~ No Partiality ~
James 2.1-8
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
James is telling Christians, "Don't treat one sort of person better than other sorts of people." To do so is to show favoritism or partiality. James isn't, however, claiming that everyone is the same. It's ridiculous to say such a thing, when there are obvious distinctions between people.
There are black people and there are white people.
There are smart people and there are dumb people.
There are beautiful people and there are ugly people.
There are poor people and there are rich people.
There are men and there are women.
The Bible never tells us that there are no distinctions, only that all people in every distinction have the same worth and value before God. In Galatians 3.26-28, Paul says, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In all the examples Paul gives, one of each pair is (in Paul's day and age, if not mirrored in ours) esteemed (and treated) as better than the other. Paul isn't saying that there's no such thing as Jew or Greek, or slave or free, or male or female; just look around and you'll see these distinctions everywhere. What Paul's saying is that in Christ, we are all equal. In Christ, our primary identity is that of brothers and sisters in the family of God. In every pair Paul presents, despite what society says, both are to be treated with equal value and worth.
Men are not to be favored over women (though, in our day and age, the inverse may need to be emphasized); Greeks are not to be favored over Jews; free people are not to be favored over slaves. This is because Christians, regardless of their station in life, are all 100% children of God. We are all brothers and sisters on equal footing, with equal worth and value. None is better than the other, and it's important THAT WE LIVE LIKE IT. It's in our nature to treat some people better than others, but this part of our nature is sinful. God doesn't show partiality, and neither should we. We will come into contact with all sorts of people in the world and in the church, and we are called as Christians to love them regardless of their station in life (or even, dare we say it, their likability). None of us are likable all the time, but God loves us (and even likes us!) all of the time; and we need to reflect that love outwards to the world and especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
When we show partiality by treating some people as more worthy of our attention and love than others, we are sinning. James is quite clear about that. Instead of showing partiality, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. This command comes straight from Jesus; it's not just a cute, pithy statement. But what does it mean to love people? Christian love is rooted in self-sacrifice. It's about giving yourself to others, treating others as if they are more important than you. Christian love is about looking out for other peoples' interests over our own. Worldly love is based on feelings and infatuation, and it ultimately revolves around the self; this kind of love is about getting, not giving: "What does this person do for me?" When the person we love stops fulfilling us the way we want, the world says to walk away; but Christian love doesn't walk away, it just keeps on loving, it keeps on giving. What this means is that we're to treat others with kindness, respect, and value. We're to give of ourselves - our time, our energy, our money, even our own selves - to promote the wholeness of others. We're to love others the way God loves us, forgiving them and looking out for their best interests. And we're to do this even to those people in our lives who aren't likable; even more, we're to do this to our enemies. If we treat people according to how they love us, or how they benefit us, or according to what they bring to the table, our love is worldly in nature, and by definition it shows favoritism and partiality. Such a worldly love goes against what God demands of His people.
~ Sin, Transgression, and the Law of Liberty ~
There are black people and there are white people.
There are smart people and there are dumb people.
There are beautiful people and there are ugly people.
There are poor people and there are rich people.
There are men and there are women.
The Bible never tells us that there are no distinctions, only that all people in every distinction have the same worth and value before God. In Galatians 3.26-28, Paul says, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." In all the examples Paul gives, one of each pair is (in Paul's day and age, if not mirrored in ours) esteemed (and treated) as better than the other. Paul isn't saying that there's no such thing as Jew or Greek, or slave or free, or male or female; just look around and you'll see these distinctions everywhere. What Paul's saying is that in Christ, we are all equal. In Christ, our primary identity is that of brothers and sisters in the family of God. In every pair Paul presents, despite what society says, both are to be treated with equal value and worth.
