The Royal Law of Love
(Christian Survivor Series; Living Godly in a Godless World)
Having a Christlike attitude is possible if we choose to live under the royal law of love
James 2.1-13 February 11, 2000
1My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2For 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; 3And 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: 4Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5Hearken, 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? 6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
12So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
James 2.1-13 KJV
James was a blue-collar pastor with callused knees. He is a friend of mine, and I think he would have liked Hettie Green. Hettie Green was a famous millionaire. She lived in seclusion and became a virtual recluse. She had only a few friends and an ugly mongrel dog that kept biting the few friends she did have.
One of them said, "You’ve got to get rid of that dog." Hettie refused. She said, "That dog loves me and he doesn’t even know how rich I am."
Prejudice, whether it is towards a mongrel dog, pedigree cat, the rich or poor, young or old is not a pretty sight. It is also not an acceptable trait for someone who claims the name Christian. In the language of the Bible, my friend James called it having respect with people. It’s not like Aretha Franklin’s 60’s hit, R.E.S.P.E.C.T.. This is favoritism. The thought picture is receiving the "face" of approval, when you render special treatment. It is the cousin of prejudice.
What do you think when things like this happen?
Ø A qualified woman is passed over for a promotion in favor of a man, seemingly because men have always held that position…
Ø A black man and a white woman begin dating…
Ø You’re in the checkout line and a woman ahead of you pays for her groceries with food stamps…
Ø A New Yourka decides to migrate South, and he buys the house right next door to you!
This morning we are going to continue with James’ helpful, practical letter of advice to the followers of Jesus Christ. We are going to look into the ugly face of prejudice and favoritism.
The Problem of Favoritism
Reading the passage is simple enough. A church service is in progress. Two guys show up at the same time. One is a winner, the other a loser! Which one gets the attention?
Evidently, the church in Jerusalem, pastored by James, was having a problem understanding that catering to the rich and powerful, while neglecting the needy was wrong in the sight of God.
What exactly IS wrong with it? Note four problems of favoritism…
Ø It Shames the Poor
There were not many chairs in the synagogues. 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.
How inappropriate in a setting where the gatherers were all people for whom Jesus died. He didn’t consider any of us of little value!
Jesus sat looking at the treasury one day. He could tell when the widow put in her two "mites". They made a distinctive sound - very different from the clanging a rich man’s huge gold coins. Their method of receiving tithes and offerings was designed to allow the rich to brag, and to shame the poor to remind them of their place. It is a form of prejudice and oppression.
"How odd," we say. Oh, I don’t know. It’s still going on today. Once I served on the
Credentials Committee of an association. We would meet with churches planning to affiliate with our group. I had to attend a worship service, and then meet with the pastor.
When I walked into the service, I was the only white man there. That didn’t bother me.
They sang and conducted the worship time much, much differently than that to which I’d become accustomed. That didn’t bother me. (Even though Victory In Jesus is really the only hymn Paul and Silas sung in jail).
When it came to the offering, the pastor directed us to the insert in the bulletin. On one side was the list of every dime given (or not given) by every member. The other side listed the year-to-date stats. That may sound extreme and crass - but we have our ways, don’t we?
Ø It Leads Others in the Church Astray
Calling attention to a person’s wealth - or lack of wealth - in any way is a detriment to Christian growth. In Matthew (26.11) Jesus informed us we would always have the poor to which we must minister. It is the churches calling to help the needy.
Today there are preachers of the PROSPERITY THEOLOGY who will inform you that it is God’s WILL for you to be healthy, rich and wise (especially if you send them a hundred bucks as seed for your garden of prosperity!). That "theology" teaches that you are woefully deficient in faith if you’re poor.
Somewhat different is the experience of most of us, who understand that it is the poor who wind up walking by faith a whole lot more than any of us with money in the bank! They’re not busted in faith, just in money! Calling attention to wealth leads people to believe they’re of less value in Christ if their portfolio is puny.
Ø It Divides the Body of Christ
In the days of the early church, Peter went down to check out the Galatian believers. Most of them were Gentiles; Peter was a Jew. Jews normally considered Gentiles on a par with pond scum. Peter, however found a great revival going on, and stayed to enjoy the fellowship. He joined right in the party and celebrated.
When the church folks back home in Jerusalem sent a delegation to check on Peter, suddenly his Jewish bone kicked-in, and he withdrew from fellowshipping with the Goyim. He flip-flopped with his favorite playing, and it split the church!
