"8 If, however, you are fulfilling 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 violators. 10 For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law. 12 So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment."
Good Morning my beloved, Welcome to worship this Lord's day! We're so glad to have our brothers and sisters from around the world here with us today. Please know, that we continue to lift all of you up in our prayers. We would ask that you would do the same for us.
Shamefully, the sin of favoritism is often promoted among many professing Bible-believing Christians.
How can those who claim to know Christ so flagrantly disregard His commands? The sad reality is, that many evangelical churches are quite often the most segregated places in America. Scripture is very, very clear on this issue, if you show partiality, you are committing sin! Still, the issue of partiality continues to plague the churches of today.
When God raises that dead sinner to new life, He changes that person’s heart and imparts saving faith, resulting in a new direction of life to such a degree that their value system is put right side up! Such a setting apart to God should be visible; such a practical outworking of being regenerate and justified should therefore be measurable. Those who do not love truly God will not be capable of fulfilling His commands. To show partiality violates the second great commandment of God’s law, to love your neighbor as yourself. Since God’s law will be the standard by which everyone will be judged, we should live in light of that coming judgment, especially by showing mercy to the poor.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You for Your Word. Help us to understand that You do not want us to be partial to anyone, help us to be more like You, loving everyone the same. Lord, refresh our commitment to love others in the way that You loved us. May we reach out to others in love. Give us that opportunity. We pray that Your Word be divinely infused into our lives, that they would become natural to us.
In Christ's name we pray
Amen
Today's Message: The Sin Of Partiality - Part Three
Scripture tell us that people with equal needs are to be treated with equality. There is no inherent reason, no intrinsic, and no needful reason for treating one person better than another. The gospel heals us of our sinful propensity to show preferential treatment. Yet, we all fall into the problem of favoritism.
The dictionary defines favoritism as the practice of giving unfair preferential treatment to one person or group at the expense of another. The Bible defines favoritism as sin. As believers, as those who are heirs of the kingdom of God, we must live under the law of God.
As human beings, who are finite and limited in capacity, we simply do not have the same of capacity that God does. Because we don't know everyone, we certainly cannot understand all of their needs. However, God calls us as believers to love, forgive, and accept one
another, precisely because He has loved, forgiven, and accepted us in
Jesus Christ. Since God has received us to Himself in Christ, we are to receive one another. Nevertheless, there can be a sinful deficiency of
receiving and welcoming of others within the context of church fellowship.
Far too often, we are only willing to show acceptance to a select few. In our
flesh, we have the propensity of befriending only those in whom we believe
we see virtues. Convincing ourselves that we only have to accept
those with similar values. This is not acceptance, however, it’s merely affinity. We must remember, that when Jesus died for us, we were completely unlovable and unlike Him. Yet, He loved us.
In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus tells us, "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Open your Bibles with me if you would please to the book of James. As we continue our study of chapter 2, of the practical epistle, we will be looking verses eight through thirteen.
I invite you to follow along with me to set the text in our minds as we prepare out hearts for what the Spirit is saying to us. Listen for the voice of our Lord. James 2:8-13.
"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 violators. For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law. So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment."
We are called upon to fulfill the royal law of love. Obedience to this law of love is the answer to prejudicial favoritism. Verse 8, goes well beyond the issue of just favoritism, this is very rich teaching.
"If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well."
James begins with "If however," this a first class condition. First class conditions in the Greek have the idea of reality or fact, therefore, it may well be translated "since." "Since you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, you are doing well." That is essentially what James is saying here. When you do that you are doing well. He's saying it is a fact, that some of you do. I believe what is occurring here, is not simply non Christians masquerading as believers but true believers who were having lapses of disobedience.
If we are being honest with each other and ourselves, we have all shown favoritism at one time or another, though it may not be what we set out to do, or even want to do. Though that's not the consistent pattern of our life, we've all been guilty.
