Genuine Faith sees people the way God does 2:1-13
“What we do is what we actually believe…everything else is just talk.
?If we see people the way God sees people:
1. We won’t discriminate based on externals. 2:1-4 ?
2. Look at the marginalized with compassion. 2:5-7
3. Treat others with the same mercy we desire 2: 8-13
In Charlottesville, Virginia last August, neo nazi groups exercised their right to free speech and lawful assembly by marching and yelling white supremacy and blatant anti-Semitic chants. (pic of nazi marchers). Virginia senator Tim Kaine said, “This is not who we are.” Well, newsflash—this IS who we are. Despite all our advances over the last 50 years, we are still a racially and ethnically polarized nation.? Jennifer Richeson, a Yale University social psychologist feels she has isolated the reason. “In some ways, it’s super simple. People learn to be whatever their society and culture teaches them. We often assume that it takes parents actively teaching their kids, for them to be racist. The truth is that unless parents actively teach kids not to be racists, they will be,” said. “This is not the product of some deep-seated, evil heart that is cultivated. It comes from the environment, the air all around us.”
Well, Ms. Richeson must have been smoking something when she gave this quote to the Washington Post. She speaks out of both sides of her mouth. Out of one side, she says that “Unless parents teach kids not to be racists, they will be.” I agree and I’ll explain why in a moment. Out of the other side she says, “This is not the product of some deep-seated, evil heart . . . . It comes from the environment, the air all around us.” Now THAT, my friends, is pixie fairy dust. Racism does NOT come from the air around us. That’s stupid. Racism actually does, despite what Ms. Richeson says, come from a deep seated, evil heart. It comes from a fallen heart. It comes from a depraved heart. It comes from an unregenerate heart. I agree that Parents must teach their children to rise above the cravings and prejudices of their fallen, depraved hearts. But to do that, parents themselves must rise above their prejudices as well. ? This is nothing new. And it’s not limited to our own country: every country on the planet has the same issues. But what is sad is that prejudice has crept in and taken root in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of the most segregated places are houses of worship on Sunday morning. Prejudice was even prevalent in the early church; so much so that our author James felt like he needed to address it head on. ? Turn to James 2:1-13 as we continue this series, Connect the Dots. We named it this way because James the author, the half-brother of Jesus, the leader of the 1st Church of Jerusalem, has an uncanny way of connecting the dots between what we say we believe and how we should actually live. I remember in college listening to a speaker say, “What we do is what we actually believe…everything else is just talk.”If you really have been and are being transformed by the grace and gospel of Jesus Christ, it will show up in how you talk, how you spend, how you live…who you are.? Now here is the seminal, foundational truth for today: Christ-followers see people the way God does (build) Repeat. Listen, if you see people the way God sees people, it will melt away your prejudice and favoritism. ?If we see people the way God sees people:
1. We won’t discriminate based on externals. 2:1-4 (on screen)? James accuses us of giving preferential treatment to certain kinds of people: in this case those who are well dressed and quaffed; but it applies to any and every kind of prejudice. Don’t we give preferential treatment to people who look like us? To people who live like us? To people who act like us? Standing around the water cooler at work or sitting at home watching tv, don’t we find ourselves thinking less of someone who is different looking or different living or different acting? C’mon. Get honest. I can’t imagine there is a person here who is not guilty of judging people based on the externals: skin color, ethnicity, speech accent, aesthetics, or wealth.
James doesn’t hold back, does he? Look at v. 4 again: “Haven’t you made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” He says, remember--under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, James says that to discriminate is sin; it comes out of evil perceptions brought by an evil heart and mind. ? We all do this, don’t we…and it is sad and it is wrong and it is sin. But the more we become like Jesus, the more we see people the way He sees them, the less we will make value judgments based on externals.
You might recall that there is a verse in 1 Samuel that speaks to this. Samuel had been sent to the house of Jesse to coronate the next king since King Saul was such a failure. Jesse showed Samuel his oldest sons—all of them great physical specimens. But God said, “Nope—not one of these guys. Samuel must have protested, “Lord, look at these guys—they definitely look the part.” “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t notice the differences; after all, He created humans and actually celebrates our differences. But it’s not the appearance He values most; it’s the heart.
