The Mature Love Without Partiality — James 2:1-13

[00:00:05] Thank you for listening to the Calvary Monterey podcast. Please visit Calvary.com to learn more about our church and visit

[00:00:12] Nate Holdridge.com for additional Bible teaching from our lead pastor, Nate Holdridge.

[00:00:19] Teaching today is our lead pastor, Nate Holdridge.

[00:00:24] A couple weeks ago my wife Christina was the one reading our James passage and then we had Dwight last week

[00:00:31] But Christina did such a good job that I think pastor Riley wanted someone that she has taught to read

[00:00:38] Read the Bible and so my daughter Violet. She's 18 years old just graduated high school and

[00:00:46] So sorry Violet to put you on the spot like that, but isn't she beautiful she's amazing

[00:00:54] Okay, sorry, I'm done. No, I'm not I'm so proud of her. She's amazing

[00:01:02] Okay, now you can go you can read James chapter 2 1 to 13 is our text today

[00:01:08] My brothers show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory

[00:01:14] For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly and a poor man in shabby clothing

[00:01:20] Also comes in and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say you sit here in a good place

[00:01:27] While you say to the poor man you stand over there or sit down at my feet

[00:01:31] Have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

[00:01:36] Listen, my beloved brothers has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith in heirs of the kingdom

[00:01:43] Which he has promised to those who love him

[00:01:45] But you have dishonored the poor man are not the rich the ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court

[00:01:52] Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called if you really fulfill the royal law

[00:01:59] According to the scripture you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing well

[00:02:04] But if you show partiality you are committing sin and you and you and are convicted by the law as transgressors

[00:02:11] For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it

[00:02:16] For he who said do not commit adultery also said do not murder if you do not commit adultery

[00:02:21] But do murder you become a transgressor of the law

[00:02:24] So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty for judgment is without mercy to one who has shown

[00:02:31] No mercy mercy triumphs over judge judgment

[00:02:35] Amen, let's pray together

[00:02:37] Lord we thank you for your word today and as we consider and think about

[00:02:43] the sin of partiality and

[00:02:46] We pray Lord that you'd continue to shape and mature

[00:02:50] Our hearts we want to be more like you in the way that you see

[00:02:55] People and we certainly are thankful to you Lord that you've reached out to us

[00:03:00] You've reached out to our lives our hearts and so Lord

[00:03:04] We pray that you'd continue to shape our vision of what the mature person looks like as we wrestle

[00:03:10] With the book of James. Thank you Lord for this

[00:03:13] Passage and we pray again by your spirit that you'd speak to us today in Jesus name

[00:03:18] Amen. Amen. Well, one of the things that is

[00:03:23] So clear about the life and ministry of Jesus is that he was

[00:03:29] Attractive to a broad spectrum of people

[00:03:34] the Gospels in recording the

[00:03:38] Three and a half years of Jesus's ministry

[00:03:41] Portray him as a man whom people were just

[00:03:46] Interested in and he brought so many people

[00:03:50] together he had his group of male disciples

[00:03:55] But people often forget that he had also a large group of female followers who were part of his

[00:04:02] Ministry team and helping him keep things going as they were

[00:04:07] Reaching the north and then reaching the south with the message of the kingdom

[00:04:13] Jesus reached wealthy people and poor people wealthy people like

[00:04:19] Zacchaeus were drawn to Jesus and

[00:04:22] Thousands who had been made poor by the Roman Empire came to Jesus. They were hurting and broken and in need

[00:04:30] The so-called righteous people of the community people like Nicodemus in John's gospel

[00:04:37] Came to Jesus were interested in Jesus

[00:04:42] but so were the so-called sinners of

[00:04:46] The community of the tax collectors the prostitutes that were there in

[00:04:52] Israel

[00:04:53] And as the Jewish Messiah Jesus reached across ethnic boundaries as well

[00:04:59] He was interesting to Jew and Gentile alike

[00:05:04] He had interactions and encounters with people from across the racial spectrum

[00:05:11] Jesus was just

[00:05:13] Fascinating to people so when James

[00:05:15] Set out to write his vision of what the mature person looks like and that's how we've thought

[00:05:22] About this study through the book of James that there are people that James is writing to have who have been dispersed

[00:05:29] Throughout the Empire and they are asking the question

[00:05:33] How do we live out here for Jesus James?