So James is saying some of you are fulfilling the royal law. This is not just a reprimand here; there’s also a commendation. It is royal in the sense that it is binding. When a king makes a law, there's no court of appeals, it's a binding law and that settles it. That's the point.
Notice he's saying it in the present tense, "If you are in the process of continual fulfillment of the royal law," and then he quotes Leviticus 19, "you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well." Where Christians apply the royal law of love, a law given by the King of kings, churches are transformed, and homes are remade.
I know many who become confused about the "as yourself" part. Now, let me be clear, this is not some kind of emotional affection you have for yourself. That's just repulsive, in my opinion. I have never struggled with self-image. I do not have the time, quite frankly, to play psychological games with myself saying to myself "You're really wonderful person or you're a wretched, terrible person. I don't find any appeal in that game. Regardless what I tell myself, I am going to go to heaven by God's grace and that ends the issue right there.
So, it's actually pretty simple. Allow me to put it this way. Whose mouth do you put food in? Whose body do you clothe? Whose life are you trying to make comfortable? Whose bill are you concerned with paying? When you learn to occupy yourself with everyone else, in the same way you are occupied with yourself, you fulfill the law and will have no issue with partiality. If you treat others the same way you do yourself, taking care of their needs, as much as you take care of your own, you will treat them all equally. God is saying take care of other people just the same way you take care of yourself.
That is why Jesus said in Matthew 22, "And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
I believe that when we call to mind, that Christ did not please Himself, but rather
took on Himself that with which we reproached God, we
will be zealous to bear with the weaknesses and failings of others for
their good. All good works that express a believer’s faith are divinely empowered and ordained by God.
Now, in verses 9 through 11, James shifts gears and warns us. "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."
James is pulling no punches in these verses. He calls partiality exactly what it is, sin! To the same degree, with the same intensity, if you are concerned with others as much as you are with yourself the law is obeyed. I'm not going to steal from myself, so I don’t need a law that says not to steal from you. I'm not going to kill myself, so I'm not going to murder you. The point here is, if we fully understand this law, it becomes a supreme law of all our human relationships. The issue is not emotional love, it's service at the time of need. We are known by our love for others. That's what mark true believers!
So, James is saying "If you demonstrate equality of love to one another, meeting needs no matter who the people are, then you are fulfilling the royal law." This is consistent with God's will and His glory. You never know who you’re dealing with, so you really need to be careful. Remember Hebrews 13,
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it."
So, verse 9 "But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors." But, we have a first class condition. This is a statement of fact, indicating that some were doing the opposite. He's saying some of you are not fulfilling the law of love. This is a blatant statement of accusation. "You who are in continual practice of favoritism are in violation of God's law, you're committing sin." The law says don't do it, and you did it! You are convicted of the law as transgressors. The evidence brings a conclusive conviction that you are guilty of violating the law. The law is your conviction.
When you love everybody the same, you are fulfilling the law. On the other hand, when there’s a habitual favoritism and partiality, you violate the law. And, the law forbids partiality. If you do it, you transgress the law. You are willfully stepping across the boundaries. You are a transgressor. Notice in verse 9, James strong language. "You are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as transgressors." The word James uses is "hamartanó," it means missed the mark, to fall short. The word transgressors, is the word "parabainó," which means to go past, beyond the limits. Both words define sin. Sin is a coming short of God's perfect standard, and it is going beyond the law of God. And, that is such a serious issue!
Verse 10 tells us why. "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." In other words, you only have to commit one sin, to be characterized as a sinner! And what you're doing is defying the Word of God. It's the same as saying "I will not love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength in that area." Though you break one area of the law, you are characterized as a sinner and a transgressor, for you have demonstrated a heart of violence toward the law of God.
Matthew 5:19, Jesus says "Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." To keep one of those injunctions was to gain credit; to break one was to incur debt. A man could therefore, add up the ones he kept and subtract the ones he broke and end up with a credit balance. That is typical of any works righteousness system. Breaking God's law is like throwing a rock threw a glass window, it may only hit one spot, but the whole glass will shatter! And, when a true believer, with an obedient heart, violates God's commands, he immediately see himself as a transgressor, and comes to the Living Savior for cleansing and forgiveness. God's law is not segmented. Any sin breaks the whole thing.
