Okay, open up your Bibles, if
you would, to James chapter 1. James chapter 1. We're going
to continue our study in this wonderful book. Today's message
is called, The Sin of Partiality. The Sin of Partiality. We'll
be starting chapter 2. We'll be starting chapter 2 today.
wonderful. This study has been so profitable.
I was talking to Jake quite a bit about it out west and tell him
just how profitable it's been for myself studying it. And I know from some of the feedback
you guys have given me, it's been very profitable for you
too. And it's such a blessing to go through this book. And
we see here in the lesson today that James is going to deal with
the sin of partiality. And it's very clearly brought
forth in the text for us here. Now in reading ahead for this
lesson today, in chapter 2, you see how James,
again by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, is going to deal
with this topic. He's gonna give us an illustration
which we will look at more next week about the law, but he will
give us an illustration even in the text that we're looking
at here, and we are not to be partial with the brethren. We
are to treat each other, we're all on the same level. No matter
what our social standing is, we're all on the same level,
beloved. We're all just sinners saved by the grace of God. And James is going to bring that
forth here. To be partial is defined as biased or prejudiced
in favor of a person, group, side, over another. Let's read
verses 1 to 9 with that in our minds. James pens these words again
by inspirational Holy Spirit of God, and he says in verse
one of James chapter two, my brethren, so there's who it's
addressed to, my brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory with respect of persons. For if there
come into your assembly a man with a gold ring and goodly apparel,
and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, And ye have
respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him,
sit thou in a good place, and say to the poor, stand thou over
there, or sit here under my foot still. Are you, or are ye not then partial
in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken,
my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world,
rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he hath promised
to them that love him. But ye have despised the poor.
Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment
seats? Do they not blaspheme that worthy name by which ye
are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according
to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,
ye do well. But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, and
are convinced of the law as transgressors. So we see there, that if you
have respect to persons, or show partiality to people, and he's
given us an illustration, hasn't he? With the man with the golden
ring who comes in, and then the man with the vile garments, which
is soiled garments, It's the common poor very, very much in
poverty. And you say to one, well, sit
here in this fine seat right here. And you say to the other
one, you sit in the back over there. There's not too many people
to see you, because you've got them vile clothes on. That's
the sin of partiality. So we see here. James rebukes
the respective persons on account of outward circumstances, on
account of outward circumstances and material advantage. Now in
the body of Christ, turn if you would to Colossians chapter three,
in the body of Christ, there's no rich or poor. In the body
of Christ, there's no Jew or Gentile. We're all one in Christ. We're
one in him. Social standing doesn't matter
in the body of Christ, whether you're rich or poor. And that's
what James is bringing out here, is that the most important thing
is, are you saved? Because if you're brethren of
the same family, then it shouldn't matter if one's rich or poor,
right? You're all saved by the same blood, all born again by
the same Holy Spirit of God. Got the same father, right? Have
the same father. Have the same Savior. So we're
not to show any partiality. And this is clearly brought forth
in the verse one there, but look at this in Colossians chapter
three. Speaking of God's people, Paul's bringing this forth. Well,
we see James bringing it forth in, James chapter 2 verse 1, but
listen to what Paul says here in light of that. Colossians
chapter 3 verses 10 and 11. And have put on the new man,
that means we're born again, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him, where there is neither Greek
nor Jew. You mean there's no nationality
boundaries in the body of Christ? Nope, none at all. Then it says,
Circumcision, no uncircumcision. So that's the Jews and the Gentiles,
right? And then it says barbarian Scythian. Who's a Scythian? You know who
the Scythians are? They're the barbarians of the
barbarians. They are the worst of the worst.
They used to drink blood out of the skulls of the people that
they fought. They were brutal. Oh, the Lord
saved some of them, isn't that a miracle? I love the Scriptures. It just
gives hope to us, doesn't it? Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor
free, so a slave or free. But Christ is all in all. We're
equal in the body of Christ. were equal in the body of Christ.
And again, 1 Corinthians, if you wanna turn there, 1 Corinthians
chapter 12, it's also bought forth there too, that we're one
body, that we're one body. And this is why James writes,
my brethren have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Lord of glory with respect to persons. In 1 Corinthians 12,
verses 12 and 13, the scripture declares this. For as the body
is one, so we have an example, our body is one, right? We have
a head, arms, legs, torso. Christ is the head, right? Scripture
says we're the body. Body can't do nothing without
a head, right? We can live without an arm. If
we lose an arm, we can still keep going. We've still got an
arm we can use. Or even if we don't have both
arms, we can still live. But you can't live without your
head, can you? Can't live without your head. We can't live without
our head either, can we? Not at all. Oh, no, but look
at this. It says, for as the body is one,
verse 12 of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, For as the body is one and
hath many members, and all the members of that one body being
many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are
we all baptized into one body. Look at that, we're all the same. We're all the same. The scripture
says that out of the tribe, tongue, and nation, right, there's God's
people. See, men make divisions, don't
they? You know why? Because we're sinners. I've said this before with my
son. People divide people into races.
