James 2:8-13: Partiality is sin because it violates the kingdom law of love for neighbor
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
Welcome
Song: Joy of the Lord
Song: Joy of the Lord
Song: Forever Reign
Song: Forever Reign
Bumper Video
Bumper Video
Introduction: What does impartiality have to do with wholeness and purpose?
Introduction: What does impartiality have to do with wholeness and purpose?
The overarching theme of James is wholeness and purpose
He wants his readers to live lives of wholeness and purpose in faith in Christ
In chapter 2 he starts to move into the concept that wholeness and purpose are not just individual realities, but community ones.
Therefore, learning to live lives of wholeness in Christ means not just thinking about my individual faith and relationship with God, but how that faith expresses itself in works, particularly toward other people in my community.
So for the first 12 verses, James is talking about how the sin of partiality and favoritism, and how that sin makes it impossible to form whole and purposeful communities centered around the gospel.
Last week we covered the first 7 verses, where we focused on partiality that results from faulty judgments of people according to external parameters. This week, we’ll go a little bit deeper with James into partiality that stems from broken and hurting hearts.
LISTENING PAGE - WHAT PASSAGE ARE WE LEARNING FROM? OT OR NT?
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.
I. James’ metric for doing well is obedience to the royal law
I. James’ metric for doing well is obedience to the royal law
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
James gives a basic argument here, which we might see more clearly if we look at his reasoning in reverse: You know you are doing well if you truly fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”
LISTENING PAGE - WHO SHOULD WE LOVE
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR as YOURSELF
What is the “royal law”
This might be a sort of metaphor to mean “supreme” or “highest” law, and it has a sense of that here
But it probably is actually a little bit more literal - the law that belongs to or comes from the king, namely Jesus
LISTENING PAGE - WHO IS THE KING?
James is putting Jesus on equal footing with the Scriptures
He is saying that we are doing well if we truly fulfill the Law as understood, taught, and expounded upon by Jesus
Why then does James quote a specific command, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”?
Love for neighbor is the command upon which all of the law and prophets hang
James is quoting Leviticus 19:18 and alluding to Jesus’ teaching on it
Leviticus 19:18
18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
In Matthew 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 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. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Love for God and love for neighbor, according to king Jesus, summarize the entire law
In this sense, for James to refer to love for neighbor as the “royal law” means both that it is the law that belongs to and comes from king Jesus, and the law that is foundational and quintessential
What does this royal law have to do with the sin of partiality?
Luke gives a different perspective on the account from Matthew 22 in Luke 10:25-28
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
This time, Jesus is further challenged and asked who counts as a neighbor, to which Jesus responds with a story Luke 10:29-37
Without going too deep into this text, Jesus’ point is that we should be a neighbor to everyone
Fulfilling this law requires that one love their neighbor as themselves
Their neighbor means everyone equally
How do we know if we are “doing well?”
If we obey the royal law - if we are obedient to Jesus
Specifically, James is saying our obedience to king Jesus will be seen in the way that we love (or don’t love) our neighbor
Who is our neighbor? Everyone! We must love all impartially.
II. Partiality is a violation of the royal law
II. Partiality is a violation of the royal law
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.
Now James moves to another fairly straight forward point: If you show partiality, you are violating that royal law of neighbor love, committing sin and are thus convicted by the law as transgressors
This is where James really begins to turn up the heat on us with regard to the sin of partiality
Transgressor is a legal term meaning law breaker - if you show partiality you are a criminal in the eyes of God
This is carrying forward the idea from last week, where James said in James 2:4 that to show favoritism means we have “made distinctions and become judges with evil thoughts.”
Favoritism isn’t simply rude or socially frowned upon, or regrettably sad, it’s evil and it makes a person a criminal in God’s sight
“But wait!” we say, because doesn’t that sound harsh? James is saying that to break even one little command condemns us as criminals?
First, it’s not one little command, but rather the royal law, the command upon which all other commands depend
Second of all, James says, failing in one part of the law constitutes guilt with regard to the entire law
James 2:10
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
Illustration: Guilt is not a scale that can be balanced by good deeds
If you live a life of many good deeds and then murder someone, your good deeds do not cancel out your guilt
Adherence to many good laws does not cover up or protect you from breaking one law
James’s reason why breaking one command puts us on the hook for everything is based not upon the law itself but rather upon the one who gave the law
The same one who said “do not commit adultery” also said “do not murder”
Who is that one? God!
James is saying that ultimately the sin of partiality isn’t serious simply because it breaks the specific command to love our neighbor, but rather because it is disobedience against the highest possible authority
All sin is extraordinarily serious because it constitutes outright rebellion against God himself
Which is one reason we shouldn’t “grade” sins in terms of which ones are worse in the eyes of God
Not all sin has equal immediate consequences, but all sin is equally condemning in the eyes of a perfectly holy God
James’ example of murder and adultery James 2:11
This example at first glance seems to be inverted
Usually people will justify their sin by appealing to another more serious sin that they haven’t committed
For example, you might hear someone who lied on their taxes say “at least I haven’t killed anyone!”
But you wouldn’t probably hear a murderer say, “well at least I’ve never cheated on a test at school”
So why does James prove his point about one transgression meaning conviction by talking about the person who doesn’t commit adultery but does murder?
Both of these commands are part of the ten commandments (Deut. 5:17-18)
Both of these commands carried the death penalty in the OT
Both of these commands were specifically taught on by Jesus in the sermon on the mount
Interestingly, Jesus’ teaching about murder in the sermon on the mount provides key insights into James’ point here
LISTENING PAGE - Jesus taught is in “The SERMON ON THE MOUNT.”
