STUDY THEME: TRANSFORMED ATTITUDES: 2-10-02

"PREJUDICE TO ACCEPTANCE JAMES 2:1-13.

JAMES 2:1-4, 5, 6-7, 8-11, 12-13.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO JAMES 2.

Prejudice has been a part of human society from the beginning. Peter discovered in his experience with Cornelius that God is not prejudiced, and that we should not be either. However, replacing prejudice with acceptance is not easy. James addressed the problem in his letter from which our lesson is taken today.

Nothing more clearly indicates the selfishness of the human heart than the way we are inclined to the wealthy and cultured, while neglecting or ignoring the poor and ignorant. Against this tendency James speaks out vigorously. It is hateful when found in the world and by those who make no Christian or other religious profession at all. It is far more despicable when seen in the sphere where men and women come together presumably to worship God. In such gatherings there should be no place either for such vulgar favoritism of the rich or contempt for the indigent.

1. PLEASE READ JAMES 2: 1-4.

At first glance this little passage may seem a strange way to begin a book, or even a chapter, yet nothing in the whole Epistle is more typical of James teaching and style. Here are sound doctrine, pastoral warmth, wise counsel and practical commonsense---and all brought to live with the simplest of illustrations. Four things stand out. Let’s look at them in turn.

(1.)The intimacy that he showed---"My brethren." James used this phrase again and again in the course of his letter. He seems to use it when he is introducing a new subject, or a new slant on the subject with which he is dealing. Yet there seems to me to be more to it than that. When he calls his readers "my brethren" he is not just focusing their interest, he pointing out their intimate relationship as believers.

(2.)The next thing that stands out is the inconsistency that James saw. People were saying one thing and doing another. I read this week that "a man’s Sunday self and his weekday self are like the halves of a round-trip ticket: not good detached." Now this inconsistency was something that James could not tolerate.

In fact, the whole thesis of his epistle could be summed up like this; belief and behavior must go together. Creed and conduct should speak with the same voice, in unison—or perhaps even better, in harmony. However expressed, they must go together. That is James’s concern. He has noticed a blatant inconsistency among these Christians. What exactly were its ingredients?

First, there was a profession of faith. We should be better to translate this phrase ‘faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

But notice the particular way in which James put this. He says that they professed to have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ ‘the Lord of glory’. The eternal, glorious Deity of Jesus did not put Him at a distance from men. He was ‘separate from sinners’, but was also very near to them—and He was near to them regardless of their rank, their resources or their reputation. ‘Now’, James says, in effect, ‘your profession is that you are trusting and following the Lord Jesus Christ of glory, the One to whom all honor and glory belong. But He lived among men without fear or favor, and treated men alike regardless of their rank, their resources, their reputation or their respectability. This is the One in Whom you profess to have faith. But I am afraid that when I look at your lives I see an inconsistency.’

Not only was there profession of faith, but secondly, there was the practice of flattery—‘with respect of person’. Do you see the inconsistency? What does that mean? It means to treat a person in a special way, not because they deserve it, but because of something outside of their character, for another, hidden reason. In other words, what James was attacking here was evil discrimination---and 2,000 years later his words have a remarkable relevance! You hardly need me to tell you that. In so many spheres of life today there is a discrimination being practiced, often by those inside of the church, which is utterly outside the whole spirit of the Word of God. There is discrimination on the basis of race, a discrimination bitter to the point of bloodshed. There is discrimination on the basis of rank, of office, of position, of influence. I take it to be an indication of our fallenness that in societies where Christ is not honored, man is invested with the most extravagant titles.

What James is warning us against is the opposite of that kind of thing—flattery. Someone has said the difference between gossip and flattery is this: gossip is when you say behind a person’s back what you would not dare say to their face, while flattery is when you say to their face what you never say behind their back. With crystal clarity the Bible says in Prov. 28:21 "To have respect of persons is not good", and this is what James is driving home. As Joseph Parker once put it, "He whose eye is filled with Christ never sees what kind of coat a man has on."

The intimacy James shared, the inconsistency he saw: now notice the illustration of this point in Vs. 2-3. The Greek word translated ‘assembly’ is elsewhere translated, ‘synagogue’, although in fact it could be either a Jewish synagogue, a specific Christian gathering or a meeting for church government. These three interpretations are possible. The principle, however, remains unchanged. The whole point centers on the arrival of two strangers and their reception. Someone has called this "the story of the short sighted usher." He saw the two visitors only in their immediate and material context instead of the ultimate and spiritual He saw then in earthly focus and not in heavenly, and so he was guilty of rejecting someone that God had received.