Playing favorites will do that! Like circus elephants, we’re all tied together, tail-to-trunk! You run one over with a truck and you’ll get a bill from the circus owner for the whole herd!
I was pastor of a church in a small community early in our ministry. One of the members was a Florida legend. He’d served as speaker of the Florida Senate in the 50’s. We only had 60or 70 members - but one was a legend! When Elizabeth and I came to the church we were told by one member (who was the legend’s secretary), that "Mrs. Legend likes the azaleas to grow high around the old twin oaks at the parsonage; so don’t cut ’em too low."
That attitude ran throughout the church. Nothing could be done unless "Mrs. Legend" was consulted. Some folks resented it. The preacher didn’t’ even like azaleas! After a year or so I found out that "Mrs. Legend" wasn’t even a member of the church - she was a Presbyterian!
Which leads us to the most hideous point about the problem of favoritism, or "sucking-up" (as the current generation phrases it). Not only does it shame the poor, lead others astray, and divide the body of Christ…running after the powerful and rich is just plain wrong…It is Sinful!
In the Gospel of Matthew is recorded an exchange between a rich young politician and Jesus. The young mover and shaker asked Jesus what to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus said to obey the commandments. The guy said, "I’ve done a good job of that; what else?"
Jesus told him, "You only lack one more thing." "Whazzzat?" "Give everything you own, and come follow me. That will do it."
My old friend Matthew said that rich young political type hung his head and walked away from Jesus.
To all onlookers he looked like a believer, asked the right questions, and was wealthy and socially/politically-correct. Jesus looked him in the eye and said,
"It means too much to you, being rich and powerful,
and having people suck up to you --
It means more to you than being obedient to God."
It is possible to be a believer and not act like it…and that is sin! And that is the problem with favoritism, prejudice and selfishness.
What does the Lord say to do about it? He told his half-brother James to remind us about the Royal Law of Love (Ja 2.8)
If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.
That "law" runs throughout the scripture.
Proverbs 22
1A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. 2The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
Leviticus 19:15 (KJV)
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Jesus had an encounter with another lawyer. The lawyer tried to trick Jesus into saying something dumb. His motive was to discredit Jesus in the eyes of his followers (bad decision). His question was like the rich young ruler - what do I have to do to inherit eternal life? Jesus’ answer was with a question (a good thing to do with a lawyer - never give ’em a straight answer). Jesus asked, "You’re a lawyer, how do you see it?"
The lawyer quoted Deuteronomy 6.5; "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself."
"Is that your final answer?" was Jesus’ reply (sort of). The guy then sprung his little trap…He said, "Uh…just who really is my neighbor?" He had Jesus between the rock and hard place. If Jesus identified anyone specifically, the lawyer could accuse Jesus of elitist prejudice. If he said, everyone, he could accuse him of associating with Gentiles and pagans. Instead, Jesus told him a story (Luke 10.30-37) and nailed the lawyer who was trying to nail him.
Incidentally - it kinda nails us too. See how Jesus taught…
The Demands of "Royal Law" Living
The story is of course the Good Samaritan. We lose some of the force of that, because in our culture, Samaritans are always good. You do something nice for someone stuck on the side of the road and you’re a Good Samaritan.
In Jesus’ culture Samaritans were considered mongrels - half-Jewish, half-Arab…hated by both Jews and Arabs. You weren’t even supposed to look at a Samaritan. When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, it was a Samaritan woman, a loose-living, sexually-"liberated" mongrel. Even his followers couldn’t understand Jesus’ kindness toward her.
But, this little story of the GOOD Samaritan? Jesus makes the mongrel a hero, and the religious Jewish leaders the mutts! What does that teach us? Four lessons about loving under the "royal law" of Jesus…
Ø Love People Even When It’s Unpopular
In Jesus’ story, the Samaritan helped a Jew. He would have been in trouble from both sides of that coin. The Jews would’ve hated him just on general principles - like a Yankee in Alabama. They also would have resented his showing them up. The
Samaritans would have despised him for having anything to do with a Jewish bigot; a little like the predicament you’d get if Louis Farrakhan decided to join the KKK!
Daniel Lupton, in his book I Like Church But... tells the story of a formal church in a Midwestern college town. The people dressed elegantly and loved the great hymns of the faith that flowed from the pipe organ.
Their standards of appearance and formality were deeply ingrained in the culture of the church. Every September, the church’s attendance increased dramatically by an influx of college students. On one particular September Sunday morning, the sanctuary was almost completely filled. The ushers had to help people find what little seating remained available.
