Partiality is Forbidden

Partiality is Forbidden

Please remain standing for the reading of the word from James and chapter 2. James 2 this is God's holy and infallible word my brethren. Do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory with partiality.

For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings and fine apparel. 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. 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. But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 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. Forever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point.

He is guilty of all. 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. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of Liberty.

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. May the Lord be pleased with our continuing study in the book of James. Please pray with me now. Oh Lord, we thank you that the mirror of your word Shines upon us and it reflects glorious things that we are your children and it It shows defects and Lord.

This is not a discouragement to us, but it's a cause of our Thanksgiving. That we might turn from wicked ways and walk more fully in your light. That we might accurately portray Christ in his salvation to this world and so desperate need of him.

Oh Lord Bless your people today. I pray in Jesus name. Amen. Please be seated the title of the message today is partiality is forbidden and Really? It's a one-point message. I I believe this is about one of the most simple messages that I could be preaching.

And we need that sometimes a simple message. God is no respecter of persons. Christ dined with tax collectors and harlots sinners. The Christian Church must not show partiality. Since God is no respecter of persons the church should hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory without Partiality.

So if you're taking notes just write down partiality is forbidden. And there's a couple of ways we're going to look at this. I I know that sometimes it's distracting to you and if it is don't turn their pages in the Bible.

But I want to look at a couple of sections of Scripture. Please follow along track along mentally if you're not going to go there in page turning. I'm gonna go first to the book of Acts in chapter 10 if you turn there with me, please chapter 10 when we think about the character and attributes of God and theology proper.

May be hidden underneath one of those important ones is justice. And in that attribute of God what we'll learn and just from a few examples and It's always surprising. I don't know if you've ever done a study on something.

You're often surprised at just how many instances there are of this teaching. You know, I know it's in there, but then it's Fourfold what you think it might be when you begin to open it up. Our God Does not show favoritism either in a legal sense or in a relational sense.

We'll be more on that later. God hates injustice. He has Aligned himself with the widow and the orphan those who are physically poor. He has he has said I am going to be a caretaker of them. He also has has not Distinguished between persons as we learned and talked about a little bit in Sunday school today at the advent of Christ.

There is this tremendous Influx of the Gentile nations coming to Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit operating in the Apostles.

So.

God's partiality or I should say lack of Partiality is displayed in including the Gentiles in this salvation. We'll begin reading in Acts 10 verse 19 again. Follow along. Mentally auditorily if you can't do it and be distracted.

Well Peter thought about the vision and of course, this is the kill-and-eat vision. This is the Gentiles. Peter are coming in and he's the Apostle to the Jews. It's an interesting mouthpiece for this message is that he if you think about it He's he's really tasked with being the preeminent Apostle among the Jewish people.

But he gets this great vision of Gentile inclusion. What God has cleansed you must not call common and this happens three times. Now we take it up again in verse 19. While Peter thought about the vision the Spirit said to him behold three men are seeking you.

Arise therefore go down and go with them doubting nothing for I have sent them. Then Peter went down to the men who had been sent to him from Cornelius and said yes, I am he who you seek. For what reason have you come?

And.

They said Cornelius the centurion a just man one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews. Was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you.

Then he invited them in and lodged them on. The next day Peter went away with them and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him. The following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them.

And he called together his relatives and close friends.

As.

Peter was coming in. Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshipped him. But Peter lifted him up saying stand up. I myself am also a man and As he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together.

Then he said to them, you know, how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. I want you to have that in your mind that I should not call any man common Or unclean in consideration of our passage in James.

Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for for I asked then for what reason have you sent for me? So Cornelius said four days ago. I was fasting until this hour and At the ninth hour I prayed in the house and behold a man stood before me in bright clothing and said Cornelius Your prayer has been heard.

And your alms are remembered in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon a tanner by the sea. When he comes he will speak to you.

So I sent you immediately and you have done well to come now. Therefore. We are all present before God to hear all the things Commanded you by God. Listen to this wonderful message so hopeful for the people who seek a deeper knowledge of Christ.