Notice two things about this: One of them is described as ‘with a gold ring’. We could even better translate it from the original Greek, "gold fingered’. He had a gem at every joint, a nugget at every knuckle! He was also clothed in ‘goodly apparel’, or ‘in fine clothing’. There was a wealthy man. As for the other visitor, we are told straight away that he was ‘a poor man in vile raiment’. The word ‘vile’ means filthy. What a contrast between these two men as they came into the church. One in rings and the other in rags! That was the appearance; now notice the approach. We read this in Vs. 3. One was offered a seat in ‘a good place; the other was offered the alternative of either standing somewhere or of sitting down on the floor, under somebody’s footstool. We are not told one of the visitors was a good man, or that the other was a bad man. What we are told is that one was rich and the other was in rags. So the basis of the discrimination was financial. That was the evil of the thing, and from that evil basis two sins branched out—indulgence of the rich and indifference to the poor. Not only did they indulge the rich man regardless of what kind of person he was, but, they were utterly indifferent to the poor man because he was poor. That was the only reason for their indifference. It is so easy to be guilty of this kind of thing.

Is a jewel less precious because it comes in a plain box? Is a soul less precious because it is bound up with what we judge to be a limited mind, or an unattractive outward appearance? Indifference to people is a sin, and indifference to them on the kind of basis we have been examining here is a sin of even greater proportions. Let us beware of it. This is the illustration of his point.

James has illustrated the point, now he indicates he peril. He tells us that there are three things wrong.

1. There is a wrong mixture—‘have you not made distinctions among yourselves?’ It has been said that ‘the church must be the one place where all distinctions are wiped out. In the presence of God all men are one.’ That is something we need to remember. The ground at the foot of the cross is level. There is seniority in the Christian church but no superiority. We are ‘all one in Christ Jesus.(Gal. 3:28) That is a lesson we must remember—that the Christian family is a classless society.
2. There is a wrong manner. J.B. Phillips paraphrases it, "Setting yourselves up to assess a man’s quality’. James accused his hearers of assuming in a carnal way the right to decide whether a man was to be received or rejected. I think I am right in saying that it is impossible for a convicted criminal ever to become a judge in a court of law. Whether that is true or not, it is certainly never right for a forgiven sinner to set himself up as a judge of other men’s qualities and characters. To do so is to act in a wrong manner.
3. There is a wrong motive. In other words, they tossed the issue to and fro in their minds, they weighed it all up and then they acted in the way likely to do them the most good. The Amplified Bible translated the phrase, "with wrong motives’. To put money before merit is wrong, and it is born of a wrong motive.

As we close our study of these verses, let us be sure if this. Nothing that James says to you and me is more pungent and penetrating than his insistence that in all of our dealings with our fellow men we should examine our motives, remembering 1 Samuel 16:7 says that ‘man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’.

1. PLEASE READ JAMES 2:5.

Notice the phrase ‘my brethren’ has grown in vs. 5 to ‘my beloved brethren". Is this because, as his anger rises against the sin they are committing, so his love for them rises in order to meet it, so that his judgment on the situation is not going to be a judgment against them as people, it is going to be judgment against their sin? One of the most difficult things in the Christian’s life, is to hold this balance between hatred of sin and love for the sinner.

An amplified paraphrase of Vs. 5 would be something like this—‘Listen, by despising the poor out of hand, you are despising some of those whom God has chosen to inherit His kingdom. You have decided to reject some God has decided to enrich.’ It has been said time without number that the Epistle of James is a very practical book, and of course that is true. I think we need to recognize that James is very practical but he is also soundly and thoroughly doctrinal.

James argues his case against discrimination, not on the grounds that God doesn’t choose, but on the grounds that He does! Remember that James is warning them against the danger of discrimination. In this Vs. 5 he is going to press home the danger of this discrimination, but he is going to do so not on the grounds that God does not chose but on the grounds that He does. To grasp this argument, we need to realize that he is basing it on a truth which forms part of the bone structure of the whole Bible, and that is God’s sovereign right to do precisely as He wills with His own creation. Take that truth out of the Bible and you have a haphazard collection of meaningless words.

Jesus told His disciples in John 15:16 "You did not choose me, but I chose you." This is the rock on which James builds his case-God has chosen. But what an unconventional choice! You see, human choices are good people, or rich people, or important people, or influential people. That was the whole point of the passage in vs. 1-4. But God’s choice is unconventional. God has chosen the poor of this world. God has chosen many people that the world would pass up.

