I'd like to continue reading through the whole first chapter and going on into the second chapter, because really, James is building idea on idea. I won't do that, but I will go back to the last two verses of chapter one, because there is a flow, and often I think when we have the chapter breaks, we kind of lose the train of thought. Verse 1 is really building upon what he has just said in verses 26 and 27. So we'll start there and then go on to verse 7. And those verses will be our focus this morning. If anyone thinks he is religious, it is not bridle his tongue. And just ask the children to remember that in terms of the toothpaste coming out and not being able to put it back in, if you don't gargle your tongue. But to seize this heart, this person's religion is worthless. A religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father is this. To visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, you sit here in a good place. But when I say to the poor man, You stand over there or sit down on my feet. Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, for which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. And are not the rich ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court, are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? May God add His blessing to His Word. There's an ad on TV where they have these two little girls about seven or eight years old and a man with them talking to them and at one point the man turns to the first little girl and asks, would you like a pony? And of course the little girl said yes. as we might expect and he pulls out of his pocket a nice little toy pony and hands it to her and she begins looking at it and then playing with it and all seems fine and then he turns to the second little girl and says really the same question, would you like a pony? and having seen what's happened with the first girl she of course says yes and the man sort of clicks and out comes this live pony Let's give it to the second little girl, and she's incredibly happy, begins petting the pony, and that sort of thing, very excited. Well, and then they focus on the first little girl, and it's very clear that she's dismayed that all this has gone on. The other girl has gotten this pony, and she's gotten this little toy. And finally she says, Basically, that's not fair. Why didn't I get a pony? And the man answered, because you didn't ask. And then the ad goes on to make its point, even children know it's wrong. And they make that point about begging and that sort of thing. But even a child knows it's wrong. To show that sort of favoritism. To have two children, one receive a live pony and the other a toy pony that's worth just a couple of dollars. And we would agree. To show favoritism, to be so partial in that situation, strikes us as completely wrong. Yet oftentimes, I think, as we think about partiality and we look at ourselves and say, am I showing partiality or favoritism towards somebody? We simply ignore it. It's not seen as that great an issue. We could even call it a respectable sin. It's something that, you know, Christians do, and we all do it to a certain extent, that we have those that we like and those that we don't, and those that we favor and those that we don't. And it's so bad. It occurs in society all the time. And so what if it occurs in the church somewhat? Is it really that bad? We're not giving away real ponies to people and withholding them from others. We're not that bad in what we do. But as James is pointing out here, those verses that we read, To do that is essentially inconsistent with true faith in Jesus Christ. We may think it a small thing. A sin of very little consequence. But James is pointing out to us in what we'll see, is that it is a very serious sin. And so the first point as we approach this passage is, what is favoritism or partiality? And what is its importance? Because if you look at verse 1, he's giving to us a general principle. Show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. As you claim these gifts, as you hold your faith, you're not to show any partiality. And we can notice four things about that general principle that he gives. First, it's a warning that's addressed to Christians. He begins in verse 1 by saying, my brothers, and in verse 5 he says, my beloved brothers. He's talking very cuddly in this passage to Christians. He's not talking about what the world does. The world may be engaged in all sorts of partiality and bias and everything else, but Christians ought to call to examine ourselves. To consider. How are we living? Are we living different than the world that would say partiality isn't too significant? Am I showing partiality as a Christian? We need to be concerned that it's a sin and how it might affect us. Second thing we can notice is against this general rule, it begins with those words, show no partiality or show no favoritism. They're put first for emphasis. So as you think about your faith, one of the things you need to think about first and foremost is are you being partial in your behavior, in your conduct, in your thinking as a Christian? We may not think it's important, but God does. And God is emphasizing it. It's not respectable in His eyes. No matter how much we might accept it or downplay it. Well, the third thing we need to understand is what it means