If your Bible opens naturally to the book of Hebrews, you're close, just one more book over. James chapter number two, this chapter breaks down into two basic sections. The first section would be verses one through 13, and the second verses 14 through 26. We're gonna take the first of those two sections as a whole this evening. How about we read the text together? Would you stand with me? And let's read together James chapter 2 and verses 1 through 13. James chapter 2, reading aloud together, verse number 1. The Bible says, My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and saying to him, Sit thou here in a good place, and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool, are ye not then partial in yourselves, and have become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved 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 ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well. But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, do not commit adultery, said also, do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For ye shall have judgment without mercy, that is showed no mercy, and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Look at chapter three, read verses 16 and 17 with me. Chapter three, verse number 16. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for your word and the opportunity we have tonight to read it and study it together. I pray that you'd guide and direct us into the truth. From these passages, Lord, would your Holy Spirit be the teacher this evening and apply your word to our hearts, we pray that we might glorify you. And we'll thank you in Jesus' name, and amen. You can have a seat this evening. This passage focuses on one central theme. that I believe is very apparent as we read the verses. It is identified in chapter two, verse one, as respect of persons. In chapter three, in verse number 17, the Holy Spirit calls it partiality. And as we get into the message, what I'd like to do is highlight five particular truths from this section that relate to the sin of partiality or respect of persons. But before we can do that, need to work through the passage just a bit and make a few points by way of introduction. So many wonderful phrases and so much wonderful truth that we just don't have time to break down this evening. We'll come back, Lord willing. and do that later. But look first in verse number one. My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. And the wording here is interesting. This chapter is going to emphasize the fact that God is concerned about more than just having faith. These people have faith, but God wants to know how they have their faith. This chapter emphasizes that God is concerned about more than professing faith. In verse 14 is a man who says he has faith, but God's not interested in what you say. He's interested in what you show. And so James 2 is emphasizing the demonstration of our faith, the manner in which we have our faith, the visible, evident display of whatever faith it is that we say that we have. We're not supposed to have faith. We're supposed to walk by faith and live by faith and show our faith. We have a doctrinal statement. We have a statement of faith. We have some core beliefs that unite us as a local church. We're not ashamed of it. We post it on the website and you don't have to go search high and low to find it. It's right there. We put it on the wall so you know exactly what it is that we believe as a church. So we have a statement of faith, but this is more than that. How do those things that we say we believe affect the way that we live our lives? How do they influence our choices, our decisions, our actions, our attitude? So have the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, verse number one, but don't have it this way. Have it in the right way, not in the wrong way. This is what the New Testament calls sound doctrine. Sound doctrine is not just biblical doctrine, it is practical doctrine. It is doctrine that is lived out on a daily basis. All of those references in the New Testament to sound doctrine deal with not just intellectual facts of theology, but daily living. Okay, so we want to have a doctrine that is sound. James chapter 1, last time we studied the passage, calls this our religion, the real outworking of our theology. And we need to have a pure religion, a real religion, a genuine religion, not a vain religion, not a empty, fake, or feigned religion. So have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect of persons. There is something we could add to the faith we say that we have that would invalidate it or negate it or render it ineffectual and the Holy Spirit is warning us against that. Don't add respect of persons to your Christianity. Don't have that kind of Christianity. Eight times in the Bible, we're not going to take the time tonight to run the references, but at least eight times the Holy Spirit clearly states that God is no respecter of persons. Aren't you thankful for that this evening? The instruction is repeated at least five times for us that we are to be like God in this way that we are not to have. respect of persons, that we are not to be partial, that we are not to play favorites for a modern way to put it. But what does this mean exactly when the Bible says that God is no respecter of persons? Because it can't be that he treats everyone equally. This is an important distinction because our society is so confused. They have so twisted the language and the meanings of words. God does not treat everyone equally. You understand that? Some people are saved and go to heaven. Those without Christ will be cast into a lake of fire. God doesn't treat everybody the same. Those that trust in Christ are saved, forgiven, delivered. Those who reject Christ are condemned. So the way that