The first choice that God made in the world was of poor men, partly that we might not think that wonderful increase and spreading of the Gospel to come to pass by the advantage of human power and fleshly aids and props, but by the virtue of divine grace.

God’s choice is unconditional. It is exactly at this point that James’s argument is clinched home. The Bible teaches at one and the same time that while God does choose, "there is no respect of persons with God.’ God chooses without respecting a person’s gift, or goodness or anything else. God’s choice of people is free and unconditional. Eph. 1:4 tells us that His people were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Commenting on this truth, C.H. Spurgeon said something like this: "it is perfectly obvious that in the matter of my salvation, God chose me, because I would never have chosen Him. It is also crystal clear to me that he must have chosen me before I was born, because I am quite certain He would not have chosen me afterwards!"

James says that we are chosen ‘rich in faith.’ These of whom James is speaking were not chosen because they were rich in faith; they were chosen to become rich through faith. Grace is not a reward for faith, but faith is the result of grace. We can see what our riches are in Christ when we exercise faith.

A person can be a Christian with no more than a grain of faith, provided it is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course the poorest in faith, if it is faith in Christ, is more wealthy than the richest person materially speaking, in the whole world. From a grain of faith to growing faith, we come to great faith. Great faith sees riches not only in prosperity, but in poverty; not only in health but in sickness; not only in progress but in pressure. James goes on to say that God’s chosen people are ‘heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love him’.

ON WHAT WILL OUR ATTENTION BE CENTERED IN HEAVEN?

"The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom’s face!

I will not gaze at glory, but on my King of grace!

Not at the crown He giveth, but on His pierced hand;

The Lamb is all the glory in Immanuel’s land.

2. PLEASE READ JAMES 2: 6-7.

Taken just as they stand these verses appear very strange indeed, but of course we must take them in context. One of the most helpful things that has ever been said to me concerning the study of the word of God is this: that of every passage of Scripture we can ask these three questions—what did it mean at that time? What does it mean for all time? What does it mean to me at this time? You may find that a real help as you read the Word of God.

Let us apply them to these two verses. Of course they meant something at that particular time. James is making three historical statements. He says in vs. 6 ‘ye have despised the poor’. He then adds-‘rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats’. He then goes on to say that these same rich men ‘blaspheme that worthy name by which ye are called’. So he makes three historical statements that were obviously true at that time. They are also the outworking of principles that are true for all time. And they certainly embody truth that is relevant for us at this time. What can we learn from these verses? It seems to me that there are three obvious lessons.

There is a peril we must avoid. "But ye have despised the poor." James is underlining the fact that his readers’ behavior was in contrast to God’s. In Vs. 5 James was saying. "God has chosen the poor. That is what God has done—‘but ye have despised the poor’. Do you see the point? James was telling them that their actions, their motives, their words, all of them were running contrary to the will and the purpose of God. God did one thing and they did the very opposite. The old hymn says, "May the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day: By His love and power controlling all I do and say."

There is a danger of being too spiritual in our interpretation of some scriptures.

We need to remember that this particular passage is a passage about poverty. It is about the ‘have nots’ of the world being cold shouldered by the ‘haves’.

In Vs. 6 James looks at the other side of the coin, and gives a simple reason why these Christians should not toady to the rich. James writes these words to show that their practice was not only vain and evil, but mad and senseless. These rich men were the very ones who hauled the Christians in to court. They ‘oppress you’, James said. We are not told of any precise cases that James had in mind here, but it is not difficult to find evidence to prove his claim.

Why were Christians oppressed by the rich men of their day? We can list three obvious reasons.

(1.) The gospel hit at their positions. Again and again we read that the Jews stirred up trouble against the disciples because their positions were in danger.

(2.) The gospel hit at their pockets. There are some obvious examples of that. At Philippi, in Acts 16:79, when Paul exorcised an evil spirit from a girl with a spirit of divination, we read that ‘when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the rulers’. Why? Because the gospel hit at their pockets, and because of that the gospel and those who preached it must go.

3. The gospel hit at their pride. Many of the early Christians were poor people. They were despised and oppressed not only because the gospel hit at men’s position and hit at their pockets but because it hit at their pride.

There is a pressure we must anticipate if we teach the kind of message and live the kind of life that takes man down off his self-made pedestal and lays him in the dust before an Omnipotent and Sovereign God. It is not going to be popular, and we are gong to be pressurized. It is impossible at one and the same time to walk closely with the Lord and to be comfortable in the world in which we live today.