to show favoritism or partiality. What really the definition is that the King James has are respective persons. And the Greek literally is, receive the face. I'm interested, related back to the Hebrew and the Old Testament, of looking really at the outward appearance, of making judgments or distinctions on what you see, on what the face, what the appearance of a person is. And so you make distinctions maybe based on their attractiveness, or their social status, or their race, or their gender, and setting one group above another, based on appearance. This word is used only three other times in the New Testament. It's used in Romans 12, Ephesians 6-9, and Colossians 3-25, all with references to God, and all saying, God shows no partiality. God shows no favoritism. God never does that. Man may and does judge based on appearance. But God never judges based on what would be superficial or external. And we understand that in some ways, that that's wrong to do. A teacher knows that, but if they receive in a report and it's a real fancy binder, it really doesn't matter compared to the inside. And if the report is terrible, it doesn't matter how much you spend on the binder that holds that report. It's what's on the inside that matters. It's what we're like that matters. Not what our appearance is or what our gender is, those sorts of things. How sad, as I heard recently of a father sending gifts to his daughters Except the youngest. The youngest has done something and the dad is not very happy with her and so he sends gifts to all the other daughters, but the youngest he sends none. He shows partiality. How bad when that happens. And he wanted to make sure that that daughter knew she didn't get anything when all the rest did. Well, what did their sisters do? Well, they pooled all the money and divided it equally among them. Because they knew it was wrong, what the dad was doing. How terrible it is to show partiality in that way. It's contrary to the way our Heavenly Father acts. He never shows partiality like that human father did. And then the fourth thing, as we look at this general principle, is to remember the context of those previous verses. We went back and read in verses 26 and 27. James is talking about genuine religion, true religion. How will it show itself? It will show itself in action, and that's certainly one of the points he makes throughout the book. We're not to be just singers. but doers. What we profess needs to show in terms of action. And he mentions some things in particular, having a bridled tongue, of helping those who are needy, those who are poor, those who are vulnerable, the widows and the orphans. He's talking about staying unstained from the world. How do you live what you profess as Christians? And really, if you think about that, much of the rest of the book of James, all the way to the middle of the last chapter, is sort of specifics. Or to be doers of the Word, what does that mean? What does it mean when strangers come into your assembly? If you're a doer, if you have a living faith, what does it mean in terms of how we respond? to a rich man and to a poor man coming into your midst. And the central assumption is that the reality of your Christian faith will show itself in very practical ways. And one of the most practical ways for a church is when somebody comes in. What do you do? Your faith will show. Notice, as he begins to do some case studies, the very first one is not one that we might expect. We might expect, you know, okay, now you're saying you're going to be a doer of the Word. Well, how much time do you spend praying every day? Do you spend a half hour? Forty-five minutes? Well, then you're a doer. You're spending that much time in prayer. How many times have you witnessed this week in your work situation? You're on the campus. Well then we know you're a doer. Or how often you've helped the poor. You don't begin with any of those things. But you show favoritism. You show partiality in what you do. It's maybe not where we would begin to think about this whole issue of being a doer, but it is a very practical way. testing ourselves. Are we doing the Word of God? Are we following after God? Are we imitating God in the fact that He shows no impartiality? Or are we showing favoritism? Well, the second point is, how might a Christian show favoritism or impartiality? And it gives us, first of all, verses 2 to 4, a very simple illustration. Two men come into a Christian gathering, And we're really given very few details. We don't know whether it's a worship time or some other gathering that they might have. Whether it's crowded or not very crowded. It's likely in the first century to be in somebody's home and so there might not be a whole lot of space. But we don't know how many seats are available or not. We don't know whether one or both of them are Christians or whether they're both non-Christians. Now, we're sort of assuming that they're first-time visitors, but we're not even told that. There's really one fact that we're told about these two men, and that's their appearance. And that's sort of the highlight is, one is dressed fancy, He has fine clothes, he has gold, he's perhaps from what would have been called the Roman equestrian class, sort of the wealthy class, respected and honored in that day. And the other comes in dressed shabby. Really