The church is to be a community of people that live and love in such a way that the manner in which we live and love is distinct from the world and desirous to the world. And those two things – being distinct from the world and desirous to the world – are not incompatible. They are not mutually exclusive qualities. The reason why they’re not incompatible is because of the hearts of people living all around us. You see, Jackson, Tennessee is just like Samara, Russia and every other place in the world in that it is full of people who crave and yearn for and chase after sin. The world is full of women who crave the attention of men and a certain body image so deeply that they will starve themselves or throw up their food after they have eaten. It is full of men who will throw away their marriages and families because they yearn for sexual gratification as if it’s the greatest treasure known to man. It is full of relationship that are filled with gossip, and backbiting, and slander so that even in their deepest relationships they are filled with distrust. It is full of people who cheat on their taxes, lie to their employers, and tear down others to get what they want. Therefore, the church must be distinct from the world. We must be a people who look quite different from what people see in the world and interact with every day.
Yet, because the law is written on their hearts, the world is full of people who hate what they and those around them do. The adulterer who sees another man abandoning his family will accuse that man of wrong even while excusing his own actions. The woman who freely talks about her friends behind their backs is hurt and upset when she finds out that they gossip about her, knowing it is wrong. Even the woman who walks down the street beside her boyfriend in a shirt that exposes much of her body and does so in a seemingly proud way has a wish however deep in her heart that her boyfriend would object and show that he values her for reasons deeper than other men’s approval of her looks.
So, while the world is chasing after sin with great passion, because the law is written on their hearts, they also imagine what life would be like amidst a people who weren’t chasing after these things. Therefore, it is crucial that the church is a community of believers who are clearly different from the world. Because it is only when we live differently, loving each other as we’re commanded by Christ, that we will be a picture to the world of that community that is so desirous to them. It is only when we are untainted by the world’s delight in sin that we will picture the community they long for in the depths of their heart.
But James will not allow us to remain so general, will he? I think if this were all I to say to a congregation in which James was present, he’d come up to me and say, “I know that we’re to live holy, but can you give us some practical examples of what that looks like.” And the reason I think James would respond that way is because throughout this letter, James never seems to leave his exhortations general. So, for example, He tells us in James 1:27 that pure and undefiled religion is expressed in caring for orphans and widows and keeping ourselves unstained from the world. That is, we must care for widows and orphans and live differently than the world. But lest you think James just leaves it there – be unstained from the world – we begin chapter 2, where James gives a specific example of how the church is to be different from the world. That point James mentions is that the church must not show partiality to one over another just based on their appearance.
He writes in 2:1-4, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 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, 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?”
We get this, don’t we? If a couple visits the church and they look wealthy, dress nice, and are attractive and we go shake their hands, tell them how thankful we are that they’re here, and show them to a nice seat while ignoring the man who walks in a smells a bit bad, looks poor, and unattractive, then James says that behavior is incompatible with the Christian faith. That’s how the world operates, and it must not be how the church operates. In a culture that is racist, for example, the church must stand out as loving all of our neighbors as ourselves. So, this morning, I want us to see five reasons from these verses why we must not show partiality and must exhibit love for all of our neighbors, regardless of their wealth, attractiveness, or what they can offer us.
The way James speaks of Jesus in verse 1 is a bit odd. He writes, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” That title, the Lord of glory, is an odd one, and the suggestions as to what this means is as numerous as the number of commentaries written on this book. Is James simply saying that he is the glorious Lord or the Lord who is glory or the Lord characterized by glory or something else? It’s difficult to know. However, I do think that because James knows the OT so well, and the OT tells us that God will share his glory with no one, that James is indicating even here that Jesus is indeed one who is equal with God the Father.
But why would James mention Jesus’ glory here? I mean, he could say, “Our Lord and God” as Thomas did when the risen Christ appeared and show that he was equal to God the Father. Why specifically mention that he is the Lord of glory?
I think it’s because he was reminding us of who Jesus was just prior to addressing the sin of showing partiality to someone. After all, why is it tempting to show partiality? Why is it tempting to show favoritism to someone who walks into this church and is wealthy? This is an easy question to answer, isn’t it? It’s because there might come a day when we need money. And if all your friends are poor, then there’s no obvious answer as to who might help you. But if you have a rich friend, now that’s a different story. Similarly, if someone is in a position of great power and influence, then it is tempting to show him favoritism because he might be able to help you some day. If all your friends are lowly, then no one is going to be able sway influence over decision-makers in the city. You see, we show favoritism, whether we consciously acknowledge it or not because we think people can do something for us. Even showing favoritism to someone who is smart or attractive is rooted in a desire for people to associate us with being smart or attractive. This isn’t just something that we find in high school; it is true of adults as well.
In fact, it is something we find in universities and seminaries as well. It’s amazing at seminary how great the draw can be to try to get in a close relationship with a professor so that you might have a good connection and so that your peers might envy you while you ignore those who can offer you little or nothing.
Well, I think this is why James reminds us that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of glory. Let’s say you are abandoned by everyone and yet have Christ. Who is going to supply for you? Well, he is the one that Scripture says owns the cattle on a thousand hills. Who is going to make sure you are able to fulfill God’s will for your life? He is the one who controls the hearts of kings and upholds the entire universe. But what about being exalted? Well, the Scripture says that if we humble ourselves, we will be exalted by our Lord in the end.
