©lightwritingmatters 2015
Theme Scripture: --James 4:17 “Therefore, if one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do it, it is a sin for him.”
Theme Scripture Chapter One:. “ 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”--James 2:12-13
We will get into the reason these two verses conclude the first 13 verses of chapter 2 at the end. Please focus on ‘law of liberty’ and how our liberty affects our judgment. Please also consider the Theme Scripture and how in the section ‘Beware of Personal Favoritism’ explicitly supports the truth spoken in the Theme Scripture.
Beware of Personal Favoritism
“1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.” ← This statement is very cogent when we understand what the phrase ‘the Lord of glory’ carries as a thought. From Vine's Expository: “Supernatural, emanating from God (as in the Shekinah "glory," in the pillar of cloud and in the Holy of Holies, Ex 16:10; 25:22) In essence, it describes exactly who the Lord Jesus Christ is and from whom HE comes. HE comes from the ‘GLORY of GOD’. Jesus, like HIS Father, is not partial. Scripture states GOD is partial to neither Jew or Greek, free man or slave, male or female! [Gal 3:28] If you read your Bible you know about the ’Glory of God’ from when Moses came down off Mount Sinai after beholding GOD as HE passed by Moses. Moses' face was so brilliant when he returned to the Israelites waiting for him he covered his face often except when he went in to speak with GOD! [Ex 34:35] What a powerful essence of GOD. So James is saying we cannot hold a faith in Jesus Christ, who is from the ‘Lord of glory’ and be partial. It is incongruent with who GOD is!
James begins to explain why he opens Chapter 2 with the statement above. “2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
Have you yourself ever participated in such an activity of partiality? Have you observed it in a church you attend/attended? We must be independent of those who manifest partiality in this matter completely aligned with the GOD OF GLORY. Do we or will we reverently hold that as a footstep follower of Jesus, our King, we must eradicate any vestige of partiality from our hearts/minds/spirits.
Notice the question James asks in vs 4 “have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” Manifestly, it should cause us to repel from such thinking and/or behavior!
Read on to see how James builds this out further..
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
Woah! Think about what James just juxtapositioned to the reader:
God chose the poor to be rich in faith and heirs to the kingdom to those who love him.
If you dishonor the poor and you consider yourself a Christian then James tells it like it is: You blaspheme the noble name of which you are called. CHRISTian.
Truly meditate on this over and over in prayer until the behavior is gone and you no longer see things through the eyes of partiality.
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Oops! AGAIN James speaks directly: If you practice loving your neighbor yay for you! But if you show partiality, what? You commit sin, and are CONVICTED as a law breaker. So, be diligent in praying for that sin to be removed from your heart, mind and spirit.
10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.
What exactly is the ‘law of liberty’? Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says this: “(e) "the law of liberty," Jam 1:25; 2:12, a term comprehensive of all the Scriptures, not a "law" of compulsion enforced from without, but meeting with ready obedience through the desire and delight of the renewed being who is subject to it; into it he looks, and in its teaching he delights; he is "under law (ennomos, "in law," implying union and subjection) to Christ," ← Italics for emphasis by author of this blog.
Liberty is our purchase by Christ’s blood and no other person thereafter has a claim on us. We are ‘free indeed’. [John 8:36]
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
We are faced now with the immutable fact of being ‘freed by our Lord’ and all of that is based first on GOD’s Mercy, Christ’s shed blood, Christ’s resurrection and our repentance and acceptance of Jesus as our Lord! Since we have freedom because of the mercy of GOD how could we then withhold mercy from anyone else?
So what is mercy? From Vine’s Expository Dictionary “"is the outward manifestation of pity; it assumes need on the part of him who receives it, and resources adequate to meet the need on the part of him who shows it. It is used”(b) of men; for since God is merciful to them, He would have them show mercy to one another’
Reader, we have no excuse. If we glory in the freedom of Christ and are blessed in HIS merciful sacrifice for us, how could we possibly withhold mercy from another? The only restriction is if there is a need for another but the one who wishes to help lacks resources to provide the need. When talking about our attitude towards others we should especially possess NO sense of partiality between those who are poor and those who are not. It is thus absolutely incumbent on us to pray, meditate, practice until it is no longer part of our person to do away with partiality.
As a reminder, please remember the theme scripture, ‘if you know what is right and do not do it is sin!
Part 2 due August 2, 2023
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©lightwritingmatters 2015 |
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” – Acts 3:19-20
“Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born [a]again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:3-8
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