Lesson 3 – James Chapter 2:1-13
In chapter 1 James showed us many things; that being tested through various trials and tribulations is okay, because through it, we grow spiritually. When this happens to us, we also find that we’ve increased in perseverance. If you need wisdom, pray for wisdom and believe that God will answer that prayer. Remember, God never temps us, but He will test us. All the good that is in your life comes from God. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. We can incapsulate chapter 1 by saying we can be sure of the purposes of God, sure of the goodness of God, and we can be sure of the Word of God.
James 2:1
“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.”
In verses 1 through 9, we are going to do a deep dive, focusing on the word partiality.
Right off the bat, James comes out swinging by saying that the faith we have in Jesus shouldn’t have anything to do with favoritism or partiality. How can we claim to have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ if we are favoring some people over others?
Partiality: The Greek definition is the fault of one who when called on to give judgment, has a respect of the outward positions of man and not to a person’s basic merits, and so they prefer a person who is more worthy, like one who is rich, high born, or powerful, rather than to another person who does not have these same qualities. The NASB uses the words personal favoritism instead of partiality.
• Looking back through the gospels, do you recall an instance where Jesus showed any favoritism toward anyone?
Imagine if you can, that you just got invited to have a one-on-one lunch with Donald Trump. How would you prepare for the occasion? Perhaps you would get yourself all fixed up, wear your best clothes, get a haircut… you would probably treat this as a special event. Now, imagine that you’re going to have lunch with a homeless person in downtown Denver, how would you prepare for that event? Would you do the same things in preparing to see Mr. Trump?
Whether we realize it or not, we can slip into being partial with people and not even realize we’re doing it.
James 2:2-4
“For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?”
We’re all vulnerable to this way of thinking; we can find ourselves treating people differently, depending on how we view them outwardly. It’s very subtle and easy to fall into, just like gossiping.
At the time when this was written, you would find in most synagogues that there were only a few benches to sit on, perhaps one or two that were in the front. These were the “chief seats in the synagogues” and the ones that the Scribes and Pharisees desired the most.
Matt. 23:6
“They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues,”
Most of the people in the synagogue either stood or sat cross-legged on the floor. Occasionally, someone would also have a footstool to sit on. To ask a person, especially a visitor or guest, to sit down by my footstool was a showing of disrespect toward that person. The person on the bench or in a chair not only would not give that seat to the visitor, but would not even allow them to sit on his footstool.
James puts the spotlight on these people by saying, And become judges with evil thoughts or your judgments are guided by evil motives.
By showing favoritism to the well-dressed person and shunning the poor man, both of these things are considered to be sinful and those who are guilty of this become judges with evil thoughts.
John MacArthur; “Among Christians, such discrimination is much more than poor hospitality; it is plainly evil. Of the three words James uses for evil (1:21, 3:16), the one used here is the strongest, carrying the idea of vicious intentions that have a destructive and injurious effect.”
To describe this in simpler terms, it’s like what takes place in high schools everywhere, they’re known as “clicks.” If you aren’t part of the “in crowd” you are shunned, you’re treated as substandard. Maybe some of you have experienced this when you were in high school.
Deut. 10:17
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.”
Rom. 2:11
“For there is no partiality with God.”
If there is no partiality with God, how can we as His children even think about bringing partiality into His church? James comes out and just calls it what it is… evil. We as believers must do all that we can to make sure we never treat people this way.
Perhaps there’s someone in church that you tend to avoid for some reason, try your best to show God’s love to that person. If you’re thinking of someone right now, that’s the Holy Spirit working on you.
James 2:5
“Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”
At first reading this, you might be tempted to think about Matt. 5:3 where Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” But here James is talking about the economically poor, those who are in financial poverty and therefore, they are considered by the world to be substandard.
Throughout all history, God has always had a heart for the underdog, the poor. He has provided, protected, and defended the oppressed. We see this during the time of Moses:
Deut. 7:7
“The Lord did not set His heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and He was keeping the oath He had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.” (NLT)
I Cor. 1:27-28
“Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.” (NLT)
It’s worth noting here that “God’s elect” are typically dominated by the poor of this world. We would do well to bless those less fortunate than ourselves. Psalm 41 shows how God blesses those who have a heart for the poor.
