James:Tests of a Living Faith Faith
Tested by Reaction to Partiality (2:1-13)
By Steve Budd
South Suburban Evangelical Free Church
Section Summary
Human beings are not inclined to be impartial, but God is. Whether it concerns salvation, judgement, or discipline, God’s standard is the same. He deals entirely with the inner person with total impartiality, and so should we.
Outline
I. The Principle (1)
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
The command here is in the present tense imperative, which forbids a practice that was already in progress. The emphasis on “glorious” heightens the inconsistency of allowing favoritism in the assembly of those who name Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
An attitude of personal favoritism (4382): Lifting up one’s face with the idea of judging by appearance and giving special favor and respect on that basis. Judging purely on a superficial level. Used only in Christian writings, most likely because favoritism was such an accepted part of most ancient societies, it didn’t even need to be called out. (c.f. Acts 10:34, James 2:9)
Is it possible to hide an attitude of personal favoritism? Most likely it will eventually begin to show by the people with whom we associate, the words we use in unguarded situations, or the things we find “humorous”. It is inconsistent with Christian character to make judgements based on things like nationality (I dislike the word “race”, as it implies more than one race. There is only one race; the human race), age, economic status, formal education, politics, and most of all, our own set of rules. When we discuss the attributes of God, we usually talk of His immutability, eternity, longsuffering, love, and justice, but never mention His impartiality. A study of God’s attributes can be made even more interesting by looking at them from the standpoint of communicable and incommunicable. (c.f. Systematic Theology, Louis Berkhof, 1938)
II. The Example (2-4)
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 say, "You sit here in a 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?
The negative question implies that the readers need to admit that James’ evaluation of their conduct is correct. James calls such people “judges with evil motives.”
III. The Inconsistency (5-7) 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?
We must be careful not to interpret James’ words to mean that those who are poor (financially) are more spiritual than the wealthy. Nor are we to believe the wealthy cannot be spiritual. It is likely that he is referring to the Scribes and Pharisees as the rich who were oppressing the impoverished Christians. The early church was poor, and in the eyes of many of the rich, they were considered inferior. Were the Scribes and Pharisees the ones dragging Christians into court and blaspheming the Name of Christ? James seems to be calling out the inconsistency between God’s character and the attitude of a believer who is disrespectful of the poor.
IV. The Violation (8-11)
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. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT COMMIT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
"When one loves God with perfect devotion, he does not break any of His commands. When one loves his neighbor perfectly, he never violates another person. Thus perfect love keeps all the commands, thereby fulfilling the whole law." John MacArthur
James states a principle in verse 10: “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” Rather than calling the practice of partiality inappropriate, discourteous, or inconsiderate, he calls it sin. And if we show partiality, we are as guilty as a murderer in God’s sight. God’s law is one.
V. The Appeal (12-13)
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
The verbs “speak” and “act” are stronger in the Greek than in English. They are present tense with continuing action, and the word “So” adds to the emphasis and distributes the emphasis equally between the verbs. How are we to speak and act? As those “who will be judged by the law of liberty”. What is the law of liberty? Could it be love?
When speaking of judgements, it is important to make distinctions between:
- Eternal and final judgement of unbelievers (2 Pet 2:4-9, 3:7, Rev. 20:11-15 (G W Throne), Mt. 5:22, 10:28, Mk. 9:47
- Chastisement of believers in the present life (1 Cor 11:28-32, James 3:1, Hebrews 12:7)
- Future rewards for believers (1 Cor. 3:14-15, 2 Cor. 5:9-10, Rev. 22:12)
James appears to be talking about future rewards (“will be judged”).
"It is not a law of liberty because it liberates us from obedience to God’s holy Commandments, or as even from a single point in any of them; the Gospel itself and true faith impel us to this obedience." R. C. H. Lenski
"The conscienceness that we will be judged by this law should be a powerful motive for present Christian living. It should effectively promote the cultivation of personal holiness. If our words and deeds are guided by faith-inspired love, we will desire the welfare of others and avoid injury and insult through acts of partiality." D. Edmond Hiebert
My third 30-day challenge to the class and myself is this:
Identify someone about whom you may have made a superficial negative judgement. Maybe you have judged them based on their appearance, dress, education, financial status, or not conforming to your set of rules. Ask God to forgive you for “judging with evil motives”, pray for them, and make an attempt to get to know their inner person.
Next Lesson: James 2:14-26 Faith Tested by Production of Works
