Sermon Tone Analysis

There was a bank in Chicago that was considering hiring a Young man from Boston… they requested a letter of recommendation from his previous employer - The Boston Investment House.

They received the letter and quickly found that they couldn’t say enough about the young man…

In the letter, they wrote: “His father was a Cabot; his mother was a Lowell.... Further back was a happy blend of Saltonstalls, Peabodys, and several other of Boston’s first families… His recommendation is given without hesitation.”

Several days later, the Chicago Bank sent a note and let them know that their recommendation was completely inadequate, it read: “We are not contemplating using the young man for breeding purposes.

Just for work.

Is he a competent and capable worker?”

The Bible is VERY clear… God does not show favoritism.

Favoritism is partiality or bias or prejudice.

It involves the formation of opinions about a person based on factors that have nothing to do with their character or behavior.

Here’s the truth…

Favoritism is prejudgment based on superficial things — When we show favoritism, neither the person benefitting from it, nor the person being oppressed by it has control over it.

James tells us: A Faith That Works, shows no favoritism!

Showing favoritism is to discriminate against someone based on outward physical conditions…

(I ask you…)

Is that what Christ wants?

What He desires?

Is that what He did?

Easter Sunday is the perfect time for us to consider these questions… because Easter is when we contemplate the Cross and the resurrection… and when we celebrate it!

When Christ completed His work on the Cross, did He play favorites?

Favoritism is incongruent with God’s Character.

Even the Apostle Peter came face-to-face with this truth when he was sent to Cornelius’s home…

Look what he says after the experience:

God does not show favoritism, and — as His children — we shouldn’t either!

Now listen — When the Church shows favoritism, it walks away from God!

Many years ago… Mahatma Ghandi considered becoming a Christian…

He had read the Gospels and was moved by them…

It seemed to him that Christianity offered a solution to the “caste system” that plagued his people in India…

But then, one Sunday, He visited a local church.

He had decided to talk to the pastor about salvation…

BUT, when he entered the church, which consisted of mostly white people, the ushers refused to give him a seat.

They told him to go and worship with his own people.

Ghandi left and never went back, saying: “If Christians have caste differences also, I might as well remain Hindu.”

How sad is that?!

When we play favoritism, we rob People of God and God of people!

The Word tells us not to do that…

James challenges us to be “Doers of God’s Word.”

That means setting aside our own ideas and habits and tackling one of the greatest challenges for humans, AND for the Church!

And that is Favoritism…

The problems of prejudice and the respect of persons is a problem that has to be faced in new ways in EVERY GENERATION!!!!

It is not a new problem.

In James’s day, the problem was between rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, Roman and barbarian…

Today, it is between rich and poor, management and labor, educated and uneducated, white and black, American and foreign, straight and gay, young and old, godly and ungodly....

The problem is still here… even in the Church!

Can I tell you?

This has less to do with the “glory of the Lord,” and everything to do with the “glory of our Faith”, which is Christ!

James is saying that we cannot hold on to the glory of our faith in the Lord and hold on to favoritism at the same time!

Showing favoritism or prejudice runs counter to the character of Christ, AND our faith in Him.

Jesus identified Himself with everyone, even the poor and oppressed.

Do we?!

It is easy for us to walk around with an unpublished list in our minds of those who are desirable and who are not…

It’s easy to judge people by their wealth — how they are dressed, what kind of car they drive, where they live and work…

It’s easy to judge people by their education — where did they go to school?

Do they have higher education?

Do they sound smart and sophisticated?

It’s easy to judge people by their looks — are they old or young?

Good looking or ugly?

Fat or thin?

What is their nationality or skin color?

I have seen “Church People” — “Christians” — from all walks of life, do this over and over!

Do you know what the #1 cause of atheism is?

— Christians… who judge and discriminate against people who don’t “fit their mold” of a “good person”… instead of sharing the Love, Grace, and Mercy that Christ shared on the Cross.

Judgment — Favoritism — discrimination — bias — is SIN!

Favoritism — prosōpolēmpsia - “to make unjust distinctions between people by _________.”

comes from two words — “to receive” and “face”.

In other words, it means “to receive by face” — to evaluate a person solely on the basis of surface characteristics.

James gives us an illustration of this:

Let’s look at this hypothetically:

“Suppose two visitors come to worship one Sunday”

The first is a man named Joe — he is a poor, homeless man…

Joe comes in a shabby old coat and a dirty hat…

He hasn’t shaved in days and reeks of B.O. and alcohol…

How are we as a congregation going to treat him?

Will we welcome him warmly?

Will we be willing to get to know him and try to help him?

Will we sit next to him in service?

BUT … before we can even decide… another man comes in....

We know him!

His name is Bill… He is wealthy… in fact, he is one of the wealthiest men in the world....

What if Bill Gates walked through our doors?

How would we treat him?

Better yet.... What happened to Joe? Did anyone notice him?

The truth is: BOTH visitors are just men with souls; equally loved by God!

Neither is more important than the other…

We SHOULD treat both men with the same LOVE that God has shown us.... Amen?

But we don’t, do we?

This exact “hypothetical” story happened one Sunday at Bel Aire Presbyterian Church.

You see… then Governor Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, often attended there, and they always sat in the same seats…

One Sunday, they were running late, and two college students sat in their seats…

Well, when the Reagan’s showed up, the usher came down the aisle and asked the students to move…

They did, without any complaints, and the usher then sat the Governor and his wife in their usual seats.

The pastor witnessed the whole thing, and … to his credit… immediately left the pulpit and went to the students…

He apologized and said, “As long as I’m working with this church, what just happened to you will never happen again!”

Sadly, favoritism like this happens way to often in the Church....

But it shouldn’t!

The Church should be the one place in this world where things that serve to classify and separate people must not be allowed — They should be left at the door!

The Church MUST be a place where all people are equally loved and valued.

The Church is not a place to worship people — it is a place to worship GOD!!!!

We are to be taking the same Love that Christ poured out on us on the Cross, and pouring it out on the people around us — the people we come into contact with EVERYDAY!!!

During WWII, “houses” were established to promote fellowship among the soldiers…

A sign was placed above the doors that read: “Abandon all rank, all ye who enter here.”