Faith that Works: How Showing Partiality Contradicts God's Heart for the Poor and Violtes His Command to Love Neighbor

This last week Abigail and Abram were given the opportunity to run for class president at their school. Both of them, whether at Zion Lutheran School or now at Faith Academy, have always participated in student government. And at both schools, both children expressed concern over the process of being elected by their peers.

“It’s a popularity contest, dad. It’s not about what you know, but about who you know and if you are in their good graces that week.” Then I hear about how the class is divided up and who will likely get the nomination; not based on merit but on favoritism. It is a hard lesson to learn, but it is a reality in our world.

Just a brief survey of the Bible will show you that since the fall of man we have a natural inclination to play favorites to our detriment.

A few examples in the Old Testament

Isaac favored Esau (Gen 25:23,28)

Rebekah favored Jacob (Gen 27:6-10)

Jacob favored Joseph (Gen 37:3-4)

Elkanah favored Hannah (1 Sam 1:5-6)

The Temple

In the life of Jesus and the apostles, the Temple in Jerusalem was divided into various courts. There was a court for the Gentiles, another court for women, then Israelite men, priests, the Holy Place and then the Holy of Holies.

On the wall beside each entrance into the court of women were stone slabs warning Gentiles not to go beyond that point. One such slab was discovered in 1871 and I believe sits in the Museum of the Ancient Oriental in Istanbul. Part of another is in the British Museum. The whole slab reads,

“No foreigner may enter within the balustrade and enclosure around the Sanctuary. Whoever is caught will render himself liable to the death penalty which will inevitably follow.”

In the early church...

Hebrew widows were favored over Hellenist widows in the church community (Acts 6:1)

Paul warned Timothy about showing favoritism in his ministry (1 Tim 5:21)

James warns us this morning to not show partiality (James 2:1)

In James 2:1 he exhorts his readers,

James 2:1 ESV

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

That is, do not discriminate between people, play favorites, or make sinful distinctions. He is speaking to Christians, to those who hold to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. Inside the church community, says James, there should not be a culture of discrimination based on outward appearances like race, gender, ability or disability. In our text, James is speaking directly to social status, particularly the relationship between the rich and the poor, but the principle will apply across the board.

Jesus did not come to save only white people, or black people, or abled bodied people, or rich people. His salvation is offered to anyone, red, yellow, black or white, rich or poor, man, woman, or child, abled or disabled, who will call upon his name to be saved. The gospel is not about a popularity contest among races and riches. The gospel is about the unifying the nations to favor Jesus.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most powerful uniting force in heaven and earth. For only Jesus can take people who have absolutely nothing in common, ethnically, culturally, or economically, and unite them together to truly love God and love their neighbor. The church is the space God has provided for that unity to flourish and work itself out on the community and home. For us to flourish we must allow the Spirit of God to transform our thinking and conform our hearts into the Lord of glory so that we do not continue making sinful distinctions, but truly love God and our neighbor as ourself.

This morning, James is going to hone in on our temptation to discriminate, particularly to favor the rich over the poor. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, James will admonish you this morning to not discriminate against people who find there way into the fellowship of believers at FBCL based sinful distinctions, but to joyfully advance the kingdom of God by making much of Jesus in the way we love our neighbor and delight in the diversity of the kingdom of God. Or in other words, to form it in an admonishment,

Christian, do not show partiality in the church because it contradicts God’s love for the poor and violates his command to love your neighbor.

As we get started this morning, I’d like to probe our hearts a bit to discover the sin of showing partiality. A good question we could ask is,

Why are we tempted to show partiality to the rich?

After James gives the imperative to not show partiality, he moves into a hypothetical situation that was likely happening in the church. He says,

James 2:2–4 (ESV)

Suppose a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,

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,”

have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

The temptation to Show partiality comes from a divided heart.

In verses 4, James says

James 2:4 (ESV)

have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

The word used for “distinctions” carries the idea of having internal attitude of doubt. For example, Jesus uses a form of this word in Matthew 21:21

Matthew 21:21 ESV

And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.

The word for “distinctions” is also used in the Book of Acts, when Peter had a vision of God sending men to take him to Cornelius’s house. God says to Peter,

Acts 10:20 ESV

Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

Peter is to go with the men, “without hesitation.” That is, Peter is not to have a divided heart. A divided heart is an internal attitude of doubt.

James uses the same word in

James 1:6 ESV

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

As we have already seen, the one who doubts is one who has a divided heart. James says do not have a divided heart when you pray for wisdom. In verse James 2:4, the same idea is expressed, do not have a divided heart in your relationship to God and neighbor (Douglas Moo).