God deals with an individual is based on the actions, the choices of that individual. Now, God does not prejudge. He judges on the basis not of somebody's background, not on the basis of somebody's skin tone, not on the basis of somebody's heritage or their language or their ethnicity. God bases His judgment on nothing else than somebody's actions. He gives to every man according to the fruit of his ways. In that way, God is no respecter of persons. He has children. Some of them He blesses. Some of them He chastens. Based on their obedience of or rejection of His Word. So God not having respect of persons, it's not equal treatment, it's equal judgment. Does that make sense? See, the way that this language has shifted, it's gone from a country where we believe that all men are created equal in the sense that we are all given life by God. Right? We are all equal in that, in our worth, in our value as human beings who are made in God's image. We are his creation. And this nation was founded by people. They might not have been Bible believing Christians, but they believed in God. They believed in creation. They wrote in our founding documents that we have a creator who has given us inalienable rights. They called them natural rights. These are not granted by government These are granted by God. Now thankfully they are recognized at least still in large part even today by our government but if government gives you rights government can take those rights. And these rights are God-given, that God has given each of us life and liberty and the ability to make choices and decisions that have built-in consequences with them. So we're a nation that once believed that all men are created equal, but that has been twisted, that has been changed, and it's not anymore about equal opportunity, it's about equal outcomes. The terminology has gone from equality to equity. And that's not what the Bible is talking about when it says God has no respect for persons. That is anti-biblical Marxist garbage. and we need to be able to identify it for what it is and understand what the Bible is actually saying. All that is is just another flavor, another example of the partiality that the passage addresses. What they're teaching in our schools today is something called critical theory. You need to understand what that means. It's Marxist ideology. They call it anti-racism. You know what it is? It's racism. Okay? And when the Bible talks about partiality, when the Bible talks about not respecting persons, we can't understand it through the lens of what the news media says. We need to understand it through the lens of what the Bible says. So God doesn't treat everyone equally. He does judge everyone equally. And he put these things in the Bible though, because God is aware of the makeup of human nature, is he not? And human nature has this tendency toward partiality, toward favoritism. It's a real problem, not just in our culture, every culture around the world. Look at the corruption that exists in our own government. And we've got it real good compared to most of the other nations around the world. But what's that problem? It's partiality with respect to persons. Look at the corruption of our judicial system. Is it not maddening? Is it not frustrating? People can break every crime in the book, but if they've got the right name recognition, Right? Somebody can commit the most heinous crimes and absolutely get away with it because of their prestige, because of their position. If you're the son of a president. Right? What is that? It's partiality. It's respect of persons. It's corruption. And human nature is bent in that direction. We see the problem oftentimes in family life. There's some real vivid illustrations in the Bible, aren't there? Think of Jacob. Jacob's home was quite dysfunctional. Jacob had a favorite wife, and I do too, but it's a lot different situation. When our kids were little, they loved us. I think they still loved us, but they loved us and they'd write us little notes. It's tough to get up here and talk. It'd be something along the lines of, Mom, you're my favorite mom I've ever had. And it meant a lot. a little bit less when you only have one choice. Now Lauren is, she's my favorite wife, but she's the only one I have. That's the way you're supposed to do it. Jacob had a favorite out of four. That caused problems. He had a favorite wife, he had favorite children. Right? That was not a good idea. That led to some avoidable issues. in the home. Our kids are always asking us, who's your favorite child? The answer is always the same, not your day. Try again tomorrow. Today is not your day. Now, come on, the government, I can't control that. Judicial system, I can't control that. Your home, I can't control that. My home, I'd better control that. I better recognize this tendency of human nature and put it in check. The church, we better control that. Why did God put this in the Bible in an epistle addressed to a congregation of believers? Only two options. It is either a correction, or a warning. Either they have this problem, they need to get it right, or they need to be aware not to allow this to become a problem. So he inspired it, but then he preserved it, and we have it, and we read it tonight, and it's only one of two options. Either it's a correction, we got a problem we need to adjust, or it's a warning, be aware of this, don't allow this to happen. Okay, so five points from the passage regarding partiality. Number one, it reveals a diminished view of God. Partiality reveals a diminished view of God. What am I saying? Verse number one, my brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. When we have men's persons in admiration because of advantage, what's the problem? The problem is we think too much of men because we don't think enough of God. If we