Let's start today by reading James 2:1-4:
(1) My brothers, don't, with partiality, hold the faith of our glorious Lord, Jesus Christ. ["w/partiality" =focused]
(2) For suppose someone should enter your assembly with a gold ring on his finger, with fine clothing.
Now, also a poor person enters with filthy clothing.
Now, you look favorably upon the one wearing the fine clothing, and you say,
"You sit here rightly/fitly,"
and to the poor one you say,
"You stand, or be seated there by my footstool"-- [Psalm 110:1]
(4) haven't you become waverers among yourselves,
and judges with evil thoughts?
Imagine that you have two visitors come to your church on a Sunday morning. Now, in most churches, having visitors is kind of exciting. We see new faces, and we find ourselves really happy, and we go out of our way to meet them, and make them feel at home.
But James says, imagine that you get more excited about some visitors than others. You see someone roll up in a luxury car, and step out in a perfectly tailored suit, and we think, "Here's someone who is wealthy. Imagine what he could do for our church budget. Imagine what a great brother in Christ he could be." When a rich person joins your church, it's like marrying into money.
So that's one newcomer. Then, the city bus pulls up, and out someone walks who wears modest, slightly dirty clothes. Who maybe doesn't smell as nice as the rich person. And we think... what?
We find ourselves less excited.
If this is your response, what has happened to you? In verse 4, James says two things:
The first, is that you've become a "waverer." We saw the same word back in James 1, when James told us that when we ask for faith, we can't be waverers. The word can mean "to make distinctions," but probably James
means "waverer" (so Ropes, Hort, Mussner, Johnson, Moo, Blomberg; against Davids).
The idea here is something like this: As a Christian, you live with a single-minded focus on God, and people. Your faith is in God alone. You desire to please God alone. God is everything to you.
If you leave this high place of being single-minded, and find yourself using worldly wisdom, and worldly standards, to get through life, you've become a waverer. There's some part of you that's waffling, and shifting, and moving from the this high place. And we all understand that this is unacceptable. We can't let anything get in the way of our single-minded focus on God and people. So favoritism is ruled out.
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On the verb "waver":
BDAG:
? to be uncertain, be at odds w. oneself, doubt, waver (this mng. appears first in NT; with no dependence on the NT, e.g., Cyril of Scyth. p. 52, 17; 80, 10; 174, 7) Mt 21:21; Mk 11:23; Ro 14:23; Jd 22. ?? ?a?t? in one’s own mind Lk 11:38 D; Js 2:4; GJs 11:2. W. e?? Ro 4:20 µ?d?? d?a?????µe??? without any doubting Js 1:6; hesitate Ac 10:20.—DELG s.v. ?????. M-M. TW.
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Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, vol. 16, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 109:
“The passive of diakrino demands being taken as internal dividedness … they are trying to live by two measures at once and are ‘divided in consciousness.’ ”
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Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2000), 104:
The verb frequently refers to an internal attitude of doubt in the NT (e.g., Matt. 21:21; Mark 11:23; Acts 10:20; Rom. 4:20; 14:23; Jude 22). More importantly, James has already used the verb with just this meaning (1:6) to introduce a key motif in his letter: the warning to Christians not to have a divided heart in their relationship to God and to one another. “Among yourselves” would then be translated “in yourselves,” James’s point being that the discrimination exhibited in the community is another manifestation of a wavering, divided attitude toward God. The improper “division” being made between rich and poor reflects the improper “divisions” harbored in the minds of the believers. Consistently Christian conduct comes only from a consistently Christian heart and mind.
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Let's reread verse 4:
(4) haven't you become waverers among yourselves,
and judges with evil thoughts?
So the second thing that has happened, if you show favoritism, is that you've become judges with evil thoughts. You've evaluated the rich and the poor on the basis of their wealth, and make a decision about them on that basis.
If you've spent any amount of time in the OT prophets, you will find yourself horrified about this. Near the very top of the list, of the things that make God most angry, is an unjust legal system. Judges can't pervert justice. They have to be impartial, and focused on the truth.
So that's what has happened to you, when you show favoritism. You've become waverers, and judges with evil thoughts.
If we look at the what's happened to the rich and the poor, what has happened to them?