his clothes are basically rags. And at this point, the only thing that that group in the first century that we would know is their appearance. One is dressed really well and one is not. But there is a difference in response. Not based upon the fact that one is a Christian and is suffering for the gospel and the other isn't. Or anything else. There is a difference based solely upon appearance. And the one is given a good seat, and really politely led and said, basically, have this good seat here. And the other is sort of brusquely said, stand there, or sit here. None of the politeness. In the Greek it comes across as very brusque. Now it's a common everyday situation. How do you respond? It's still true today. Although we've usually trained ushers better than to have people sit on the floor or stand here or there. Right there. But how, indeed, do we do the same sort of showing of favoritism or partiality? Well, it still exists. There was an interesting study in New York City in the business district. There was a man and he spent several weeks and he was there and he pretended he lost his wallet and would say to people, you know, I've lost my wallet, I need money for a taxi. Here's my name and phone number and I'll pay you back when I get the money. And so he'd go day after day. And the only thing was different. It was the same man, he had the same spiel that he learned, and he would repeat the same thing to people. The only difference is that certain days he wore a beige overcoat, and on the next day he wore a black overcoat. And beige was sort of the in color. at that time. That was the fashionable overcoat to be wearing. Plus, did that make any difference? Well, it did. He received twice as much money on the days he was wearing a beige overcoat as compared to those days when he wore a black overcoat. One simple thing. And it changed people's perceptions about him and they treated him much differently. Well, surely, as Christians, we would not be so fickle as to do that. Right? Well, I just think of a study that looked at the height of ministers. And there are very, very few short ministers. It's something of the order, it's ten times harder to become a minister if you're significantly shorter than the standard. Now, what are we saying? Are we saying people who are short in stature are short on God's grace? No. We would never, ever make that association. But somehow, someone who is at least average height or taller seems to be a leader. Seems to be able to stand up and be respected. And those who are shorter. And again, it's based upon appearance. And churches judge and will select leaders based upon appearance. and not say how spiritual, how godly. And surely they think that that's all they're judging by. But unless we're concluding that those who are shorter aren't very godly, something more is coming into play. Well, how might such partiality show itself? But you might show in terms of a pastor who doesn't preach on a certain sin because he knows he'll offend somebody, maybe the biggest giver in the congregation. And well, I can just kind of skip over that. Let it go. You might show in response, you know, are we happy to have all races and all nationalities come and join with us? Do we want to see that? And are we willing to receive them without showing any paternalism toward them? Do we desire to see well-educated come and be a part of us? Our working class. And see them equally as valuable. We want blue-collar types to join us as well. Do we have a preference? Do we want young families? What about older couples to come join us in singles? We can show partiality in a lot of different ways. Well, the third point is to say, what's wrong with such partiality? And we can look at it two ways. First, as you look at verses 6 and 7, it's really saying it's foolish. As you see there, there's two rhetorical questions. You know, what's often the behavior of the rich? Now, it's not always the case, but as a general rule, what do they do? Well, often what they do is deplorable. They oppress and drag off in the court, and they slander the name of Christ. As they have this wealth and power, they use it to exploit. Again, it's not a universal truth, but it is a general case. And it's true for too many of them. And so, as a class, they're the ones who are most likely to be opposed to Christianity, to be persecuting Christians, to be opposing them in various different ways. If you know that, how foolish then it is to honor them! Those who are seeking to dishonor and harm you. But more than that, we can see that it violates all three standards of true religion that we looked at in verses 26 and 27. We saw last week that true religion seeks to help the poor. When you discriminate in this way and you show favoritism to the rich and against the poor, you're insulting them. You're treating them as lesser. And one of the things about the Gospel is that it treats us all as equals, that we're all saved in exactly the same way. It doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor, young or old, male or female, intelligent or simple-minded or whatever it would be, you're all saved in the same way by the grace of Jesus Christ. You all come as sinners who cannot save yourselves and who need Jesus Christ. And when favoritism is being shown when certain ones, because of appearance or