This passage begins a new section in James. There are certain temptations and trials that are constantly confronting us. One of the strongest is that of showing partiality or favoritism, of discriminating against people.
READ James 2:1. So, here we have the charge against showing partiality. What does it mean to show partiality? It means to favor some people over others or to pay special attention to a person because of their wealth, social standing, looks, popularity and things like that. But note that the charge is given to believers. It points the charge to brothers, to those who have faith in our Lord.
Of all the people on earth, the very people who should not show partiality are believers. The reason is clearly stated in verse 1. Everyone who is in the church is a brother—everyone stands on equal ground before the Lord Jesus Christ. Wealth, status, social standing, looks, position—nothing matters except all men coming to Jesus and worshiping Him. We all come to Him on an equal footing; no one is higher or more acceptable than anyone else.
We know that Jesus left the glory of heaven and came to this corruptible world to save all men. All believers should do just what Jesus did, humble themselves and reach out to bring all men to Jesus so that they might be saved. That means reaching out to the poor and lowly as well as to the rich and high. Is this verse saying that we should shun the rich and wealthy? No, not at all.
READ verses 4-7. Now we are given 5 things that are wrong with showing partiality and favoritism.
1. Showing partiality sets one up as the judge of men. Who has the right to judge men? Only God. So, to show partiality makes one as God. Only God Himself can determine who He will accept and not accept. That’s not ours to decide.
2. Showing partiality reveals evil thoughts (v.4). The person who shows partiality focuses on mundane and changeable things, things such as clothes, cars, house, and all the other outward things that change and waste away. Those thoughts are corrupt because they focus on corruptible things and totally neglect the PERSON. That says that the material things are more important than the person. Of course, that’s foolishness. Yet it’s exactly how most people behave, because most people show partiality.
Think about it. A young man comes in our doors on a Sunday morning and he is dressed in a fine suit and tie. How do you feel about approaching him? He will probably get more handshakes than the preacher.
Next scenario, a homeless man with dirty clothes and messed up hair and scroungy beard comes in the door. How likely are you to approach him as compared to the first guy? You see what I mean.
Believers are never to show partiality, not to a single soul. We are to look at the person himself. What matters is his life, his health and soul, his body and spirit. What matters is that he be saved and come to know the love, joy, and peace, that only Christ can bring. But the only way he can do this is for believers to stop discriminating against him and begin to love him and win him to Christ. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:4, “Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interests of others.”
3. Showing partiality discriminates against the poor and humble (v.5). This verse is not saying that God doesn’t love and care for the rich and high. He does, but He also cares and loves the poor and humble. And history shows that God has chosen the poor and humble to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom. In fact, they have been the very ones who have found so much hope in the gospel and have turned to it in great numbers. They are not to be discriminated against. Believers are not to shun them nor shut them out of the church.
4. Showing partiality shows a disgraceful attitude (v.6a). It dishonors, humiliates, shames, disgraces, and insults the poor and lowly person. Just think of the hurt and pain within the heart of the person who is publicly discriminated against. Think of the pain and hurt when he sees us shun him. No believer is to ever make a person feel unwelcome or of little value.
5. Showing partiality shows foolish behavior (v.6b). Two things are said about the rich that need to be heeded:
a. The rich and high usually oppress the poor and they readily grab what they can, using the very laws of the land to do it. The idea is that they use the law unjustly in order to protect and increase their wealth and power.
b. The rich and high usually slander the name of Christ. They slander His name by denying Him.
Simply stated, the rich and high usually fell self-sufficient. Why? Because they have everything they need on this earth—food, shelter, clothing, pleasure, possessions, position, recognition, and varying degrees of authority. So, they think little about needing anything. They forget that everything they have fades away, including their health. They forget that one day they will have to face God Himself.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t apply to everyone that has wealth and riches. But the general tendency leans in that direction. The point is this: Why would the church and its believers show partiality to such people over the poor? And again, if you confessed, some might look at that richly dressed person and the first thing that comes to mind is the church’s financial bottom line. Again, the church is not to discriminate and show partiality and favoritism to anyone.
READ verses 8-11. The warning against partiality is strong. We are given three warnings in these verses.
1. Showing partiality is sin: it violates the royal law of love (v. 8-9). The great law of God is the law of love. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev. 19:18)
We see how important this law is by it stating to be the great “royal law according to the Scripture.” It’s royal for at least 3 reasons.
a. It’s the royal law of God’s Kingdom. It was given by God Himself and reinforced by Jesus.
b. It’s the great law that includes all other laws. So, it is saying that if a person loves God and loves his neighbor as himself, he will automatically be obeying all the other laws. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:14, “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
c. It’s the very commandment that leads to eternal life.
The point is this: believers are to love people, not show partiality and discriminating against some.
2. Showing partiality makes a person guilty of the whole law of God (v.10). How is this possible? How can a person be guilty of all the law if he breaks only one law? Men either follow God or they don’t. There is no such thing as taking out the laws that you don’t like and keeping the laws that you like. They all form a whole pattern, a complete style of life. They are all necessary to point you in the right direction and toward the right goal.
So, to offend in one point or to slip from one law makes you short of the goal. Someone sidesteps from going the right direction. Someone goes astray from the whole law of God and they become guilty of the whole law. If a person breaks one law, that person has violated the law of God, the whole package of God’s law. He is no less guilty than if he had broken every law.
It’s important for us to note this because it means:
• That we can’t pick and choose what laws we will keep and what laws we will violate.
• That we can’t build up a merit system with God by keeping most of the laws and be allowed to break a few of the laws.
• That we can’t become more acceptable to God because we keep most of the laws and break only a few.
• That we are not more righteous than other people because we keep more laws than they do and break fewer of what men call the more meaningful laws.
Simply put, showing partiality makes a person a terrible law-breaker.
3. Eye opener: showing partiality is just as serious a sin as adultery and murder (v.11). But this verse may also be saying that partiality is equal to murder. Partiality is a sin that selects and favors one person over another. Murder selects and favors one person over another. It’s the same root, the same cause, the same selfishness, the same lust, the same sin as murder. This should stress to us the seriousness of showing partiality. We are to love all people no matter their social standing or wealth.
READ verses 12-13. Now James gives us the motivation against showing partiality. There are 2 things that should stir us to love and care for all people, showing no favoritism whatsoever.
1. We will face the judgment of God. So, we should speak and act like people who will stand before God and give account for what we have done.
• We should speak love and kindness to everyone.
• We should do or show love and kindness to everyone.
We are to receive people, actually reach out to them through our speech and behavior, no matter who they are. God is going to judge us on the basis of how we have loved and reached out to people, regardless of who they are. Another motivation is:
2. We will receive a reciprocal reward for our behavior. God is going to treat us exactly as we have treated others. Think upon that for a moment. If we have shown mercy then He will show mercy to us. If we haven’t shown mercy, then He won’t show mercy to us. So, the key is we must be merciful in order to escape the terrible judgment of God.
Favoritism and partiality have no place in the Kingdom of God.