In the eyes of Jesus, anyone who is angry with his brother and insults him has committed murder
“Insult” in that text is an elusive greek term “Raca” that is often translated “fool,” “numbskull,” “idiot”
It really means something like “empty-head” or “nothing”
So to speak to or treat someone like they are a “nothing” is as bad as murder
James is saying that by their partiality and dishonor of people, especially the poor (but not limited to the poor), his readers are treating them like they are nothing, and so while they may be able to say they don’t commit adultery, they are in fact guilty of murder.
Why is partiality and favoritism such a serious sin?
Because for us to show partiality and favoritism is to treat some people like they are nothing
It is to devalue and diminish people such that we are treating them as if they are invisible or they don’t exist, that they are nothing
And in the eyes of Jesus, we might as well be guilty of murder
Have you ever been treated like a nothing?
Have you ever felt like nobody even knows you exist?
Have you ever been treated like you don’t matter?
Have you ever been spoken to like you don’t have any value?
If that’s happened to you, shame on the person who did that to you.
Have you treated anybody like they are nothing?
Have you made anyone feel like they don’t exist?
Have you treated people like they don’t matter?
Have you spoken to or about anyone as if they don’t have any value?
if you have done that to someone, you need to repent and make that right. You need to apologize and ask for forgiveness.
The truth is that we have all been both victim and oppressor in this regard. We have all participated in this kind of favoritism, partiality, and treating people as if they are nothing.
We should feel the weight of this. We should deeply consider the ways in which we have been harmed by this kind of treatment, and we should meditate on and repent of the ways we have treated other people like this.
Fortunately, James does not leave us in this place of condemnation. He closes with a word that simultaneously comforts us and challenges us.
III. We must judge each other as we are judged in Christ
III. We must judge each other as we are judged in Christ
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 ends with a principle that is profoundly applicable - we should judge each other as we are judged in Christ
Principle: Speak and act as those who will be judged under the law of liberty
Continuous verb tense: Always be speaking, constantly be acting
Speech and actions
Throughout the opening of this chapter, James has spoken of the sin of partiality in terms of what we say to people and how we treat people
We should treat people in our words and actions as people who will be judged under the law of liberty
Again, the “law of liberty” is the law of God as Jesus interpreted it, added to it, taught it, and applies it to his followers
James is reinforcing the idea that we have to do our faith, and he’s reinforcing that here in light of future judgment under this law of liberty
The law of liberty carries both the need for obedience as well as grace
We must obey God
Obedience to God does not merit his acceptance, grace or love
But his acceptance, grace and love must not be used to excuse disobedience
So ultimately we are dependent upon God’s mercy, grace and love
We should not, however, expect to rely upon God’s mercy if we refuse to extend mercy to others
James 2:13 is reiterating Jesus’ teaching on the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:7
Partiality and favoritism can be shown in inconsistent granting of mercy and compassion on those who had wronged you, which then shows up in anger, treating them like nothing, dishonor, etc.
Here is the idea that you will let things slide with some people but not others
Illustration: I HATE when people take food off of my plate
LISTENING PAGE - WHAT DOES PASTOR BRIAN HATE?
But I am partial in this to Kelsey, and will tolerate a small amount
But other people, NO.
But in all seriousness, partiality often looks like being willing to overlook faults with mercy for some people but not others.
Some people if they do a wrong, we will be quick to justify them, show the benefit of the doubt, be gracious
Other people we will jump on, assume the worst of, and portray as the devil of hell
We must not presume to rely upon the grace and mercy of God when we stand unwilling to impartially grant that same grace and mercy to others - instead, we should expect judgment without mercy.
But James does not want to end on such a somber note: he ends with a forceful statement that mercy triumphs over judgment
As God’s mercy has triumphed over his judgment for us, so our mercy must triumph over judgment impartially with others
Simply put, we have to judge others as we are judged in Christ
This is a profound statement, one that I can say in a breath and meditate on for a lifetime
Couple of practical thoughts
Judgment vs. mercy
Does this mean we practice no discernment with each other? No - for you to ignore my sin is not mercy, compassion or love, because my sin will kill me and if you truly care deeply about my wellbeing you will care about my sin.
BUT we all know there is a way of perceiving, discerning, calling out and critiquing another persons sin that has nothing to do with mercy, compassion, or concern for their well being.
So we must have discernment, and even in a sense “judgment” with one another, but nonetheless James’ point stands, that mercy triumphs over judgment.
Is there anyone from whom you have withheld mercy? Is there anyone who has wronged you that you refuse to have grace with?
Conclusion: How should we respond?
Conclusion: How should we respond?
Ultimately, our mercy for others must triumph over judgment without favoritism or partiality because God’s mercy triumphs over judgment impartially.
Where does that happen? At the cross.
In offering himself on the cross, Jesus absorbed all of the judgment of God so that all that remains for us is mercy.
So in Christ, God freely offers mercy, redemption and restoration. He does not show partiality or favoritism - anyone who places their faith and trust in Jesus is granted mercy.
We have to respond to that.
By faith in Jesus.
By loving others likewise without favoritism or partiality.
LISTENING PAGE - HOW CAN YOU SHOW MERCY? IS THERE SOMEONE YOU NEED TO BE NICER TO? WHO?
Thinking about these kind of questions can help us become people who love others like God has loved us.
Transition to Communion
Song: Run to the Father
Song: Run to the Father
Song: Holy Holy Holy
Song: Holy Holy Holy
Benediction:
Benediction:
May we be a people learning to love and treat others as God has loved and treated us in Christ.