This sermon from the Adrian Rogers Legacy Library © 2010 Rogers Family Trust. Used by permission. www.pastortraining.com www.adrianrogerslibrary.com
Introduction
Take your Bibles, please, and turn if you will to James chapter 2. We worked our way through James chapter 1. As we continue our journey with James, as he’s telling us about religion in shoe leather, practical Christianity. We’re going to read together now, the first 10 verses of James chapter 2, “The Sad Case of the Snooty Usher.”
“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:1–10).
Prejudice is what makes people down on what they’re not up on, and James warns very strongly about this. So, I want you to think tonight with me on the strange case of the snooty usher.
I. The Prohibition of Prejudice
Now, James makes at least five powerful points in the scripture that I’ve read to you. The first is the prohibition of prejudice in verse 1: “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons” (James 2:1). Now, this word “respect of persons” is actually a combination of a noun and a verb in the Greek, and what it means, if we were to translate it literally is, “don’t lay hold of a person’s face.” Now, what does that mean? It means that don’t judge a person by their appearance. “…for man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). There is nothing that can hurt the Kingdom of Christ and the work of our Lord more than snobbishness in a church. Where we look on a certain person who, because of his economic status, or the way he is dressed, or the way he looks, we look upon him and judge him to be thus and so of a person, and treat him accordingly.
Now, it may be that we treat him with flattery because he tends to be very affluent looking, and very intelligent, or very witty, or very charming or whatever it is. And, we may flatter the person. Or, it may be that we treat him with snobbishness, and that we repudiate him, and that we reject him, also because of his appearance, because there’s something about the way he appears that we do not like. And, we don’t do it because of any rational reason, we just simply lay hold of a person’s face. We jump at conclusions. You know, it’s dangerous to jump at conclusions, did you know that? Somebody said, “Once there was a dog named August who was always jumping at conclusions. One day he jumped at the conclusion of a mule, that was the last day of August.”
Now, people are known to just simply look at something and say, “I like it,” or “I don’t like it.” This man is good, that man is bad, and it’s all just simply due to appearances. And, when we do that we have what the Bible calls “respect of persons.” And, when we have respect of persons, we may be flattering some people and gossiping about, or criticizing, other people, not because of anything inherently good, or anything inherently bad in that person, but because of simply how they appear.
Now, you know the difference between gossip and flattery? Flattery is where we say to someone’s face what we don’t say behind their back, and gossip is where we say behind someone’s back what we don’t say to their face. And, both are wrong. And, whether you’re in the business of flattering and fawning over the rich and the cultured, or whether you’re in the business of criticizing and gossiping about the poor and the down and out, you are wrong in the sight of God—and what damage it does to the Kingdom of God.
II. The Problem of Partiality
Now, I want you to notice not only the prohibition of prejudice in chapter 2 verse 1. But, I want you to notice further the problem of partiality in verses 2 through 4. “For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing…”—and that doesn’t mean he’s dressed like a homosexual. Isn’t it horrible that a word like gay could be taken and perverted like the perverts that use it? But, what he means here is goodly—goodly clothing—fine clothing. There comes into your assembly one that weareth fine clothing. And you say to him—“Sit thou here in a good place”—that is, you usher him right down to a chief seat—“and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool” (James 2:2–3).
Now, here’s a man who has such a good seat that he also has a footstool. And, yet he says to this poor person, “You just sit down here at my feet.” Now, here the Lord warns against the problem of partiality. We go on in verse 4: “Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?” (James 2:4).
A. The Appearance of the Men
Now, as we’re talking here about the problem of partiality, I want you to notice three things. First of all, the appearance of the men who come to church. First of all, there comes in Mr. Goldfingers. Now, he actually—that’s what this word “with a gold ring,” literally means in the Greek a “golden fingered man,” Mr. Goldfingers. He has a gem at every joint. He has a nugget at every knuckle. He’s just very wealthy, and you can just see that he’s wearing a Hart Schaffner and Marx, and that he is just a person who has arrived. You say, “Wow, who is he? Look at that man. I can tell he’s somebody important. Move way and make way for the gentlemen, and give him a good seat.” And, so he comes in, and he has a seat, and the usher shows a lot of respect to him.
You know, there are a lot of people that think it’s so important how you dress and what you look like outwardly, and that’s all some people are really cognizant about in church. A woman asked her husband when they got home, “Say, did you notice the hat Mrs. Jones had on this morning?” He said, “No, I didn’t notice that.” She said, “Well, did you notice Mrs. Smith’s new dress?” He said, “No, I didn’t notice that.” “Well,” she said, “What good does it do you to go to church? You never get anything out of it.” Well, that’s just about the wavelength that some people seem to be on. And, they’re just so aware of how a person is dressed, or how they appear when they come to church.
