Horizontal Or Vertical Divide

Jas 2:1-13 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. (2) For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, (3) and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," (4) have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? (5) Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? (6) But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? (7) Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? (8) If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you do well; (9) but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (10) For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. (11) For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. (12) So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. (13) For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

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I. You shouldn’t practice favoritism.

Friends, if you find that you are giving preference or maybe you feel that you should get preference, then this is what the Bible speaks of when it speaks of “respect of persons.” It doesn’t have anything to do with showing respect to our employers, our superiors, or the elderly because the Lord does tell us to be respectful toward others and to give them their due. The apostle Paul told us to Rom 13:7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Notice how he makes no distinction between governmental authority and private individuals. You must pay your taxes and the customs to the government you live under, and give fear (or respect, reverence) and honor to anyone else to whom it is due. So, it’s good and right to obey the law and to show respect to whomever it is due, but this isn’t what a “respecter of persons” is speaking of. A respecter of persons in the context of our text means to show respect, or preference when it is not due.

Take a look at verses 2 and 3 again, they say Jam 2:2-3 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, (3) and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool,"