Well, the rich family shows up, and you make sure you introduce them to all the right people in the church. You bring each family member to the right Sunday school class room. You invite them over to your house, or to restaurant in town, for lunch. You do everything in your power to give them a good experience. You do everything in your power, to make them a core part of the church.
How do you treat the poor person? What do you do for him? As little as possible. You make him know he's unwelcome. You treat him with disrespect. You hope you never see him again.
In all of this, what James is doing, is creating an exaggerated example to help you think about whether or not you show favoritism. Probably, if we were to act wickedly in this situation, we'd do it more subtly. We'd find the poor person a seat somewhere, and make sure to not talk to him during meet and greet. We'd make sure to avoid him after the service, and talk to anyone else. And we'd half-hope that's the last we see of them.
But James deliberately uses an example that's big and obvious (just like the Proverbs). As we get older, our tendency is to see the world less in terms of black and white, and more in shades of gray. We find ourselves compromising on things, and telling ourselves that most of those compromises aren't a big deal.
James uses the big, obvious example because it forces us to acknowledge the truth about favoritism.
And then we are supposed to take the next step, and think about if there is something more subtly wrong with us. Do we show favoritism? Do we view people within the church, based on worldly standards? Have we become waverers?
It's a tough question, honestly.
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Couldn't fit this in-- it became awkward:
If you tell the poor person to sit at your feet, what are you saying? Throughout the OT, and probably throughout the history of the world, your enemy is the one you want sitting at your feet. That's the position of weakness, and submission. That's the position that lets you glory over your enemy (Psalm 110:1).
And if you give the rich person the Lazy Boy recliner-- because we are probably meeting in a house church here-- you are giving them what the world would say is rightfully theirs.
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Verse 5-6a:
(5) Listen, my beloved brothers: didn't God choose the poor in the world
[to be] rich with respect to faith,
and heirs of the kingdom that He promised to the ones loving him?
(6) Now, you dishonor the poor.
If we are showing favoritism, James says that we are working against God. God has chosen the poor for two things:
(1) that they would be rich with respect to faith.
Maybe the precious commodity that any of us has is faith. We have a good sense of how much faith we have in God. Some of us have a lot. Others, not so much. And all of us, hopefully, want more. We want to reach a high place where we have total confidence in God, and in God's love for us. We want to reach a place where we know that God says "yes" to us, where we do bold things in Jesus' name.
How do we get more faith?
If you ask the poor, they'll give you at least part of the answer.
The poor go through life every single day understanding that God is the one who provides for them. When they pray the Lord's prayer, asking God to give them their daily bread, they do so with empty pantries. They do so, not sure how they will feed themselves and their families.
When poor parents in the poorest parts of the world pray for healing for their sick or dying kids, they understand that either God will heal them, or they will die. One of my favorite people, John G. Lake, talks about holding his dying child in his arms in Africa at the turn of the last century, asking God for healing. Life is really simple in a world without medicine. You throw yourself on God's mercy, completely, because God is the only solution. And when God answers you-- because God is faithful, and loving, and powerful-- you grow in faith. You become a spiritual giant.
When you're poor, everything in life pushes you to truly trust God. You learn what faith actually is-- and your faith becomes rich. And there's no real substitute for this kind of life. There's nothing I can do, without radically changing my life (Matthew 19:29), to duplicate this type of lifestyle. Poor people grow on a different curve.
Let's go back to James 1:2-8 (NRSV updated edition, which is apparently now a thing?):
2 My brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, consider it all joy, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance complete its work, so that you may be complete and whole, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. 6 But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7,8 For the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
The poor face more trials than most. Their faith is more tested, than most. And if the poor respond appropriately-- with wisdom-- they will be the wealthiest people in church, in the area we all hunger to grow in.
So when we look at the poor, what do we see? We don't see their house, or car, or job, or clothes. We see their faith. And if we allow ourselves to feel a little jealousy at their faith, I think God will be okay with that. You can want what they have.
Let's reread James 2:5:
(5) Listen, my beloved brothers: didn't God choose the poor in the world
[to be] rich with respect to faith,
and heirs of the kingdom that He promised to the ones loving him?
The second thing that God chose the poor in the world for, was to be heirs of the kingdom that He promised to the ones loving him.
Now, James isn't saying here that God's kingdom belongs only to the poor. [In Luke, Jesus seems to very nearly say that, and we wrestle hard with it.] But it does belong to the poor. Poor Christians are heirs to God's kingdom.