There's only one race. It's the human race. Now, we
have pigmentation of our skin, but there's only one race. It's
the human race. We're all the same. made of the
same cells, made of the same chemicals and same things out
of the ground, we're all the same. We're all the same. The only difference is the pigmentation
of our skin. Now, we may speak different languages,
which I find is fascinating. because we know the Lord confounded
the language and made all these different languages at the Tower
of Babel, and it's incredible. But we're all one, and this is
the amazing thing for us, we're one in Christ. So he's the head
and we're the body. My arm is part of my body, right?
You wouldn't say, well, that's my arm, it's on its own. No,
it's part of, it does what the head, and think of this too,
it does what the head tells it to do. Isn't that amazing? So we're one in Christ. For by
one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be
Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free. We have all
been made to drink of one Spirit, the one Spirit. We're born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. Isn't that wonderful? So again,
we have the same Father, we have the same Spirit, we have the
same Savior. And we're not to show any partiality
or favoritism or preference because of material or physical differences
between believers. We're just not to do that. And
we who are the born-again people of God, so if a rich man with
a gold ring comes in, and then a poor man in vile garments,
if they're both saved, what? They're both purchased by the
same blood, aren't they? Right? So we're not to show any partiality.
And this is in here for instruction for us, isn't it? So it must
happen, right? I've seen it happen. I've not
seen it happen in grace churches, but I've seen it happen in religious
circles. I used to love going down to the mission in Oregon,
because I knew that I was there, but for the grace of God, go
I. These guys are guys who were
struggling with alcohol, struggling with drugs, struggling with all
kinds of other things, and I thought, It's only by the grace of God
that I'm not right there with him. There he is. It's only God who's made us to
differ, isn't it? So we're not to show any partiality. We're
all born again. Again, we have the same, we're
children of the same father, aren't we? That's why we have
a kinship, beloved. I was telling Jake, I said, man,
I'm closer to you than I am to my own brothers in the flesh,
and I tell you guys that all the time, too, because we have
the same father. I have the same blood father
as my brothers, but not the same spiritual father. I can talk to you all about things,
I can't, my brother's just like, I don't wanna hear that. But isn't it wonderful that we
can get together and our hearts burn within us? When we start
talking about Christ, we get excited, our hearts start to
burn within us about this wondrous mercy and grace that we've received
in Christ. Or we come and hear the gospel
preached and our hearts burn within us and we get so excited
about the word of God. Isn't that wonderful? God's grace
is amazing, isn't it? Look how clearly this is brought
forth, this not being partial to people in verse 1 of James
chapter 2. Let's turn back there. So again, we're not to show any
partiality or favoritism because of material or physical differences
between believers. We who are the born-again, blood-washed
children of God are all purchased by the same precious blood. And
that's the blood of Christ. That's the blood of Christ. He's
purchased you and I, who are believers, with his blood. Look
at this. My brethren have not the faith
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of
persons. We ought to never have, hold,
and profess the faith of Christ in such a manner as to cater
to rich or poor. We're to be partial with people. We're not to favor someone because
they're rich, and we're not to despise someone because they're
poor. We just don't do that. We just don't do that. Now it's
God who's put each of us in the station of life that we're at,
right? And we should rejoice for the station of life that
we're at, really. Think of this, we get mercy in Christ. We can be the poorest person
in this world and yet the richest person. And then the rich person's made
humble because of the grace that they've received in Christ. It
goes both ways. It's incredible. So we're to love God and love
our neighbor. And again, when we love God and
love our neighbor, this discounts any notion of partiality. Because we're meeting each other
on the same level, right? Always remember when you see
someone, like I said, in poverty, just think, there go I but for
the grace of God. There go I but for the grace
of God. So we're not to have partiality due to social status. God doesn't have partiality based
upon our social status, does he? Does our social status have
anything to do with our salvation? No. God's given us everything
we have, and we readily acknowledge that now, don't we? If we didn't
before, we thought it was all us. If the Lord blessed us. Oh, it's incredible, beloved.
It's incredible. So Christ being the Lord of glory
should teach us not to respect even other believers impartiality. We're all on the same level.
You often hear me say that. I heard Scott say that, and I've
never let it go. The ground at the foot of the
cross is level. It's level. That's what that
means. That's what Scott was bringing
forth when he said that. That there's no difference between
any of us, rich or poor. We're just sinners saved by grace.
