Judging According To James Series

Appearances

James 2:1-13

June 11, 2023

ENTRANCE AND DISCUSSION - - - - -

The words I say today are not predicated on what I wear, but what comes from the Word of God.

As we continue on our journey through James, seeking to become more authentic Christians, James warns us about showing partiality or favoritism. He’s pretty blunt about this. It’s as if he’s saying, ‘how can you profess to believe in Jesus when you play favorites.’

To help the people understand what he means, James gives a very vivid example in the scripture for today. And that applies to us as well.

With that in mind, let’s look at the first verses of James 2 - - -

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

2 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,

3 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,”

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

James point is pretty clear. And it had practical significance as well. When we think about the Jewish Temple in the O.T., we make lots of assumptions, but there were some things missing or lacking. There were no chairs. Firstly, in the inner courts, the Priests were standing and working. There was no sitting. We have chairs or pews, and they’re padded for your comfort.

In the Temple where the people worshiped there were very few. There were some chairs with footstools near the front of the worship area. To offer someone a chair, with a footstool, was a high honor. To make someone sit on the floor under the footstool was a slap in the face.

It said you considered that person to be of little value. That happened often in the Temple, but now there’s a new way to worship. It was a time when all things were supposed to be equal. Where Jesus died for all the people and you shouldn’t ignore or disregard others . . . no matter who they were.

God doesn’t consider any of us of to be of little value! We all have great value in the kingdom.

In the gospel of Mark, he tells us - - - Jesus sat looking across from the treasury one day. He saw the poor widow put her two ‘mites’ in the offering. They made a distinctive sound - very different from the clanging sound of a rich man’s huge gold coins. Their method of receiving offerings was designed to allow the rich to brag, and to shame the poor, reminding them of their place or position among the people.

In Greek, James used the word “partiality” near the beginning of the sentence for a reason. He wanted to call special and emphatic attention to what he perceived to be a terrible wrong in the church.

James then goes on to tell us - - -

5 Listen, my beloved, 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?

6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?

7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

When you look at others don’t judge them by what you see because you don’t know who they are or what they’ve been through. Regardless of what someone looks like, we’re all in need of Jesus. And because someone doesn’t look “normal” in your eyes, it doesn’t mean they don’t know Jesus.

How many times have we seen someone who doesn’t look like us and we’ve made a quick value determination about who and what they are? Maybe it was their hair, or lack of hair, or color of their hair. Maybe there were lots of tattoos and that bothered you. Or maybe they had too many piercings and they weren’t in places you approve of. It could have been their clothes . . . . . . whatever it was, you made a quick judgement about them. And that’s what James is getting at in the start of this passage, but it goes beyond that quick value determination, because it affected the way you also treated them.