Psalm 41:1-2
“Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.”
James is pointing out for us the needs of the poor, that we should have God’s same attitude when it comes to the poor and the oppressed. Our verse also says to us… did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. I think it’s far better for each of us to be rich in faith, rather than to be rich according to the world’s standards.
I Cor. 1:30
“God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin.” (LSB)
To be freed from sin, is to be free indeed. Paul is reminding us of our true riches that are in Christ:
II Cor. 6:9-10
“We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.” (NLT)
It’s okay to be thought of as “poor” when the world looks at us. The thing is, as believers, we are the richest people in all the world because we have eternal life. To bring this all back into context, when we see those less fortunate around us, let us make sure that we give them the same respect that God gives them.
James 2:6
“But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?”
But you… James is saying this to some of us as believers, and I’m sure this doesn’t apply to anyone in this room. But, if the Holy Spirit is convicting you of this, correct it.
But you have dishonored the poor man…
Rom. 14:4
“Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive His approval.” (NLT)
Condemning someone else’s servant and dishonoring the poor man can be seen in the same light. If we have dishonored the poor man, we are in fact despising and rejecting those whom the Lord has specially chosen. The person that is guilty of this is in effect saying that they’re claiming to be God’s child, but then at the same time, they’re thinking and acting very differently than the way God does. It’s wrong to be partial when it comes to the poor.
Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts?
So far, James has pointed out for us that there are those who have become caught-up in thinking the very same way as the elite do; in doing so, they hurt the poor. Then, ironically, throwing their support to the rich, the ones who oppress you and drag you into the courts.
The word oppress is (katadynasteuō), this Greek word means to tyrannize someone, to exercise an excessive amount of power over others. James is saying, “Aren’t they the same ones who belittle you and depreciate you as a human?” To align yourself with such people is pure folly.
James 2:7
“Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?”
“Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?” (NLT)
In other words, “Don’t you realize that the rich are the very ones who desecrate the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. These people are the ones who promote civil unrest and religious hostility, as well as actively persecuting the church. James probably had in mind the Sadducees when he was writing these things. The Sadducees didn’t believe in angels or other spirit beings, the resurrection, the immortality of the soul, or even that there was a heaven and hell or a future judgment. They were sad-you-see. The Sadducees were totally against Jesus when He was alive, and now they’re against His church.
Acts 4:1-2
“While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead.” (NLT)
• In today’s world, who might we see as the Sadducees of our time?
Modern-day Pharisees live a legalistic life, governed by rules for what to do and not to do, and mostly it’s what not to do. You may have heard some of these rules: don’t drink, don’t smoke, or dance; don’t play cards, go to the movies, or listen to non-religious music. Oh, and don’t use makeup, have piercings, or get tattoos.
The lesson for us is, don’t be a modern-day Pharisee or Sadducee. Be a disciple of Jesus.
James 2:8-9
“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
The royal law here is the law of love:
Lev. 19:18
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
And of course…
Matt. 22:37-40
“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
This command is superior to all other laws!
If you show partiality, you commit sin… James is referring to Lev. 19:15:
“You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”
• For the church today, is it possible to fall into the sin of partiality? If so, what can we do to combat the issue?
James is highlighting the fact that there were some believers within the church who were guilty of partiality. The ones engaging in this were committing serious sin and were as it says, convicted by the law as transgressors.” This is the complete opposite of loving your neighbor as yourself.
John MacArthur says; “The main thrust here is against unbelievers in the church, pseudo-Christians who were masquerading as believers. James is not speaking of occasional favoritism but of habitual, blatant partiality.”
So, again, those who were engaging in this partiality were committing serious sin and were therefore convicted by the law as transgressors. The key here is that they were guilty of persistent blatant partiality. Any one of us can fall into partiality, but to do it habitually is just wrong.
To the casual reader of the Bible, partiality might not seem like any big deal, but when we examine it closely, we find it can become quite destructive within the body of Christ.
When it comes to the systematic ways of the world, partiality can be seen everywhere at its very core. In our own country we see so much partiality going on in the judicial system where the poor man usually loses out and the rich get away with murder.