[00:05:37] Who was the half-brother of Jesus has a vision for what that mature life looks like and it's no surprise

[00:05:45] That he begins pointing to thinking of the most mature person

[00:05:50] He ever knew he thinks about Jesus

[00:05:53] Jesus could walk into

[00:05:56] any gathering and love people as they were loving

[00:06:01] Them as he loved himself

[00:06:05] Now of course as Christians we understand that Jesus is not just attractive through his life

[00:06:11] But his death and burial and resurrection is also the great unifying

[00:06:17] Factor that brings us together. I mean here. We are in this room

[00:06:21] We got a lot of different types of people that are here today

[00:06:24] And many of us would look at others in the room and call them brothers or sisters in Christ

[00:06:30] Because we recognize that the blood of Jesus that was applied to our hearts our lives was applied to those around us

[00:06:37] And so we have been unified under the banner of the cross of Christ Paul the Apostle said it like this

[00:06:44] He said Jesus himself is our peace Ephesians 2 14 and 15 who has made us

[00:06:52] both one talking about Jew and Gentile and is broken down in his flesh

[00:06:58] the dividing wall of hostility by

[00:07:02] Abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself

[00:07:09] One new man in place of the two Jew and Gentile so making peace in other words

[00:07:16] This is pointing to what is said in other places in scripture Jesus being the second Adam

[00:07:24] Who created a new humanity?

[00:07:26] through his death and burial and resurrection if you're a believer in Jesus Christ today

[00:07:32] You are part of that new humanity and

[00:07:36] James as he looked at the church he recognized there's a way that this new humanity needs to behave in their treatment of

[00:07:45] other people

[00:07:47] And so that it's that new humanity that I think we need to have in mind as we approach

[00:07:51] This passage and I've been telling you that James has three main themes throughout this book

[00:07:56] He likes to talk about trials and what to do with them how to grow in them how to persevere in them

[00:08:02] He likes to talk about

[00:08:03] Wisdom what it is where to get it how to submit to it and he likes to talk about

[00:08:10] Financial status poverty wealth how to treat it in your own life

[00:08:15] How to treat other people and all of that and it's that third theme

[00:08:19] That he gets into here in these 13 verses that the best Bible reader who has ever graced this stage just read a minute ago

[00:08:36] James thought that the mature person

[00:08:42] Would celebrate the equal worth of all people in the sight of God and

[00:08:49] I think of this passage as four big

[00:08:54] Exertations I think there's something that James wants us to remember so that we will mature out of the natural tendency to partiality

[00:09:03] something to consider

[00:09:06] something to do and something to

[00:09:10] Anticipate so let's think about first the thing to remember in the first four verses

[00:09:16] We need to remember the Lord of glory. I'm gonna read it again. Let's read verse 1 through 4

[00:09:21] Together again. He says my brother show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory

[00:09:27] For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly and a poor man and shabby clothing also comes in

[00:09:34] And if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say you sit here in a good place

[00:09:42] Well, you say to the poor man you stand over there or sit down at my feet

[00:09:49] Have you not then made?

[00:09:51] Distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts. It's quite a like terrible scene that James

[00:09:59] Invisions happening in one of these synagogue gatherings in this early church, right?

[00:10:05] I mean, it's just like atrocious to us. We can't even like it's like no that would be so horrible if that were to happen

[00:10:12] A guy comes in he's got gold rings and fine clothing on a lot of times

[00:10:17] They would rent things like that in order to appear a certain way for special events

[00:10:22] So the special event here is some kind of church gathering. He comes rolling in

[00:10:26] It's clear and obvious that he's got wealth money position power whatever and

[00:10:32] They he's James says if you say to that guy, oh, I've got the best seat for you

[00:10:37] And then another person comes in another brother. They're they're poor their clothing is shabby

[00:10:43] It's a word that indicates like they are in poverty. They need clothing now and