Peter opened his mouth and said in truth. I perceive that God shows no partiality. This is a bit of a stunning thing the prophets have long anticipated Gentile inclusion, but you think about how marked they are as the covenant people of God.

This is still a shocking message. We can't lose that first century shock. That the Gentiles are being brought in. But in every nation who fears him and works righteousness is accepted by him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel preaching peace through Jesus Christ.

He is Lord of all that word, you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism, which John preached. How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth the Holy Spirit and with power.

Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. Whom they killed by hanging on a tree.

Him God raised up on the third day and showed him openly. Not to all the people but to witnesses chosen before by God even to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead and He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he it is he who was ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead to him.

All the prophets Witnessed that through his name whoever believes in him will receive remission of sins. While Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word and Those of the circumcision who believed were astonished as many as came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit Had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. And Peter answered and again, this is quite shocking almost. Can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit?

Just as we have. And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days. The inclusion of the Gentiles and I don't know are all of our origins. We're probably all Gentiles here mostly.

Our.

Inclusion into the covenant promises of God is reflected in God's impartial nature. He is not a Respecter of persons. He doesn't look upon men and say that man has a lot of skill and talent and he's rich.

And he comes from the right family. He comes from the right nation. He can be part of the family of God. This gospel goes out into the world and God draws all Kinds of men to himself. This is very exciting that he would do this.

Like you to turn back over toward James. Again to the book of Colossians in chapter 3. Partiality is forbidden Because of the character of God the example of Christ and the commandment to the church. We cannot be people who are showing partiality.

Colossians 3 9 Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with his deeds and Have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. Now children listen carefully.

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew circumcised nor uncircumcised.

Barbarian.

Scythian Slave nor free but Christ is all and in all the the sharp lines of demarcation separating people in the nations. All of these are transgressed by the grace of God. The Greeks come in and they're saved.

Cornelius. Uncircumcised men are brought into the family. The Jewish people who have covenant sign many of them turn to faith in Christ. The barbarians. The Scythians a slave a free man. All of them come to Christ because God is not partial.

He is eager for his good news his salvation in Christ to go to the very ends of the earth. Let's go back to our text in James.

James chapter 2.

This word partiality really means favoritism or respecter of persons. One commentator on the Greek text has said the fault of one. This is what it would mean to show favoritism or partiality. The fault of one who when called on to requite or give judgment Has respect to the outward circumstances of men and not to their intrinsic merits I should point out to you.

There's something interesting in the grammatical construction of the word assembly. This is usually it's closely tied to synagogue and It has more to do with the church courts. The the people of God if you'll remember even in the Sanhedrin days The Romans allowed them to govern themselves a bit.

And the church we know we are to settle our disputes. If I heard of two brothers in our Congregation going to the to the pagan law court and suing each one another. I'd be very disappointed. We're commanded not to do that.

We are to work out our things together so there's a Legal side to this and in our culture the rich man gets off more than the poor man. Good lawyers following good more motions and tying things up and dragging things out can make Wicked men go free because we have an unjust system that rewards the rich.

The poor man goes to prison for longer sentences. You do any analysis of this the economics of the defendant. Affect the outcome. We should work to that end to in that kind of thing where justice would be blind.

That our courts would be impartial. And so the first instance of this is is a dispute possibly between brethren. That might be the reason why people have gathered in the assembly, but it's also attached to the word Ecclesia, which means church.

So it has a twofold usage. The rich man goes into the law court and he has an advantage and under the pagan system. That rich man cannot have an advantage over his poor brother in the life of the church men need to be judged on their intrinsic merits.

So the preferential treatment the people that we identify as more worthy. One is rich high born or powerful to another who is destitute of such gifts. Say well, that's right. I agree with that. But now is the hard part.

You show partiality regularly. I show partiality regularly. We look upon a person. We've been trained to do this since we were very young. We make judgments about a man a woman a child based on the way that they're dressed.