[James is talking about poor Christians, not the poor in general. A poor Hindu isn't rich with respect to faith, and an heir of God's kingdom. Maybe, the idea is that the poor are usually the ones who respond to the gospel positively.]
Poor Christians walk through life as royalty. And if you find yourself face to face with royalty, how do you treat them?
As royalty. With total respect.
Really, what you do, is treat them with favoritism. Right?
And so we find that James has turned all of this on its head.
When you meet a poor Christian, you treat them with honor, because of who they are in Christ. You choose your words, and deeds, carefully, understanding that their Father is King, and anything you say or do will get back to the King.
So that's how God has set the world up. God has lifted up the poor, and given them riches, and honor, and privilege. They are heirs to God's kingdom.
Verse 6:
(6) Now, you dishonor the poor.
Ouch. If you find yourself working against God's vision, and purpose, it's time to hit the brakes and rethink your life. If you dishonor the poor, you are setting yourselves up for a conflict with God. You are getting in God's way. You are running the risk that you will become God's enemy-- because you are choosing to be friends with the world, rather than God (anticipating James 4).
Let's keep reading verse 6:
Isn't it the rich who are oppressing you,
and aren't they dragging you to (court) judgment?
(7) Aren't they blaspheming the good name of the one to whom you belong?
When you step back from thinking about the church, to looking at the world in general, what do you learn about the rich?
Rich people are not your friends. They are the ones who oppress you. They are the ones who use the courts for their own advantage. And they blaspheme the name of Jesus.
It's not that every rich person does these things. There are exceptions to the rule. But everyone who does these things, is rich.
So if you find yourself thinking that it'd be great to be some rich guy's buddy, think twice. Realize that you live in a world systematically designed to bless the rich, and make them prosper, at your expense. The rich are the ones who oppress you.
Verse 8:
(8) However, if the royal/kingly law, you accomplish in accordance with the Scripture:
"You will love your neighbor as yourself,"
rightly you act.
If you want to know how to act rightly, James says that you should turn to the Old Testament. Leviticus, is the book you want to read, to find out what God wants from you.
And if you live in accordance with Leviticus, accomplishing what it sets out to do, you'll live rightly.
You maybe think I'm messing with you, and I sort of am. But there is a hint here of God's master plan, that runs from Genesis through Revelation, and that plan revolves around the idea of kingdom (this marks the first time I've tried to integrate Scot McKnight's book Kingdom Conspiracy into my sermons. I'll get better at it, as I understand it better hopefully).
Every kingdom has three things: (1) A king, (2) A people, and (3) a land. And God's kingdom is no exception.
If we start in the OT, what we see is that God is king of his kingdom. Later on, He reigns through King David. But ultimately, He is king. God's kingdom also has a people. In the OT, God's people was Israel (Deuteronomy 32:8-9).
Now, the boundaries of God's people were fluid. There were borders, but there were ways through the border. You could become an Israelite, and become part of God's people. Rahab and Ruth are good examples. But God's people was Israel. And God's land, was also "Israel."
So that's God's kingdom. It has a king, a people, and a land.
And if you live inside of God's kingdom, you are working under God's expectations for how life should look. Your King has rules. Basically, you had to love God with the entirety of who you are, and you had to love your neighbor as yourself. These are the "kingly" laws. The "royal" laws.
I don't think James is saying that the command to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than other laws. That's not what "royal" means. James is making the point that this is a kingdom law, in the OT, and the NT. This is how God insists that life inside his kingdom works.
Now, when we look at the OT as a whole-- at Israel's history-- we see that God's kingdom didn't accomplish what God set out for it to do. Israel sinned, and rebelled, and failed.
And so what did God do? God promised that He would send a Savior, who would usher in a new day of righteousness, and holiness, for his people. And this Savior, is Jesus. Jesus came, as a member of Israel, through the line of King David. He was the faithful son, that Israel wasn't (Matthew 2:15). And what King Jesus did, was "bring near" the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom is the fulfillment of everything God promised in the OT.
Jesus showed his faithfulness/obedience by dying on the cross for our sins. He was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended to God's right hand, where he reigns today. Through all this, Jesus gives us freedom from humans' great enemies-- Sin, Satan, and Death. And through all of this, God enables people within his kingdom to become what He created us to be. We walk in newness of life (Romans 6:10-11). We are truly, fully, human (Revelation 5:10).