would be more impressed with God, we'd be less concerned about impressing other people. If our hearts would be more in love with the Lord, then we'd be a lot less concerned with what people think of us. We need to get our eyes focused in on the Lord of glory. There's one person who deserves glory and it's God. There's one who should have the preeminence. It's Jesus Christ. And when I have that right, It keeps this respect of persons thing in check. The best way to have no respect of persons is to have a proper respect of God. Verse number two says, for if they're coming to your assembly, a man with a gold ring. And listen, that was a real sign of wealth. How many of you have one tonight? We're all wealthy people, right? Walking into a church house with a gold ring on marked you as rich. We tend not to think of ourselves that way, do we? We define it way differently than the Holy Spirit does. Now, this was really supposed to wow them. This guy has a gold ring. Yeah, God paves streets with gold. A man's gold ring is a lot less impressive when you realize that God has golden streets. There's a man with a gold ring. He walks in. He has goodly apparel. Verse number three calls it gay clothing. This guy's decked out in pink and purple. I don't actually think that's what it means. Goodly apparel. Compare that to what the Lord gives His bride in Revelation chapter 19. Fine linen, which is the righteousness of saints. We're impressed by people's clothes. We're impressed by people's jewelry. We're impressed by people's possessions. No, no, no. Take a look at the Lord of glory. His wealth, His riches, His honor. Get our eyes back in the right place. Mark James 2. Come back to the book of Job. There's a statement made by Elihu. That's a great cross-reference for our passage. Job chapter 32 and verse 21. Job 32 In verse 21, let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. Flattery, that's saying something to somebody's face that you wouldn't say behind their back. It's like the opposite of gossip. Gossip is what you say behind somebody's back that you wouldn't say to their face. Flattery is what you say to their face that you wouldn't say behind their back. It's telling somebody a lie so they will think well of you. It's selfish. We're going to get to that. That's our second point. Elihu said, I know not to give flattering titles unto man. I can't respect man's person. Why? Verse number 22, for I know not to give flattering titles. In so doing, my maker would soon take me away. I'm more concerned with what my maker thinks than what you think, with the judgment that he will mete out than whatever judgment you're going to mete out. What kept Elihu's perspective proper was a right view of God. Back to James chapter number 2. Our point is that partiality reveals a diminished view of God. The passage continues. This guy comes in, he's got a gold ring and goodly apparel, but then verse number 2, there come in also a poor man in violent raiment. And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place, and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool." That's unimaginable. Can you imagine having seating arrangement based on people's socioeconomic status? That's horrible. Can you imagine people who call themselves Christian thinking that God's church should be segregated based on the color of somebody's skin? That is unimaginable and yet it exists. Come on, the Bible says there's no more Jew nor Greek, barbarian, Scythian, bond-free, Christ is all. We're in Christ. We're one body and one blood. Get over yourself. over yourself. People justifying the sin of racism with the Bible. That's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. That's partiality. That's respect of persons. It's not how God judges. It's not about the color of your skin. It's about the content of your character. Truly, in all sincerity, that's the way that the Lord does it. Isn't it a blessing to be a part of a biblical New Testament church? People of all kinds of different backgrounds, a lot of different incomes and approaches to life. But what unites us together is this common bond we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. This belief we have in the Word of God. This desire to glorify the Lord. You don't have to pay any membership dues. You don't get better seats by giving more in the offering box. Why? Because it's not about you and it's not about me. It's about Jesus Christ. This partiality, it doesn't include a proper view of God. It diminishes God. Secondly, it's selfishly motivated. Partiality, point number two, partiality is selfishly motivated. Verse four is interesting. Are ye not then partial in yourselves? Are ye not then partial in yourselves. Our cross reference is the book of Jude. Turn there please. Jude chapter number 1. It's your only option, kind of like my favorite wife. Jude chapter number 1 verse 16. Jude 1 verse number 16 says, these are murmurs, complainers walking after their own lusts, and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration, look at this, because of advantage. Why would someone express partiality? Why would someone have respect of persons for what they can get from that person they're treating with favoritism? It's you're partial in yourselves. You have this person's enamoration because of advantage. It's about what you can get from them. That's why you flatter. That's why you puff somebody up. There's something you hope to gain by that. It's the exact opposite of what we read in the end of James chapter number one. This pure religion. It's all about how I can be a blessing to others. Partiality. It's all about how I can gain from others. How can I benefit? All the Old Testament references to respective persons often had to do with judgment and bribery. Let me read to you Deuteronomy 16, 19, Thou shalt