Transcription
Introduction
Please be opening in your Bibles to James chapter 2. James chapter 2. We’re going to spend our time in verses 1 through13 our entire time tonight. So you can just go ahead and camp out there and let’s go and get into this. So as a church, we want to grow. It’s been the conversation since I first became a part of the discussions of moving here and taking part in what we’ve got going in this community. And that’s been a lot of the focus having been put lead on our website project, if you want to call it that, having undergone a major change for the past year, we’ve put a lot of the effort into the outreach of inviting people to come and see what this congregation’s all about.
Our website says this, where truth meets life. Our message is all inclusive. And it’s one of those things that hopefully we’ve come back to see that all of the attempt that we’re trying to make is to have everyone understand that when they come here, what they see is what they get from the word. It is our source that we bring out to them in our relationships. And it does not falsify itself at all with their expectations and what they actually see when they come.
To have those dots line up are critical. To come and see that this is in fact where truth meets life means a lot. It means everything in line with what we’re talking about this month. The model of loving like Jesus or Jesus the model of love and us talking about that coming and seeing. Those are some really good intentions that we’ve got as a body of God’s people. Our aim is to do something really well for the sake of those that are seeking and desiring to come and be in a relationship with the Lord Jesus.
But these two ideas along with many other ideas bring the responsibility into this room for each and every one of you who are a member of the memorial church of Christ. And so it’s going to be really a homebased discussion tonight, almost a family meeting, if you will. More suitable, I would think, for a service in the evening like this, for us to have discussions that bring to mind a lot about what we’re going to see here, that if somebody were to respond to our invitation, then what?
To put it like this, are we ready for those who come and see? And that’s a really serious question. because it’s a really good idea. The intentions are really, really asserted well, but not if everyone is inclusive. Not if everyone finds themselves interested in what it is that’s taking place. So, I just want to ask this serious question. Are we even excited for people who might walk through that door? Have we put into mind what might be the next steps for the kind of people that would walk through that door?
And so really a strong question would be in light of this, are we ready for those who would come and see? Because here’s the truth. We don’t have a choice and we don’t get to pick of who’s going to be coming through those doors. And boy, they could be people that we would never expect. Somebody may come who knows very little about the Bible, whose life is complicated, whose clothes might be much different. Those who just don’t know how anything here goes on.
They may need help finding a class. They may need help feeling comfortable getting into a seat. Whatever the situation may be, there are a lot of different things to anticipate. They may need more patience [snorts] than we ever expected. Do we still want them here is the question. And we need to answer that before they arrive because our actions are going to answer it whenever they do. James chapter 2. I’ve got this on the screen. The rest we’ll be pulling from our scriptures. the Bible in just a moment to point out particularly the word we see there partiality.
James says, “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.” Notice that James connects showing no partiality directly to the faith that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. And for those who hear the word partiality and maybe there’s just this disconnection, I want to put the meaning here up. It’s treating one person as more worthy of your attention, respect, or kindness than any than another because of how they look, what they have, or how similar they are to you.
Continue reading in James chapter 2 verse two and let’s get this idea that James brings to mind for whenever someone enters the assembly. And notice again he’s talking to the church when he says my brothers in verse one. So verse two, if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 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 at my feet.”
you’ve made, have you not made distinctions among yourself and become judges with evil thoughts? So, one man hears you sit here in a good place while the other is told to stand over there or sit at someone’s feet. Both coming into the assembly and their treatment told two different stories about how much they mattered. Jesus said, and we talked about this in great detail last week, that by this the world will know if you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
And so this idea still sits with us tonight. What would these two men who came into the assembly have recognized by watching that congregation that James puts into this scenario? because that’s the very question that’s going to get aimed at us tonight and one that we all have to really work with and [snorts] wrestle with in a very personal way. And it’s not just something that the church leaders or those who are just more outgoing find themselves listening to this more than the others.
It is all of us guys. And so as we find ourselves in the middle of this conversation, we invite and we have ourselves inviting everyone to come and still make some people feel that they are in this way that is awkward once they arrive. That can’t happen. Think about how that would have you feel. Suppose I invite you to my house for a meal. You arrive a little bit early and then I come in after. I barely acknowledge you. I start playing with my children.
Whenever dinner is ready, you sit down and maybe I give you the look that, hey, that’s my chair. Through the meal, I talk to my family and you sit there trying to find a way into the conversation. Afterward, we settle down and we watch a movie and I leave you by yourself. Eventually, you go home. Would you believe that I was glad you came? I invited you. I fed you. And both of those things are earmarks to being a good guest or being a guest in someone’s home.