And it's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. And
when we are partial or show partiality to people, it's sin. It's a heinous sin. It's not good at all. And again,
this is in here for our instruction, so we can be prone to do this. Look at verse two and three.
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, so now
he's gonna give us an example, very clear example here. For
if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring and goodly
apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile arraignment,
and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and
say unto him, sit thou here in the good place. So this is a
good spot for you. For us Baptists, it would be
sit in the back. No, just kidding. Oh, my. No, I'm just kidding.
But sitting in the prime place, right? Which is a backseat for a Baptist. I used to be a back row Baptist. Oh, we have too much fun, don't
we? And you have respect to him that weareth the gay clothe,
and say unto him, Sit thou in a good place, and say to the
poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my foot still. So
we see here a very clear lesson for us, don't we, in these texts.
It's very clear. It's very easy to understand the lesson that's
being brought forth here for we who are the people of God.
If two men come into the assembly, into the work here, And one,
judging by his gold rings and fine clothes, is very wealthy
and influential man. And the other, judging by his
shabby clothes, is very poor and not a learned man. Well,
if we're impressed and awed by the presence of the wealthy man,
I say to him, sit here. Here's the finest seat in the
place for you. Welcome to our assembly. And I know this would
never happen here, because you guys are wonderful. We're sinners
saved by the grace of God. But this is an example for us
to learn from, to keep us from being like this. And it can happen. It can happen. Well, we'd be
discriminating then, wouldn't we? We'd be discriminating against
one brother and another brother. But they're both purchased by
the same blood. They both have the same standing in Christ,
right? But we're the ones discriminating then. That's what this warning's about,
for us not to be that way. We are not to judge, making a
distinction between them that's not based on faith. And that
is a distinction that's not based on faith, beloved. And we're not to be that way. We're not to make a distinction
about people based on their godliness or their spiritual relationship
with Christ, or their material advantage. We're to look at each
other, and scripture says this too, and this is hard for we
humans to do, but we're to esteem each other better than ourselves. Yeah. We're proud, aren't we? It's not hard for us to look
at someone and start picking things apart, Somebody pull in front of you
in the car, cut in front of you while you're
driving, and look out. We're just sinners, don't we?
It just flies up like that, doesn't it? And see, even in this situation
of someone coming in, one who's in a, you know, definitely looks
like they have some wealth, and the other one who's very, very
poor. And this should never be. There
are motives wrong here, isn't it? See, what's happening is what
the Lord said, men look at the outside, but God looks at the
inside, right? Look at verse four in light of
verses two and three. Are ye then not partial in yourselves,
and are become judges of evil thoughts? So, we who are the people of
God are not to list the eight of the world's famous or wealthy
and important to further the cause of Christ. We're just to look to our King,
aren't we? We're just to look to Him. Turn, if you would, to
Psalm 118. In fellowship, we are to despise
any inclination to partiality. As believers, we're to despise
that, we're to stay away from that as much as we can. To stay away from that. Look
what's brought forth here in Psalm 118, verses six to eight. We are not to honor or cater
to the flesh in any way based upon a person's standing. these
wonderful words here, though. Starts off with David painting
in verse 6, the Lord is on my side. You know, when I was at
West this weekend, this week, I was looking, they took us way
up high into this national park, which was just, I thought I,
you know, I've been through the Canadian Rockies, But seeing
the Rockies up there like, oh my goodness. And one of the things
I said to Jake, I was looking at these mountains, beloved,
and I thought, I said to Jake, I said, why do I worry? God closed all this? Why do I worry? Why do I get
worked up? He goes, because we're sinners,
brother. And I said, yeah, but praise
God, we're saved sinners, eh? But just think of that. When
we get struggling with something that may be coming up in our
lives, think of the Great Lakes. Think of all the animals, or
not animals, all the life that's within that lake. And think of
the animals that come and drink out of that fresh water. And
the Lord takes care of all them, doesn't he? What are we? Animated dust, Spurgeon said.
And he takes care of us. So let us remember that. Let
us look to just what he does for creation to encourage us
that he'll take care of us no matter what. Whether we're rich
or poor. Paul wrote, I've learned to be
content no matter what state I'm in. Let us, by God's grace,
learn that too. Just be content in Christ. And look at this, the Lord is
on my side, I will not fear. Well, fear is something we struggle
with, isn't it? Something all of us struggle with, if we're
honest. The things that make you fear might not make me fear,
but there may be things that make me fear that you don't fear
at all. The Lord is on my side, I will
not fear. Oh, by the grace of God, eh?