So God has this kingdom, NT. God is King of this kingdom, and He reigns through Jesus. God's people are now a mix of Jew and Gentile, but we are still "Israel." The borders are still fluid-- people are still invited in.
But how do you get in?
You get in, through King Jesus. Jesus is King, and you come on bent knee, submitting to him as Lord. You repent from your sin (repentance= turning from sin, toward God), and you pledge your allegiance to him through baptism (1 Peter 3:21, NIV).
So now what? Now we live as people inside of God's kingdom. And God still has rules for how kingdom should look. Basically, we have to love God with the entirety of who we are, and love our neighbor as ourselves. When we do this, we are accomplishing the kingly law first set out in Leviticus (James 2:8). We "fulfill" the law (Romans 8:4). We become a people, that live how God has always wanted.
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J. A. Motyer, The Message of James: The Tests of Faith, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985), 96–97:
The use of the adjective royal must point to the importance of this law, but beyond that it is not certain quite what James intends. More is meant than that the law comes to us with authority, for that is covered by saying that the law is according to the scripture. Some understand James to mean that this law is ‘the king of all laws’,3 but this is unlikely, because the adjective royal (hasilikos) is not used in the New Testament with the meaning ‘ruling’ or ‘governing’. But it does consistently have the meaning ‘belonging to the king’.
You can think about Scot McKnight's book, and everything I just said, as basically unpacking the significance of the law as "belonging to king."
It also helps to see that the "kingly" law has the same root as the poor inheriting the "kingdom." Kingdom language is just below the surface (or at the surface?) throughout here.
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So that's how life inside of the kingdom works. Those are God's rules.
The other possible way of life is found in verses 9-11:
(9) Now, if you show partiality, sin, you work/produce,
being convicted by the law as transgressors.
(10) For whoever the whole law keeps, now stumbles/falls into error in one thing, has become guilty of all of it.
(11) For The One saying, "Don't commit adultery," also said, "Don't murder."
Now, if you don't commit adultery-- now, you murder-- you have become a transgressor of the law.
Very near the heart of God's law for his kingdom, is the command to love your neighbor as yourself. But if you show partiality, you are doing the exact opposite of this. Do this, and you will produce sin (James 1:15). And you will be convicted by the royal law as a transgressor.
And this is a big deal, why?
Behind that royal law, stands the Royal One who issued it. It's not just that you're disobeying the kingly law. You are disobeying the King.
You're maybe tempted to think, "As long as I obey 9/10s of the law, it's good enough." But that's not how obedience and disobedience work. And every parent knows the truth of this. If your teenage kids obey you in every way, except they sneak out at night to go party, are they obedient? Obedience is an all-or-nothing sort of thing.
So you're maybe tempted to show favoritism. To use human, worldly standards in how you evaluate people's worth, and how you treat them. But if you do this, you're disobeying your King.
In verses 12-13, James sums up his argument, and tells us what the next step is:
(12) For this reason speak, and for this reason act, as the ones who by the law of freedom are going to be judged.
(13) For the judgment is merciless to the one not doing mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
There is a day of judgment coming. And we will all be judged, on the basis of the Kingly law. God has clear expectations for his people, who live within his kingdom. And he expects you to obey them, and him.
Here, James calls this kingly law "the law of freedom." Super interesting, right? We tend to think of laws as being restrictive. Laws tell you what you can't do, what you can't buy, what you can't smoke. Right? Laws say "no," by definition. And the only question is, what does the government say "no" to.
But in God's kingdom, God's laws give freedom. They point you to the path of peace, and joy, and love, and faithfulness. True freedom comes from living within the kingdom, and living rightly toward God, and toward people.
So on the day of judgment, that's what God will look at. Did you live by the rules of the kingdom? And specifically-- above all else-- James says God will look at whether or not you were merciful.
Did you show mercy to people on the margins, or not? How did you treat orphans, and widows, and the poor?
How you treated them, will form the basis for how God treats you. If you showed mercy, God will show you mercy.
If you didn't show mercy, but instead showed favoritism, God's judgment will be merciless.
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So our choice is clear. The only question is what we will do. Hopefully, we will honor the people that God honors. We will show mercy to the needy. We will love our neighbor as ourselves. We will live as God's people, respecting that He is King, and we are not, and that God makes the kingly rules for how we should live.