But then you spent the evening feeling that you were in someone’s way. Now bring that through the doors of this building. And we can say it all we want. You are our honored guest. But how far do we take that? We spend maybe all of our time with people we already know. A guest can hear our welcome and still have to work hard to be noticed. And the fact that we invited somebody doesn’t mean that we’ve necessarily received them. Well, if we ask people to come into this family, we must make room for them in the life of this family.
And that responsibility begins to us as brothers and sisters, including myself. We’re in this together. And this matters in the season that we’re in. Again, the outreach efforts, and there’s hopefully going to be many more as the seasons transition, and it’s always going to be one of those eb and flow kind of deals. But if the goal even through maybe the online outreach is successful, we put our invitation in front of people. But that outreach can’t take place of us loving them whenever they arrive.
It’d be unwise to claim that we’re ready to care for however many, praying to God to increase the harvest, make our family grow while neglecting the few that are already here. And so, as we’ll now read James, he gives us the standard for that responsibility. And there’s three big ideas that I want to run with here. And each of them help us know whether the faith that we possess is reaching the people that come in and sit in front of us. So let’s talk about this first idea.
1. Stop Ranking People
We’ve read it. James 1 2 verse 1-4. Stop ranking people. Stop ranking people. It’s sinful. And James is going to say that in just a moment. But let’s point to this right quick. He says he calls Jesus the Lord of glory. Meaning that Jesus possesses this greatness and this majesty of God and we give him the praise, the worship, the honor. We don’t take his name in vain. I mean there is just such an outward expression of how much we acknowledge that and know that he is who he is.
So understandably Jesus deserves our highest honor. But then a man coming into the assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing. They get this guy the special attention. All that to say, the poor man comes in and he gets treated as if he matters less. And what James is doing is he’s pointing out how they profess this faith in this glorious Lord who is so high and mighty only to disobey what he does and says to do. They say they follow Jesus, yet they’re letting someone’s appearance decide how they treat them. That ain’t the way of Christ, my friend.
James is telling them and us that favoritism is incompatible with faith in Jesus. We can’t follow Jesus faithfully while treating some people as less worthy of our care. If we believe in him, we must let his teaching guide the way we welcome people. So, thinking about the scene here in James chapter 2, what do they know about these two men, they can only see their clothing? That’s all that gets pointed out here, but they’ve not learned either man’s character.
They haven’t initiated a conversation to even see where their faith is. They don’t know if they’ve got struggles or some sense of need coming into their congregation. But immediately there is this pegging by way of what they’re identifying outwardly by way of clothing. And their treatment has already announced a judgment. And that’s what James says in verse four. He calls them judges with evil thoughts. They are assigning worth by a standard that wasn’t learned from Jesus Christ.
Sam read where Jesus sees the crowds and he has this compassion on them because they’re like sheep without a shepherd. These guys are suffering and he’s the one who is their shepherd. He sees that and he connects with that. He he spends time with them because they need him. The rich, not so much. Simon is one of those who pegs himself maybe as a rich guy with very little sin that needs to be reckoned with. So he in fact doesn’t see the need for Jesus. And I hope there’s no one in here like that.
But Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John testify that Jesus welcomed the poor. He welcomed the broken. He loved the ill-reuted tax collector as well as the brokenhearted sinner. And what we’ve got here in James 2 is that the poor man doesn’t have to hear an insult to know he’s been dishonored and that he’s not welcome here. And James wants us to be careful with that. We are the church of Jesus Christ. We the church are his body. This means that each of us are a part.
Each of us must function in relation to the head who is Christ according to the way of Jesus. Which means that you and I have to examine our own standard when we come across a text like this that says, “My brothers, these things ought not be so.” What things? How do I have myself relating to that? It’s a very critical question for our faith. Does a guest who looks established and comfortable get my attention more so than someone who’s a bit awkward and unfamiliar?
Tough question. Are we as ready to spend time with someone who may need a great deal and have little to give in return? And let’s be honest, we may feel more comfortable around some people versus others. The scriptures command us to love. It doesn’t command us to like. There are going to be those we have connections with in ways that others don’t. That’s just birds of a fleather flock together kind of proverb. And that’s very natural in many ways.
So it’s not one of those things to take here to say I’ve got to be doing everything as everyone else is doing. But whenever we are told to love, there are some things that we may be missing the mark on. And each of us has to do our own examination in regard to how that word interacts with my my heart. We still have to show kindness. We still have to show love to people we don’t know well or who are just different from us because a person should not have to resemble us to be received warmly into our family.