[00:10:50] You say to them I've got a special seat for you at my feet

[00:10:55] Or you need to sit in the back

[00:10:59] Which by the way might help us understand that biblically the best places to sit are in the front of the sanctuary

[00:11:06] I'm just thinking about that right now. Those of you are like, I need to sit in the back. No, I'm just playing. It's alright

[00:11:11] I'm not partial. You can sit wherever you want to

[00:11:18] Like that the whole picture is just grotesque to us

[00:11:22] What crime is James

[00:11:25] describing with this tale of two men

[00:11:29] Well in verse one

[00:11:30] He uses the word partiality and in verse four he uses the word

[00:11:35] Distinctions and then he also in verse four uses the word judges or judgment

[00:11:42] Okay partiality it seems according to James means observing or

[00:11:48] receiving

[00:11:50] Based on the front of something that's the literal

[00:11:54] definition of the word partiality to see the front of something not the whole but the front

[00:12:01] Not the backstage, but the stage

[00:12:05] and

[00:12:06] It's more than mere favoritism

[00:12:09] It's when we allow a shallow glimpse of someone else to bring us into a

[00:12:16] decision

[00:12:17] About that person you should know that it's a word that still leaves room for

[00:12:24] The giving of honor or deference, you know

[00:12:27] The Bible also says to give honor to whom honor is due

[00:12:32] So if you're in court and the bailiff says all rise when the judge comes walking in you're allowed to do that

[00:12:38] You're allowed to stand up. You don't have to say like well James said no partiality or whatever it is

[00:12:43] Or if you're seated somewhere and all the seats are taken and someone elderly comes in who clearly needs a place to sit

[00:12:49] To land it's okay for you to show deference to get up and say I respect you and I would love for you to have

[00:12:56] My seat that's okay according to James

[00:12:59] But what James is thinking of what partiality is is something that judges at face value

[00:13:05] in an attempt to favor one person over another

[00:13:11] Now my fear is that James's

[00:13:15] illustration is so outrageous and so

[00:13:19] Disgusting and perhaps even so comical to us like that

[00:13:24] That would be wild if that literally happened that we might tune out to the pervasiveness of

[00:13:33] this sin

[00:13:35] The reality is that we are often terrible at making decisions about people

[00:13:42] Distinctions and judgments about others we rarely know the whole story you see those all throughout the Bible

[00:13:49] We're just not really built for this

[00:13:52] The prophet Samuel

[00:13:56] There's a passage in the Bible where God put Samuel in the same camp with Moses

[00:14:03] Super godly he's in the top tier, you know of

[00:14:07] God's people when it comes to just being filled with the spirit having wisdom

[00:14:11] When it came time for him to anoint the next king in Israel after

[00:14:16] Just such a terrible flame out with King Saul who was attractive and tall and all of this and everybody loved him

[00:14:22] But he just bombed

[00:14:24] He goes to David's house at the commission of God and he sees the oldest

[00:14:32] Sibling tall handsome and he just falls for the same thing all over again

[00:14:36] He's like surely the Lord's anointed is before me and a goddess to say to him, you know, man looks upon the outward appearance

[00:14:44] But the Lord looks upon the heart

[00:14:46] I see something else it was actually the eighth son of Jesse David the forgotten son of Jesse out taking care of his father's sheep that

[00:14:54] God had chosen years later when

[00:14:58] David had his family going and he was on the throne. He had a son named

[00:15:03] Absalom who stole the hearts of the people of Israel in part because he had really great hair

[00:15:11] I'm serious. This is in the Bible and then I don't know if this one has ever baffled you

[00:15:17] But when Jesus said one of you is going to betray me

[00:15:23] Nobody picked Judas

[00:15:26] Nobody suspected this guy was with them for three and a half years and they just are thinking like what a great brother

[00:15:33] Like they got it wrong

[00:15:35] They got it wrong and so often

[00:15:38] We get it wrong as well. And so James is saying look we got to be careful about this sin

[00:15:44] There's more to people than what is external now

[00:15:48] This can be uncomfortable for us because you know to me this is just the natural tendency

[00:15:54] Is to show partiality

[00:15:56] It can be uncomfortable though to think about that for ourselves like is that me am I struggling with that?

