A LIVING FAITH IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH
A. Partiality and discrimination in the family of God
1. (James 2:1) The principle established
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
In chapter one, James discusses how the LORD uses trial and challenges as a means of testing our faith. In chapter two, James describes two additional methods of testing. The chapter opens with an examination of how God tests our faith by our responses to people from varioussocial backgrounds.
An attitude of person favoritism: The second testing of faith comes on the issue of favoritism. There is an interesting Greek word used here for personal favoritism: proso-polemp-sia. It is a translation of a Hebrew idiom which literally means "to lift up the face". The point of the idiom is that the lifting of our face to someone is to show them our favor or attention to the exclusion of others. The same expression is used in the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:24-26: "The LORD bless you, and keep you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace."
James says we are not to hold our faith in Christ with favoritism among men. Again, we are taking about a man or woman of faith who is acting incorrectly in the faith--failing a test. A significant aspect of the work of Jesus was to break down the walls that divided humanity and to bring forth one new race of mankind in Him. The unity and openness of the early church was shocking to the ancient world. But this unity did not come automatically. As this command from James shows, the apostles had to teach the early church to never hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ...with partiality.
James now moves on to using examples to make his point clearer.
2. (James 2:2-4) An example of the kind of partiality that has no place among Christians
For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and you say, "You sit here in the good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
Your assembly: The setting for this example is your local assembly (or church). One is wearing fine or gorgeous apparel while the other is wearing dirty or filthy clothing. The contrast is quite clear between the two men.
With a gold ring: The rich man is known to be rich. The Greek phrase here is a "gold-fingered man" which suggests the man had on many rings on his fingers. He is not just rich, he is obviously rich. And likewise, the poor man is obviously poor. It is in the visibility of the wealth or social status where we find a test developing for the assembly. The test is how we chose to think and act in response to that show of wealth. The key to passing the test, as before, is to think and act like God. We are to be led by godly wisdom; we are to be led by the Spirit.
You pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes: The Greek word for special attention means to regard with favor. The rich man looks wealthy. So this leads the usher to guide the man to a good seating place. Likewise, the poor man is given a lowly place in the assembly.
There are two sins committed here. The sins are not only committed by the one who selects the seats, but by association, everyone in the assembly who sees that decision as proper is also responsible for committing the sin.
Have you not made distinctions among yourselves: The first sin was in making a judgment of each person's worth, and then we respond to the person in a different way based on that judgment. The assembly is showing favor to one man over another. Regardless of the basis for the judgment, the very fact that we make distinctions is wrong. By making judgments, we fail the testing of our faith.
Our faith should bring with it an understanding that all men have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Our faith also understands that by Christ's blood we have all been made new creatures and are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. We are brothers and sisters in Christ without distinction in worth of value to God. Thus, when we look upon our brothers and sisters in Christs, we should assume no one is better or more important than the other. When we make these judgments, we sin--we are looking at each with worldly eyes instead of the eyes of faith.
Rich people are not more important or more special than poor people in God's view. Good looking people are not more highly esteemed by God than plain people. People who are smart or famous or have college educations are not viewed differently in God's eyes. Any attempt to establish any kind of worldly ranking system in the church is simply sinful and ungodly. When we see people in these ways in the body of Christ, we sin because we fail to operate in godly wisdom. We are living in the flesh.
Several years ago, a homeless man found his way to my church. He attended one of the Bible studies. I was very excited to have this man as part of the class. I thanked God that this man had found his way to Jesus and was looking for ways in which to expand his faith. The man had lots of questions. Unfortunately, the Bible study instructor grew very impatient very quickly with the man as he was constantly interrupting her teaching to ask questions. I felt very sorry for the man. He was brimming with enthusiasm, but the teacher seemed to quickly extinguish that flame. Oddly, when other students in the class interjected questions through the study, the instructor happily stopped her lesson to answer their questions. This made me very heart-broken.