We are one and we sing that. My God, I hope we believe that. Think about this. Who would have the hardest time finding a place among us? Once they come in, would we introduce ourselves? Now, we may never say stand over there, but we should ask whether the habits that we’re having ourselves follow. Leave somebody standing alone while the rest of us comfortably get into our usual conversations. James goes on, let’s keep reading here to put a little bit more into this thought.
Verse 5-7. 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? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? So James tells the church verse 5, listen God’s chosen the people who are poor in the world to be rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom of God.
than the big idea that I really want us to see. In other words, the congregation dishonors a person whom God receives as an error, an error. Someone who has the same that you’ve got in relation to this inheritance that’s from Christ Jesus. James isn’t saying poverty saves and that wealth is going to condemn a person. He’s speaking of the kingdom that’s promised to those who love God. and no one stands higher than another. He’s showing how badly our judgments can miss what we often see that matters most.
And so, he’s helping us understand that we can’t tell what God may accomplish in a person’s life just by seeing them. You can’t do that. It’s just not possible. Sometimes problems enter the church, especially in a case whenever we have someone become more impressed by somebody’s influence or their status with money and we bring out this treatment of red carpet royalty in a way that then separates what it is that God’s teaching us here is that someone and their faithfulness to God is one who’s actually the rich and they get missed.
And our desire for growth has must never become a search for people who we would favor or prefer or look a certain way or kind of have this certain status. Can’t do that. All while we pull away from those who have little or maybe those who need our help or those who are just different than us. James is teaching us to be careful. And Jesus is one who exemplifies this in so many ways. But just to be short with this, we know how it is. He called fisher men to be fishers of men. And it was those guys that were kind of unexpected and they were the ones who became such incredible pe people to propel things that we see today even changing lives.
People objected to him eating with tax collectors and sinners. But that’s when Jesus says they’re the ones who need a physician. And so he understood their sin. And what he did in regards to that is he moved toward them because he knew that they needed his help. And you and I are equipped with the same things pertaining to life and godliness to give them that same help with. If we are going to model his love, we must be willing to get close enough to learn a person’s needs.
A first impression is not a substitute for a real effort to get to know someone. Now, some of our brothers and sisters may invite a friend after months of conversation, a lot of praying, trying to get someone to come and be just a part of coming and seeing. And they may have finally worked up the courage to ask to have someone come. When that friend arrives, the rest of us here share a responsibility for welcoming that guest. There are a couple of you here, and I love it, who come and grab me, and it kind of gets me out of conversations that maybe should have ended already, but you come and you grab me to go and be with someone to meet them face to face because they are a guest here.
And I thank you for that because those connections are special with our guests. but also with those we haven’t seen in a while, those that we know we’ve been praying for, those that we know that you’ve been praying for, and you bring them here, and it’s our chance to meet them. All of this is to say, making a real effort of getting to know someone is how we begin to recognize that there are people who are in need of the very thing that we’ve received, which is salvation of our souls.
Someone who finds us online is exactly in that same boat. They arrive here maybe knowing nobody. Before they become a member, before there’s every any interaction, any contribution, even if we don’t know if they’re coming back, that individual is a soul in need of saving. We are honored and we honor them because they are imagebearers of God and they are people to love. And that’s the conviction that kind of puts us into this next idea that James has.
2. Fulfill the Royal Law: Love Your Neighbor
So he talks from showing this idea of not ranking people and then he tells us how to treat them. So let’s go a little bit further here. James 2, let’s just read verse eight. He says, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.” So James calls us to fulfill the royal law. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. This is Jesus who said this. -4. There’s a bigger portion there about the first greatest commandment and then the second is likened to it.
All this to say, we know how naturally we notice our own discomforts. Whenever I feel lonely, I can understand when you feel lonely. Whenever I’m struggling in a way that’s kept quiet, I know how you feel in the same manner. And when you begin to consider those sorts of things, James tells us to connect that concern to our neighbor. that there is when somebody enters a room that we’re in, they know nobody. We see that situation as familiar. And so we step into that considering what that experience feels like from their side.
And that’s kind of the idea that I wanted to just have a see for a moment and just return to that idea of the guest at my dinner table. I might defend myself and say, “Hey, I didn’t tell you to leave. I gave you a meal. I mean, I could just justify the actions as if to say what I’m doing, I’m not going to concern myself with in any other way. I’m going to stay the same. And maybe that’s the attitude that some of us might have a position tonight with.