And, then in contour distinction to this there comes into the same church service another man. And, when the usher sees him, the usher says, “Well, obviously, this man is not worth very much,” because he has on what the Bible calls here a vile raiment. Now, this word “vile raiment,” means “dirty clothes.” He has on dirty clothes. Obviously, he’s a laboring man, a working man, and he hasn’t had a chance really to bathe and freshen up. Maybe he’s just come to the assembly, he’s come to church, and maybe he’s got dirt under his fingernails. Maybe his shoes are not shined. But, he’s someone for whom Jesus died—someone for whom Jesus died. Never judge a jewel because it comes in a plain box. He’s a soul whom Jesus loves.
But, this usher looks at him and says, “Well, that guy’s not worth much, it makes no difference whether he gets a seat, whether she gets a seat. Stand over here, sit down there.” And, that person has a spirit that’s crushed, and a spirit that’s wounded. Oh, the
damage that’s done to the cause of Christ.
Did you know Mahatma Gandhi, the great leader of India, was searching for a philosophy, searching for a way, searching for some way to reach the people of India for whom he had a burden? And, he studied the different faiths, and the different ideologies and religions of the world, and he studied Christianity. And, he said, “I believe that’s it. I believe that Christianity is what the people of India need,” so he went to a church to learn more. And, an usher met him at the church, and when the usher saw him and saw who he was, the usher said, “I’m sorry, sir, this church is for Europeans only.” And, Mahatma Gandhi went away and became the Hindu leader of India, a man that could have reached multiplied millions of souls for Jesus Christ. But, someone looked at him, and someone laid hold of his face rather than looking at his heart. Such a crime, such a shame.
B. The Attitude of the Usher
There was, first of all, the appearance of the men and then there was the attitude of the usher in verse 3: “And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool” (James 2:3). The usher made the mistake, that so many make in so many churches across America, and it is indulgence of the rich and indifference to the poor.
C. The Appraisal of the Lord
Well, after you see the appearance of the men, and the attitude of the usher, I want you to notice the appraisal of the Lord. I want you to see what the Lord said, “Are ye not then partial in yourselves”—verse 4—“and are become judges of evil thoughts?” (James 2:4). Now, look at that phrase “partial in yourselves.” It literally means, “have you not made distinctions among yourselves,” that’s what it means. You have made distinctions, you have set one person in one category and another person in another category. You cannot do that, my friend. The ground around the cross is level. All people are precious in the sight of God, and if you haven’t learned that, you have not learned anything, not even the rudiments about Christianity.
Now, notice the Bible does not say there is not seniority. Oh, there’s to be seniority. There is seniority in a church. The Bible speaks of those who have labored long in doctrine. The Bible speaks of those who have proven their lives by living the right kind of life. And, the Bible says to give “…honour to whom honour” (Romans 13:7) is due. It is not to say there’s not to be authority in the church. There is to be authority in the church. God has set some in authority, and don’t you think that in any assembly that there is no spiritual authority? There is seniority, and there is authority, but there is no superiority.
Now, get that down. No superiority. We may be different as to calling, and different as to appointment, and different as to job, but in the sight of God—in a New Testament church—everybody is somebody when Jesus Christ is Lord. Everybody is somebody when Jesus Christ is Lord. And, so the Lord remonstrates with the Church. It says, “When you make differences among yourselves, you sin against the Lord.” If you want to write a scripture text down along side this passage, just write 2 Samuel chapter 16, verse 7: “…the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
III. The Position of the Poor
Now, the third thing I want you to notice tonight, not only the prohibition of prejudice and not only the problem of partiality, but I want you to notice the position of the poor. What the Lord says about the poor here in verse 5: “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” (James 2:5).
A. They’re Chosen of God
You see, there are three things the Lord says about the poor as He speaks about the position of the poor. First of all, He says they’re chosen of God. Abraham Lincoln said, “God must have loved common people, He made so many of them.” You see, God loves the poor. God loves the common. He does indeed, they are chosen of the Lord.
As a matter of fact, it is God’s divine plan that He carries on most of His work with poor people, ordinary people.
Just keep your finger there in James chapter 2, and turn with me to 1 Corinthians for just a moment, and look in chapter 1 beginning in verse 26. Now, I want you to see the people that God had chosen to do His mighty work with, primarily. First Corinthians 1:26: “For ye see your calling, brethren”—same thing James is talking about, being called or being chosen. “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things… That no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).