The car they drove up in the house. They live in we decide what kind of person they are merely according to outward circumstances. And you can imagine what's so important to the life of the church is our union with Christ in one another.

How would our union with Christ be? Perverted optically. By us mistreating those who are poor. Brethren, we have the treasure of Christ in these earthen vessels. The glory of God has shown all around about you and Christ and his gospel.

The king of glory he possesses all that is excellent. He has welcomed all sorts of people into the body of Christ. He accepts them. They belong. I Should point out to you. I Think some people know this.

I've always felt in my life that I was a little different. Like I didn't fit in somehow. But I became a Christian a serious minded Christian. I learned that I belonged. I Belonged to Christ and the family of God.

All of you who are in Christ the world maybe doesn't want to be your friend and that's okay. You belong here. You belong with Christ and with his people. So if you're a weird person, you're welcome in the church.

We got some weird people here. Well, you're welcome here in the church.

And.

If a man comes in today wearing shabby clothes. And he says I'm a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. We should embrace him and we should maybe go over and feed him and maybe we go clothed him and put some nicer cleaner clothes On him, but I think what would happen if that man came in.

He looked like a homeless guy. All everyone would turn and go who is this guy? What's he doing here? Is he gonna hurt us or our children? That might be our first impulse. We are people who show partiality and we've got to overcome this.

We've got a strange fellow who walks around the neighborhood he looks very weird. He has he looks like a guy who was a Buddhist or Trying to be some kind of monk. He wears cloth shoes that he's taken from other garments and wrapped around his feet.

He wears strange garments and this week providentially. Unconnected to this knowing this was not. I'm like, I'm gonna seek this guy out. I ran into this guy and I had a conversation with him. This guy is very very strange.

But we immediately began to talk about Jesus Christ and he's a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. The weird guy that walks around you know who he is. He's a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. The strangest guy and he's got wacky ideas but he had a sincerity of faith about him and I was completely taken aback by the.

The earnestness of his belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, and I thought he was some bad homeless guy. He's not homeless. Not poor. He looks like he is lives in an okay house a Follower of Christ. He's accepted by Christ, how could I reject him?

And we have have done this in many ways. We we like the people who agree with us theologically, but guess what? Baptists. Pentecostals. Whoever they are. Anglicans whoever they are if they'd be Christians, they're our brethren.

We love them. We have great fellowship with them. We should be those things that differentiate us are small in comparison to the things that unite us. It can't be Respecters of persons. Turn back to the book of Romans in chapter 2.

This idea of judgment is going to be a bigger part of the second half of the section which will be in two weeks. But it's very helpful for us here framing our discussion. Romans 2. I'm getting at verse 1.

Therefore you are inexcusable. Oh man, whoever you are who judge for and whenever you judge another you condemn yourself for you who judge practice the same things but we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things and.

Do you?

And do you think this oh man you who judge those. Practicing such things and doing the same that you will escape the judgment of God. Of course, it's that terrible list He's referring back to in chapter 1.

Or do you spies to despise the riches of his goodness forbearance and long-suffering? Not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance. But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Who will render to each one? According to his deeds children. We're all going to get what we get according to our deeds not because of what we look like. Or how much money our family has or the kind of clothes we wear.

Eternal life to those who by patient continuance and doing good seek for glory honor and immortality. But to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey in righteousness indignation and wrath.

Tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil of the Jew first and also of the Greek but glory honor and peace to everyone who works what is good to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For Here it is again.

There is no partiality. With God He executes perfect justice. He's not like us we judge by appearances. God looks upon the heart. So if we masquerade as a righteous man externally. But we're not righteous men.

Internally that is all exposed before God that hypocrisy is exposed. You're only fooling yourself and some other people God knows. We have to be men women and children of sincere earnest genuine faith that produces Obedience and it's filled with hope.

For our God does not show partiality. There's a lot of passages Ephesians 6 and don't turn there and you masters do the same things to them referring to their relationship to the slaves. Giving up threatening and knowing that your own master also is in heaven and There is no partiality with him.

