St.
James 2:1-13 | King
James Version (KJV)
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2 For 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;
3 And 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:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves,
and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, 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?
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by
the which ye are called?
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to
the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye
commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
11 For 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.
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that
shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For he shall have judgment without
mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
We
continue our studies this week in the Book of James. James lets God’s people
know that there is a sin in “playing favorites”. In our
heart of hearts, we KNOW that this is right. Disturbingly enough, this is
something that is common among people, in general.
February
is Black History month. We’re celebrating African-Americans who made great
strides within their lifetimes to the betterment of society, despite the
challenges of discrimination and prejudice. But, notice James doesn't jump to
the obvious discrimination of race. He uses an example of 2 men with different
statuses in life. One in rich and one is poor. It’s easy to favor the rich
person and admire them, isn't it?
Having “favorites” can bring a world of
trouble to the ability to make sound judgment and be fair. That’s why Moses, as
he was appointing leaders and judges, in Deut.1:17, admonished them to judge
each case fairly. “Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great
alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God." God’s word
hasn’t changed today.
What
about at work? Have you ever heard of favoritism in the workplace? The world
teaches us that, “It’s not WHAT you know, but WHO you know” or “The good ole
boys” network? It’s amazing that even secularly, the EEOC (Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission) had to be created to stop favoritism and prejudice
based upon several factors. Guess what? God doesn’t like it either!
We
find several places in the scripture where Jesus is mingling with all types of
people. He didn’t judge anyone. The One who knows the hearts and thoughts of
man, still came to treat everyone fairly and equally. He’s so merciful that Matthew
5:45 says he causes the sun to rise and fall and the rain to come down on the
just and unjust. He is always consistent, as we should be also.
Another
important message that James is trying to get across here is for us, as Saints
of God, to keep all of the commandments of God. Still on the topic of
favoritism, James refers to what we call “The Golden Rule” as the “Royal law”.
If we can truly love our neighbor as ourselves, we’re doing well.
All
points of God’s law must be taken seriously and upheld unconditionally. You
just can’t get 99 ½ of it right (the old church used to say 99 and ½ won’t
do!), any one point of transgression is punishable in the sight of God.
Side note: To save money in the
summer, my family went to Wally World and bought one of those huge inflatable
swimming pools. It was awesome! We could go out on the patio and swim whenever
we wanted, and in the privacy of our own backyard. After using the pool for a
while, we noticed that the sides of the pool were deflating, so we filled it up
again. But, the pool would not return to being as firm as it had been before.
After looking even closer, we found a small puncture on the side which was
causing air to leak out, ever so subtly. This is exactly how God’s law is. We
can’t leave any of it unfollowed. It detracts from the completeness that God
has designed for our lives. He is a perfect God who demands this from each of
us, as believers.
James
goes on to talk about murder verses adultery. He squashes the idea that if we
commit one sin, we can do a whole bunch of good things to cover it up or atone
for it. We are saved by grace through faith. That’s really good news!
Otherwise, can’t you see folks trying to pay their way or be “good enough” in
their lifetime to go to Heaven? Ephesians 2:8-p declares, For it is by grace
you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
James
concludes here with providing us with a spiritual check-up. He says that
Christians should show mercy on others. If a person is so selfish and unconcerned
about others, they really have not been born again or experienced the true
saving power of Christ. God loves mercy and we should as well.
Mercy said no
I'm not going to let
you go
I'm not going to let
you slip away
You don't have to be
afraid
Mercy said no
Sin will never take
control
Life and death stood
face to face
Darkness tried to
steal my heart away
Thank You Jesus,
Mercy said no
James has
been helping us examine our character for the past couple of weeks. God is
perfecting us to be that reflection which shows the image of Him. We must
continue reaching out to a dying world through God’s non-prejudicial hands,
seeing them with His unjudging eyes, and loving them without reservation. This
is God’s will.
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