James Chapter Two

Now we're picking up tonight
our study in the book of James, and we're beginning with chapter
2, verse 1. James says, my brethren, now
this is important, he identifies the people to whom he's writing.
The Bible in every place is not written alike to every man. James
addresses the people to whom he's writing. He identifies them
in two ways. First of all, he calls them my
brethren, and secondly, in that same verse, he says they have
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, those are the people to
whom he's speaking. You would not expect the world
to understand the following principles. You don't expect them to. You
don't expect the people of the world, natural, carnal men, to
understand the fellowship of the Church, which we'll be talking
about in a moment. You don't expect the carnal man,
the natural man, to understand the extent of the law. Down here
in verse 9, if you have respect to persons, you commit sins.
Nobody in the world would ever believe that, that a man sins
in his attitude toward other You honor one man in preference
to another, you're showing partiality, and you're sinning. Nobody would
ever believe that. In this society, you've got to
do something gross or ridiculous and so forth to be guilty of
sin. The third thing that we're going to talk about in a few
minutes, you don't expect the natural man, the world, to understand
that true faith, not fear, but true faith, not reward, But true
faith in Christ will produce genuine works of love. Now, you
don't expect the world to believe that, because the world, in order
for them to do anything, they'll get something in return. But
for a man to do something solely because he delights to do it
and desires to do it and rejoices to do it, they don't understand
that. So the two ways in which he opens
this second chapter, identifying the people to whom he's speaking,
my brethren, my brethren," and he calls them later on, beloved
brethren. And then he says this, they have
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not in the church, their faith
in Christ. It's not in their doctrine, it's
in Christ. It's not in their tradition,
it's not in their religious decision, it's not in their faith. It's
in our Lord Jesus Christ. They know who he is. Their minds
are one in ascribing glory and glory alone to him. Their hearts
beat as one in loving him and loving one another. Their hope
is one to be like him and their goal is one to be with him. My brethren, but now here's what
he said. have not the faith of our Lord
Jesus Christ with respect to persons." Now what does that
mean? By this we're to understand that in the body of Christ there
are no rich and poor. In the body of Christ there are
no learned and ignorant. In the body of Christ there are
no low and high. In the body of Christ there are
no black and white. In the body of Christ there are
no important and unimportant people, they are all brethren. We are to show no partiality,
no favoritism. We are not to prefer one above
another. We are not to make distinctions
among believers because of any physical or material or even
Spiritual difference now turn to first corinthians 12 and let's
look at this in first corinthians 12 I want to begin reading with
verse 12, and I think this is applicable here I think this
is the verse we are verses we should read at this particular
part first corinthians 12 12 now listen as The body is one
we're talking about a human body now and hath many members. And all the members of that one
body, being many, are still one body. So also is Christ. For by one Spirit, the Holy Spirit,
are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free, and we've been made to drink into
one Spirit. The body is not one member, but
many. If the foot shall say, because I'm not the hand, I'm
not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? If the ear shall
say, because I'm not the eye, I'm not of the body, is it therefore
not of the body? If the whole body were an eye,
where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where
would be the smelling? But now hath God sent the members,
every one of them in the body, and here's the key, as it hath
pleased him, as it hath pleased him. Who maketh thee to differ?
whatever gifts or talents and so forth we have, as it hath
pleased him. And if they were all one member,
he said, you wouldn't have a body. But now are they many members,
yet one body. And I cannot say to the hand,
I don't need you, nor the head to the feet, I have no need of
you, nay, much more those members of the body which seem to be
more feeble. are necessary, and those members of the body which
we think to be less honorable, upon those we bestow more abundant
honor, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness,
and so forth. So here's what he's saying in
James 2. My brethren, beloved brethren, one in Christ, together
who have faith in Christ, don't have respect to persons, black
or white, rich or poor, low or high, learned or ignorant, important
or unimportant, these differences do not exist in the body of Christ,
or should not exist. And then he gives an example,
verse 2 through verse 7. He gives this as an illustration.
He said, if they come into your assembly, a man with a gold ring
and goodly apparel, now what he's picturing there is an influential,
wealthy, important person in the community or town. And then
they come in also a poor man in rags. And this is human nature
now, and it's contrary to spiritual nature. And you have respect
to him that wears the fine clothing, and you say, sit in a good place. We want you to be in an honorable
place, an honored place. And you say to the poor man,
you have no time for him. You just look down upon him.
You say, sit over here, stand over there, sit under my footstool.
