GIST: Love everyone you meet with the same compassionate love Jesus has poured out for you.
SCRIPTURE: James 2:1-13
All across the world today, churches are facing an unprecedented Sunday. In the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, the CDC has recommended gatherings of more than 10 people be suspended. Because of this, Facebook Live and other online streaming formats are taking the place of many physical church meetings today. We’ve been streaming our services for several years now, but today the format will look significantly different. Like our snow-day services, I’ll be streaming from a chair at home instead of using the handicap ramp on our church’s stage as a balance beam ☺️. However, this doesn’t feel like a snow-day service. Those come out of the blue and, in Missouri, often disappear just as quickly. We do not know how long this outbreak will keep the doors of the churches closed. Therefore, I know this service comes with extra weight.
However, I’m not going to try to do a special “facing the Coronavirus” service today. I’ve tried to send words of encouragement throughout the week about perspectives we should keep while facing this trial, but today, I want us to continue our study through the book of James together. Why? Because “Church” isn’t over. Church is bigger than being able to physically meet together every week. Church is the body of Christ...wherever we may be… striving to live like Him, and love like Him, and grow closer to Him together in whatever ways we can. So, we’re going to keep walking through James together because I’m still convinced that the only “good” I can bring you is God’s Word, not mine. This is the portion of His Word He’s brought us to during this time as a church, and every week we’ve been in it so far has proven timely and convicting and necessary. I don’t want to try to pick and choose passages that might better speak to social distancing, because we need God’s truth no matter where we are physically.
Ok, so that was probably a longer introduction than necessary ☺️. Today, we’re actually starting James chapter 2, so let’s dive into that passage☺️. We’re going to work through the first 13 verses here this morning, but let’s just start by reading verse one which really works as a summary of the whole passage. →
“1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.”
At the end of chapter 1, James told us religion that is real and pure and meaningful is the result of a complete heart change. This transformation impacts what we surround ourselves with, how we speak, and how we treat others. In other words, it’s going to be evident in the way we live our lives. He ended that section by calling us to care for those rejected by society and get rid of the junk in our lives that gets in the way of us really living like we belong to Jesus. Chapter 2 continues with that call to actually live it!
Clearly from this opening verse, we see that we’re being called not to show partiality. This is bigger than just not treating some people like they have more value than others because the heart that leads to those kinds of actions is the real issue. So here’s our gist: Love everyone you meet with the same compassionate love Jesus has poured out for you.
I have three points for us with a lot of “Cs”. Let’s start by looking at that first verse where we’ll find the→
I. CONTEXT OF OUR COMPASSION (1)
“1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” Notice he’s talking to believers here. We know they are brothers and sisters in Christ because the context of this not showing partiality is while holding on to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Only Christians call Jesus Lord. And this is actually a huge point. Before we get into any of the other illustrations he uses to hammer this point home, let this sink in: the context of our love is that we have received this gift of faith from the Lord of Glory — the creator of the universe, the only One who is actually holy, the One True God — who humbled Himself by living a human life and taking on the Hell you deserved because He loves you with a love you could never do anything to earn. Man, that’s amazing grace! And if we’ve received that kind of grace, we should long to share that with the people around us... indiscriminately.
After laying this out, James then gives us an example that I would say illustrates the→
II. CONTENT OF OUR COMPASSION (2-4)
Look at verses 2-4 here. “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?”
This illustration is pretty straight forward, right? Especially in a country where we’ve been raised on “don’t judge a book by its cover” teachings, it is easy to skim over this with a kind of “yeah, yeah, I’ve got that one” attitude. “I won’t be mean to other ugly people. I won’t treat fancy people better. I won’t jump to conclusions or mistreat anyone based on appearances.” Man, it’s so easy to affirm that, but if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve probably all been in a place where we’ve let the reputation of an individual, positive or negative, directly impact how we treat them.
And when you look at this passage, it looks like the people doing the discriminating here are those leading people to their seats. Most likely, these would have been deacons or some kind of church leaders chosen for their perceived spiritual maturity, yet they were falling victim to this sin. That should definitely be a warning to us.