[00:16:02] I would just I think the good posture is just to kind of go like well maturity is to not show partiality

[00:16:08] So carnality and lack of spiritual growth would mean that there's probably areas in my life where I do show

[00:16:15] Partiality so I know there can be some discomfort for some about that subject and I know there's complexity as well

[00:16:23] You know

[00:16:23] I was at 7-eleven the other day and seaside picking up a diet coke because we were going Christina

[00:16:28] And I were going to get Mexican food and they don't didn't have good coax there

[00:16:31] So I'm like we're gonna get a big big goal but diet coke first and out in front of the store

[00:16:37] There's a you know an older man clearly

[00:16:42] High on something dancing around homeless

[00:16:47] Got pants, but they're not really on super good and no undies, you know, and it's just like okay, you know

[00:16:55] Clearly like there's more than just like you're you're poor

[00:16:59] There's more than that like there's mental health issues. There's

[00:17:03] Addiction there who knows what kind of abuse story there is there's so much happening right here in the scene

[00:17:10] So there's like I'm just on trying to say is there's a complexity to all of this as well

[00:17:16] but

[00:17:18] Often we judge by outward appearances

[00:17:21] And I think what James is trying to point out is that it kills us from building the beautiful

[00:17:27] Community that God has in store for us

[00:17:31] The church is meant for so much more than that

[00:17:35] The church is meant for so much more than how everybody else operates and just creating little camps and factions

[00:17:41] The church is meant to be because of the blood of Jesus something that knocks down every barrier that would keep

[00:17:47] People apart from each other and because Jesus the last Adam died and rose and ascended so he could pour out his spirit on

[00:17:55] This new humanity. It's vital that we continually mature out of our tendencies towards

[00:18:02] Partiality it's actually one of the things that I like about the geographic spot that

[00:18:09] this church was able to acquire and build a

[00:18:13] Sanctuary on and all of that you guys know the church is not a building the church is the people

[00:18:19] but it's great for us to have like a headquarters and

[00:18:22] This is our little headquarters

[00:18:24] This is our spot that we gather at and one of the reasons I like it

[00:18:28] I always explain our community to people who are new to town or pastors that are like tell me about your town

[00:18:33] I just hold up my hand like this and I say our community is like this and I just point to I'm like

[00:18:38] We've got all these towns. We got we got

[00:18:41] Monterey we got Pacific Grove. We got Carmel. We got seaside. We got Marina

[00:18:47] We got Salinas and we're right there

[00:18:51] That's where God put us and I like that geographic location because I mean here's the danger about having a spot like this

[00:18:59] It can feel like a little country club oasis, you know that you like roll out to and it's like man

[00:19:03] Look at that landscaping and this beautiful view and it's just a nice spot to be

[00:19:08] But what I like about it is that I want it to be an oasis like that to come out of all of these places

[00:19:15] to just

[00:19:17] from every tribe and nation tongue every

[00:19:20] Part of that community to come out and just say we want to worship the Lord together

[00:19:25] We want to celebrate Jesus together. We want to celebrate the gospel together

[00:19:31] And so I love the place that God has put us

[00:19:36] So the question though is does James give us any help for all this and I think he does if you look at verse 1

[00:19:43] He said we should not show partiality while holding the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory

[00:19:52] Why is James referring to Jesus right here as the Lord of glory?

[00:19:58] because

[00:20:00] Jesus would have been the easiest one for us to

[00:20:04] Miss who he really is by looking at his outward appearance

[00:20:10] He was a carpenter from

[00:20:13] Nazareth there's actually a verse in Isaiah 53 that says

[00:20:18] he was of no comeliness or

[00:20:21] Good outward appearance like it's like this holy language of saying, you know

[00:20:26] He was kind of like ugly a little bit, you know

[00:20:28] Like he wasn't the super attractive like person that people would just see

[00:20:33] physically and be drawn to

[00:20:36] But there was so much more to him you're looking at that carpenter and you're seeing the Lord of glory

[00:20:45] He came from glory. He was going back to glory

[00:20:49] And if we could just remember that reality of our Christianity like man, the outward appearance does not tell the whole story

[00:20:58] It is even true in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

[00:21:02] How much more would it be true among each other our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ?

