Showing Partiality Series

PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN LIVING

¡§Showing Favoritism¡¨

Part 1

(James 2:1-13)

Introduction:

„« Favoritism¡Kwe do not struggle with this in the church today do we¡Kyea right!

A. Do we actually believe that we are immune from this problem?

„« This problem here and in many places might not be rich vs. poor; it may be gender or occupation¡Kwhat ever it is God tells us to be cautious of it¡Kit is a HUGE pitfall!

„« We want to consider this morning:

1. The Act of Partiality (1-4)

2. The Fact of Partiality (5-7)

3. The Results of Partiality (8-13)

I. THE ACT OF PARTIALITY¡K(vs. 1-4)

A. Consider the text:

1. We know this is speaking of favoritism because of vs. 1 ¡V it is a matter of attitude

2. Consider the rich man:

a. Fine clothes

b. Jewelry

3. Consider the poor man:

a. dirty clothes

B. What does all this mean:

1. The rich man is doing all he is doing to be seen of men¡Kremember what Paul told the women about their dress in 1 Timothy 2:9ff (Be modest)

2. The poor man is coming in clothing that is not as nice as the others

C. Special attention and distinction is given to the rich man, while the poor man gets the lesser

D. Application:

1. We could make this an issue of clothing, but when it comes down to it, James is making the point about the way we show respect to certain people over others

2. We are in the business of saving souls, not being concerned about show partiality!

II. THE FACT OF PARTIALITY¡K(vs. 5-7)

A. Consider the text:

1. See what God wants us to hear about the importance of the soul¡K

a. In God¡¦s sight we are neither rich nor poor, slave nor free man¡Kwe are all heirs of he promise of the kingdom

B. See what this fact produces:

C. The rich man has been dishonored¡Kbecause he is no less important in the sight of God¡Kin fact

D. See what this fact produces:

1. It is the rich who are blasphemers and yet they are made to feel more righteous

2. Those who show this partiality are sinning because it is not up to us to pick sides or play favorites ¡V we should see men the way God sees them, as souls who need Him

a. We see in vs. 8 that we should fulfill the royal law and love our neighbor as ourselves

III. RESULTS OF PARTIALITY¡K(vs. 9-11)

A. Consider the text:

1. When partiality is show we sin because we become transgressors of the law (not loving everyone as Christ would)

2. They were guilty of breaking the whole law

a. apparently they thought that what they were doing though not right, was not that bad

B. Application:

1. We are given a strong caution against showing partiality because when we do this we forget and neglect the royal law that we should love our neighbor as ourselves!

Conclusion:

„« Consider then vs. 12,13:

A. Lames tells is:

1. We should speak & Act as those judged by the law of liberty

a. we have all received grace more than we deserve, then we should extend this same attitude toward others¡Kshowing no partiality

„« We will not expect that we should receive any more mercy on that judgement day of we have shown no mercy while here!