Ignorance of our own faults is the only cause that renders us unwilling to forgive our brethren. John Calvin
Next James exposes a form of worldliness that not only affected his congregation, but also has made inroads in the church today.
James 2:1 My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while you say to the poor man, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the honorable name which was invoked over you? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” said also, “Do not kill.” If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment.
Discrimination, partiality, and favoritism have no place in the church because they are inconsistent with faith in Jesus Christ. James lays out five reasons.
First, discrimination is inconsistent with faith because Christ never discriminated against us. My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. As we have already seen, the infinite riches of heaven, riches beyond all of our imagining, belonged to Christ. For our sake, he was born into poverty and lived as a nomad all of his life. The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head. Luke 9:57-58 yet Christ, though he was rich, yet for our sake, he became poor. 2 Corinthians 8:9
Christ’s self-sacrifice is the model for our lives. If the King of heaven was willing to humble himself for us, how can we dare to treat those different from ourselves, or those less fortunate than ourselves, with disdain?
Second, discrimination is evidence of superficial, worldly Christianity. The Word teaches that all men are created equally in God’s image Genesis 1:27, all men are his children 1 John 3:2, and, contrary to what is taught today, all men are of one race. Acts 17:26
For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while you say to the poor man, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
Two newcomers arrive at a worship service and, not knowing where to sit, allow themselves to be escorted by the ushers. One, looking to be a Roman aristocrat with fine clothes and jewelry, is offered a great seat. The other, looking to be a slave, is told to stand out of the way or sit on the floor. Such discrimination is not only contrary to God’s word but it is actually evil. James 2:4
We should never make superficial distinctions. In contrast to the Word of God, the world we live in seeks to divide people along lines of race, ethnicity, melanin, nationality, wealth, sex, gender, age, intelligence, beauty, and many other categories. We should learn to recognize and reject those worldly attitudes.
Third, discrimination ignores God’s special concern for the poor and needy. Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man.
The poor are keenly aware of their needs. Christ came to proclaim good news to the poor and to bind up the broken hearted. Isaiah 61:1 By the world’s metrics Christians do not measure up. We were weak and lowly. We were despised by the powerful. But now we are children of the King of creation. Heirs! Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Both James and Paul agree, the poor and needy are disproportionally represented in God’s Kingdom. This is not to say that there is anything noble or inherently good about the poor. Everyone comes to God the same way, confessing their sin and accepting the free gift of Christ. The poor are never to be idolized as more worthy. But, many times, the poor do, because of their circumstances, clearly see their need.
In fact, God goes so far as to say, He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:31 Showing kindness to the poor honors their Creator, while oppressing the poor shows contempt for God.
Forth, and the other hand, and in contrast, James asks; Is it not the rich who oppress you, is it not they who drag you into court? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the honorable name which was invoked over you?
Very frequently, in the world’s way of doing things, it is the rich who are self-sufficient and, understandably, prideful. In contrast to the poor, the rich don’t see their need for God. They have things under control. They are living a good life. Because they don’t fear or obey God’s law, they freely discriminate against and even persecute Christians. As a matter of fact, James says, it is the wealthy and powerful who are prosecuting the Christians for their faith. For example, look at Paul; Paul answered, I am now standing in Caesar’s court… I have not done any wrong… Acts 25:10
Fifth, discrimination contradicts God’s law of love. If you really fulfill the royal law, according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” said also, “Do not kill.” If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become a transgressor of the law.
The law of God can be summarized as Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39 The Christian is to treat everyone, whether they are a believer in Christ or an unbeliever, equally. This means that a Christian is to treat everyone equally regardless of wealth, poverty, race, creed, beliefs, or nationality; equally, in the same way you would treat yourself. And I have to say, I am pretty easy on myself. I look after all of my needs, try to achieve my goals, try to fulfill my wants, and through it all, I go pretty easy on myself. I certainly do wrong, saying and doing things that I shouldn’t, but when I do, I cut myself a lot of slack. I forgive myself.
Love is the ruling principle in God’s Kingdom. James goes on to say that when you don’t love your neighbor as you love yourself, when, instead, you discriminate or show partiality, it is not just an insignificant oversight or social impropriety, it is a sin. You have become a transgressors of the law… you commit sin.
Further, James, knowing that we instinctively try to rationalize away the seriousness of our sin, continues: if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” said also, “Do not kill.” If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become a transgressor of the law.
Can you just hear the excuses? “I admit that I don’t love everyone as I should. I don’t treat everyone equally and without partiality, but really, it’s not like I’ve committed adultery or killed anyone.” To which James bursts our bubble. If you break the law you are a law-breaker, regardless of how many or which law you broke. To violate the law of God is to violate the will of God and to oppose God’s character.
Sixth, and finally, James concludes, So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgment.
Because mercy triumphs over judgment, we are to treat each other in the same way that God has treated us, not on the basis of any merit on our part, but on the basis of his mercy toward us. As much as we are able, and, in fact, even beyond what we are able, we should be generous to everyone who is in need.
Jesus told a parable which illustrates this point.
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me, ’he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything. ’27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me! ’he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant, ’he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? ’34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Matthew 18:23-35
God has forgiven us. We must be forgiving. God is merciful to us. We must be merciful. God has loved us. We must love. There is no room in the church for discrimination, pride, prejudice, or envy. Nor is there any room for God’s children to claim victim status. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you are a child of the Creator of all of reality! Those divided by ethnic and national enmities are reconciled at the cross of Christ because all are forgiven in Christ.
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Leviticus 19:15, Exodus 23:2-3
Whether poor or great, whether destitute or wealthy, whether powerful or weak, true Biblical justice means treating everyone equally under the law; a very unpopular, counter cultural idea today, contradicting, for example, the dictates of Social Justice, which is redistributive ‘justice.’ Having redefined justice as equity of outcomes, Social Justice makes breaking the 10th Commandment mandatory. Equity: if you do not have what others have you are to covet what they have and work to change the system, government, courts, etc. so that you can be given what you covet.
There is no partiality with God, Romans 2:11, because the law is rooted in God’s perfect character, which does not change. God sees everyone as equal image bearers.
Rabish was struggling with addiction and out of money. One day, wandering down the street, he crashed a wedding looking for food. While there he met Summandi . They became friends and later began dating. When he asked Summandi to marry him she declined saying that as a Christian she would only marry a Christian. They had talked about Jesus, but the discussions always turned into arguments. Rabish always rejected Christ. However, over time Rabish contracted malaria. With the Christian community praying for him, Rabish was healed. After that experience he said, “From that day forward I was a believer.”
After they set their wedding day for May 30, 2018, Summandi’s father told the couple that if they got married as Christians they would be killed. When the couple went to report the threat they were arrested. The next day when their pastor and an elder from their church went to get them released from jail, the pastor and elder were also arrested and thrown in a cell with 80 other prisoners. Later they learned that Summandi’s father had accused the four of beating his father because he refused to convert to Christianity.
The police told the couple that the charges would be dropped if they agreed to get married in a Hindu ceremony. They refused. Six weeks later they were released from prison. They were quietly married in a civil ceremony at the courthouse on October 4th and on November 9th they had a ceremony in their church. Since the wedding, villagers now refuse to sell groceries to the couple. They are not allowed to draw water from the village well. They have been unable to purchase a home or land. Additionally, both Rabish and Summandi have been beaten and their church was destroyed. In the aftermath, the couple has moved to a new city where Rabish has started a house church.
Return to The Letter of James.