Who else could we insert there? “we need to see each refugee as someone for whom Christ died.” “we need to see each homeless person as someone for whom Christ died.” “we need to see each African-American as a person for whom Christ has died.” “When need to see each person of a different political opinion as someone for whom Christ died.”

Or consider the attitude that you have when you go on a mission trip. If you have ever been on a mission trip think of how you feel about the people that you interact with. You see each person you come in contact with as an opportunity to share the Gospel, you believe that God has sent you there to teach you something through the people you interact with, you are excited to interact with someone who is completely different then you and when you come home you are excited to share stories of these people and show pictures of the faces of the people you met and to give a great account of God’s work. We bend over backwards for people in need in other countries, doing whatever we can to help.

But what if every day we saw ourselves as missionaries in our own city? What if we interacted with people different then us with the same enthusiasm and with the same belief that God desires to teach us through our experience with that person?

So as the band comes up and as we worship there may be some confession you need to do in your own heart. People you know you have treated differently, maybe someone that you didn’t even think you had treated differently but now you are realizing you have. Maybe you need to go to the Lord and thank Him for His mercy towards you today and remind yourself of the gift of salvation that has been offered to you. Maybe there is someone you need to go and ask for forgiveness towards for how you treated them. This is the time to do that. This is the time to be a doer of the Word rather than just a hearer.