not rest judgment, thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift. For a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous. Why would a judge be partial? Why would a judge respect persons hoping to gain something in return? Hoping for some kinda kickback. Hoping for some personal advantage. And when we examine the human heart and take a look at human nature, that's what it's all about. It's selfishly motivated. Point number three, partiality is based on assumptions. Partiality is based on assumptions. This is pre-judging. Prejudice, that's what that is. Verse number four says, are you not then partial in yourselves, look at this, and have become judges of evil thoughts. It's a great phrase. Judges of evil thoughts. Now you know that Jesus said that we are to judge. We are to judge righteous judgment. Judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment. You know that the Bible says, that he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. So this is not a prohibition on making judgments, but what is it that we are to judge? Matthew 7, Jesus said, ye shall know them by their Listen, all we have to go on, all we can go on, what we're told to go on is someone's actions. What does God base his judgment on? On somebody's actions. What do we base our judgment on? On actions, on choices, on decisions. What are we not to judge? Thoughts. Oh, I know what they were thinking. No, you don't. I know what they meant when they said that. I know why they said that. I know why they didn't say anything. You think you do. You might be right. You might be wrong. Better chance you're wrong. And when we base our judgment, when we base our response, when we base our action on something we don't know and can't know, that's when you get yourself into trouble. Another Bible term for this is evil surmising. Are you not then partial in yourselves or become judges of evil thoughts? Only the Lord sees the heart. 1st Amos 16. God is the one who will judge our motives. 1st Corinthians chapter 3. He'll try our works of what sort they are. He didn't tell us to do that. He didn't tell us not to judge. He just told us not to judge what we can't know. judges of evil thoughts. Here in the context, here was the situation. There was a poor man came in, there was a rich man came in, and there was an assumption made that the poor man was there to get something and the rich man was there to give something and that was an improper assumption. Look at verse number five. Hearken my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of the world rich in faith? That poor brother might be a blessing to your church. Look down your nose at him just because he doesn't have as much money as you have. God's chosen that individual. He knows where they're at. Verse number six, but ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you? Just because somebody's rich doesn't mean God has blessed them. Doesn't mean they're right with God. Doesn't mean they're here to be a blessing. Did not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats? Listen, don't judge somebody based on their income. Judge somebody based on their actions. That's what we're talking about here. Point number four. Four out of five. Point number four. Partiality is ungodly. Just to understate the situation. Partiality is ungodly. Verse number seven. do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called." We don't want to be guilty of blaspheming the worthy name by which we are called. And when we violate the Word of God and when we who are supposed to represent Jesus Christ in this world act Contrary to Him, we give the enemy of the Lord occasion to blaspheme. Don't misrepresent God. God is no respecter of persons. Let's allow that to be manifest and visible in our lives. Those who represent Him should be like Him. I didn't know where else to fit this in the sermon, so right here is going to be probably the best spot that I can think of. Again, are you not thankful that God is no respecter of persons? What if God judged the way that men judge? That's a scary thought. What if we could not be certain that God would execute justice? Ever studied Islam? The judgment of Allah is arbitrary. There is no basis for his judgment. He might be merciful. He might be harsh. Good luck. Aren't you glad God's not like that? This could be one of the best arguments in the Bible against Calvinism. Think about that. If God is no respecter of persons, then how is it that He would select beforehand who would be saved and who would be lost? Who would go to heaven and who would go to hell? Is that not the epitome of partiality and favoritism? If the Bible is so adamant that God judges solely on the basis of a man's choices and decisions, then He can't have predetermined what you were going to do and what you were going to do and what someone could do and couldn't do. God can't be Calvinist and no respecter of persons. Now He's not like that. We shouldn't be like that. Our calling is to be holy because He is holy. We're supposed to reflect His image and His nature and His attributes. The Holy Spirit wants to make us more and more like Jesus Christ. Come to Matthew chapter 5, Mark James 1. Come to Matthew 5. One cross-reference for this point, Matthew chapter 5. Matthew 5, look at verse 42, Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preaching. He says, Give him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow thee, turn not thou away. You've heard that it's been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Now, what that means is that love is not an emotion. When Jesus said love your enemies, he didn't mean buy them chocolates and write them cards and invite them for a candlelit dinner. This is not romantic. To love someone is to treat them properly. To love someone is to act in their best interest. To love someone, God defined love in the law. love thy neighbor as thyself." How am I going to do that? Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not commit adultery. He defined what he meant by that. And that's good for people who love you and people who don't. Love your enemies. Treat them right. When I say you love your enemies, bless them that curse you and do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Not the imprecatory Psalms. That's not what he's referring to. Verse 45, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. Now listen, if you're saved, you are a child of God. How do you get saved? You've got to be born again. How are you born again? You believe the gospel. If you believe the gospel, you are a son of God. But in Matthew 5, he's talking about you need to reflect that. This isn't how to be saved. This is how to show that you're saved. that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. For He maketh His Son to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth His reign on the just and on the unjust." Is God good to you tonight? Was God good to you before you trusted Him? Did God bless you before you ever came to saving faith in Jesus Christ? The Lord is good to all, Psalm 145 says. His tender mercies are over all of His works. God has no respect for us. God is not partial. God shows His love. Listen, not just to the elect. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He made the sun to rise even on the good, and sent His rain on the just and the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? Lost people can do that. The Holy Spirit is supposed to take you past what lost people can do. Verse 47, "...if you salute your brethren only, what do you more than others? Do not even the publicans? So be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. This completion, this maturity, being good not just to those who were good to you, being good to everyone because you want to be like God. Partiality is ungodly. Have no respect of persons, reflect the image of your Father. James chapter 2, last point, Partiality reveals a diminished view of God. Partiality is selfishly motivated. Partiality is based on assumptions. Partiality is ungodly. And point number five, partiality will affect how God judges you. Strong language in our passage. Look at verse number nine. But if you have respect to persons, ye commit sin. It's a sin. It's a violation of God's Word. It's a transgression of God's law. You commit sin and are committed to the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Now is that not interesting, the context in which that verse is set? We use that verse when we witness. One lie makes you a liar. One crime makes you a criminal. One sin makes you a sinner. But in the context, what sin is the Holy Spirit pointing out? You keep the whole law, but if you're partial, you've broken all of it. Verse number 11, For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. And if thou commit adultery, and if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged, a great phrase in the Bible again, by the law of liberty. God's law is not bondage. It's the law of liberty. We'll study that out at a different time. For he shall have judgment, verse 13, without mercy, That has showed no mercy. God says what He means and He means what He says. What did He just say? He said, how much mercy you show others, I might use as a gauge of how much mercy I show you. It's not the only place He said that. With what judgment you meet, it shall be measured to you again. Jesus said that in the Sermon on the Mount. Look back at 2 Samuel 22. 2 Samuel 22. How you judge others, this passage says, will affect how God judges you. Remember, He has no respect to persons. He judges on the basis of our actions. it would behoove us to be careful with how we treat those around us. 2 Samuel 22 and verse number 26, James said, he shall have judgment without mercy that have showed no mercy and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. 2 Samuel 22, 26, with the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful. and with the upright man thou wilt show thyself upright." Remember the human penman of this passage of Scripture. The heading in my Bible, 2 Samuel 22, is David's Song of Deliverance. Read the Psalms. David was a very happy recipient of the mercy of God. David, a great man, did great things. A man after God's own heart, the sweet psalmist of Israel. And the bigger they are, the harder they fall. And David gave occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. And David committed some very serious transgressions and got himself in a lot of trouble with the Lord. But you know what? David had a background of showing mercy. And that might go a long way to explaining the mercy that God showed him. And don't be selective with the mercy. So how we judge others, the Bible says, that might affect how God judges you. What did Jesus say in the Lord's Prayer? The disciples pray. Teach us to pray. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Better be careful praying that. But whether you prayed or not, the Lord sees it. and he knows it, and it forms the basis of his judgment. So there's a lot of great truth in those phrases of James 2, but in the general picture, the big picture, what's about respect of persons, that's not what God is like. and not what we should be like either. Just keep Jesus Christ preeminent. Put him in the right place and let's treat others like he treats us. And we'll be all right. We'll have good fellowship and be unified in Jesus Christ. And that's the way that it ought to be. Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for your word this evening and the truth that it teaches us. God helps to take it to heart, apply it in our lives. We love you in Jesus name and amen.