But would I want to spend an evening getting treated that way? Never. That hurts. I know how that would feel. And Jesus’s account of the good Samaritan sheds light on this very thing. The Samaritan sees a wounded man. This is . And the wounded man gets responded to because the Samaritan has compassion. The guy gives him time. He gives him attention. He pours out his resources. And he also comes back to make sure or he confirms with the one who’s going to take care of him at the end that if you need more, I’ll take care of it when I come back.
All of these could have kept this guy from saying that that’s just too much. But Jesus is trying to have us see that we are to do the same. that there are going to be opportunities where we’ll find ourselves in an in a way to of which we can find a neighbor receiving what I would prefer to receive if I was in their shoes. So the question for us is whether we will become a neighbor to the person whose need is in front of us. We don’t have to know everything about that person before I begin to have this sense of knowing I need to care and I have an opportunity to step in.
So before I return to my familiar circle today, who needs me to initiate a move toward them? That’s a personal question to ask. Keep going. James 2, let’s begin verse 9. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point, has become guilty of all of it. 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 transgressor of the law.
So James makes it clear that showing favoritism, partiality is a sin. We can’t tell everyone that they’re welcome and then choose which people we are going to care about. We may be busy and understandably so. We may be shy and in some cases we may be used to sticking with the people that we know. But those things can make it harder to reach out. But God still shows us that we have a neighbor to care for. In verse 10 and 11, James explains that obeying one command doesn’t give us permission to ignore the other ones.
So the same God who said don’t commit adultery said don’t commit murder. And a person who avoids one but commits the other still all inclusively has disobeyed God. And so for clarity, James isn’t saying that showing favoritism means that we’ve committed every sin in the book. He’s saying that we don’t get to choose which of God’s commands we’re going to obey. God’s word is not a buffet of preferences. If we as the church of Christ strictly adhere to the way he tells us to worship, which we’re quite sticklers at that depending on which conversation and who we’re having it with of how we’re going to worship needs to be so particular that we must listen when he tells us how to treat our neighbor.
3. Mercy Triumphs over Judgment
Because the second, the greatest command, it’s likened to the first, is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. So James now moves and he has us think about this need for mercy. And that’s kind of where we close down this section with him. Verse 12 and 13. And he’s going to talk to us in a way that helps us recognize that God’s going to judge how we’ve treated others. So look at what he says here. Verse 12. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.
For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. So verse 12, speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. In other words, the same God who tells us to love our neighbor will judge whether our words and our actions show that love. God hears what we say. God sees what we do. He’s the one that would also hear us say, “We’re glad you’re here. Glad you came.” And then sees within us whether we meant that or not.
But even take it another step. He sees our hearts whenever we tell someone, “Hey, it’s good to see you.” But then walk away hoping we don’t have to deal with him again. Earlier in James 1 22-2, James brings to mind, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” So I mean, Bible readers, you’re reading your Bibles. You claim to know it, live it. And he goes on to say, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he’s like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forget what he was like.” So this law of liberty that we recognize there and also in the text that we just had at the end of chapter 2, God’s word is a law that frees you whenever you actually live by it. Each and every day as you find yourself living under what it is that you’re finding in reflection of the word and you see it in yourself by way of what you need to do to change or just move, you see the changing and you obey it.
And instead of walking away unchanged, you live a life that’s now free because you’re living by the spirit. You’re doing it the way that Jesus did it. And following Jesus means learning to love people, not finding reasons to avoid people. So this entire section of James 2 boils down to our responsibility for how we treat the people who come into our assembly. Wanting more people to come doesn’t automatically inject our hearts with the passion for people.
Doesn’t work that way. We talk about that in our evangelism meetings every time. is that we’ve got people who are coming, guests who are with us. We have an online system that’s hopefully going to bring those that we may never come into contact with face to face, but they’ll find us. And guess what has to happen after that? We got to get involved. Or should I say, we get to get involved. The opportunities will grow. And so, plain and simple, if we will not make time for one person we don’t know, how are we ready to care for more?
More people will mean more names to learn. That’s a struggle if you’re me. You’ve got more questions that you’re going to need to answer, and that can be quite difficult for many who just aren’t equipped. You’re going to need to have more time to help with them in ways of which their struggles might have you requiring time. Picking them up and bringing them here and taking them home because they need help. And we got to start doing those things now.
We can’t control how many people come, but we can choose how we treat each person who does. And that’s the gist of it. This includes more than just the guest. This includes one who’s been here for quite some time but still feels left out. Are we seeing that? Someone who’s maybe been here for years and just feels forgotten about. Are you seeing that? If we call this church a family, then we need to care for each other like family. We need to notice people We need to listen to people and we got to make time for people.
