Playing Favorites
James 2:1-7
October 26, 2014
We’ve been receiving our series of faith tests from James.
His main purpose, and goal is to help us examine ourselves
And to determine if the faith we have
Is indeed the faith God is looking for.
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”
That is exactly what James has been helping us do.
We need to be able to recognize that Jesus Christ is in us.
We need to be able to look at our lives and see some area
Where it is obvious that we are following Jesus.
We need to be able to look at our lives and see
Where we are seeking to be more like Jesus.
Paul said it like this:
Philippians 3:10-14 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
It is not as though we must all be able to say,
That we are 100% like Jesus.
But we ought to be a lot like Him,
And getting more and more every day.
And so that is what James is trying to help us do.
He is helping us look at ourselves,
And telling us what we will look like if Jesus Christ is in us.
If He is in us, we will look at trials differently.
If He is in us, we will trust God at His word.
If He is in us, we will persevere.
If He is in us, we will obey God’s word.
And the reason we know this,
Is because that is what Jesus would’ve done.
We are trying to determine if we really have saving faith,
Tonight, we continue with the examination process.
We will look to see how we treat others.
#1 PROCLAMATION AGAINST FAVORITISM
James 2:1
“My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.”
I love the way James starts this topic.
He is talking about “your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ”
I like that James refers to Jesus in this way here.
James is about to draw your attention to how Jesus mingled with the lowly and the meek and the poor.
And yet James reminds you from the outset that He is “glorious”
He didn’t become “glorious” by holding Himself aloof
He proved He was “glorious” by serving the least.
James’ point to you is that you not dishonor Him or insult Him
By claiming to follow Him with any other attitude.
James is warning us against favoritism.
One thing we have come to know about God
And as we study His word is that He is a holy God. He is perfectly just.
Everyone knows this about Him.
Justice has an exact opposite, and that is favoritism.
That being the case, if God is just, then He cannot be partial.
Indeed this is taught all throughout Scripture.
Deuteronomy 10:17 “For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.”
2 Chronicles 19:7 “Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.”
Romans 2:9-11 “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”
We know that God is perfectly just, without partiality, or favoritism.
It doesn’t matter if you are Jew or Greek, male or female, rich or poor.
God’s judgment is perfectly just. He looks at all without favoritism or partiality.
And this is also what Jesus taught in the New Testament.
John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
We know that Jesus was like this as well.
He not only said not to judge by appearance, He lived that way.
Think of some instances that reveal He did “not judge according to appearance but…with righteous judgment.”
Canaanite Woman – Matt. 15:21-28 Thief on the cross – Luke 23:43
Roman Centurion – Matthew 8:10 Alabaster Vile – Luke 7:39-48
Woman at the Well – John 4:7-26
The point to that is this:
If that is what Jesus was like, then if Jesus is indeed in us,
what will we be like?
Faith that shows favoritism is not Christ-centered faith.
“do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism” for we know He was nothing like that.
Remember what Paul taught?
Philippians 2:1-4 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
If you’ll remember Paul goes on to remind
THAT IS EXACTLY HOW JESUS LIVED.
And James here commands us to be like Him.
First a proclamation against favoritism.
#2 A PICTURE OF FAVORITISM
James 2:2-4
As is common with James,
Here we see an illustration that is quite easy to understand.
He explains to us exactly what he is talking about
When he says not to show favoritism.
To show favoritism is to do exactly opposite of what Jesus commanded
Jesus said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
But to do this is to “judge according to appearance, and not with righteous judgment.”
The only thing the people here did was look at the appearance.
This man could have had “kill Jesus” tattooed on his chest,
This man could have been a lustful man
Who only wanted to scout out the women.
This man could have been a member of the Jewish council
Who only sought to get information against them to persecute them.
This man could have been anything,
But because he came in with a gold ring, and wearing fine clothes,
He was immediately honored.
Of course the flip side to the story is the poor man.
This could have been Jesus Himself, one of the least of these.
He may have greater faith than anyone in the church.
But because he wasn’t successful in the world,
He wasn’t honored, he was cast aside.
And you and I both know we do this in churches today.
GO DRESS POOR AND ATTEND ANOTHER CHURCH.
We don’t actually say
“go stand over there” or “sit down by my footstool”,
But it’s obvious we cater to those who are more successful looking.
And the simple fact is, Jesus never did those things.
He did exactly the opposite.
When you read the gospels,
You never find Him missing an opportunity to make the outcast feel special.
You never find Him missing an opportunity to put the Pharisees in their place.
Jesus taught openly about who pleased Him.
Luke 6:20-26 “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”
Jesus standard was not the world’s standard.
His standard was the same as His Father’s.
1 Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
It is favoritism to look at the appearance,
And to let that be a determining factor as to how we view someone.
When we do that we are doing three things.
1) WE ARE PLACING A STANDARD
Vs. 4a, “have you not made distinctions among yourselves,”
Notice the “have you not”
That is James’ way of daring you to argue with him.
You know this is true.
When you show favoritism to the rich you are making “distinction among yourselves”
When we treat different people differently, we reveal that we have set some sort of standard over people. We reveal that in addition to God’s standard of faith, we have added our own.