Are you not then partial, and you become judges? You become
judges of evil thought. My 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 in showing
this partiality you despise the poor. Why, rich men oppress you,
and draw you before the judgment seats, and they blaspheme the
name of Christ by which you are called. And four things I want
to point out here that I think are are important. I found this in one of the books
in there. Here are four things that are
brought out here. First of all, the people of God who depend
on the Holy Spirit, who depend on the hand of our Lord, are
never to enlist the aid of the influential, the wealthy, the
famous, the important, to further the cause of Christ. Now, if
these people love Christ, wonderful. They're to be received. A wealthy man, if he loves Christ,
is to be received just like you'd receive a poor man or an average,
middle-income man. Don't push the wealthy off just
because he is wealthy. He's no different. If they love
Christ well and good, but in most cases they don't. And God's
had some wealthy men. Abraham, Job, David, Solomon. You could just go on naming men
who knew God, who were wealthy, but they knew God. And that's
to be the first requirement in the family of God, in the church
of our Lord. It doesn't matter whether a man's
very wealthy or very poor. We're just one in Christ. That's
what he's saying. And we're not to enlist the aid
of these people simply because of their influence or their power.
And then secondly, God had chosen the poor. He said over here in
1 Corinthians 1, If you want to turn over there, we'll read
a few verses. Verse 26, you see your calling, brethren, not many
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
but God has chosen the foolish things. God has chosen the weak
things. God has chosen the base things.
God has chosen the things that are not. that no flesh should
glow in his presence. All right, the third thing now
important here. But also in the church fellowship,
we are to despise any inclination on our part or within us to cater
to the flesh. We must despise that. We must
put it down. It's natural to human flesh.
It's normal, but it's not spiritual. And we must not cater to the
flesh. We are to cultivate within us
a spirit of love and oneness that highly regards all men. Paul put himself down here, not
everybody else. He said, I'm less than the least
of all the saints. You know, the fellow that's on
the lowest rung of the ladder can't look down on anybody. There's
nobody under him. Paul said, I'm not worthy to
be an apostle, I'm less than the least of all the saints,
I'm the chief of sinners. So the way to avoid showing partiality
is to face ourselves as we are. We are on the bottom row. Here's
a scripture I want to read, 1 Timothy 5. This is a good scripture,
let's look at it a minute. 1 Timothy 5, verse 21. Right
here, listen. I charge thee before God and
the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels, that thou observe
these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing
by partiality." Partiality. Here is the fourth thing. Our
preaching and our doctrine must not be softened, it must not
be held back to keep from offending the influential, the powerful,
and the wealthy. It's just God's Word. Preach
it like it is. And if the wealthy man is brought by the Holy Spirit
to love the gospel, praise the Lord. If the poor man is brought
by the Holy Spirit to love the gospel, praise the Lord. They
are then one in Christ. But we don't soften it to appease
the man with influence and power. We don't do that. Now look at
verse 8. If you fulfill the royal law,
what is the royal law? Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself, you do well. The royal law is the law of King
Jesus. That's the royal law. And I'll
give it to you from Matthew 22. If you'll turn to Matthew 22,
this is the reference, beginning with verse 34. Here's the royal
law, because it's the law of the King. In Matthew 22, verse
34, and when the Pharisees had heard that he put the Sadducees
to Silas, they were gathered together, and one of them, which
was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying, Master,
which is the great commandment in the law? And Jesus said, Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul,
with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment,
and the second's likened to it, thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. Now, every fellow creature is
my neighbor, but especially those of the household of faith. And
if you fulfill the royal law, the law of King Jesus, you'll
love one another as you love yourself. Turn to Galatians 5,
Galatians chapter 5, verse 13. you have been called unto liberty. Only use not liberty for an occasion
to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law
is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself." Look at Galatians 6.2. bear ye one another's
burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." That's the royal
law. And that's what he's talking
about in verse 8. If you would fulfill the royal law, this is
it. It's the law of love. But if
you have respect to persons, if you have ill feelings, envy,
jealousy, malice, If you have that kind of feeling, you commit
sin, and you're convinced of the law. What law? This royal
law, this law of the king, this important law, this first and
great law. You're convinced by that law
as a transgressor. If you honor one man above another
because of his position or his power or the influence of what
he can do for you, you commit sin. Now, many people don't regard
such behavior as sin. They can show partiality, they
can have a heart full of envy or jealousy or malice or look
down upon someone or feel ill toward them, harbor grudges,
vengeance, and they don't consider it to be sin. But listen to verse
10. Whosoever shall keep the whole
law and offend in one point, one point, he is guilty of the
whole law. Now the rich young man came to
our Lord and said, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal
life? revealing his sin, said, keep the law. He said, I've kept
it. I've kept it for my youth up.
