June 24, 2002
BaptistWay Bible Study for Texas lesson for July 28
Like God, Christians should not show favoritism
_____By Bobby Broyles
_James 2:1-26
___1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
___5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
___8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
___12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
___14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
___18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
___19 Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
___20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
___25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
___Studying this second chapter of the book of James can challenge us in our views toward the rich and the poor. Most of us who read these words, by New Testament standards, are more rich than poor. That a person can read these words is, in a sense, a sign of wealth.
___We tend, however, to think ourselves more poor than rich. To a family living in a two-bedroom home, wealth may be living in a mansion on a golf course. For a couple living in a bedroom apartment in the inner city, the family living in that two-bedroom home seems wealthy. The man in the homeless shelter thinks a couple in an apartment is wealthy. What parent in Afghanistan, not having a warm place to house their family, would not rejoice to be able to stay in the relative comfort and security of a homeless shelter.
___God does not judge either the rich or the poor on the basis of what they own ... thank goodness. The use of what he has given us is what concerns God.
___A wealthy man may say, "I am now going to build an even bigger estate so I can live it up when I retire." This man has missed the point of living. On the other hand, a man with the same wealth may say, "God, you have allowed me to have this wealth. I know it could be gone any time. Please help me use it to further your kingdom." This man is wealthy indeed.
___May I be so bold as to consider anyone who is reading this rich when compared to most of the world? So not only do we need to learn the lesson not to show favoritism to those who are wealthy, we need to learn the lesson of not expecting favoritism from others.
___The anti-rich theme is not directed necessarily toward individuals, but against the rich as a class. The rich James was referring to were those who oppressed the Christians and took them to court (v. 6) and blaspheme the name of Christ (v. 7).
___The Jewish leaders knew Jesus was partial to no one (Matthew 22:16). He spent his ministry removing barriers of prejudice. He elevated women above where they had been (John 4:4-23, Matthew 5:31-32, Galatians 3:28). He revealed to Peter there should be no distinction between Jew and Gentile (Acts 10:34-35). While warning of the dangers of wealth, he did not condemn Zaccheus because of his wealth (Luke 19:1-10). Since God is no respecter of persons, who are we to make distinctions?
___By showing favoritism, we commit sin (v. 9). At the root of this sin is a presumption of superiority. If I can determine someone to be more important than another, I have elevated myself as a person worthy to judge others. James quickly reminds us that stumbling even in one point we break all the law of God.
___He then mentions murder and adultery specifically. This is probably not by accident. He is reminding the readers of our Lord's words which said anyone who looks upon a woman with lust has committed adultery, and whoever is angry with his brother has committed murder. Who then among us can claim to be superior to another?
___While I was writing this lesson, my daughter called to tell me she had the opportunity to witness to a co-worker. As she talked with him about grace, he was shaking his head in disbelief. He asked if she really believed a person could accept Christ on his deathbed. When she answered in the affirmative, in her words, he was "stunned."
___To emphasize the greatness of God, she asserted that if Osama Bin Laden repented, God would save him. That statement really aroused the curiosity of the fellow. She then gently told him that God loves everyone the same, regardless of their sins.
___He does not show favoritism, and we had better be very glad he is that way, or we would all be in trouble. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23); and "the wages of that sin is death" (Romans 6:23). May we each understand his marvelous grace and model it for others.
___Judgment
___Until now, James has been very straightforward, maybe even hard on us. He has set forth how a Christian ought to behave. In verse 12, it is as if James realizes how tough he has been and says, "Wait a minute. Those who want to use what I have said to condemn others, remember you are going to be judged as well."
___If you do not deal with others humbly and with mercy, you too will be judged without mercy. Simply put, to receive mercy a person must know how to give it.
___In Matthew 18:23-35, we read the story of the slave who, when he asked his king to forgive him of a huge debt, the king did so. Shortly afterward, the forgiven slave demanded payment from another slave who owed him money. When that slave could not pay, the forgiven slave had the one who could not pay thrown in prison.
___When the king found out about the man he had forgiven's hard-heartedness, he handed the forgiven slave over to the torturers. Then Jesus said, "So shall my heavenly Father do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
___An active faith
___Some have seen a conflict between James and Paul when dealing with faith and works. Often Ephesians 2:8-9 are quoted as proof that one is saved by grace through faith. This certainly is a valid assertion. But Paul in verse 10 of Ephesians 2 says "for we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
___This alleged conflict between James and Paul vanishes once it is recognized that Paul rarely talked about belief without giving a practical admonition to do good works as well.
___In addition, many times when Paul was speaking of works he was talking about compliance with the ritual law (circumcision, purification, food laws, fastings, etc.). Paul's protest that salvation is by faith and not human works was directed against the Judaiziing tendencies.
___James' primary concern was with a faith that had degenerated to a sterile intellectual assent, that had become blind to the law Christ had lived out daily--love your neighbor. The opposites in James are not works and faith but dead faith and living faith.
___William Barclay is correct when he reminds us that in the proper Christian life there must be thought and action, prayer and effort, faith and deeds.
___To illustrate his point, Jesus refers to a brother or sister who does not have sufficient clothing or food. If we see their needs and ignore them, or worse, bring up God and then ignore them, we have done no good. It is even likely that we have become an obstacle to their faith formation; if Christ's followers do not care, they might be led to believe he does not care for them either. Our faith is dead; and theirs may never be born.
___No one will ever be moved to real Christian action without faith. No faith is true faith unless it moves a person to action. That verdict can be rendered because knowing to do right and not doing it, the Bible says, is sin (James 4:17).
___In verses 23-26, James uses two Old Testament characters to prove his point. The first is Abraham. His faith was validated when he showed he was willing to sacrifice Isaac on God's command. The second is Rahab the harlot. She had given shelter to the spies who were sent to spy out the Promised Land. Her belief led to action.
___Could it be that James did not choose these examples arbitrarily? On the one hand is Abraham--a man, a father of the Israelite nation, a "friend of God" and a well respected person. On the other hand is Rahab--a woman, a foreigner, a harlot used by men. Yet both are held in high esteem by James as people who acted out their faith.
___While people may have written off Rahab and elevated Abraham, God knew that as his handiwork both had value and he had a purpose for their lives.
___What a fitting way to end a chapter dealing with our prejudices!
Questions for thought and discussion
___Are people of power or wealth treated differently in your church, Sunday School class, home? Is this something that can be changed, or is it too deeply ingrained in us? What is at risk if changes are not made?
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
___
Get printer-friendly version of this story
Send this story to a friend
News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook