THE BOOK OF JAMES

a stuDy in putTING our faith into action

Sermon Notes Wk3 THE SIN OF PARTIAlITY

JAMES 2:1-13

THE BOOK OF JAMES

Sermon Notes Wk 3 // The Sin of Partiality // Jms 2:1-13 02 4472 9419 | 0433 161 422 | info@wearecrosscentral.com Date: Text: Title: OUTLINE: A) The Deity of Christ B) The Grace of God C) The Word of God D) The Judgement of God - - - - James 2:1-4 James 2:5-7 James 2:8-11 James 2:8-11 Sunday Aug 26. 2012 James 2:1-13 The Sin of Partiality - The Reality of God, revealed in how we treat each other. // Week 3 of 7

INTRODUCTION:
Not only are mature Christians patient in testing ( James 1 ), but they also practice the truth. This is the theme of James 2. Immature people talk about their beliefs, but the mature believers live their faith. Hearing God's Word can never be a substitute for doing God's Word. Every believer has some statement of faith or personal expression of what he or she believes. Here at Cross Central our Mission Statement is: " We are a community of believers that seek to glorify God, through lives transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, through the power of The Holy Spirit." The four words we use to describe our core values are - "Believe, Belong, Become, Beyond." Mission statements and core values are good and important, but they are no substitute for doing God's will. I have been to Christian conferences where we have heard amazing preaching, and then become terribly angry because the parking was too full. b e l i e v e b e l o n g b e c o m e b e y o n d

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THE BOOK OF JAMES

Sermon Notes Wk 3 // The Sin of Partiality // Jms 2:1-13 02 4472 9419 | 0433 161 422 | info@wearecrosscentral.com
James wanted to help us practice God's Word, so he gave us a simple test. He sent two visitors to a church service, a rich man and a poor man; and he watched to see how they were treated. THE WAY WE BEHAVE TOWARD PEOPLE INDICATES WHAT WE REALLY BELIEVE ABOUT GOD! Because we can never separate human relationship from divine fellowship ( 1 John 4:20 ). In our teaching this morning, James examines four basic Christian doctrines in the light of the way we treat other people.

THE REALITY OF GOD, REVEALED IN HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER:

1. The Deity of Christ (James 2:1-4)

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, You sit here in a good place, while you say to the poor man, You stand over there, or, Sit down at my feet, 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Jewish people in that day coveted recognition and honour, and vied with one another for praise. Our Lords parables in Luke 14:7-14 deal with the problem, and also His words to the Pharisee in Matthew 23. The problem is still with us today, and too often we can get caught up in the competition of performance and dening our worth and the worth of others by how successful our programs are and how nancially well off we are. Many of the believers James was writing to were trying to grab spiritual offices, and James had to give them fair warning ( James 3:1 ). Two things we need to recognize about Jesus: b e l i e v e

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Sermon Notes Wk 3 // The Sin of Partiality // Jms 2:1-13 02 4472 9419 | 0433 161 422 | info@wearecrosscentral.com
a) He was not swayed by appearances - Even those that questioned Jesus had to admit that He did not care about others opinions ( Matt 22:16 ). He was never distracted by externals, but was always captivated by peoples heart condition. He was not impressed with riches or social status. The poor widow who gave her last copper coin was greater in His eyes than the rich Pharisee who boastfully gave a large amount out of his abundance. Jesus saw the potential in the lives of sinners. In Simon He saw a rock. In Matthew, the publican, He saw a faithful disciple who would one day write one of the four gospels. The disciples were amazed to see Jesus talking with the sinful woman at the well in Samaria, but Jesus saw in her an instrument for reaping a mighty harvest. b) He was despised and rejected - This was prophesied in Isaiah 53:1-3. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him... During His ministry He had no home. He grew up in the despised city of Nazareth, in a home that probably knew the feeling of poverty. Had we seen Him on earth, we would have seen nothing physically or materially that would attract us to Him. Yet He is the very glory of God. The religious experts in Christs day judged Him by their human standards, and they rejected Him. He came from the wrong city and had not graduated from the right Bible College. He did not have the official approval of the people in power. He had little worldly wealth and His followers were a rag-tag bunch of amateurs which included ex prostitutes and publicans. Yet he was the very glory of God! No wonder Jesus warned the religious leaders to stop judging by mere appearances ( John 7:24 ). How do we practice the deity of Christ in our human relationships? We do this by seeing people through the eyes of Christ. If a person is a Christian, we can accept them because Christ lives in them. If a person is not a Christian, we accept them because Christ died and rose again for them. It is Christ who is the link between us and others. The basis for our relationship with others is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Any other basis is not going to work. Furthermore, God can use even the most unlikely person to bring glory to His name. He used Peter and Zaccheus and John Mark, and He can use that poor man whom we might reject. b e l i e v e

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2. The Grace of God (James 2:5-7)