Colossians 3 a little bit later in that section we quoted. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done and there is no partiality. God is fundamentally and comprehensively impartial in his dealings.

We are judging people and classifying people according to their attractiveness wealth status power. Clothing or any number of external measures. This message is for us. We do it. We rate people almost unconsciously.

What do they look like kind of car? Do they drive? What is their house? Like what do they do for a living? I. Because of our age in the 1980s the yuppie generation. The culture began to despise men who work with their hands and get dirty.

It was looked down upon. I think white-collar jobs were more appreciated now. The tide has turned probably in the last several years ten years where this has been esteemed again. This is right for it to happen.

But but the people who are in the white-collar jobs would say oh that guy doesn't have a very good education. Look, he's working in the trades very common honest hard work is pleasing to God. If we see a man with dirt under his fingernails.

We should say that man's probably out working hard for his family to make a living and not go. Ooh, he's gross. I don't want to shake his hand. We have to entirely think about people differently. Are we if we're going to love people the way God wants us to love?

From the law. Deuteronomy 10 says for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords the great God. This actually amazingly follows that incredible circumcise your heart passage. He's mighty and awesome who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.

He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow and Loves the stranger. I actually think because of James's very strong Judaism and Jewish faith and orientation in the law. He may have even been considering Deuteronomy 10 in this section because the widows and orphans and the partiality are so closely connected.

He loves the stranger. He gives him food and clothing therefore love the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy 1 says you shall not show partiality and judgment. You shall hear the small as well as the great you shall not be afraid in.

Any man's presence for the judgment is God's. There's a flip side to this that I'd like to apply.

If we are.

Have a tendency to be respecters of persons. It also causes us to be sheepish and fearful in the presence of mere men. A.

Proper.

Application of the no partiality principle is that we stand before God and are accepted we could stand before a mere man or a king a rich man with power and Influence. We we may shudder in his presence because we could fear what he may do to us.

We are commanded by scripture to be men of stronger backs than that women who have stronger resolve. John Knox it was said of he never feared any man. That's the kind of people we have to be. It's not arrogant.

It's not conceited. It's viewing things as God views them. I am a man. He is a man. I am NOT going to bow down to the rich man because he's rich or powerful. I'm gonna stand firm and stand my ground and I'm going to Speak justly and honorably and righteously.

My righteousness is not going to be squelched by his power and his status. I'm going to speak the truth and.

Love.

Deuteronomy 15 says for the poor will never cease from the land. Therefore I command you saying you shall open your hand wide to your brother. To your poor and your needy in your land. These also the Proverbs say are the sayings of the wise.

It is not good to show partiality In judgment. Now, let's come back to our text here. James gives us a an example. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings. And you may know from that culture that they would wear a lot of their wealth particularly among the Greeks on their fingers.

And if you saw a man wearing gold rings and gemstones and even stacking them on top of each other. He was he was displaying his wealth. He says look at me. Look how much wealth I have. So immediately this man comes in and his gold and his gems are shining and he's got fine linen apparel.

He's he's got bright white garments on and now all the people start treating him with respect and honor. What's built into this favoritism is Selfish desire. Why do we bow in the presence of rich men and famous people.

We want to curry favor from them. This gets back to the very sinful desires of the heart of chapter 1. You're paying honor to people. It looks like it's outward, but it's really internal. I Want to run with the right crowd.

I want to be accepted by the the cool people the rich people the powerful people. So this partiality thing is not external so much it's manifested that way, but it's a matter of the desires of the heart.

A Rich man comes into the church. An unscrupulous pastor says we're gonna get some money for the church. It's an improper.

View.

This rich man comes and you pay attention to the one wearing The fine clothes and say to him you sit here in a good place. Here's a place of honor for you, sir. Let me dust it off here. Have a seat. And you also there should come into your assembly a poor man and filthy clothes.

And this word means vile filth. We see somebody they might have a stain on their shirt that the shirts been laundered. We see a stay. All of that guy is wearing a stained shirt. This is unlaundered laundry.