I went home and baked the man some chocolate cupcakes. Baking is a way that I try to make amends with people. I lovingly made the cupcakes and frosted them with extra thick frosting. When I arrived at the next Bible study, I was saddened when the man did not show up. Perhaps he had other things to do or perhaps the way the instructor treated him made him not come back, but either way, I felt as though as a church, we had lost a very precious individual. I have never seen the man again. I pray he has not lost his faith.
Judges with evil motives: What evil motives do we have for making distinctions between the rich and the poor in the church? If we are honest, the answer is easy. We favor a person who looks rich because we have a secret hope that they will return our favor by using their wealth to reward us. Perhaps they will invite us to enjoy a swim in their pool. Perhaps they will give a large donation to the church to help send many kids off to summer camp. It is the lure of their money which causes us to think and act sinfully. This is the evil motive that James is referring to. We need to put aside those thoughts and replace them with the wisdom of God's word.
3. (James 2:5-7) Man's partiality rarely agrees with God's heart
Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?
God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith: When we show the poor scorn or simply dismiss them, we dishonor that person. The Greek word is atimazo which means to treat shamefully. We treat them as if we are ashamed of them or for them. But, God has chosen them and made them rich in the things that matter--the spiritual things. If we saw them with eyes for eternity, knowing they share the same future we have, then we would not shame them.
Consider this: they may earn more treasure in the coming kingdom and be the "rich" person in the future kingdom. What kind of reward might we have if we spend this life treating God's chosen in a callous and cold-hearted way? James's statement about God choosing the poor is echoed in Paul's letter to the Corinthian church.
"For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the worlds to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, things that are not, so the He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God." (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)
God selected those who would become a part of the church in Corinth from among the poor and socially disadvantaged. God did so for a specific reason: so that at the time of judgment, God could shame the wise and the powerful of this world.
A very similar warning is given in Jeremiah, who also warns us to not boast in our material goods:
"Thus says the LORD, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,' declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
The least of the world are to be lifted up by faith and receive a glorious inheritance. Those of the world thought to be rich and powerful will be shown to be "wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked" (as Jesus describes them in Revelation 3:17).
The principle has some exceptions. Not every poor person will become a follower of Jesus. And some rich and powerful will be called to faith in Christ. But the general principle will remain true throughout history until our LORD'S return.
Jesus reiterates this point in the story about Lazarus and the rich man (see Luke 16). Again, Jesus says it is almost impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24-25, Mark 10:23-25, Luke 18:24-25)
Is it not the rich who oppress you: James moves on to say that not only this differentiation is sinful, it is also fruitless. The rich do not respond to our favoritism by throwing their money around. They take it for granted. They ultimately become the oppressors of society, especially if they are fighting to keep their wealth. Paul writes to Timothy about the evils of wealth which can lead to a person's separation from the faith: "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" (1 Timothy 6:10).
Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called: James gives another general truth: the rich and powerful speak out against Christians and Jesus. If you have doubts about this, just pay attention to the entertainment and political celebrities of our day or any day. Do they tend to honor and respect Christians? Do they reverence God? Do they tend to live godly lives and strive to be Christ-like?
I am not suggesting, nor is Scripture teaching that the rich man has no hope and that all the poor people are good. But there is a general principle at work in God's economy. We should understand it and let it inform our opinions about people. The bottom line is this--do not show favoritism. Instead of failing these tests and sinning in favoritism, James teaches us to live differently.
4. (James 2:8-9) Partiality is condemned by the Scriptures
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,' you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
The royal law: Some call this the Golden Rule: love your neighbor as yourself. Remember Jesus was asked which commandment in the Law was the most important. Jesus answered that the most important command was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And the second was to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40). (This is a reiteration of the original command given in Leviticus 19:18: "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.") If we treat every person as we would treat ourselves if we were on the receiving end, then we are following the Royal Law. We are doing well. However, when we show partiality among people for any reason, this is incompatible with keeping God's commandment.
God gave us two broad commandments: Love God and love your neighbor. James says when we show partiality within the body of Christ, we fail the second commandment. We sin and transgress the Torah. Just as there were consequences for violating the Torah in the time of Moses, so in the days of Jesus, there are consequences for violating God's commands.
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