[00:21:08] So

[00:21:09] James here is telling us we got to remember that about Jesus

[00:21:13] I'm tempted to assess and analyze people based on external factors. We have to remember that Jesus

[00:21:24] Is who he was the Lord of glory

[00:21:28] So we have to look past when people are plain or attractive

[00:21:33] When people are tall or short

[00:21:35] when people are

[00:21:37] fashionable or Kirkland classic which I think is the same thing personally

[00:21:43] that's Costco's that's Costco's clothing brand and

[00:21:47] Batteries brand and chicken meat brand like I'm not trying to brag. I am a Costco member

[00:21:53] I'm not trying to make you feel any way about yourself. It's a little bit of a flex for me to announce that to you guys, but

[00:22:00] Okay, let's move on in the passage before I say more things. I don't want to say

[00:22:06] Okay, the second thing I want you to see is we can mature into this impartial love by considering God's heart and

[00:22:12] Perspective considering God's heart and perspective

[00:22:15] So we remember Jesus the Lord of glory

[00:22:18] But look at verse 5 through 7 he says listen my beloved brothers has not

[00:22:22] God chosen those who are poor in the world

[00:22:25] To be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him

[00:22:30] But you have dishonored the poor man are not the rich the ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court

[00:22:37] Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name?

[00:22:41] By which you were called this is kind of a wild paragraph because there's hints here that that

[00:22:47] Scenario that James threw out it was actually happening. He says you've dishonored

[00:22:52] The poor man so it's wild this was actually potentially occurring

[00:22:57] In some of these gatherings in some of these churches now, this is all typical James

[00:23:02] I don't know if you guys have noticed this but James sounds a lot like the Old Testament book of Proverbs

[00:23:07] Proverbs speaks in

[00:23:10] strong

[00:23:11] Moralities like just big massive statements that when you read them it kind of sounds like does will this always happen?

[00:23:19] That's not the philosophy of Proverbs

[00:23:22] It's just these are the rules that seem to govern the way humanity works

[00:23:26] But there are exceptions to those rules James is writing like that

[00:23:30] There are exceptions of the things that he's saying here are there godly

[00:23:35] Wealthy people absolutely they're found all throughout scripture James is even gonna talk to them in

[00:23:41] His epistles so he thinks that way are there ungodly poor people

[00:23:47] Absolutely, James would think that as well. So but James here is giving this huge perspective

[00:23:55] And one of the things that he says here is that you got to consider how God look at verse 5 has chosen

[00:24:03] Those who are poor in the world

[00:24:06] To be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him

[00:24:12] He'd already kind of alluded to this in chapter 1 verse 5 through 8

[00:24:17] We thought about that in our first teaching in James that

[00:24:22] The poor and the wealthy can rejoice that that's not their forever position

[00:24:27] Right the person in poverty can rejoice one day

[00:24:30] My poverty will be no more when I meet the Lord in glory and the wealthy person can rejoice that one day

[00:24:36] I will not be known for this wealth. That's not what people are gonna ever see in me when I'm in glory in

[00:24:43] My father's house

[00:24:45] But here he's saying something a little bit stronger. He's saying

[00:24:51] That God is seen as someone who

[00:24:56] Chooses and is ready to serve the poor and needy and and always wants his people to reflect a caring

[00:25:04] Nature for those in need especially I think we can say this safely from James's word and other places in scripture

[00:25:11] Especially others in their own church community

[00:25:16] The Bible presents God this way Psalm 68 verse 5. He's the father of the fatherless and protector of widows

[00:25:24] Proverbs 3 verse 34 God shows favor to the humble and favor to the oppressed

[00:25:30] Psalm 113 verse 7 he raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy

[00:25:37] From the ash heap and some of you might remember when we went through the book of Exodus together after he gave the 10 commandments

[00:25:45] He then gave Moses a more specific

[00:25:48] detail

[00:25:49] Law that was to govern the people of Israel day to day and so much of that was just

[00:25:54] Chock full of God talking to the people of Israel about how to treat the foreigner the oppressed