Men are not to be favored over women (though, in our day and age, the inverse may need to be emphasized); Greeks are not to be favored over Jews; free people are not to be favored over slaves. This is because Christians, regardless of their station in life, are all 100% children of God. We are all brothers and sisters on equal footing, with equal worth and value. None is better than the other, and it's important THAT WE LIVE LIKE IT. It's in our nature to treat some people better than others, but this part of our nature is sinful. God doesn't show partiality, and neither should we. We will come into contact with all sorts of people in the world and in the church, and we are called as Christians to love them regardless of their station in life (or even, dare we say it, their likability). None of us are likable all the time, but God loves us (and even likes us!) all of the time; and we need to reflect that love outwards to the world and especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
When we show partiality by treating some people as more worthy of our attention and love than others, we are sinning. James is quite clear about that. Instead of showing partiality, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. This command comes straight from Jesus; it's not just a cute, pithy statement. But what does it mean to love people? Christian love is rooted in self-sacrifice. It's about giving yourself to others, treating others as if they are more important than you. Christian love is about looking out for other peoples' interests over our own. Worldly love is based on feelings and infatuation, and it ultimately revolves around the self; this kind of love is about getting, not giving: "What does this person do for me?" When the person we love stops fulfilling us the way we want, the world says to walk away; but Christian love doesn't walk away, it just keeps on loving, it keeps on giving. What this means is that we're to treat others with kindness, respect, and value. We're to give of ourselves - our time, our energy, our money, even our own selves - to promote the wholeness of others. We're to love others the way God loves us, forgiving them and looking out for their best interests. And we're to do this even to those people in our lives who aren't likable; even more, we're to do this to our enemies. If we treat people according to how they love us, or how they benefit us, or according to what they bring to the table, our love is worldly in nature, and by definition it shows favoritism and partiality. Such a worldly love goes against what God demands of His people.
~ Sin, Transgression, and the Law of Liberty ~
James 2.9-12
For whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles in one point only has become guilty of all of it. For the one 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. Thus speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty.
James says that those who break one point of God's law become guilty of breaking all of it. Though he quotes the Mosaic laws against adultery and murder, he has in mind here the showing of partiality. Those who show partiality or favoritism are as guilty before God as if they'd committed adultery or murdered! 'Transgression' means breaking the law, but it's not the same thing as sin. All transgression of God's law is sin, but not all sin is transgression. To 'sin' is to 'miss the mark' of living - in thought and deed - as is fitting for God's image-bearing creature. This involves both things we do wrong and things we don't do that are right. Breaking even one of God's laws renders us guilty before God, the ultimate Judge. While God detests some sins more than others - He has a particular loathing, for example, of divorce, homosexual activities, and the abuse of children - ALL sin puts us in a guilty standing before God. The seriousness of showing partiality is emphasized by putting it on the same level as murder and adultery.
James says that we are to speak and act (i.e. live) according to the 'law of liberty.' This law of liberty is elsewhere called the law of freedom or the law of Christ, and this law is, simply, the way of living that God expects of His image-bearing creatures. Thus James is saying, "Be watchful of the things you say and do, because you will be judged according to the standard that God has set." But why does James choose to call it the 'law of liberty'? Perhaps he wishes to distance it from the Mosaic Law; the Mosaic Law was given to the Israelites, and much of it has been abolished by Christ, since much of it was tailored towards keeping the Jewish people intact so that they would be ready when Messiah came. The 'law of liberty,' in contrast to the Mosaic Law, is all about ethics (the Mosaic Law, while containing a lot of ethics, also contained a lot of laws made redundant by Christ's sacrifice and the establishment of the New Covenant). The rules and regulations that Christians are to follow aren't meant to constrain us; they're designed to enable us to flourish. God designed us to operate in certain ways; there's a particular manner of life that is appropriate for human beings, and when we operate in contrary ways (by sin and transgression), we're dysfunctional and sabotaging our attempts at a fully-flourishing and abundant life.
But why, again, does he call it liberty? Why is Christ's law - the law of the New Covenant - a law of liberty? Here, perhaps, our modern connotations with the word 'liberty' do us a disservice. Nowadays liberty or freedom are taken to mean a license to do as we please. This isn't what these words mean in the biblical sense. Look at it this way: in the days of great sailing ships, a ship was said to be 'at liberty' on the sea when it's sails were unfurled and it was running with the wind rather than against the wind. By running with the wind, the ship was able to reach its full potential; it was doing precisely that which it was designed to do. In the same way, human beings are 'at liberty' when they are reaching their full potential and living in the way that they were created to live. The 'law of liberty,' when embraced, leads to a fully-flourishing human existence; when we run against the wind of God's directives and design, we're failing to experience the life God wishes us to have.