What can man do unto me? What can man do unto us? Look at this, the Lord taketh
my part with them that help me. Therefore shall I see my desire
upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the
Lord than to put confidence in men. And that's what the sin of partiality
does. Oh, look, the rich man there. And oh, that guy's just so poor,
see? Better to trust in the Lord than
put confidence in man. This is the Lord's church, isn't
it? We get the privilege of being
here. Right? We get the privilege of being
part of the assembly here. Isn't it wonderful? So it's not, I
have to go to church, it's not, I get the privilege of going
to church. It's wonderful, isn't it? It changes your whole perspective.
Yeah? So we're to cultivate a spirit
of love. I feel like we have that here in oneness, unity,
unity. And I'm so thankful. I feel that
we have unity here in oneness in Christ. You all aren't afraid
to come talk to me if there's something that's bothering you,
which y'all know my door's always open. And I just love being here
with you all and preaching the gospel. It's such a blessing. So again, in our text, we see
that we are not to act with partiality because one man looks better
than the other. Something that we should not practice in church.
Well, why? Again, because we're all on the
same level in Christ. That's why. We're all on the
same level. A poor man can know Christ, and
a rich man can know Christ, and the only thing that matters is
that they know him. That's the only thing that matters.
Do you know Christ? Do you know Christ? Has he saved your soul? That's all that matters. I remember
a dear friend of mine at West, he said, he's Gene Harmon's son. He said, Wayne, I don't care
if my kids are successful or not. He says, if they are, that's
a blessing. But he says, I don't care if they're successful or
if they're poor as long as they're in Christ. I thought, oh my. Oh my. And he says, I'm praying
the Lord will save them. Isn't that the truth? Yeah. All that matters is that
they know him, or that we know him. All that matters between
those two men is that they know, the rich man and the poor man,
is that they know Christ. That's all that matters. They're on the same footing in
Christ, aren't they? Now, social standing in life might be different,
but again, that's by the providence of God, right? So no matter what
we have, we can't say, well, I got that. No, the Lord gave
it to me, right? He gave it to me. And then we
use it wisely, don't we? Yeah, for his glory, and we just,
we give thanks to him. And you know, apparel only covers
our nakedness. Have you ever thought of that? Apparel only covers our nakedness.
That's all it does. Remember Adam and Eve, they were
naked before God? They didn't even know it, did they? But after
they sinned, what did God do? He clothed them. He covered their
nakedness. That's all clothing does for
us. So whether a man's in good clothing or in poor clothing,
it's just covering their nakedness. They're either a saved man or
a lost man, right? And then it's only God who makes
us to differ, isn't it? It's only God. And that difference
isn't in what we wear, the difference is in the heart, isn't it? We're
born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And he makes the difference. Look at verse four again. Are
you not then partial in yourselves and you become judges of evil
thoughts if you're judging between a rich man and a poor man? So
again, respect of persons is a terrible sin, and it's contrary
to God. It's contrary to God. Turn, if
you would, to 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy chapter five. This is bought forth, again,
that we're to do nothing by partiality. Even in our lives, we're not
to show partiality. Who's our allegiance to? Christ. He's our hope, isn't
he? He's our hope. He's the hope
for the rich man and the poor man, right? In Christ. And everybody
in between. He's our hope. Look at this,
what it says here. It says in 1 Timothy 5, verse
21. And never forget, too, that our
faith is grounded in the perfect law of liberty, which is the
gospel, right? And that gospel has one object,
and that's Christ. And our faith has one object,
and that's Christ. Look what it says here. I charge thee before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels. That's
just the angels that didn't fall. Oh, look at that. God chose angels, too, certain
ones. You can do that? Of course he
can, he's God. See, people don't have problem
when you read this elect angels, we're gonna get in that this
morning. People don't have trouble when it says elect angels. But
when it's elected people, well that's a different story. Well
no, it's not. Elect angels that thou observe
these things without preferring one, look at that, without preferring
one before another, doing nothing by partiality. Look at that. That's the same teaching as what
James is bringing forth over there in James chapter 1 before
us. That we're not to have partiality. Because our faith and our hope
is in Christ, in Him alone. In Him alone. And notice, notice
James addresses the church as brethren in verse 5. or verse
verse one of he says my brother and in verse one of chapter two
and then in verse five he says my beloved brethren Harkin my
beloved brethren had not God chosen the poor of this world
the rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he had promised
to them that love him we're going to look at that a little bit
more next week our God is absolutely amazing,
isn't he? And he tells us, don't be partial. Don't be partial between the
rich man and the poor man. Be thankful that you're both
saved by God's grace. Be thankful that you're both
purchased by the same precious blood. Be thankful that you're
both regenerated by the same Holy Spirit of God. And it's
only God who has made the rich man and the poor man and everybody
in between who are born again to differ from anyone else in
the world. And our social standing and the
things that we have in life do not in any way cater to God's
choice of us in Christ before the foundation of wealth, because
we weren't even around. Were we? No, not at all. Oh, glory be to God.