Now, God says, “I have ordained and chosen to use ordinary people, so that when it is done, human flesh won’t get the glory, God will get the glory.” And, so God takes the weak and makes them witnesses. God takes the base and turns them into believers. God takes the despised and makes disciples out of them. And, God takes the nobody’s
and makes them nobilities. That’s God’s plan.
B. They’re Rich in Faith
And, so the first thing I want you to see about the position of the poor is they’re chosen of God, they’re chosen of God. And, the second thing, they’re rich in faith. Go back to James chapter 2 again. You see, a rich man has a tendency to trust his money. The poor man has to trust the Lord, and so there’s just sort of a built-in propensity toward faith among those that are poor. Sometimes being poor is not a curse. It may indeed be a blessing. Sometimes riches may be a curse.
And, so look again, as the Lord speaks in verse 5: “…Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith…” (James 2:5). And, so when you see a poor man, if you snub him, you really may be snubbing a spiritual millionaire—a bureaucrat, an aristocrat—so be very careful. Sometimes we, “entertain angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2). Rich in faith.
C. They’re an Heir of the Kingdom of God
The third thing James says about the position of the poor, not only is he chosen of God, not only is he rich in faith, “he is an heir of the Kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him” (James 2:5). Oh, how rich they will be not only here but by and by, “the meek shall inherit the earth…” (Psalm 37:11). I’m telling you, friend, you be careful. This person may be very, very important in the world to come.
Adoniram Judson was a great missionary. He went to Burma. He labored long. He prayed. He fasted. He witnessed. But, rather than souls coming to Jesus, Adoniram Judson was arrested. He was tortured. He was strung up by his thumbs, and ridiculed. Finally, he was cut down and cast into a vile, filthy, dirty, vermin-infested prison, just a hole, just a cage. And, his tormenters came to Adoniram Judson and said, “What about your plans to win the heathen to Christ? Now, what do you have to say about your future?” Do you know what Adoniram Judson said? “My future is as bright as the promises of God.” Amen. I want to tell you, every poor person in this world can say that. If he knows the Lord Jesus Christ, if he’s saved, he is an heir of the Kingdom of God, and he can say, “My future is as bright as the promises of God.”
IV. The Persecution by the Prosperous
And, so James is very plain. He speaks of the prohibition of prejudice. He speaks of the perils and the problems of partiality. He speaks of the position of the poor, and then he speaks of the persecution by the prosperous. I want you to notice verses 6 and 7 now, “…ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do they not blaspheme that holy name by which ye are called?” (James 2:6–7). And, now he speaks of the persecution that prosperous people sometimes do to poor people. What James is talking about here is the wealthy ruling class that persecuted the early Church, and they did.
You see, Christianity took off, by and large, by the people of the streets—the common people. They were called unlettered and ignorant people. But, Jesus was the kind of a teacher, and the kind of a preacher, where the common people heard Him gladly.
A. The Gospel hit at Their Position
But, the rich and the wealthy and the aristocrat, they repudiated Christ for three reasons. You see, first of all, the gospel hit at their position. You see, the gospel says that everybody is equal. You know, there’s some of you that don’t even like that. I mean, when I’m saying it right now, you go, “Uhuh, uhuh,” you see, the gospel hits at that.
They don’t like that. Everybody likes to feel a little superior to somebody else. See. And, that’s the reason the rich repudiated the gospel, because it hit at their position.
You see, Pilate, for example, had position with Caesar, and what determined Pilate’s conduct was what buttered his bread and gave him position. When they said to Pilate, “If you don’t allow us to crucify Jesus, you’re not Caesar’s friend,” that settled it. Pilate had a position, and the gospel hit at his position, and so he took a side—he took sides against Christ and His followers.
B. The Gospel hit at their Pocketbook
But, not only did the gospel hit at their position, the gospel also hit at their pocketbook. There were many rich who repudiated the gospel because of economics.
Remember there in Ephesus, where Paul went to Ephesus, and he begin to preach Christ and preach against Diana? Now, we’ll look just for a moment in Acts chapter 19. You remember Diana was the great goddess of the city of Ephesus? Look in Acts chapter 19 and verse 27. You’ll see how the rich felt about the gospel, those who were in position. And, so their man stands up and says, “Something needs to be done with this man Paul because, and I’m reading verse 27: “So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth” (Acts 19:27).
Now, they said, “We’ve got to do something with this preacher, Paul, because our business is in danger.” The same thing is true in Acts chapter 16, where there was a demon-possessed girl who Paul healed and cured, and the wealthy people who were in charge of that demon- possessed girl had Paul and Silas cast into prison.
