Usually we favor the rich man over the poor man because we believe we can get more from the rich man. To show partiality shows a selfish streak in us. When we assume that the rich man is more important to God or more blessed by God, we put too much value in material riches. To show partiality shows that we misunderstand who is important and blessed in the sight of God. God looks at the heart, and so should we. For the Lord does not see as man sees for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart ( 1 Samuel 16:7). To show partiality shows that we care more for the outward appearance than we do upon the heart. Their evil thoughts are evident by their partial actions. Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? To favor the rich man over the poor man in the way James described shows a deep carnality among Christians. There should also come in a poor man: “The word signifies one very poor, even to beggarliness.” (Poole)Ĭ. There were even shops in Rome where rings could be rented for special occasions.” (Hiebert) A sign of wealth, rings were worn with great ostentation. “In Roman society the wealthy wore rings on their left hand in great profusion. A man with gold rings: This showed the man was rich. “As Christians have no church-buildings at this period, their place of meeting was usually some large room in the house of a wealthy member or a hall hired for the purpose ( Acts 19:9), where outsiders were free to attend the ordinary services… They were to be welcomed, but welcomed without any servility or snobbery.” (Moffatt)ī. “Till the final rift between Judaism and Christianity both Christian and non-Christian Jews used, at least often, the same word for their sacred meeting-place.” (Adamson) This is the only place in the New Testament where an assembly of Christians is clearly called a synagogue. At the time James wrote, most all Christians came from a Jewish heritage. The fact that James calls a Christian meeting place a synagogue shows that he wrote before Gentiles were widely received into the church. If there should come into your assembly: In the ancient Greek, the word assembly is literally synagogue, the name of the meeting place for Jews. ( James 2:2-4) An example of the kind of partiality that has no place among Christians.įor 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?Ī. As this command from James shows, the apostles had to teach the early church to never hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ… with partiality.Ģ. But this unity didn’t come automatically. The unity and openness of the early church was shocking to the ancient world. A significant aspect of the work of Jesus was to break down these walls that divided humanity, and to bring forth one new race of mankind in Him ( Ephesians 2:14-15). In the ancient world people were routinely and permanently categorized because they were Jew or Gentile, slave or free, rich or poor, Greek or barbarian, or whatever. With partiality: We do well to remember that James wrote to a very partial age, filled with prejudice and hatred based on class, ethnicity, nationality, and religious background. This means that the earliest Christians considered Jesus to be God, and said so in strong, unmistakable words.ī. This is especially significant because James is widely (and properly) regarded as one of the first letters of the New Testament written (perhaps somewhere between AD 44 and 48). Moffatt comments: “The Christian religion more explicitly belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the divine Glory - a striking term for Christ as the full manifestation of the divine presence and majesty. James used strong words to refer to Jesus Christ: The Lord of glory. The Lord of glory Himself shows no partiality ( Deuteronomy 10:17 and Acts 10:34) so neither should those who put their trust in Him. Do not hold the faith: The glorious faith we have, the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, should never be associated with partiality (discrimination). My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.Ī. Partiality and discrimination in the family of God.ġ.
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