You see, one of the greatest weapons we have against the temptation to show favoritism is to remind ourselves of who our Lord is – he is the Lord of glory. Therefore, we don’t have to worry about chasing after glory and making our lives about the pursuit of glory. We simply need to make our lives about Christ. And if he is ours, then we are free to reach out to those who cannot benefit us, care for those whom no one appreciates, even walk alongside of those whom others think are not worthy.
James stresses throughout his letter that believers must reflect the heart and character of God. That’s why we care for widows and orphans. In Deuteronomy 10:17-19, we read: “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”
That is, the message of the OT is: if the Lord is not partial, executes justice for widows and orphans, and loves the sojourner, then so must his people do the same. And the message of the NT is no different. After telling us that we must not treat the rich man better than the poor man, James writes in verses 5-6a, “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? But you have dishonored the poor man.”
James tells us that God has chosen as his people many who are poor. This doesn’t mean that poor men are thereby better than rich men. James is simply stating the truth that those whom God has chosen for himself are largely characterized as the poor in this world. Remember when Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 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; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Cor 1:26-29).
Not many of those people whom God chose were people whom the world would exalt. But God chose them so that it might be clear that they are his because of grace alone and not because of their own greatness. Therefore, if we as God’s people begin to show favoritism toward those whom the world says are valuable and do not favor those whom the world says are not valuable, then we are not rightly reflecting the heart of God. After all, the world is looking to God’s people to see what God is like. We must not reinforce the message to the low and despised in this world that God sees them as lowly and despised as well. What a tragedy that would be.
So, if we show partiality to those whom the world tells us are valuable and despise those whom the world despises, then we not only fail to rightly reflect the heart and character of God, but we also reinforce to the world that their judgments are right – and the world blasphemes our God. James writes, “Are no the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?” (vv. 6b-7).
Do you see the irony here? The Christians are being abused by the rich and prominent in society. They were being dragged into court, perhaps their land taken from them, and injustice practiced against them. The rich were saying by these actions, “You are less valuable than we are. We are exalted and you and the poor like you are lowly and despised.” By those actions, they were blaspheming the name of Christ by persecuting his people. And, when they came into the service with Christians, the Christians were showing favoritism to them! The Christians were sending a message to them loud and clear: You are right. You are valuable. Your judgments are accurate.
Now, reinforcing that did damage in two ways. First, it reinforced to the rich that they should go on oppressing and persecuting God’s people. That is, it showed no love for the Christian’s brothers. Second, by reinforcing that the rich were correct, it was supporting their blasphemy of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if they continue down that path, they will go to hell.
This would be like a man who leaves his family to pursue a young and attractive woman, and believers come to him and say, “Yeah, this lady you’re with now really is beautiful.” Don’t you just feel the evil in that scene? That’s reinforcing his disgusting actions, showing no love for the family whom he has left, and simply paving the way for this man to continue in his actions and go to hell. Therefore, the church must show values different from those of the world.
James writes in verses 8-12, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.”
James says, “If you show partiality, you sin.” After all, Christ commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Now, someone might say, “However, all this talk about the law, doesn’t James realize that we have been freed from the condemnation that comes through the law?” Yes, I think he does. However, James would answer, I think, “Yes, you’ve been freed from the condemnation that comes through the law. However, we are commanded to obey all the commands of Christ. His commands are good for us; they are freeing. [That’s why James calls the commands of the Lord, the law of Christ, the “law of liberty”] And if you are justified by faith, then you will obey Christ’s commands, and if you don’t, then in the end, your disobedience to his commands will serve as evidence that you never had justifying faith.
That is, people who are really justified by faith alone will live lives of obedience to Christ’s commands. Therefore, if you decide that you will ignore this command from Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves, then do not be surprised to hear in the judgment, “Depart from me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you.” Christ’s commands will be a basis by which our justification will be evidenced. That’s why James says, “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty” (2:13) – which will be our transition into the topic next week in 2:14-26.
James writes, “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (v. 13). That is, if you show no mercy now to the one who needs mercy because he has nothing to offer you, then you will be shown no mercy in final judgment. This is like Jesus’ command to forgive so that you may be forgiven.
I remember Russ Moore saying one time in a class that he had a conversation with someone who said to him, “I just don’t want to forgive. Is there another option?” to which Dr. Moore answered, “Yes. Hell.” And he’s right. Those who are justified forgive. Those who are justified show mercy. So, if you are unwilling to show mercy to the one who needs mercy because he has nothing to offer, then you may very well be revealing that you have never really known Christ.
After all, if you are justified it’s because you have placed your faith in one who did not consider equality with God something to be exploited but took on flesh and lived among us, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose from the dead so that if any of us believe in him we might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. If you really have faith in him and he is your Lord, then how could you not be quick to extend mercy to those around you? How could we who have been shown such great mercy withhold it from those who can offer us little or nothing?
The church must be a community of people who live and love in a way that is distinct from the world and desirous to the world. And one key way we can demonstrate that kind of love is by loving our neighbors as ourselves, loving and valuing all men, whether they are rich, attractive, and powerful, or poor, unattractive, smelly, or weak. And we can love all in this way because of what our Lord has done for us. Therefore, let us remember his work for us now as we come to the table. Amen.