And our Lord said, well, go and sell what you have, and your
neighbor over there is hungry, and you've got plenty. The man
next door to you is naked. You're well clothed. Why, you've
got rust and canker on your goal, and there are people out there
all around you that are doing without. You don't love people.
And this young man went away sorrowfully because he had much
riches. Well, the world doesn't look
on that as sin, but that's sin, to offend in one point of the
law, to have a lack of love, to be a respecter of persons,
the holy law of God. A man who does not see the spirituality
of the law won't see that. We're so busy talking about all
of these standards that we have and rules and regulations that
we're missing the heart of the law, we're missing the spirituality
of the law, we're missing the very foundation of God's law,
which is, thou shalt love God with all your heart and your
neighbor as yourself. And Christ said the whole law
was summed up in that. And James says this is the royal
law, and if you would fulfill the royal law, this is the place
to go to work, And if you have respect to persons, seemingly
to us, evidently to God, it's an important thing because James
has chosen it as an example of sin. And it seems such a small
thing to us because we don't like that person we work with,
and we don't like that person we shop with, and we don't like
this person we go to church with, and we look down on this one
and hold this one in high esteem, and we don't consider that sin.
James says that's sin. He didn't say it was a mistake.
He said it's sin. He didn't say it was just missing
the mark. He said it's sin. For God's the God of the whole
law. Look at verse 11. He that said, Do not commit adultery,
also said, Do not kill. Now, if you don't commit adultery,
yet if you kill, you're transgressing the law. You understand that,
don't you? Well, everybody understands that. So in verse 12, he says,
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by what
law? The Ten Commandments. Well, the
summary of it, and that's the law of love, the law of liberty. That's the law that's going to
judge us believers. The Jew, somebody said, will
be judged by the ceremonial law. The Gentile will be judged by
the law written in the heart. The religious man will be judged
by the moral law, the child of God will be judged by the royal
law, the royal law. We are to speak and we are to
live and we are to conduct ourselves and we are to think as those
who shall be judged by the law of Christ, the law of love, the
law of grace. As believers, we're to walk in
mercy. This is our law. We're to walk in love. This is
our law. This is our profession, and we'll
be weighed by this. All religious people abstain
from taking God's name in vain. There isn't a religious organization
or church I know anywhere that wouldn't take all the Ten Commandments
and say we're against breaking any of these. That's not the
ground on which we shall be judged. The believer is judged by the
royal law, the law of liberty. Look at verse 13. And he shall
have judgment without mercy who has showed no mercy. That's what he's saying. To him
who shows no forgiveness, to him who has no spirit of Christ
in loving, showing mercy and forgiveness, God's Judgment's
going to be the same toward him. Now, we're getting in a moment,
it doesn't matter how loud is my profession, if I do not put
in practice to some degree, and the degree is greater as we grow,
the royal law of Christ, where he says the man is going to have
judgment without mercy who has acted that way. That's what it
says in Matthew 6, turn over there if you will, in Matthew
chapter 6. Now this is so important right
here, and it's clearly what the scriptures teach. In Matthew
6.12, our Lord's giving the disciples a model prayer here, and he says
in Matthew 6.12, and this is the way we're to pray, forgive
our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not
into temptation. Verse 14, if you forgive men
their trespasses, your Father will also forgive you. Now Christ
is not saying the way to be saved is to forgive men. He's talking
here to believers. He's talking about this royal
law. He's talking about this law of liberty by which we shall
be judged, by which our lives shall be judged, by which we
shall be blessed, by which we shall grow. There's no way in
the world, our Lord went out, he taught salvation by blood.
He taught forgiveness of sin by blood. In whom we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sin through his blood. And he's not teaching
here, now if you forgive, your sins will be forgiven. He's saying
this, Charlie Payne, as a believer in Christ, as a man born again,
as a regenerate believer, if you can't forgive others, don't
pray for forgiveness yourself. That's what he's saying. He's
saying, Russell May, you say you're a believer, You're a child
of God. You're under the law of liberty.
You're under the royal law of Christ. If you can't love and
show mercy and forgiveness with a broken, humble heart, in sincerity,
loving your neighbor and forgiving their sins, don't expect your
Heavenly Father to wash you and cleanse you daily of your sins.