(Get ethnic person to stand up beside me; “How is he different than me?” Then ask him “Do you love Jesus?” “Me too…then we share more in common than any thing that makes us different.”
2. Look at the marginalized with compassion. 2:5-7 (on screen)
Our value system is upside down, right? It’s messed up! It’s so easy to value the wealthy and powerful instead of the poor and powerless.
I’ve spoken on this many times, but let me reiterate: God has a special place in his heart for the poor and for the immigrant.? If you know anything about church history, the gospel has primarily been spread on the backs of the poor. It’s not that God hasn’t used the wealthy and powerful to influence others for the sake of Christ—but predominantly the gospel has been most effectively transferred through the world by the poor. Why is that? Look at v. 5 again, “Didn’t God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith.” Because the financially poor are rich in faith. They can’t depend on their wealth—they don’t have any. They can’t depend on their comforts—they don’t have any. They can’t depend on their power—they don’t have any. Their only recourse is to depend on God—and that makes them precious to Him. And if they are precious to Him, they should be precious to God.
The same with the immigrant. I can’t tell you in the time I have all the passages of Scripture where God indicates that the immigrant has a special place in His heart. Matthew Sorens and Jenny Yang put it well:
“Since so many of the characters of the biblical story were migrants of one sort or another, it is not surprising that God gives us a great deal of guidance about interacting with immigrants. God reminds the Israelites early on of their own history as aliens in a foreign land, commanding them that, given their own experience, they should welcome the immigrant among them. In Leviticus 19:33-34, God commands the Israelites, "When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God." In fact, Israel's very identity was tied to how they treated the foreign born, as it reflected Israel's trust in God to provide and their willingness to follow his commandments. The words of Exodus 12:49, repeated throughout the Pentateuch many times, make clear: "The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien living among you."”
The flow of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation reveals God's heart for the stranger and the alien - the immigrant, the sojourner, and the refugee. And of course, the situation of a physical immigrant mirrors our own spiritual refugee status: separated and cast out by the world, wandering around in this world, making do until we finally are welcomed into our home when we move from death to life. “Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.” 1 Peter 2:11. The New Testament draws a parallel between the physical immigrant and the Christ-follower as an immigrant. ? Now, I’m not, I am not making political statements or taking a political position on our modern day immigration catastrophe. What I AM saying is that in the discussion, remember that the immigrant fleeing from danger or fleeing toward opportunity, has a special place in the heart of God…and therefore should have a special place in our hearts as well.? 3. Treat others with the same mercy we desire 2: 8-13
Look at v. 8 “Indeed, if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.” James talks about the Royal Law. What is that? It’s also known as the Golden Rule. Jesus is the author of it. Matt 7:12; “Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12
Listen, when all else fail, treat others the way you would want to be treated if you were in that same situation. If you were down and out and homeless, How would you want to be treated? Someone yell at you, “Get a job!” Doubt it. If you were an immigrant, how would want to be treated? With a little grace and mercy, right? ? It’s so easy for some of us to sit in judgment over people who are in vulnerable positions. To the unemployed, “Should have studied more in school.” To the immigrant, “Stay in your own country.”
Look at vv. 9-11 (on screen) In other words, stop being so high and mighty and judgmental. You have no right to judge anyone else. Let me ask you a question: did you choose to be born in the U.S.? Did you choose to be born into a family that valued hard work? Did you choose to get the intellectual capacity you have? As a matter of fact, isn’t your whole life based on the grace and mercy of God. Then stop judging others who are less fortunate. ? Instead, what does vv.12-13 say? “Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has not shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” If your life is a testimony to the mercy of God, then show mercy to others who need mercy. ? Story of Sunday morning, church where people wore suits and dresses. Homeless guy walks in, can’t find a place to sit as he makes his way down the aisle; no one lets him in. Finally plops down on the floor at the front. Everybody is watching and wondering what is going to happen. Finally, the patriarch of the church, and older man in his 80s makes his way down to the front—and everyone of course is watching to see how he’ll get this guy up off the floor and to a less conspicuous place. When the old man got down front, all eyes on him, instead of ushering the homeless guy out, he sat down beside him for the rest of the service. Why? He saw the homeless guy like Jesus does.
?
One Thing Action Step: Identify group/type of person you struggle to see the way God does and commit to have a conversation, coffee or meal.