Not only did the rich drag the Lord’s people into court, but, they dragged the Lord’s name in contempt. ‘That worthy name by which you are called." We ought not to have to walk around with enormous Bibles in order for people to know that we are Christians. People ought to know it. They ought to sense it. They ought to feel it. There ought to be something about the very presence of God in the place when we are there. There is a great dignity here—that worthy Name which was called upon you. We often sing "His name is wonderful, Jesus my Lord."

We should never under-estimate the power of our personal influence, and especially of its effect in spiritual terms. We need to guard against that inconsistency of life that turns people away from Christ, or that becomes a factor in bringing them to a position where they blaspheme the Name we bless.

4. PLEASE READ JAMES 2: 8-11.

In these verses James develops his theme of condemning unworthy, unbiblical, ungodly discrimination against men on purely horizontal considerations. The gist of Vs. 8-11 could be paraphrased like this: If you carry out in your daily lives all the commandments that the scripture lays upon you in terms of your relationships with your fellow men; in other words, if you love your fellow men in the same way as you love yourself, you are certainly doing a very fine thing. But if you discriminate against some men, then the law convicts you quite clearly as being sinners. Indeed, if a man is perfect in his life except for one point then that man is guilty of breaking the law of God, which stands as an entirety, not as a collection of bits and pieces. The He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery’ in the same breath said, ‘Do not kill’. So if a man does not commit adultery but kills, or vice versa, then he is still guilty of sin and is a transgressor of the law.

The entire passage 8-13 should be called ‘The Christian and God’s Law.’ This first group of verses (8-11) tells us how the law is described, and then shows us what the law discloses. The law is described as ‘the royal law’. Its source is royal. It has God as its author. Of course God’s spiritual law is for every man, and we need to recognize this very clearly. The man who defies this Book, the man who ignores it, the man who lives his life contrary to its teachings, is heading for certain spiritual disaster—because this is the Law of God. It cannot be ignored.

The Bible has a different purpose for different people. For unbelievers, it is to help them to find Christ; for believers it is to help them to follow Christ. When Jesus was asked which was the first commandment of all in Mark 12:29-31 He linked two Scriptures together in His reply and then added "There is no other commandment greater than these." In James 2:8 James is taking Jesus’ summary of the six commandments which are the demands the Bible makes upon us concerning our relationship with one another—and what a royal standard that is! Here then is a Book whose source is royal, whose subjects are royal and whose standards are royal. That is how the law is described.

In vs. 9-11 the law of God discloses two things. First, the record of our guilt. He commands "Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, but if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, and are convinced or convicted of the law as transgressors." James says to be guilty of one little sin is to be guilty of all. So as we come to the end of these verses we each ended "guilty of all." We can cry out with Psalmist as he cried out in Ps. 130: 3 "O Lord, enter not into judgment with Thy servant: for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified." Thank God, the question of being saved, of being justified, is not a matter of law at all, but of grace, through faith. The sin of every believer, from birth to death, has been paid once for all in the death of Christ. Could there be anything more wonderful than that?

1. PLEASE READ JAMES 2: 12-13.

In the previous passage (Vs. 8-11) James showed us that the Bible is the royal law which convicts all of us as sinners. Paul said in Rom. 3:23 ‘all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". We saw God’s wonderful grace in the justification of His believing people. Justification has put us into that position where all of our disobedience—past, present and future—has been totally debited to Christ’s account and dealt with by Him at the cross.

In vs. 12 James says that, "they shall be judged". In Rom. 14:10 Paul says that, "we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ And in 2 Cor. 5:20 "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." There is a warning to the unbeliever who thinks that he will be excused. There is a warning to the believer who believes that he will not be examined. Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:10 that at the judgment everyone will ‘receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body’. While the believers’ rejection is out of the question, the believer’s reward is very much in question. Ultimately we are to be judged by the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. ‘The law of liberty’ is how James describes it. The ‘law of liberty’ is the law of love. There is not one of us who can stand in the presence of God on our own merits. No body! Yet mercy triumphs over judgment. What a wonderful thought! When we stand in His presence, what we shall receive is not earned reward for our labors, but mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Because my sinless Savior died, my guilty soul is counted free,

For God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me.

NEXT SUNDAY FROM ROMANS 7, PHILIPPIANS 4, AND 1 TIMOTHY 6,WE WILL MOVE FROM COVETING TO CONTENTMENT.                         A.V. DAUGHERTY 2-10-02