Don't expect. That's exactly what he said. Look at verse 15. If you forgive
not men their trespasses, neither will your Father. We're talking to believers here.
We're talking to believers. And that's what he's saying in
these verses here. Verse 8, in James 2, if you fulfill
the royal law, the law of Christ, you love your neighbor. If you have respect to persons,
if you carry grudges and envy and strife and jealousy and an
unforgiving spirit, you sin. You sin. And I don't care if
James says you try to keep the whole law, I don't care if you're
clean as a hound's tooth, I don't care if you're as moral as the
highest, pious person on earth. If you offend in this one point,
you're a sinner, he said, you're committing sin. For the same
God who said I shall not do this, says I shall not do that, he's
the God of the whole law. Verse 12, so speak and so do. as they that shall be judged
and dealt with on this royal law right here. That's how God
deals with me. That's how God deals with you.
And God will deal with you without mercy if you don't show mercy. God Almighty will deal with you
without any grace if you don't show grace. Now we're talking
to his children, we're talking to my brethren who have faith
in Christ. That's right. And what he's saying
here in the last part of that verse, verse 13, mercy rejoiceth
against judgment, he's saying this, mercy, the man that shows
mercy, the man that shows compassion, full of confidence in Christ,
don't have to worry about judgment. He's victorious over judgment.
See what he's saying? He doesn't have to worry about
judgment. He's victorious over judgment. He rejoiceth or glorieth
against judgment. God's going to deal with him
like he deals with his brethren. That's right. Now look, if you
will, at verse 14. What doth it profit, my brethren,
though a man say he hath faith and hath not worked? Can faith
save him? Now, let me read it this way.
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say, the key to
this verse is the word S-A-Y, say, he hath faith and hath not
worked? Can that kind of faith save him? The key to the passage in the
next few verses is saying, James is not talking about true faith,
because true faith can't be without works. True faith is an operative
grace. Magruder used to say, not just
grace on the lips, but grace in the heart. Not just grace
professed, but grace operative. grace that works by love and
kindness both to Christ and to his creatures. And he says, a
man says, I've got faith. And his life is not a life of
love and grace and mercy and kindness and joy and peace. Can
that kind of faith save him? Can this profession of faith
That does not give a new heart, and it does not shed abroad the
love of God, and it does not make us like Christ, and it does
not make us new creatures, and it does not give us a broken
heart, can that kind of faith save? And the answer is no, it
certainly can't. Any more than this, look at the
next verse. If a brother or sister be naked and hungry, and you
say, one of you say, here's that word again, depart in peace,
be ye warmed and filled." And you don't give them those things,
food and clothing? What does it profit? Can words
warm him? Why, you say, of course not.
Can words feed him? Why, you say, of course not.
Then also I say this, that faith that is in words only can't profit
either. That's what James is saying.
Even so, faith, if it hath not worked, is dead. That man standing
there naked and hungry, and you say, be ye warm, be ye filled,
and you don't give him those things, well, he can't be warmed
and filled. Words won't warm, words won't
fill, and neither will words save. Yea, a man may say, thou
hast faith, I have works, show me your faith without your works. I'll show you my faith by my
works. To show faith without works cannot
be done. Now then, look at verse 20. Will
you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Now here's
the Amplified here, and it helps this a little bit right here.
The Amplified version says this, Are you willing to be shown proof
that faith that does not produce good works, faith apart from
good works, are you willing to be shown that faith that lives
in word only, that does not produce love and good deeds. Are you
willing to be shown that it's worthless? All right, he proceeds
to do it. He says in verse 21, Was not
Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac?
And down in verse 25, Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot
justified by works? Now immediately when you look
at these verses, and will you stay with me just a few more
minutes, when you look at these verses, It looks like James and
Paul are in a conflict. It looks like it. For example,
just hold that right there and let me read something over here.
I'm going to read James 2.26. Listen to this. Or rather, Romans
3.28. Now listen to this. We conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
That's Paul. Listen to James 2.26. For as
the body without spirit is dead, faith without works is dead."
Sounds like they're opposite, doesn't it? Listen to Romans
4. If Abraham were justified by
works, he hath whereof to glory. Abraham believed God. It was
counted for righteousness. Listen to James 2.21. Was not
Abraham our father justified by works? Sounds like they're
contrary, doesn't it? Listen to Hebrews 11, verse 31. This is Paul again. By faith the Rahab harlot perished
not. James 2.25. Likewise also was
not Rahab the harlot justified by works. At first look it appears that
Paul and James are contrary. Well, we know that's not so.
