“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 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, 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,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” James 2:1-4.
James begins this segment by appealing to us with the full weight of the Lord’s name, “…our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory”. There is good reason for this because the Father gave the church to His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:22.
“…Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” Ephesians 5:23b.
It says of the Lord Jesus.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” II Corinthians 8:9.
It is Christ, head of the church who warns us not to show partiality; this is not new, it is backed by the Law.
“You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. But in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.” Leviticus 19:15.
The courts of America today favor the poor or those they deem to be a minority without consideration as to whether it is justice or not, the church does not need to do the same.
“…have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” James 2:4.
Salvation is a level playing field, and the church which is made up of the same should endeavor to maintain that equality.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
If none of us should boast in our salvation, then none of us has reason to boast in our riches within the church, nor should we boast in knowing the rich and famous.
These are evil thoughts because partiality, whether given in awe of the person, or given in hope of gaining something in return like becoming the friend of the rich, traveling in their circles, being helped monetarily, or just boasting rights; no one does this for no reason.
The rich, on the other hand are used to being fawned over and it is seen as their due, and unless you are considered useful to them your kind actions will draw no gratitude.
The true Christian who is rich will expect no such gestures from another Christian, simply because they know that they too were snatched from the fires of hell.
Partiality is also evil because it dishonors the poor. When you despise someone like this, you may be despising a person who can teach the Scriptures like no other.
They may be able to really enter in to some trial you are going through and be a great comfort.
They may volunteer for jobs no one else will do; or again they may just need your love.
While handing out Christian tracts downtown one day, I handed a tract to a rather swarthy person in filthy clothes; he looked at the tract for a second, and then said, “Are a Christian?” I said, “Yes I am.” “Oh!” he said and threw his arms around me and gave me a hug.
You have to understand that I do not like being touched by strangers, so this was a bit of a shock. But, you know something, it was quite pleasant.
The poor come into the church to meet Jesus; they can with a handshake, a hug, or a friendly smile.
“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?” James 2:5.
God has not chosen the poor of this world and decided that the rich and the middle class can just go to hell, nor are they somehow His favorite children, rather the poor for the most part are more likely to follow His leading and desire to know Him more.
They start off with little status in the community, little say in what goes on, and little respect from another caste; so humility comes easier to them.
Let us make one thing clear, the poor referred to here are those who have turned to Christ in faith, or are searching for Him. In poverty one is more likely to turn to Jesus for salvation.
However, areas of poverty are rife with crime, drunkenness, drug addiction, wife beating, and child abuse.
Be aware then that some of these people who enter your church come there because many Christians are trusting souls who are easily duped into thinking this person is a new Christian or a needy soul who is truly searching for Jesus.
These deceivers know that Christians respond to god words like Jesus, God or Holy Spirit. Listen carefully how they use them.
Folks like this need to be given the gospel and hear about Jesus. They need to hear your testimony and those of other Christians. True seekers will listen, maybe argue, but they will come back for more about Jesus.
The con-man however will either try to change the subject, or make some ridiculous statement showing that they have no interest in the things of God.
This self-centered person will then leave when they realize they will get nothing, besides, there many other churches.
The rich community is not so different from the slums, though the crime is more likely to be white collar, and the child abuse, wife beating, drugs and drunkenness are often overlooked by the authorities because of their status in the community.
I am sure several powerful industrialists, actors, or politicians both dead and alive came to mind as you read this.
Still, God has a heart for the poor as we should; so if the opportunity comes and the Lord leads you to donate to a rescue mission, home for battered women, food for the poor from a Christian organization, or volunteer in one of these places, do so; not for brownie points or to feel good, but because the Lord Jesus became poor and rejected for our sakes.
“He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Isaiah 53:3.
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own esteem.” Proverbs 18:10-11.
It is the rich man’s focus on his riches and his arrogance that keep him from even seeking Christ. Very often the rich are educated in some amoral ivory tower university where liberal thinking replaces real life problem solving.
Too rich and educated beyond their intelligence, the well to do focus on this life only and forget that it consists of about seventy or eighty years.
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:20-21.
It is this education or the circles of intelligentsia that they run in that further cause the rich to misunderstand the gospel message.
Their learning prevents them from accepting the simplicity of the gospel, and instead they sum all Scripture up as allegory, or tales passed down from generation to generation until written down in its corrupted form.
This leaves Scripture with no firm foundation and opens it to any wild eyed interpretation. The poor grasps onto the gospel in simple faith and accepts it as what it is, the word of God.
“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption – that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’” I Corinthians 1:26-31.
“But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?” James 2:6-7.
The rich that James is referring to here are unsaved persons not rich Christians as discussed in the study, “That You May Be Perfect, James 1:9-11”.
He goes on to show the absurdity of showing partiality toward the rich; they oppress you, drag you into court, and blaspheme the name of Christ.
How many anti-Christian movies are made by the rich, starring godless rich actors who snidely blaspheme the name of Christ?
How many lawsuits funded by the rich have been brought against the church or community for mentioning the name of Christ in prayer, or for a Christmas display?
How does the media, controlled by the rich, portray Christianity?
Still people would fill their churches with these evil-doers and kick out the raggedy poor, simply because, “Gosh, think how much good we could do for the needy with all the money that would be coming in!”
Churches would be no better off if they were filled with unsaved rich people, for they do not part with their money easily and worse yet they would use their influence to water down the pastor’s message from the pulpit and in other areas like Sunday school.
Christ did not set up His church to be run like a corporation.
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…” I Corinthians 1:27.
Partiality, James 2:1-7 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 8-24-11, updated on 10-8-20.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.