We teach the children at TTV that idolatry is to love something or someone more than God. For believers, idolatry creates a divided heart. We are commanded,

Matthew 22:37 (ESV)

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

“Anything that competes with your love for God is an idol.”

White Supremacist love their idea of whiteness more than God. Black supremacists love their idea of blackness more than God. Chauvinist love their notion of male superiority more than God. Feminist love their notion of female superiority more than they love God. The elitist love their wealth and position in society more than they love God. And the church who shows favoritism to the elitists loves what the rich can offer them more than they love God.

We are tempted to show partiality to rich because of our lust for influence and affluence.

The Bible is filled with warnings about the love of money. Paul warns Timothy that the love of money is the root of all kinds evil (1 Tim 6:10). John says the lust of the eyes, which is as one commentator put it, the sinful desire to possess what we see or to have those things which have visual appeal; coveting of money, possessions, or other physical things, is passing away and warns not to put your hope in the riches of this world. The warnings are there because our hearts are deeply attracted to influence and affluence, and the rich have both.

Our hearts are sinfully drawn to the influence of the rich.

It is a given fact the wealth elitist are deeply connected to very influential people. For example, The New York Times did a study in 2015, and found that at that point fewer than 400 families accounted for almost half the money raised in the 2016 presidential campaign. Just for a comparison, the United States Census says there are approximately 83 million families in America, and 400 hundred of them have intimate access to our political leaders to shape political policy. Paul Krugman, a columnist for the New York Times, commented on this in his Article, “Why do the Wealthy Have so Much Power,” saying,

“Wealthy donors have access to politicians in a way ordinary Americans don’t and play a disproportionate role in shaping policymakers’ worldview.” Paul Krugman

Our hearts are sinfully drawn to the affluence of the rich.

Look at the way James describes the rich man

James 2:2 (ESV)

For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing

The rich man is identified by his resources or his affluence, gold ring and fine clothes.

An affluent person is someone who has a great deal of property, possessions, and wealth; they have an abundance of resources. They have the ability to write a check and cover the churches expenses for a year. Their tithe could ensure lucrative salaries for staff. The rich have the influence and affluence to make projects happen. When we get the opportunity to roam in their circle of friends and resources, we benefit from it. And we are tempted to do whatever it takes to remain in that circle, even compromise our love for God and neighbor.

The phrase “judges with evil thoughts” renders the idea of using sinful standards to make decisions. Where the heart goes, so does the mind, and eventually the will. A divided heart toward God often finds a way to hurt its neighbor.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his book, “Strength to Love,”

“We must face the shameful fact that the church is the most segregated major institution in American society, and the most segregated hour of the week is, as Professor Liston Pope has pointed out, eleven o’clock on Sunday morning” (p. 102). Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love (Collins Fontana, 1939).

If we are honest, the reason why Martin Luther King Jr. wrote those words is because there were churches in America that proudly and adamantly practiced segregation; sinful distinctions made from a divided heart. They practiced segregation because they loved their racism more than they loved Jesus. The divided heart will always work its decision making through a grid of evil judgments that manifest itself into sinful works, such as segregation. For James readers , the manifestation of sinful works was showing partiality toward the rich.

Therefore, we are tempted to show partiality toward the rich because our sinful hearts lust after the influence and affluence of this world.

Knowing why you are tempted to show partiality toward the rich helps you understand the rest of James argument for why you shouldn’t do it.

Jesus spoke people having spiritual eyes in Matthew 13:13. Paul prayed that the Ephesian church would have the eyes of their heart enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). If you love God with all of your heart, soul, and strength, you will see the world, especially the poor, they way he sees them. A divided heart at best does not see the word correctly, and at worst may be looking through the wrong lens altogether. This creates a distorted view of relationships contradicting God’s heart for people. James gives two reasons why Christians should not show partiality toward the rich and what to do instead.

Showing partiality toward the rich contradicts God’s heart for the poor (James 2:5-6).

James 2:5 ESV

Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

Now that we know why we may be prone to partiality, James gives the reasons why we shouldn’t do it. The phrase, “Listen, my brothers,” is emphatic. He is signalling to his readers that they need to pay careful attention to what he says next.

God has chosen the poor of the world to be rich and in faith and heirs to the kingdom. Is James saying that being poor in this world gets you a free pass into heaven, as if poverty is a means of salvation? No, that is not the case. By experience we know this because there are godly wealthy people in the church and their are godless poor people who want nothing to do with the church. James, however, gives us more clues as to what he means.