James 2:10
“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”
When it comes to the law, it should be seen as one complete package. James says if you break one part of the law, you’re guilty of breaking all of it.
We know that Jesus was the only one who kept all of the law, and in fact, scripture says He fulfilled the law. We also know that we are guilty of not keeping the law, which shows our need for a Savior.
For us to disregard even the smallest part of God’s Word is to demonstrate disregard for all of it. We cannot pick and choose the things within God’s Word that happen to be convenient for us and then disregard the rest, it just doesn’t work that way.
This is what some of the Pharisees were trying to do. They would certainly observe the Sabbath, but when it came to honoring their father and mother, that was another matter.
Matt. 15:3-7a
“Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the Word of God for the sake of your own tradition. You hypocrites!”
Sin is sin, and it violates the perfect holiness of God, who is the law giver. James is saying that the whole divine law has to be accepted as an expression of God’s will for His people. Disobedience to even one commandment separates us from God and His purposes.
You might be thinking, “Wait a minute, I’m under grace and not under the law.” And this is true, but, we still have the issue of indwelling sin to deal with, we still sin even though we’re saved. The problem is, when we sin, we are cut off from our fellowship and communion with God. The solution for the believer is to go to God and confess any and all sins.
I John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Once we confess or sins, our relationship with God is back where it needs to be.
James 2:11
“For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”
James chose two of the most serious sins. In both of these examples, the penalty was death. Perhaps James chose these to point out how severe the sin of partiality really is.
James 2:12
“So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”
“So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.” (NLT)
Believers will be judged by the law of liberty, which is the law of love (we saw this in chapter 1:25). Believers who don’t get involved with the practice of partiality, but practice the law of love and mercy, will receive love and mercy, especially at the judgment seat of Christ.
In other words, believers are to walk the talk and really live like someone who has been saved by grace. If we are so willing to receive God’s grace, it only makes perfect sense that we are willing to extend God’s grace to others.
Luke 6:38
“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (NLT)
We can look at this scripture two ways, first, this teaches us about giving, and second, it is about receiving and giving forgiveness.
If you are merciful to others, if you’re kind and compassionate to others, then when you need mercy, grace, and kindness (and you will need it), God will turn it around and give it back to you. On the other hand, if you have been harsh and judgmental toward others, if you have been all about finding fault with others, you will look for grace and mercy and just not find it. This is not the law of karma, it is the law of love.
James 2:13
“For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
“There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when He judges you.” (NLT)
Proverbs 21:13
“Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.” (NLT)
If we have been merciful to those around us, God will be merciful toward us. This doesn’t mean that we can earn mercy by showing mercy, that would put us in the realm of good works. If we could earn God’s mercy it wouldn’t be mercy.
Mercy is the expression of God’s love that causes Him to help the miserable, just as grace is the expression of His love that moves Him to forgive the guilty.
I Tim. 1:16
“But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life.” (NLT)
Where would any of us be without God’s grace and mercy?
Eph. 2:4-6
“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved, for He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” (NLT)
Because God is merciful, He expects His children to be merciful as well.
Matt. 5:7
“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
The relationship between God and His children is not a one-way street; the good gifts God blesses us with should come out from us as well.
Mercy and justice both come from God, so they are not in competition with each other. Where God finds repentance and faith, He is able to show mercy; where He finds rebellion and unbelief, He must administer justice.
We’ll close with a commentary from John MacArthur; “James brings us to a climax of his great argument. Partiality is inconsistent with the Christian faith because the Christian faith is consistent with the nature of God… and God is wholly impartial. Partiality is inconsistent with the purpose and the plan of God in choosing the poor of this world to be spiritually rich. Partiality is inconsistent with loving your neighbor as yourself. Even if it were the only sin a person ever committed, partiality, like all other sins, shatters the entire law of God and makes a person a transgressor, condemned to hell forever. If you come before the judgment seat of God and He sees you have lived a life that is merciful to others, He will show mercy to you, because your mercy will testify to your saving faith. It will be true in your case that mercy triumphs over judgment. Contrarily, a person who has lived a life devoid of mercy to others will show himself to be without saving faith.”