The the vileness is hanging and stinking off of his garment. We better push this guy To the side. You can sit down here at my feet. I don't even be able to look at you or smell. You sit down here at my feet.

I'm gonna look past you and give my attention to another. And you say to the rich man you sit here in the good place. Say to the poor man you stand there or sit here at my footstool. As you know, the foot is the place of dishonor and the ancient Near East.

Question is asked by James. Have you not shown partiality among yourselves? Become judges with evil thoughts. Any appeals here to our reason and the testimony of Scripture? Listen verse 5 says 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.

Several members of my family have been with me to Myanmar. They are crazy poor and rich in faith. They're happier than Americans by a long shot.

They are.

Blessed they're heirs of the kingdom. They are content with having a house with boards that are slats not entirely closed. They have a they're happy to have a bowl of rice and to in the rainy season to sleep under the cover of a shelter.

Bliss.

Happy. We're an ungrateful people. We're a rich people. We are a people who are prone to Partiality and I dare say it's stealing our joy. Can you keep up with the celebrities in their lifestyle? Can you ever spend your way to happiness, this is the new American way.

Buy this and you'll be happy. Wear this dress. Carry this purse. It's not gonna make you happy. The Lord has chosen. This isn't the poor in spirit. This is the economic poor of this world to be rich in faith.

And.

Heirs of the kingdom. Verse six, but you have dishonored the poor man. Whether. Side observation. The vast majority of Christians in the first century. Were extremely poor. Many Jewish people who came to Christ.

We've already mentioned this in passing. They lost their livelihoods and their fortunes when they came to Christ. So for you to come in and say the poor are cursed. The poor have not the blessing of God.

The vast majority of the people in that day members of the churches were of lowly estate. Our Lord Jesus in the incarnation came into relative peasantry in his family. The offering that was given for him that his in the temple was the poor man's offering.

You remember that. Talk about it around Christmastime. We cannot dishonor the poor man. We can't dishonor the Gentile. We can't dishonor the person of ignoble birth. We have to honor all whom Christ has accepted.

And he continues. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? Truly it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Why? Because he operates in a world system that honors rich. He just writes a check for his problems. He doesn't have to pray. He doesn't have to ask his brethren for help. Oh people of God we. We need to be the kind of people who?

Truly love our brethren in the Lord. Someone to ask you the question. This requires you to make the application in. What ways in your life do you show partiality? How do you in your mind discriminate?

Out there in the world would you accept man wearing tattered clothes into the assembly? Would you accept a brother who has some quirky theological positions into the assembly? I believe the scriptural answer our answer should be yes.

And we need to identify. Everything in us that is contrary to the nature of God and his perfect justice. Contrary to the positive example that we have in Christ. And our own minds and eyes know it if we were to show partiality in the church.

How destructive would that be to Christian unity peace and fellowship? Huge theme it's New Testament.

Unity of the body.

We're coming to the table. In a few moments the bread in the cup signify our union with Christ and with one another. How could we look down our nose at the brother. Down the way from us taking the Lord's Supper.

If Christ has accepted them We can accept them. And if they're an unbeliever and they want to hear the message of Christ and be accepted.

We accept them may the Lord.

Make us a people who show no favoritism. Make may the Lord make us a people who seek real justice out in the world. Who? Who get in the way of the rich who are dragging the poor into court? The the Christian Church should probably have a campaign to shut down the payday loan business Charging people 20 something percent.

I don't know what it is for a day or two of Borrowing money so they can make it to payday. Those are unjust Weights and measures. There's a whole world of application For us to consider and also be bold be courageous be like John Knox.

Fear no man you have Christ. Now the last thing I'm going to tell you is God's partiality is upheld. Or impartiality I should say is upheld in the person and work of Christ. All who believe in him are saved.

You say well Is it unfair for the elect to get in and the non elect to not get in and the answer is no because the elect have been united to Christ and Righteous judgment demands that that Christ be exalted and that all who are with him be accepted in the beloved God's perfect justice.