James 2:1-13
2 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old 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 and sisters: 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 dishonored 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 blaspheming 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,”[a] 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, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall 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.
Favoritism. What is it? "The Greek word means "lifting up someone's face" or in other words judging by appearance and on that basis giving special favor and respect. It pertains to judging purely on a superficial level without consideration of a person's true merits, abilities or character" per John MacArthur. He goes on to say that greek word was not used in any literature except the Bible. Why? The practice of favoritism was so common that it wasn't even talked about. God, in His word tells us it is a sin which was extremely counter-cultural and unheard of.
So what is so bad about it or why is it called a sin?
"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes." Deut.10:17
"Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.” 2Chron.19:7
"So the spies questioned Jesus: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth." Luke 20:21
For God does not show favoritism.Rom. 2:11
"….and there is no favoritism with him." Eph. 6:9
So what is so bad about it or why is it called a sin? Lack of partiality is a quality of God's just like omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, immutability, righteousness, etc. For us to be partial based on qualities that let's be honest, benefit us, is contrary to the very nature of God. To treat someone as worth more or having more value than someone else is abominable in God's eyes just like murder and adultery. God sent His son to die for the rich, poor, slave, free, male, female, black, white, democrat, republican, arab, jew, gentile, etc. He loves everyone equally and shouldn't we?
My guess is that we all struggle with this or at least it affects all of us. For me as a doctor, I had to decide long ago, do I cater to those with insurance or do I take all comers equally? I tell my staff not to ask what kind of insurance patients have when they call. I try not to look when I see them for fear I might treat them differently. This is totally counter-cultural to the medical field. I even had a Christian partner who wanted to fill the waiting room with rich people on certain days and the poor on other days. The CEO of the hospital system back in 1990 addressed the medical staff and said, "We want to attract good patients to the hospital". I raised my hand and asked,"what do you consider good patients?" He responded, "Patients who have insurance."
It's not just the medical field that struggles. I spoke with a waitress in my class and she told me how they decide who they want to pick to "serve" and what tables to avoid. As my wife serves at the rescue ministry, they even have "good" clients that get preferential treatment. Jesus would say, "No one is "good" except God." We are all equal at the foot of the cross. As we stand before the "glorious Lord Jesus Christ", we are aware of our distance and difference from Him. I've heard it said that there are at least 100 different beetles. What if one species thought they were superior to all others or the beetles developed a pecking order of importance. We would just laugh because to us they are all just bugs. It's the same with us and God. How laughable for us to consider one person better than another?
Favoritism. What is it? "The Greek word means "lifting up someone's face" or in other words judging by appearance and on that basis giving special favor and respect. It pertains to judging purely on a superficial level without consideration of a person's true merits, abilities or character" per John MacArthur. He goes on to say that greek word was not used in any literature except the Bible. Why? The practice of favoritism was so common that it wasn't even talked about. God, in His word tells us it is a sin which was extremely counter-cultural and unheard of.
So what is so bad about it or why is it called a sin?
"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes." Deut.10:17
"Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.” 2Chron.19:7
"So the spies questioned Jesus: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth." Luke 20:21
For God does not show favoritism.Rom. 2:11
"….and there is no favoritism with him." Eph. 6:9
So what is so bad about it or why is it called a sin? Lack of partiality is a quality of God's just like omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, immutability, righteousness, etc. For us to be partial based on qualities that let's be honest, benefit us, is contrary to the very nature of God. To treat someone as worth more or having more value than someone else is abominable in God's eyes just like murder and adultery. God sent His son to die for the rich, poor, slave, free, male, female, black, white, democrat, republican, arab, jew, gentile, etc. He loves everyone equally and shouldn't we?
My guess is that we all struggle with this or at least it affects all of us. For me as a doctor, I had to decide long ago, do I cater to those with insurance or do I take all comers equally? I tell my staff not to ask what kind of insurance patients have when they call. I try not to look when I see them for fear I might treat them differently. This is totally counter-cultural to the medical field. I even had a Christian partner who wanted to fill the waiting room with rich people on certain days and the poor on other days. The CEO of the hospital system back in 1990 addressed the medical staff and said, "We want to attract good patients to the hospital". I raised my hand and asked,"what do you consider good patients?" He responded, "Patients who have insurance."
It's not just the medical field that struggles. I spoke with a waitress in my class and she told me how they decide who they want to pick to "serve" and what tables to avoid. As my wife serves at the rescue ministry, they even have "good" clients that get preferential treatment. Jesus would say, "No one is "good" except God." We are all equal at the foot of the cross. As we stand before the "glorious Lord Jesus Christ", we are aware of our distance and difference from Him. I've heard it said that there are at least 100 different beetles. What if one species thought they were superior to all others or the beetles developed a pecking order of importance. We would just laugh because to us they are all just bugs. It's the same with us and God. How laughable for us to consider one person better than another?
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