We know that can't be so. There are no discrepancies or
contradictions or errors in God's work. Well, how do you explain
it, preacher? Well, a careful look will reveal
to you that the Apostle Paul and James are riding against
different eras. James is opposing self-righteousness. or rather Paul's opposing self-righteousness,
James is opposing no righteousness. That's the difference. Secondly,
Paul is writing against those who would impose the old Jewish
laws and circumcision on the Gentiles as a way of life, and
James is writing against that self-complacent Orthodox church
member who would claim freedom from all law and responsibility. Paul is opposing legalism, James
is opposing antinomianism. Paul looks at the justification
of the believer as meaning acceptance with God on the basis of Christ's
obedience. Now this is important. James
looks at the faith of the believer as being justified by his works. Paul is looking at the soul of
the believer, justified by grace through faith. James is looking
at that faith, and he is saying that faith is justified by the
works that it produces. Let me show you how they are
saying the same thing. Get your Bible and let's look
at some of these things. First of all, in James 2, verse
15. If a brother or sister be naked
and destitute of daily food, and one of you say, Depart in
peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding you give them
not those things which you need for, what doth it profit?" What
does Paul say in 1 Corinthians chapter 13? Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am a sounding
brass and a tinkling cymbal. They're saying the same thing.
James is saying You say you have faith. You say to the brother,
be warmed and filled. I say all these swelling words,
but if I have not love, James says, if you have not love, Paul
says, if you have not love, you're nothing. All right, look at James
2, 17. Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead. Turn to Galatians
5. Paul says the same thing. In
Galatians chapter 5, verse 19, Galatians 5, 19. Now the works of the flesh are
these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, sedition, heresy, envying, murders, drunkenness, revelings,
and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I've told you
in times past, they that do these things shall not enter the kingdom
of God. They're saying the same thing.
Look at James 2.19. Thou believest this one God,
thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble.
Paul says in Romans 10, Thou shalt believe in thine heart,
confess with thy mouth, thou shalt be saved, for with the
heart man believeth. All right, look at James 2, 21.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works? All right, turn to
Hebrews 11. Listen to Paul. Hebrews 11, verse
17. By faith Abraham, when he was
tried, Offered up Isaac. That works. Same thing is true
of Rahab. So what these two men, what James
and Paul, it would appear, when Paul is talking about justification
apart from works, by faith alone, apart from works, what Paul is
opposing is self-righteousness. What Paul is opposing is legalism. What Paul is opposing is those
Jews who would impose upon Gentile believers the ceremonial law
or the moral law or the judicial law or any other kind of law.
He's saying that we're redeemed, we're washed, we're cleansed
by Christ alone. But over here James comes along
and he says this, people with no righteousness are not saved.
People who fall into antinomianism and assentious living and despise
the law of God and do not show love and grace and mercy are
not saved. James is saying you can say you
have faith, you can claim to have faith, but if that faith
is not operative in your heart, in your life, it's dead faith
and it cannot save. And he says there in James chapter
2 verse 19, An empty, easy, believism will not save you because the
devil believes in God and he trembles. And he trembles. Well, we'll play this thing by
ear. Saturday night, I enjoy it. It
prepares you for the Lord's Day, doesn't it? And if we, uh, we're
going to cancel services next Wednesday. We're trying to cooperate
with the with a gas shortage. There is a gas shortage, I'm
told. And we have an allotment here. They've given us an allotment.
And so we're going to try to cooperate. We hated this building
tonight for the wedding, so went ahead and had services. We'll
have services tomorrow, but we'll keep her low. But we'll not next
Wednesday night. We keep the building on About
48 or 50, and you come in Wednesday, and you have to work all day
to warm it up, and it takes an awful lot of gas. So we'll cooperate
through the month of February. But if you'd like to, some of
you can talk about it. If you'd like to meet next Saturday
night, I enjoy it. And if you would like to meet
next Saturday night, like we did tonight, we have to heat
the building for Sunday, so we could have it pretty warm on
next Saturday night. You can let me know what you
think. Ronnie Ledesan, one more song. Let's sing 228. Let's stand,
please. My faith has found a resting
place, not in device nor creed. I trust the ever-living One. His wounds for me shall bleed. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died,
and that He died for me.

James Chapter Two

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James Chapter Two

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