5 Listen,

my beloved brothers, 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. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? The emphasis here is on Gods choosing, and this involves the grace of God. If salvation were on the basis of merit, it would not be by grace. Grace requires Gods sovereign choice of those who cannot earn and who do not deserve His salvation ( Eph 1:4-7; 2:8-10 ). God saves us completely on the basis of the work of Christ on the cross and not because of anything that we are or have. God ignores national differences ( Acts 10:34 ) and He ignores social differences ( Eph 6:9 ). In James 2:6-7, the apostle gives a stern rebuke: When you despise the poor man, you are behaving like the unsaved rich people. In that day, it was easy to exploit the poor, inuence decisions at court, and make themselves richer. Unfortunately, we have the same sins being committed in our present day; and these sins are totally contradictory to the gospel of Jesus. Our LORD was the victim of injustice perpetrated by the corrupt wealthy elite of the day. The doctrine of Gods grace, if we really believe it, forces us to relate to people on the basis of Gods plan and not on the basis of human merit or social status. A church separated by class structure is not a church that magnies the grace of God. When He died, Jesus broke down the wall that separated Jews and Gentiles ( Eph 2:11-22 ). But in His birth and life, Jesus broke down the walls between rich and poor, young and old, educated and uneducated. It is wrong for us to build those walls again; we cannot rebuild them if we believe in the grace of God.

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3. The Word of God (James 2:8-11)

8 If

you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for 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 murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. James reached back into the Old Testament for one of Gods laws, ...but you shall love your neighbour as yourself... ( Lev 19:18 ). In His parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus told us that our neigbour is anyone who needs our help ( Luke 10:25-37 ). It is not a matter of geography, but opportunity. The important question is not who is my neighbour? but to whom can I be a neighbour? Christian love does not mean that I must like a person and agree with him on everything. I may not like his vocabulary or his habits, and I may not agree with everything they say. Christian love means treating others the way God has treated me. It is an act of the will, not an emotion that I try to manufacture. The motive is to glorify God. The means is the power of the Spirit within ( But the fruit of the Spirit is love... Gal 5:22 ). Christian love does not leave the person where it nds them. Love helps the poor man move out of poverty; love directs the rich man to make better use of his God given resources. Love always builds up ( 1 Cor 8:1 ). We only believe as much of the Bible as we practice. If we fail to obey the most important word - Love your neighbour as you love yourself - then we will not do any good with the lesser matters of the Word. It was a glaring fault in the Pharisees that they were careful about the minor matters and careless about the fundamentals ( Matt 23:23 ). They broke the very Law they thought they were defending!

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4. The Judgement of God (James 2:12-13)

12 So 13 For

speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. No matter what denomination we are, every orthodox statement of faith ends with a statement about the return of Jesus Christ and the nal judgment. Not all Christians agree as to the details of these future events, but the certainty of them none denies. Nor would any deny the importance of a nal judgment. Both Jesus ( John 5:24 ) and Paul ( Rom 8:1 ) assured us that Christian believers will never be judged for their sins; but our works will be judged and rewarded ( Rom 14:10-13, 2 Cor 5:9-10 ). Our words will be judged. Note the words spoken to the two visitors in James 2:3. What we say to people, and how we say it, will come before God. Even our careless words will be judged ( Matt 12:36 ). The words we speak are an overow of what is in our heart, so when God judges our words, He is examining the heart ( Matt 12:34-37 ). Jesus emphasized caution when speaking in some of His warnings in the sermon on the Mount ( Matt 5:21-26, Matt 5:33-37, Matt 7:1-5, Matt 7:21-23 ). Our works will be judged. Colossians 3:22-25 gives us additional insight into this. It is true that when we honestly repent, God is faithful to remember our sins against us no more ( Jer 31:34, Heb 10:17 ). But our sins affect our character and works. We cannot sin lightly and serve faithfully. God forgives our sins when we humbly confess them to Him, but there are always consequences to our actions that we must face and accept. Our attitudes will be judged ( James 2:13 ). James contrasted two attitudes: showing mercy to others, and refusing to show mercy. If we have been merciful to others, God can be merciful towards us. However, we must not twist this truth into a lie. It does not mean we earn mercy by showing mercy, because it is impossible to earn mercy. If it is earned, it is not mercy! Nor does it mean that we are to be soft on sin and never address it in the life of others.

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Sermon Notes Wk 3 // The Sin of Partiality // Jms 2:1-13 02 4472 9419 | 0433 161 422 | info@wearecrosscentral.com
Mercy and justice both come from God, so they are not competitors. Where God nds repentance and faith, He is able to show mercy. Where he nds rebellion and unbelief, He must administer justice. It is the heart of the sinner that determines the treatment he gets. We shall be judged under the Law of liberty. Why does James use this title for Gods Law? Firstly, when we obey Gods Law, it frees us from sin and enables us to walk in liberty ( Psalm 119:45 ). Secondly, law prepares us for liberty. A child must be under rules and regulations because he is not mature enough to handle the decisions and demands of life. He is given outward discipline so that he might develop inward discipline, and one day be free of rules. Gods Word is able to change our hearts and give us the desire to do Gods will, so that we obey from inward compulsion and not outward constraint.

Conclusion:
There is one obvious message to this section: our beliefs should control our behaviour. If we really believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that God is gracious, His Word is true, and one day He will judge us, then our conduct will reveal our convictions. Before we attack those who have different doctrines to us, we must be sure that we practice the doctrines we defend. Jonah had wonderful theology, but he hated people and was angry with God ( Jonah 4 ). One of the tests of the reality of our faith is how we treat other people. Can we pass the test?

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