PREACHED:
(JAMES STUDY #4)
“FAITH AND FAVORITISM”
INTRODUCTION
1 ANDREW CARNEGIE: “As I grow older, I pay less
attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.”
A. That
is a great lesson from James: Christianity is something we practice, not
just what we talk about.
1. In
fact, James 1.22-25, serves as a
sort of “umbrella” for the emphasis of the entire letter.
a. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers
only…the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and
perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed
in his doing.”
2. He ends chapter one:
·
Control
the tongue.
·
Care
for the helpless.
·
Cleanse
the conduct.
2 TONIGHT—BEGIN CHAPTER 2
DISCUSSION
1¤ FAITH AND FAVORITISM
A. V 1. “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.”
1. Not
all kinds of partiality -
a. Gal 6.10; I Cor
5.11. “I am writing to you not to
associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual
immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard or swindler—not even
to eat with such a one.”
2. Partiality based on eternals -
a. John
7:24
3. Greek:
What is presented to the eye, the front, the face…
4. To
show favoritism based on appearances.
a. Fleshly
bias, one-sided treatment based on worldly standards, preference based on what
we like to see and deciding how to treat others based on what we see.
D. Favoritism
and the nature of God:
1. Acts 10.34 “Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation
anyone who fears God and does what is right is acceptable to him…”
V 36. “…he
is Lord of all…”
2. Peter
defended preaching to Cornelius before questioning Jewish Christians.
a. His
argument—the impartiality of God:
1) Acts 11.17 “If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we
believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
3. James 2:5. “Listen my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the
world and rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he promised to those
who love him?”
a. ABRAHAM
LINCOLN: “God must love the common people
because he made so many of them.”
B. Favoritism
and the ministry of Christ:
1. Zacchaeus - Luke 19.10
2. Matthew – Matt 9.9-13
3. Testimony to John the Baptist -
a. Matt 11.4-6. “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised
up, and the poor have the gospel
preached to them. And blessed is everyone who is not offended by me.”
4. Thief on the cross -
a. “…This
day you will be with me…”
C. Favoritism and the ministry of Paul:
1. II Cor 5.16 “From now on, therefore, we regard no one
according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the
flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”
2. Rom
1.16
3. Paul spoke of the Christian calling:
a. I Cor
4. He instructed the Roman church:
a. Romans 12:16. “Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited...”
D. Other translations:
1. KJV, “...respect
of persons…”
SEB,
“…treat people differently…”
EASY TO READ, “…think
that some people are more important than the other people…”
GOD’S WORD TRANSL. “…favoring
one person over another…”
AMPLIFIED,
adds “prejudice…”
E. Attitude that negates fleshly favoritism:
1. James 1.9 “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his
humiliation…”
a. The
ground is level at the foot of the cross!
2. James
reminds his readers of the destiny of fleshly gain:
a. 1:10, 11. “…because as the flower of the grass he (rich) will pass away. For the
sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and
its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.”
2¤ A
PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION
A. 2:2-4. “For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your
assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay close
attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a
good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit
down at my feet,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become
judges with evil thoughts?”
B. How did this apply in the past?
1. Race!
a. ACU
1) Carl
Spain’s sermon and reaction
b. Business
meeting note in
1) What
if a black person attended? “Don’t know
how it is here, or a troublemaker”
c. Comment about a black brother
1) Why
doesn’t he want to worship with his kind? He can do his people a lot of
good if he ever gets over this thing of having to be with the white folks.
C. How does this apply today?
1. Making
money the standard of leadership rather than godliness…
2. Still
harboring prejudices and making racial judgments…
3. Judging
the worth of a Bible teacher on the basis of whether he has a PhD…
4. Looking
down one’s nose at others because we consider them not as educated or
sophisticated as we are…
5. Considering
ourselves superior to others because we attended a Christian college and they
did not…”
3¤ THE REAL ISSUES IN PARTIALITY
A. Practicing love or practicing sin!!
1. James
2.8-11.
a. Sin
is transgression of the law, and by being prejudiced, we disobey the Royal law!
b. Don’t
ever allow yourself to believe that keeping others commands of God makes
willful disobedience to a distasteful command all right! It doesn’t!!
B. The
“Royal Law” is part of the “Law of Liberty” and we’ll be judged by it, V 12.
1. Jesus
said that loving our neighbor as ourselves is second only to loving God with
all our hearts, souls, minds and strength, Matt 23.37, 38.
C. James
reminds us of the law of sowing and reaping as it applies to eternal
judgment!
1. V 13 “For judgment will be without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.
Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
CONCLUSION
1s VITAL QUESTION FOR US ALL:
A. In
what ways do we judge the worth of another by external standards?
1. Make
a mental note of it, face up to it, pray for the strength to conquer and
resolve to work diligently on changing!