whatever, receive an advantage. It suggests that there are people who are more important, people who are first class and people who are second class. People who are more valuable in the eyes of God than others. And of course, that's a complete repudiation of the gospel. Spiritually, we're all dead. We're all in need of the Savior. And if you look at what the Scripture says, we're all like a decaying corpse. Some may be wearing a tuxedo and jewelry and gold, and others may be in rags. But it really doesn't matter, because we're all spiritually dead and need the help of Christ. And look at verse 5, it asks, Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world? to be rich in faith. That as the New Testament church developed and as the church has developed down through the years, it's often the poor that respond. The rich can feel comfortable with what they have, but it's the poor that often show genuine faith. Now, not all of them. And yet, they see their need Well secondly, true religion is to be unstained by the world. But what do we do when we show favoritism? We're acting in an utterly worldly way. We're acting completely to a God who shows no partiality, who shows no favoritism. It really continues that inclination of the world to favor certain ones based on appearance, or on wealth, or social status, or because of their gender, or whatever it is. It refutes imitating God, who shows no such partiality. Think about it. Because as you do one or the other, You're pursuing after a certain glory. You're pursuing the glory of men, which can be in their appearance, their cars, their fancy cars, and appearance, and clothes, and jewelry. Or you're pursuing the glory of God. Did you notice how it was mentioned very early on? In verse 1, we're to hold our faith in what? in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory. And He's pointing to us the greatness of our faith and what it is and who it's in. And each term emphasizes the greatness and the glory of Jesus Christ. He is the Christ, the Messiah, that one promised long ago, that Deliverer, that Redeemer, that Israel is looking forward to. The Lord, the One who occupies supreme authority. the position of God's right hand, who's in the process of bringing all things into subjection under God. The Lord also implies being divine, that He's God. And at the end of it, He's the glory. You can think about the Shekinah glory, the glory of the pillar of cloud. accompanied Israel in the desert, that manifest presence of God, that pointed to His exalted nature. True religion focuses on the glory of God and not on the passing glory of man. And third, true religion controls the tongue. And often when we show favoritism, we're not controlling the time. I mentioned in the illustration he gives that as the command to give and stand or sit, they're really pretty brusque. No politeness. As if those who are dressed in rags don't deserve any dignity, any respect. And it may seem like a little bit of a snub, but it can wound deeply. Just as much as pulling an eye with a knife and stabbing a person. You'll heal from that stab wound. This stab could affect a person for years. The result, you become judges with evil thoughts. You're judging, which is bad enough, but you're judging in the wrong way, with evil thoughts, according to standards that are wrong, according to worldly standards, rather than not judging according to God's standards. And so we're not to show partiality. to show favoritism. As I think about it, in fact it's an area that we all fall short. Or maybe try not to show favorites. Parents with their children, to treat them all the same. And the church, to treat everyone who comes to the door in exactly the same manner, with the same care and concern. And we may not even be aware of it, but I think often times we do show partiality. So we need to acknowledge, Lord, I'm a sinner. And I really can't stop sinning. I desire to. I strive to. But I do play favorites at times. I do let words out of my mouth. that shouldn't come. I am too much stained by the world and reflect the world in my thinking and in my actions. I too often turn to death, fear, to the needy and to their cry. We need to acknowledge that and say, my only hope is in your mercy. Forgive me for Jesus' sake. And really, as we think about the application, it comes down to that. As we strive, we should examine and see other times when we show favoritism, when we show partiality. And then to confess and ask for forgiveness. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, know that we do not measure up to your standard, that as we see that you show no partiality, that you don't judge based on superficial things, and that you've called us, likewise, to be sort of the same impartiality. We know that we fail. and we ask for your forgiveness on behalf of Christ and cleansing, that we would endeavor to more and more be like Him, to imitate Him and His dealings. How we would soften and gentle and caring with those who are in sin and in bondage to sin and seeking your truth and to find you. And how He rebuked those who felt confident about their own faithfulness and righteousness, rather than looking to you. Help us to look at our lives, to see where the sin is, to confess it, and to forsake it and to know that it's covered by the blood of Christ. It's in His name we pray. Amen.