You Are Important To God.
The Book of James • Sermon • Submitted
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· 478 viewsGod loves you the same as he does anyone else.
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I. Introduction
I. Introduction
We have heard many sermons on the attributes of God. By attributes I mean Characteristics.
Omnipotence - God is all powerful. He has the power to do all things. He has power over Nature, Sickness and disease, Death, Power to forgive sins.
Omnipresent - He is everywhere at one time in full power.
Omniscient - He knows all things at all times. He never forgets. He cannot learn anything knew.
All loving.
perfectly loving and perfect just - HE is perfectly HOLY.
However, one attribute of God we talk very little about is the attribute of impartiality. God has no favorites.
James opens a new idea in Chapter 2. Most of the time we James gets ready to begin a new idea, he begins with My Brothers. Read with me beginning in Chapter 2
1 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? 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?
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 guilty of 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. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
This attribute of God is found from beginning to end in the scriptures.
Old Testament.
17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
17 You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’
23 These also are sayings of the wise.
Partiality in judging is not good.
21 To show partiality is not good,
but for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.
Prov
9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”
7 Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”
New Testament
35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;
It is clear God is an impartial God. God does not have favorites.
II. Message
II. Message
God shows no favoritism based off
1. Economics.
1. Economics.
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,”
James 2
The idea behind a Gold ring literally means Gold Fingered. It was a common practice among well to do jews and gentiles to wear rings on all their fingers to show off wealth and social status. There were actually stores to where when they really wanted to show off they would go and rent rings to where to show off their wealth and social status. It would turn the heads of those around them.
God is not impressed with your wallet. A Fat wallet will not turn God’s Head. A fat tithe check will not turn God’s head.
It is easy for church’s to show favoritism to those who tithe much. Let me teach you something about tithing. Tithing is never a case of equal giving but equal sacrifice.
There are some giving 10% that is sinning just as much as those who are giving 5%. It is not equal giving but equal sacrifice. We do not live under the law but under grace. Where this idea of when I reach giving 10%, I am doing good came from I have no clue. It is not scriptural. God loves a cheerful giver.
38 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
43 And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.”
38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Mark 14:
God is partial toward those who tithes more than you do. Your wallet does not turn my God’s head.
The sin in this verse is not one being rich and one being poor the sin is in the distinction of them. Treating one different than the other.
2. Sin.
2. Sin.
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 guilty of 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. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:8-
I do not know anyone who does not struggle with this. Satan has many of us convinced that our past has some how created this wall that cannot be broken down to have a close access with God.
Many are haunted and bogged down in their past. Their past is like a weight that ensnares them or chains them and limits them to certain access to God.
We say jokingly but in our hearts we mean it. People will call the pastor and say things like this, Preacher you have better access to God than I do, will you please pray for me and my family. Or Preacher I know God listens to you, will you please pray for me.
Sin has created a barrier between mankind and God. All of us have been separated from God. James tells in verse 10 if you fail the law in one area you become guilty of the entire law.
This means the murderer, adulterer, the drug dealer, prostitute, is no worse or no better off than the self righteous church member who does not have a relationship with Jesus. When I was growing up, I never tasted alcohol, drugs, had no addictions other than hunting and fishing, but I want you to know because sin has caused me to be dead. And once you are dead you cannot get more dead. Dead is dead. In God’s eyes I was the same as the murderer in the jail house.
You see we like to class people according to their sins but God does not. You are either dead or alive. We get bogged down in good deeds and bad deeds when we need to get bogged down in dead people and alive in Christ.
Sin has caused us to be dead. Christ brings us alive. Dead is dead.
I want you to know, God does not care what sin you have committed, what your past looks like. You cannot get anymore dead than dead but I also want you to know you cannot get anymore righteous than the righteousness of Christ.
The bible reads:
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Therefore when a soul in the attitude of their heart repents and trust in the cross as their forgiveness of sins then they exchange lives with Jesus Christ. Positionally that person becomes as righteous as Jesus. You cannot get anymore righteous than Jesus.
There are two kinds of people
Dead people
Alive People.
We need to see the Gospel as bringing dead people alive. It is just as a new birth as if you were to enter mother’s womb and be born again.
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Micah 7:19
19 He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.
III. Conclusion.
III. Conclusion.
Do not let Satan convince you that your past is to sinful to be forgiven or even to sinful to be used by God. You hold on to this. Your sin has not caused you to be dead more than anyone else in this world and the cross has not made one alive more than anyone else in this world. You cannot have a sin greater than the cross. The cross is always greater than your sin. You are important to God. He can make you alive.