[00:26:01] The person who was poor he over and over again was dealing with that trying to set that tone

[00:26:08] among his people

[00:26:10] And as James surveyed the church in his era

[00:26:17] He just saw how so often God had taken those who were in poverty and he had made them part of his kingdom

[00:26:24] You know there's something about

[00:26:28] Human pride that that makes it impossible to receive the gospel

[00:26:32] You know you think you don't have any need you think you don't have any you don't need help

[00:26:37] you don't need someone to rescue you and

[00:26:40] Wealth can doesn't have to but can lead to that

[00:26:45] feeling of pride and

[00:26:47] So what James had seen in the early church. He's like I'm seeing lots of people

[00:26:52] Who are not wealthy giving their lives to Jesus?

[00:26:56] So he's asking them think about that

[00:26:59] Think about how when someone is feeling that physical need it kind of opens them up to their spiritual need

[00:27:06] Then he goes even further in verse six and seven and he said to his audience

[00:27:10] I want you to consider that it was often the rich that have oppressed you have oppressed the church have drug you into court and

[00:27:18] Have kept you from sharing Jesus's honorable name with the nations again

[00:27:25] This is not James's way of saying that all wealthy people are against God's kingdom

[00:27:33] But he's just trying to remind them it was a wealthy

[00:27:35] Establishment that did a lot of damage to us here in this early church

[00:27:40] And when you go through the book of Acts

[00:27:41] You just simply survey it and you see like who were all the biggest enemies of the gospel who were a danger

[00:27:48] To the church it was usually people in the wealthy

[00:27:52] Establishment that were attacking the body of Christ priests. They were wealthy the temple captains

[00:28:00] Sadducees councils the elders scribes high priests kings

[00:28:05] Friends of major politicians men and women of high-standing rulers

[00:28:10] magistrates business owners authorities and

[00:28:13] governmental leaders these are the people in Acts 1 to 28 who are coming against the body of Christ and

[00:28:19] James is saying I want you guys to remember that

[00:28:22] Now as I've said it wasn't this way every time there are exceptions to the rules you're going through the book of Acts

[00:28:27] You know, I mean there's like a major character his name's Paul

[00:28:30] I don't know if you've heard of him he was a Pharisee that would have meant that he was in high-standing a wealthy person

[00:28:36] But he gave his life to Jesus and he became an ultimate weapon in the hands of God

[00:28:41] You've got Lydia in Philippi a business woman who is wealthy opens up God opens up her heart to the gospel

[00:28:48] There are plenty of wealthy people in the book of Acts who give their lives to Jesus as well

[00:28:52] But James is trying to remind them where are some of your biggest troubles coming from?

[00:29:00] James wants us to consider this perspective as an aid to help us love without partiality

[00:29:09] You think we're I think we're so often caught up in deferring to and

[00:29:14] admiring those with power or money or beauty or

[00:29:19] eloquence or other

[00:29:20] outwardly appealing features

[00:29:23] It's just

[00:29:25] You know you want to be an influencer today step one be attractive step to look like you're successful

[00:29:32] You know that you have means like people just start opening their hearts up to you

[00:29:38] You know you you come across as something other than that and it's hard to have your voice

[00:29:43] Be heard and James is saying this shouldn't be in the church

[00:29:48] We've got to remember that God loves those who are downcast

[00:29:53] In Acts chapter 10 the church recognized Peter recognized when he went to the house of Cornelius and preach the gospel he recognized God shows no partiality

[00:30:02] And so James is saying we need to be that as well

[00:30:06] We got to be a people who actively pursue opportunities to uplift to serve to honor those who are often

[00:30:14] overlooked or marginalized

[00:30:17] This is the gospel. This is the radical counter

[00:30:21] Culture kind of love that lies at the center of who Jesus is

[00:30:27] Okay, the third thing I want you to see though is that in verse 8 through 11 we can climb into this

[00:30:34] Impartial love by obeying and imitating our king. Let's read verse 8 through 11 together

[00:30:41] He says if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture

[00:30:44] You shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing well

[00:30:48] But if you show partiality

[00:30:51] You are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors

[00:30:56] For whoever keeps the whole law but falls fails in one point has become guilty of all of it for he who said

[00:31:03] Do not commit adultery. This is one of the Ten Commandments also said do not murder another

[00:31:09] If you do not commit adultery, but do murder

[00:31:12] You have become a

[00:31:15] transgressor of the law

[00:31:22] Okay, this is really interesting because James comes up with a title

[00:31:26] for

[00:31:27] Jesus's commission that we love our neighbor as ourselves and

[00:31:32] The title he gives it he calls it the royal law. Did you see that there in verse 8?