Furthermore, let’s make sure we don’t miss this. I think it’s easy to zero in on the mistreatment of the poor man and extra attention given to the rich man and take both as negatives. However, the only negative in the context of the rich man was that he was the only one receiving this treatment. Both should have been welcomed with open arms. Both should have been made to feel special, not because the church needs to try to make people want to stay, but because the church should see both of these individuals through the same lens! They are people who are in desperate need of realizing how much Jesus loves them, and we are His ambassadors!
So, when we treat one individual as more deserving of that than another, our actions are revealing our real motives. The nature of our hearts is on display, and James minces no words but calls this kind of judgment evil. Then, he gets into what I have called→
III. CONTENTIONS FOR OUR COMPASSION (6-7, 8-13)
Honestly, I probably was stretching a bit for some C-words at this point, but once you start a thing like that, you’re kind of commited ☺️. What James then wraps up this section with is a set of arguments, or contentions (see I wasn’t stretching too far ☺️), for why this kind of compassion should be a natural part of a true Christian life. Honestly, he’s already been alluding to both of these points, but he leaves no doubt here. The first argument could be called→
The Perspective Argument. At least, that’s what I’m calling it because James reminds us of both who we are and how that should impact how we see the world. Look first at verse 5→ “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?” This would have rung a bell for his original audience which was steep in the Old Testament. Verses like Deuteronomy 7:6-8, “6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” In a very real way, James is reminding these Christians that God doesn’t love people because of merits they have. He chooses to love them because of merits He has!
And that’s the bigger picture here. By nature, we are all the spiritually destitute. I know that sounds depressing, but it’s a reality that is fundamental to what it means to be a Christian. In the very first beatitude from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) True happiness is the result of being rescued from your sin. The first step to being rescued is realizing you need that, that you’re stuck in a pit of your own creation and you cannot save yourself. It’s when you have that perspective that you’re ready to look up and see Jesus reaching down to pull you out!
That’s why I called this the perspective the argument. When you remember that without Christ you’re completely without hope, it changes the way you look at everyone else. You shouldn’t treat other people as beneath you because you see that their needs are just as deep as yours, and you shouldn’t honor people based on the same criteria as the world...because it doesn’t make sense.
Look at how he develops that argument in verses 6-7. “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?” This isn’t saying rich people are evil. What James is pointing out is that the very people this original audience would have been tempted to honor because of their rank in society, were amongst the same people who were pushing the persecution of Christians. These people shouldn’t be mistreated, but they should be treated with the right perspective. Rather than fawn over them because of what their favor might mean to our position or condition, we need to remember that they are sinners heading to Hell who desperately need to see the love of the Jesus they are actively rejecting.
Do we need to hear this today? I think so. Just think about this question. In our culture, who are we making our heroes? Who do we elevate? Who do we fantasize about meeting? Now, what do they think about Jesus? Are we honoring people who are actively dishonoring God? If you meet them, treat them with the same love you would anyone else, but don’t forget how badly they need to hear about the Jesus you know.
That’s the perspective argument. He then ends with what I’ll call→
The Conversion Argument. This is a reminder that we love compassionately because we’ve been changed! We’re not who we once were. Look real quickly at verses 8-13.
“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.”
Here he lays out some central truths. If you’ve been saved, it is because you’ve realized that you’re a sinner in need of salvation. And it doesn’t matter what sins you have or have not committed, because every sin is failure to love God and love people as He has called us to. Therefore, if you’ve been saved, there should be a significant difference in the way you live. This should result in a real difference in how you treat people. Remembering your desperate condition as a complete law breaker, you’ll be merciful because you’ve been the recipient of mercy triumphing over judgment! So, is this real to you? Let’s just hit one quick→
TAKEAWAY
In fact, let’s just look back at that gist statement as our takeaway this morning: Love everyone you meet with the same compassionate love Jesus has poured out for you. You know, I said that this message wouldn’t necessarily be a “facing the Coronavirus” message, but maybe this is exactly what we need to remember today. In the face of everything that is going on, it is so easy to not only physically, but to emotionally isolate ourselves from one another. Our fears and our concerns and the fears and concerns of those most intimately connected to us, tend to slam front and center, so it’s easy to care less about the problems of those not immediately touching our bubble. A call not to show favoritism is a call to love widely, which is a call to love like Jesus who so loved the world that He came and died for all of us!
Times might seem uncertain, but don’t let fear steal your compassion. Remember, you’re greatly loved. How can you love greatly this week?
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