God’s standard is simple. He wants a person of faith
Who reveals that faith through obedience and perseverance.
When people fail to do that,
He even commands that they be put out of the fellowship.
However, to impose any other standard
In which we determine if a person is pleasing is not of God.
We can find several times in Scripture
When people placed their own standards.
JAMES HERE MENTIONS MONEY.
Galatians 2:11-13 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”
WHAT STANDARD WAS PETER USING? – Race
1 Corinthians 1:10-13 “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
WHAT STANDARD WERE THE CORINTHIANS USING? – Ability
John 1:45-46 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
WHAT STANDARD WAS NATHANIEL USING? – Geography
Ephesians 6:9 “And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”
WHAT STANDARD DID PAUL WARN THE EPHESIANS AGAINST? – Status
Do we not show the same standards?
Can we honestly say a person’s job, or their race, or their church,
Or their neighborhood plays no part in how we view them?
It didn’t matter to Jesus.
He helped Jews, Greeks, Samaritans alike.
He helped the rich, the poor.
He helped men, and women.
He helped the healthy, and the sick.
He had placed no standard over people.
Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
James shows us here that if we are showing favoritism,
It is because we have placed a standard, and Jesus never did this.
2) WE ARE PASSING A SENTENCE
Vs. 4b, “and become judges”
Now when I say that,
Immediately a certain verse will probably come to mind.
Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”
WHAT DOES A JUDGE DO?
A judge passes the sentence. A judge gives the final decision.
And when a judge speaks, it is final.
When we treat the rich differently than the poor, or the weak differently than the powerful, we have done more than place a standard, we are passing judgment. We are treating them in the way we think they deserve to be treated.
Jesus said not to do that.
He said, don’t poor out condemnation on a person,
For you better watch out or your standard will be used against you.
When we show favoritism we are placing a standard, we are passing judgment.
3) WE ARE PROVING SELFISHNESS”
Vs. 4c, “with evil motives?”
James even goes far enough to say here why we do that.
WHY DO WE SHOW FAVORTISM?
We do it because we want prestige, or power, or money.
Why else would we treat a rich person differently than a poor person?
The reason Jesus never showed favoritism
Is because Jesus didn’t have a selfish bone in His body.
He was not doing what He did for His benefit.
He was doing it for the benefit of others.
If we show favoritism, we reveal a carnal heart that is doing what it does for the benefit of self, and not others.
James gives us a picture of favoritism,
And when we do it,
• We have placed a standard that is not of God,
• We have passed a sentence when we have no right,
• We have proved the selfishness that drives us.
First a proclamation against favoritism, second a picture of favoritism.
#3 THE PROBLEM WITH FAVORITISM
James 4:5-7
The problems James lists here are easy to see.
When we show favoritism.
1) WE ARE REJECTING THE ONE WHO ACCEPTS GOD
Vs. 5-6a, “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.”
One thing that becomes clear throughout Scripture
Is that more times than not, God’s people are the poor.
There are exceptions, but throughout history
The poor has been who God has chosen.
Take Israel:
Deuteronomy 7:7 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,”
Take the Disciples
Matthew 10:2-4 “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.”
Ordinary men, who then were asked to leave everything.
Take the Church
1 Corinthians 1:26-29 “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 world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.”
The point is that God routinely chose the poor man.
He chose them “to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom”
And yet James says, “But you have dishonored the poor man.”
That is to say, you are rejecting the one whom God has accepted.
You are pushing aside the one God wants.
At the very least it reveals a heart that is NOT in tune with God’s.
2) WE ARE ACCEPTING THE ONE WHO REJECTS GOD.
Vs. 6b-7, “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?”
The rich are those who have rejected God.
They are the ones who have learned
To trust in their own abilities and money for salvation.
They are the worldly
They are the self-centered
All they desire is to gain more of this place.
And Jesus spent a large amount of time warning these people.
Matthew 6:19-24 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
And that is the rich.
They can’t serve God and their wealth,
So obviously they are serving their wealth.
THEY HAVE REJECTED GOD
Matthew 19:23-24 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
And when we accept those who have rejected God…that is a problem.
James said we have dishonored the poor man.
And here he implies that we have “honored the rich man”
So James is saying that you are honoring those who reject God
And dishonoring those that trust Him.
You are honoring those whom God wishes to rebuke
And dishonoring those whom God wishes to accept.
DO YOU SEE THE OBVIOUS PROBLEM?
It is not hard to tell then
How churches have gotten in so much trouble in America today.
When the worldly successful
Receive the most honor and authority in the church,
Yet have rejected God, the church is headed down hill fast.
We are literally promoting a type of person
Who is of no benefit to the church.
It is a problem when we show favoritism, for favoritism is a lack of Godly perspective.
And without Godly perspective
How can we ever think we will be on the right track to do His work?
Favoritism is a lack of Godly perspective,
And it reveals we are serving self, and not God.
JESUS DID NOT DO THIS
Jesus was a Physician seeking the sick
Not a Politician seeking votes
We are called to BE LIKE CHRIST
And James is infuriated with a church
Who could be so far from the heart of Jesus.
He watched his brother day in and day out play with the rejected kid,
And now wonders why the church hasn’t followed His lead.
It is a good test for us to see just how much like Christ we really are.