10 minutes after the service began, a freshman walked through the foyer. He was scandalously dressed in sandals, shorts and a T-shirt. As a startled usher handed him a worship folder, the strange visitor replied, "Thanks, Bro."
As he pushed through the ushers and made his way down the center aisle during a hymn, people stared, but no one made an effort to scoot over and let him have a seat. Finally, he arrived at the front, still without a seat. So, he just sat down cross-legged, right there in the middle aisle by the first pew! Gasps were heard all over the sanctuary. The organist lost her place. The worship leader started the first verse all over again!
About that time, Deacon Oakly, a stately senior church member began making his way down the aisle. Everyone thought, "Thank God, for Deacon Oakly, he’ll take care of this rude young man." The deacon was resplendently dressed in a beautiful navy blue suit and a colorful silk tie. He ambled down to the young man on his cane and to the further shock of the congregation, slowly lowered himself to the carpet beside the young visitor. Placing his cane across his lap, he extended a hand to the freshman and said, "I’m Deacon Oakly, welcome to our church." They sat there on the floor throughout the service.
The point is, no matter the popularity, love people anyway. Someone will always disapprove - but God will approve! He looks at your heart, while others can only see through their prejudiced filters.
Ø Love People Even When It’s Inconvenient
There is no "good" time for ministry. The opportunity to minister and love others is something that comes upon you. In the story, the Samaritan was on a business trip. It wasn’t pleasure - he was in the land of those that hated him, but found it convenient to do business with him.
The religious leaders had to be somewhere else - church meetings, whatever… The Samaritan had stuff to do too - he was just a bit more ready to love. If you’re going to live by the royal law of love, you need to be ready when God is!
Ø Love People Even When It’s Unprofitable
It cost the Samaritan to care for the man. Besides the discomfort of other people’s looks, he put the beaten man on his own saddle, and walked while the wretched Jew rode. When they got to town, the Samaritan paid for the man’s room at the inn. He even promised to pay more if that’s what it took.
In every way love costs. If it doesn’t, it isn’t love! Great love is very costly. If you doubt that, go back to the Gospels and check out the cross. It cost God a whole lot to love your sin away.
Ø Love People Even When It’s Uncomfortable.
The Samaritan could not have been very comfortable with what he did when he took the first step towards that ditch. I can imagine his mind -
Ø What am I doing here? I don’t even know this guy.
Ø Man, this Jew smells…don’t they ever wash?
Ø My wife is gonna kill me, this money was for the tune-up on her camel.
Ø Aw, spit - look at his eyes - this guy’s gonna die if someone don’t help him. Okay…c’mon my little Jewish pain in the neck. Get up on that saddle, Samaritan pushover’s gonna give you a ride to the doctor.
Can we talk? You and I have our "comfort zones". The Samaritan didn’t LIKE the Jew. But he did love him. You will probably experience discomfort when you love - but that’s what happens when you live by the royal law of love.
Chuck Colson, in his book, Loving God, tells the story of Mickey Cohen, a famous gangster who supposedly made a profession of faith in Christ. His "conversion" was highly publicized in the papers and other new media. Cohen’s problem, though, was that his lifestyle actually changed little. He continued to be involved with his Mafia connections and many of his underworld activities.
When confronted with his need for change in his lifestyle, Cohen replied, "Couldn’t God use a Christian gangster?" He expected Christianity to adapt to his lifestyle, rather than adapt his lifestyle to Christianity.
Favoritism and prejudice are sinfully wrong. It shames the poor, divides the church and leads people astray. Living as a follower of Jesus Christ means a higher road, looking up, loving. And loving according to the royal law - when it’s unpopular, inconvenient, unprofitable and uncomfortable.
When you love others God changes things. It’s the way He set things up in this universe. His rule is that mercy triumphs over judgment. Loving, just because Jesus loves you is the way of a winner!
My challenge for each of us is to try that for the next thirty days. Love unconditionally - no matter the cost. Watch the changes - in other people - and in you. Watch mercy triumph!
The Pastor’s Points is a free weekly sermon service, and is intended to be a blessing. Although the service is free, it is not sent unsolicited. If you are receiving these messages and wish to be removed from the list, simply reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject. May our Lord bless you is our prayer.
Blessings,
R
The Pastor’s Points
a ministry of
Cedar Lodge Baptist Church
Thomasville, Nc
Dr. Russell Brownworth, Pastor