You see, many times the wealthy and the rich despise the gospel—the true gospel— because it hits at their position. It hits at their pocketbook, and it also hits at their pride— at their pride. The reason that so many people want money is to help them to be elevated above other people, but along comes the gospel and says that, “we’re to boast in nothing but Jesus Christ our Lord.” For when God looks at you, it is not the blue book of society, not the bankbook of finance, but it’s God’s book that makes the difference as to what you are.
You see, we tend to want to put men, some men, on this level. We say upper class, and then middle class, and then lower class, but God never divides men horizontally, God always divides them vertically: the sheep and the goats, the saved and the lost, the saints and the ain’ts. And, that’s the way God divides them, you see, and here’s a person who’s worked all of his life to have all of these things that’s going to put him up here, and then all of the sudden the gospel says you’re just like everybody else when it comes to be needing to be saved.
And, so the rich began to reject this gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And, they begin to persecute the poor. And, James said when they persecuted the poor, what they were doing was blaspheming God. Why was that?
Where—remember when Paul was on the road to Damascus, and the Lord Jesus appeared to him? And, the Lord Jesus said to Paul, who was then called Saul, “Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 22:7). I can hear Saul as he argues with the Lord, “Well, Jesus, whoever you are, I’m not persecuting you, I’m persecuting the Christians.” Oh, but don’t you see, friend, when Paul was persecuting the Christians, he was persecuting Jesus Christ. When you speak against a poor servant of Jesus, you’re really speaking against Jesus. It is blasphemy. “Inasmuch as you’ve done it unto the least of one of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). Why persecutest thou me?
Now, somebody says, “Wait a minute, Brother Rogers, you’re being very hard on the rich.” Well, I don’t mean to be. Some of the sweetest persons, and sweetest Christians, I’ve ever known are rich people. As a matter of fact, I’ve found that generally, in a church, that people who are better off will rise to a place of leadership in a church. Do you know why? The same principles that made them a success in business make them the kind of a person you can count on to do church work. They’ll be punctual. They’ll think things out. They’ll follow through, and all of the rest of it.
Now, James would not say to put down a poor man, and James certainly wouldn’t say to put a rich man down, but what James is saying is that don’t you elevate one person above another. Don’t put down the poor. Don’t put down the rich. You can be just as guilty about being prejudiced against a rich person as you could a poor person. All of us want to look down on somebody, and sometimes people who are poor look down upon the rich. But, you know that scripture that says, “ye see your calling, brethren… not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Corinthians 1:26). It doesn’t say, “Not any mighty. Not any noble.”
Lady Huntington, who was a great friend to the Wesley’s, a woman of wealth, and a woman of culture, and a woman of position; Lady Huntington said, “I was saved by an M.” And, they said, “What do you mean by that?” She said, “If that verse had said not any mighty, not any noble are called, I’d be in sad shape., But, it didn’t say not any, it says not many, not many.” She was saved by an “M.” And, I thank God for the many that I know who are wealthy, who are noble, who are fine people who love the Lord Jesus Christ, and their wealth is committed to the cause of Christ.
But, do you know what I long to pastor? I long to pastor a church where everybody is somebody. Where a doctor, and a lawyer, and a banker, and financier is welcome. And, then where the man in rags, and the illiterate is welcome, where the ignorant and the educated are welcome. Where when people come in they just look around and say, “There’s something different about those people.” Behold, how they love one another. Isn’t that the kind of a church you want to belong to? Where everybody is somebody and Jesus Christ is Lord. I want to tell you, there’s something about that that will make a holy contagion that God Almighty will be pleased to bless.
V. The Precepts for Proper Practice
There’s the persecution by the prosperous and then finally the precepts for proper practice that give us eight and nine. Look at it. “If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:8–10).
Why does the Bible call this the royal law? Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Because it’s the king of all laws. It’s the king of all laws. It’s the royal law. You see, friend, when you have love in your heart, you’re not going to be partial among yourselves. And, there’s something so contagious about that love.
Conclusion
A little fellow left his home and walked for miles to get to a certain church. He walked past many churches. Someone asked him, “Why do you go so far to go to church, to that one particular church?” He said, “Because they love a fellow over there.”
Another little boy was talking about a friend that he met. He was telling his mama, “I just think he’s such a neat guy.” And, his mama said, “What is it that you like so much about him?” And, the little fellow said, “He treats me like I’m a people.”
Oh, listen, we need to learn that everybody is somebody because Jesus is Lord. Let’s bow in prayer.