~ Show Mercy ~
James 2.13
For judgment is merciless to the one who has not practiced mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
In Matthew 5.7 Jesus says that the merciful will be shown mercy. This is a thoroughly biblical idea: when the Final Judgment takes place, and we are judged for the things we did during our lives, the way we treated others will be taken into account. God will be merciful towards those who showed mercy to others, but he will strictly judge 'by the book' those who did not. This isn't to say, of course, that the merciful will be saved by their mercy (for salvation comes only through Jesus), but that the merciful outside Christ will be judged less severely than if they hadn't shown mercy (though their judgment will remain, unquestionably, a negative experience). Mercy carries a certain currency with God. He esteems mercy. Mercy is a reflection of God's own heart, and those who have not been severely dehumanized are able to show mercy. Christians, despite their state before conversion, are filled with the Spirit and enabled to show mercy - and God expects us to show mercy, because He has shown mercy to us. Our mercy towards others doesn't justify us, but it will certainly garnish us some rewards in the new heavens and new earth.
"What, though, is mercy?" If we are to show mercy to others, it'd be helpful if we knew precisely what 'mercy' is all about. Mercy is compassion or forgiveness towards someone whom you would be justified in punishing or causing harm to. Grace is different than mercy; it is 'mercy on steroids.' Mercy is sparing someone from something bad; grace is giving something good to someone who deserves the opposite. Mercy is the removal of a negative consequence; grace is both the removal of the negative consequence and the addition of a positive blessing. We can see how mercy and grace work differently by analogy. Say a man stands trial for grand theft auto, and his due penalty is five years in the state penitentiary. If the judge pardons him so that he doesn't have to serve jail time, the judge is practicing mercy towards the thief; but if the judge not only pardons him but also gives him a Mercedes free-of-charge, that's grace.
God shows us mercy by pardoning us our sin so that we don't have to pay for it - but then he goes a step beyond and shows us grace by adopting us as his children and gifting us with all sorts of spiritual blessings and making room for us in his new heavens and new earth. We as Christians have received mercy, so we need to show mercy. Remember how Jesus said that if we don't forgive others, then we ourselves won't be forgiven? The point he's making is that those who have been forgiven by God, and who know the depth of that forgiveness, have a natural (or should we say supernatural?) bent towards forgiving others, even when it hurts. In like manner, those who have been shown mercy by Jesus will be predisposed towards showing mercy to others. They will speak and act in a way that is consistent with what they claim to believe; those who trust in God, who are in Christ, will show mercy to others. Of course, they won't be perfect in showing mercy. Christians still sin, in this and other ways. But trust in the God of mercy drives us to show mercy, at least as a matter of principle. One who never shows mercy, or rarely shows it, is not one who trusts in Christ, and God will not judge that person with mercy.
"What, though, is mercy?" If we are to show mercy to others, it'd be helpful if we knew precisely what 'mercy' is all about. Mercy is compassion or forgiveness towards someone whom you would be justified in punishing or causing harm to. Grace is different than mercy; it is 'mercy on steroids.' Mercy is sparing someone from something bad; grace is giving something good to someone who deserves the opposite. Mercy is the removal of a negative consequence; grace is both the removal of the negative consequence and the addition of a positive blessing. We can see how mercy and grace work differently by analogy. Say a man stands trial for grand theft auto, and his due penalty is five years in the state penitentiary. If the judge pardons him so that he doesn't have to serve jail time, the judge is practicing mercy towards the thief; but if the judge not only pardons him but also gives him a Mercedes free-of-charge, that's grace.
God shows us mercy by pardoning us our sin so that we don't have to pay for it - but then he goes a step beyond and shows us grace by adopting us as his children and gifting us with all sorts of spiritual blessings and making room for us in his new heavens and new earth. We as Christians have received mercy, so we need to show mercy. Remember how Jesus said that if we don't forgive others, then we ourselves won't be forgiven? The point he's making is that those who have been forgiven by God, and who know the depth of that forgiveness, have a natural (or should we say supernatural?) bent towards forgiving others, even when it hurts. In like manner, those who have been shown mercy by Jesus will be predisposed towards showing mercy to others. They will speak and act in a way that is consistent with what they claim to believe; those who trust in God, who are in Christ, will show mercy to others. Of course, they won't be perfect in showing mercy. Christians still sin, in this and other ways. But trust in the God of mercy drives us to show mercy, at least as a matter of principle. One who never shows mercy, or rarely shows it, is not one who trusts in Christ, and God will not judge that person with mercy.
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