How does favoritism play into all of this?
The tricky about favoritism, is that it's probably never as clear as the example James gave. James uses an exaggerated, obvious example to help us really stop and think (he's like Proverbs in this way). But usually favoritism is far more subtle.
Let me give you an example.
I know a church where there is a wealthy, successful businessman. He doesn't make a big deal about himself, at all. From everything I've seen, he's a godly, righteous man. At three different annual church meetings, his wife brought up super sensitive, super awkward issues. All three times, she said what needed to be said. I admire and respect her for her courage, and her tact. But she went way out on a limb-- I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped for one of them.
All three times, this woman was treated with respect, and honor. Her words were taken seriously, and the problems were fixed.
I know two other women in the same church whose husbands were less successful from a worldly point of view.
One of the women is married to a non-Christian, and I'm not sure he's ever been seen in the church building.
Both of these women also brought up sensitive topics at the church business meetings. They did so with tact, and grace, on topics not nearly as sensitive. I didn't find myself quietly gasping, or sitting there open-mouthed like an idiot. But both of these women were dishonored.
The main difference between these women, I think, had to do with who their husbands were. The wealthy wife was treated with honor, and respect. The middle class wives were belittled, and not taken seriously.
Favoritism is often a subtle thing. It's the kind of thing you can't always see clearly, except in the rear view mirror.
How do we fight it?
Maybe part of the answer is to think about how you view people. When you're talking to someone at church, do you find yourself thinking about their job, and yearly salary, and house, and car? Do you always kind of keep in mind who they are, and what they can do for you?
James seems to think this is inevitable, to some degree. Most of us know who is well-to-do, and who struggles to get by. It is what it is. But part of what James does, to counter this, is change how you view the poor. James says, don't think about their house, or car, or clothes. He says, think about how they are rich in faith, and how they are royalty in God's kingdom.
The end goal is not that you dishonor the rich. James doesn't want the wealthy wife to be mistreated. The end goal, is that you honor the poor, and view them, and treat them, the way God does. Work with God's vision, and not against it.
So, here's some things to think about-- areas where we might show favoritism:
(1) Who do we ask to consider becoming an elder, and on what basis? Who do we not?
(2) Whose voice seems to carry the most weight in business meetings? Whose doesn't?
(3) Who is asked to be on a pastoral search committee, and who isn't?
(4) Basically, who gets asked to do stuff, and who doesn't?
[I think It was said in the book Animal Farm, that all the animals were equal, but some animals are more equal than others. Church shouldn't be like that.]
I found impossible while studying this passage, not to think about Matthew 25:31-46. So I'd like to close today by simply reading it (NRSVUE):
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”
Show love, and mercy. Don't show favoritism.
Translation:
(1) My brothers, don't, with partiality, hold the faith of our glorious Lord, Jesus Christ.
(2) For suppose someone should enter your assembly with a gold ring on his finger, with fine clothing.
Now, also a poor person enters with filthy clothing.
Now, you look favorably upon the one wearing the fine clothing, and you say,
"You sit here rightly/fitly,"
and to the poor one you say,
"You stand, or be seated there by my footstool"--
(4) haven't you become waverers among yourselves,
and judges with evil thoughts?
(5) Listen, my beloved brothers: didn't God choose the poor in the world
[to be] rich with respect to faith,
and heirs of the kingdom that He promised to the ones loving him?
(6) Now, you dishonor the poor.
Isn't it the rich who are oppressing you,
and aren't they dragging you to (court) judgment?
(7) Aren't they blaspheming the good name of the one to whom you belong?
(8) However, if the royal/kingly law, you accomplish in accordance with the Scripture:
"You will love your neighbor as yourself,"
rightly you act.
(9) Now, if you show partiality, sin, you work/produce,
being convicted by the law as transgressors.
(10) For whoever the whole law keeps, now stumbles/falls into error in one thing, has become guilty of all of it.
(11) For The One saying, "Don't commit adultery," also said, "Don't murder."
Now, if you don't commit adultery-- now, you murder-- you have become a transgressor of the law.
(12) For this reason speak, and for this reason act, as the ones who by the law of freedom are going to be judged.
(13) For the judgment is merciless to the one not doing mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.