In verse 11, James gives us an illustration. "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." Now, "For He who said," obviously here he is referring to God. God said not to commit adultery and not to commit murder. So he's talking about God. Here's a little something interesting, they are in the reverse order in the Hebrew Bible. But in the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation, they’re switched back. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which is what James is quoting. What these two sins have in common, is they both required death. So James is choosing two severe social sins, as related to human life and existence. They both require the penalty of death.
While many feel that murder and adultery are far from the sin of favoritism, I believe James put them in the same serious category to make his point as to the seriousness of the sin. Let us be under no delusions: favoritism is an evil sin! The rabbis made a serious fundamental error in trying to get around the law by making grace a part of the law. They said "We know God said that but you don’t have to really do all of that. Sin is not really sin, because sin plus good works balance things out. So God overlooks some stuff. They made grace part of the law, therefore, as far as they were concerned, they didn't need a Savior.
Allow me to be very clear here, there is absolutely no grace in the law! That is why the person who does not know the grace of Jesus Christ, there is no grace. God does not have one bit of tolerance for anyone violating the law, none. God's law is a condemner of sinners. Apart from Jesus Christ, there is no grace for a sinner. I want to make that very, very clear.
Verse 12 is a call to take account of the danger of divine judgment. "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty." Here James is pointing a finger directly at the transgressors, "So speak and so act." You better speak and act as those who are headed for future judgement, based upon God's law!
The term "law of liberty," describes God's Law. In other words, you will be judged by God's Word. You will either be judged by the law of liberty or the law of freedom, which frees us from the slavery of sin, the curse of death. It calls us to obey God freely by inward constraint, not by outward restraint. It brings us to eternal freedom and glory. James uses very strong language here, he is saying that you will face a judgment on the basis of whether you have kept or violated God’s law. If God looks at your life and sees that you handle trials and temptation in a godly way, that you responded to the Word, and that you didn’t demonstrate favoritism as a pattern of life, those are the works that evidence the truth of your faith. You will be judged by that.
God’s going to look at the record of every believer's life. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."
So James is saying keep all of that mind. Keep in mind everything that you say and you do, "Speak and act as one who will be judged by God’s Word."
"For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." There is no mercy and there is no grace in the law. Show me a person with no compassion, who has no regard for people in need and I’ll show you a person who will receive no mercy in judgment. Every sin will receive its just punishment to the fullest extent. For where mercy is shown, mercy will be given. And, where it is not shown, none will be given. That's some pretty strong language!
"Mercy triumphs over judgement," you will triumph over judgment. You will escape judgment. If you are merciful, if you meet people at the point of their need, regardless of who they are, your life bears the evidence of having received such mercy and of being transformed by the power of God.
In Closing...
If you show mercy, you can expect to receive mercy at the judgment; act unmercifully, then, you can expect the same when God deals with you at the judgment! In other words, you reap what you sow.
Partiality is all around us. Whether we choose to call it racism, tribalism, ethnicism, nationalism, xenophobia, it all falls under the ungodly sin of partiality. May we all remember what sin has done to humanity. What has done to our lives, our relationships, our families.
More importantly, look at what our sin cost Jesus. It cost His life! When we commit the sin of partiality, are in fact guilty of breaking all of God's commandments! Therefore, let us never excuse the sin. Because apart from grace, God certainly does not.
The royal law is not vague; in fact, it is painfully specific. If our
relationship with others is not right then any claim to being right with
God is dead wrong! God’s standard is perfection,in order for us to be saved, someone had to keep the law perfectly. Thank God for our perfect Savior, Jesus Christ.
And as those who, apart from Christ, would stand condemned, guilty before God, we had ought to extend that same love, compassion and mercy toward others, that we ourselves had been shown.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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