Being ready to love more people begins with loving the people who are already here. So verse 13 once again in closing just this last big idea and then we’ll be done as he’s teaching us about God’s judgment and the mercy. He says, “Judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” So James warns that God’s judgment will be without mercy to anyone who’s not given it. , Jesus teaches the same lesson whenever he says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Forgive so your heavenly father will forgive you.” I mean all that’s in the same discussion. But if we ask God to be patient and forgiving with me, with us, we must be willing to show that same patience and forgiveness to others. Remembering how much mercy God has shown to you and I should change the way we treat people. And that’s been a lot of the focus lately with some of the encounter discussions we’ve had about Jesus in our classes and even in our come and see Jesus discussions from the pullpit.
But tells us to be kind and forgiving because God has forgiven us in Christ. So you think about what you’ve received, you then give back and we continue with Christ in faith by way of showing just the way he’s treated us. His love compels us. We model the love of Jesus. Whenever we treat people with the kindness that he has shown us and they receive his love through us, the people who respond to our invitations, they’re going to need more than just a place to sit.
Some will have questions about things that you and I have known for years. And some of them just may seem so wild, so strange. But let us not forget where we were. Some will have family problems, relationship pains, and that’s not for all of us. But some will need help understanding and simply turning away from sin. And maybe that’s where all of us do step in. Whenever one has themselves identify as needing our prayers, are we actually going to God in prayer with their name coming out of our mouth?
You see, that’s simple, but it’s so powerful. And that’s a way that we find ourselves becoming one with those who desire to be with Christ. We should be glad they came and willing to help them. That means listening. That means teaching patiently. That means staying involved, especially when things get uncomfortable and your hands get tired. But we can’t ask people to come to see Jesus and then act bothered whenever they need our help getting to know Jesus.
So James ends it, mercy triumphs over judgment. Those who show mercy can face God’s judgment with hope in his mercy. And so we all need that. We all know how much we’ve fallen short and how much we need that forgiveness. And James just simply reminds us that we can’t depend on God’s mercy while refusing to show it to other people. And ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do is to have others identify with Christ through his body. So when people come and see Jesus, let’s remember how much we need Jesus, too.
Conclusion
because knowing how much God’s helped us is going to make us all the more willing to help them. So, as we close, think for a moment about someone who helped you whenever you were learning to follow whenever you came to encounter Jesus through the scriptures your first time and someone opened them up for you to see. And it’s unusual, you know, there’s a many of times that I’ve had the conversation with people about how long they’ve been a Christian and there’s always the point back to how I’m one who’s not raised in the church and I became a Christian in my early adult years.
And then some of you have been Christians as we would call it second or third or fourth generation. And so when we get into those conversations, there’s kind of like this sense of you would say, “You’re kind of lucky that you didn’t grow up in the church because you see things differently.” And I’m thinking, well, you’re lucky you grew up in the church because you know so much more and see things differently. And there’s kind of a way that we both have ourselves working together in that same discussion because all of us have had that encounter in a way that we understand our need for Jesus.
And the local church is assembled with those who are broken in ways of which Christ makes them whole. And we all have this testimony of someone who took us seriously and had us taken to the scriptures so that we could learn the things that others would find themselves hopefully coming to find out too. So maybe they took your question seriously when you asked and maybe they just took that time for you when no one else would. Maybe they just stayed patient though you needed help again and again and again as you came forward and ask for prayers from the congregation.
You may not remember everything people said to you as you came to this growth in your faith, but you remembered those who did care and their love helped you keep going. There are people we’ve yet to meet who will need that same love from us. They may be part of the growth that we’ve been praying for, but caring from for them is going to take something from each of us. Now, we have no way of knowing who will come next, but we can decide right now if we’re going to take time for them.
And I hope you resolve to do just that. And perhaps years from now, someone will look back and thank God that when they came here needing the love of Jesus modeled for them, we were willing to give it. May all glory be to God for the work that is ahead of us. The invitation is open for anyone who has a need to make something known that would bring about your relationship with the Lord and to the status that it needs to be. If you’ve walked away or if you’ve just found yourself down and you need to be brought back up and it’s the prayers of the people that you need, you could certainly do that.
And if it’s time that you’ve made the choice that Jesus Christ is the son of God and you believe that and it’s time for you to become a Christian and you want to make that choice tonight, we can help you as well. But for the rest of us finding ourselves just musling through what we’ve heard tonight. It wasn’t an easy discussion, but my prayer is that all of us would find ourselves gravitating to what it is that God has in store, which is for the harvest to be reaped.
We sing it. May we pray for it. And may we be ready. If you’ve got a need, would you let us know as we stand and sing?