The word “chosen” is the same verb used in other texts to show God’s divine initiative. For example,

1 Corinthians 1:27 ESV

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

and

1 Corinthians 1:28 ESV

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

It is God’s divine initiative to choose the broken, lowly, and foolish of the world to display his glory. Paul uses the same verb in Eph 1:4

Ephesians 1:4 ESV

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

This is God’s divine initiative in salvation. It is part of God’s sovereign grace to choose to save some of his image bearers who live in poverty. Though they are poor in this world, God has made them rich in faith. Those who are rich in faith inherit the kingdom as promised.

Jesus told us the poor will always be with us and God has ensured that some of the elect will live in poverty, and they will be brothers and sisters in the faith who gather with us on Sundays, just as it was in James’ day.

The poor have a lot to teach the church. We know that James draws heavily from Jesus’ teaching, and one cannot help but think of the beatitudes when reading this text. In Lukes Gospel, it reads

Luke 6:20 ESV

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

and in Matthews Gospel it says,

Matthew 5:3 ESV

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

There is a great deal of humility in poverty. Jesus teaches that those who recognize they have an impoverished spirit, a desperate need for Jesus’s help, they have the right heart to enter the kingdom. A person who recognizes the poverty of their soul is humble enough to receive the righteous their soul hungers and thirsts for and be satisfied (Matthew 5:6). They realize Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Messiah, the Savior.

But those who were showing partiality to the rich were contradicting God’s heart for the poor.

James 2:6 (ESV)

But you have dishonored the poor man...

The point of the matter is this, if God has chosen to save some of the poor and give them his kingdom, why would anyone who says they love Jesus discriminate against these poor brothers and sisters? That is not the way God treated you. Both the rich and the poor of this world are spiritually bankrupt. God looked upon your impoverished soul, and through the abundant riches of His grace, made you alive in Jesus, giving you a magnificent inheritance you do not deserve. The same way God looked at your poverty of soul is the same way you should be looking at the poor in your church.

Furthermore, James adds, why would you favor the same people who are exploiting you and taking you to court unjustly?

James 2:6 (ESV)

...Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?

It was likely that the rich in the church were using illegal and immoral practices, even in the court system. They were using their influence and affluence to exploit the poor. This behavior was causing the Gentiles to mock Jesus and his church (James 2:7).

The logic is clear. How can you show such favor to a group of people who are treating you with such evil? This makes no sense unless your heart is divided and lusting after the influence and affluence of this world.

Dr. Robert Plummer sums this point up well when he says,

“Although the world looks down on the poor, God has a special concern and care for them. A poor person’s continual state of need can lead them, under the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, to look to God for their daily provision in a way that truly honors their Creator. The person is poor in the eyes of the world but is rich in faith. How wrong, then, for God’s people to disparage those with whom God is pleased!” Dr. Robert Plummer

Showing partiality toward the rich not only contradicts God’s heart for the poor, but, showing partiality toward the rich contradicts God’s command to love your neighbor, which, God willing, we will get into next week. For now, I leave you with two thoughts.

Jesus suffered poverty to grant you a rich eternity.

First, keep in mind that Jesus who was rich became poor for your sake so that you can be rich in him. Jesus was born into poverty, lived in poverty, and died in poverty, so that he can remove your spiritual poverty and give you eternal life in his kingdom. You must repent of your sin, confessing it to him, and ask for forgiveness. You must ask him to come into your heart to live and rule as your Lord. You must believe that God raised him from the dead and that his work of atonement is sufficient to remove God’s wrath from you. For everyone who rejects Jesus will suffer his wrath in hell for all eternity. But to everyone, either rich or poor, who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Clement of Rome offers you wise words to live by this week as rich and poor believers in Christ.

Let Each of Us Be Subject to Our Neighbor

“Let our whole body be saved in Christ Jesus, and let each of us be subject to his neighbor, according to the gift given to him. Let the strong care for the weak and let the weak respect the strong. Let the rich provide for the poor and let the poor give thanks to God, that he gave to him one through whom he might supply his need. Let the wise one demonstrate his wisdom not with words but with good works. Do not let the humble person testify about himself, but allow him to be testified about by another. Do not let the pure in the flesh boast, knowing that another is the one who provides for his self-control.” Clement of Rome

Showing partiality toward the rich contradicts God’s command to love your neighbor (James 2:7-11).