[00:31:36] The royal law the royal law is to love your neighbor as yourself now

[00:31:41] Jesus had lifted this law from the book of Leviticus

[00:31:47] And he made it the second great commandment after loving the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul and strength

[00:31:53] What why does James call it the royal law?

[00:31:56] He calls it the royal law because he's in his mind Jesus is king

[00:32:01] Jesus is my new king. I've sworn allegiance to him. And so what he says is a royal commission

[00:32:08] on my life

[00:32:10] And the word that James use

[00:32:14] Suggest that love for neighbor should serve as a diagnostic to determine

[00:32:20] How we are progressing in Christian maturity. I mean look at how he says it. He says if you really fulfill

[00:32:28] The royal law

[00:32:29] It's like he's kind of inviting his audience like are you really doing that is that really part of your life?

[00:32:37] Is this really something that's happening? It invites a little bit of introspection

[00:32:42] And then he says in verse 8 he says and if that's happening. He says you're doing well

[00:32:49] Suggesting that if it's not happening, you're not doing well. You're doing poorly in your progress

[00:32:55] Toward maturity towards becoming perfect and complete and lacking nothing as he said in chapter 1 verse 4

[00:33:03] So love for neighbor according to James indicates that we are maturing in the Christian faith and

[00:33:09] James seems to think that this love should follow us into every

[00:33:14] situation

[00:33:16] He basically says, you know

[00:33:20] Partiality is one way to violate God's royal law of love

[00:33:23] And it makes us guilty of the entire thing uses this picture of the Ten Commandments

[00:33:29] You know you you see don't commit adultery don't murder if you don't commit adultery

[00:33:35] You've kept that but if you murder then you he says you're a law breaker

[00:33:39] I think he chose murder on purpose for the crime that had been committed

[00:33:45] Because I think in his scheme the way he's thinking about things to treat that brother that way when he came into

[00:33:52] The gathering was like a slow death that was being pronounced on that guy

[00:33:57] Poverty is going to lead to his demise and you've not helped him. You've not given him life

[00:34:03] You've killed him James seems to be saying he's telling us that we must find ways to apply love in all the situations

[00:34:12] The life throws at us. All right, this royal law. It's challenging one, isn't it?

[00:34:17] It's hard to love our neighbors as ourselves now. I know some people there's like a big concentration first on like

[00:34:23] I got to figure out how to love myself first and once I master that after three or four decades

[00:34:31] Deep deep work then I will be ready to love others

[00:34:37] Look, I get the idea of like there's there's shame there's stuff

[00:34:41] We need to work through there's things people have said to us and done to us that have you know

[00:34:45] Caused us to think things that we shouldn't be thinking about ourselves

[00:34:49] But that's not really the biblical concept of what it means to love

[00:34:52] Your neighbor as yourself the kind of the biblical concept is like you're actually pretty good at no matter

[00:34:58] What's going on internally? You're actually pretty good at taking care of yourself

[00:35:01] You know, you're like I should wash my clothes. I should put clothes on

[00:35:05] I should you know make myself like like look as presentable as I can

[00:35:10] You know like I don't know if you believe this or not

[00:35:12] But this is me like I tried as hard as I could all right like I'd love myself taking care of myself

[00:35:18] And he's the biblical concept then is all right then to love others as you've loved yourself

[00:35:26] It's a challenging thing

[00:35:28] It might mean that we're

[00:35:30] More available to people, you know takes time to do that

[00:35:35] To love your neighbor as yourself is not convenient

[00:35:39] Doesn't often fit in the budget doesn't often fit in the calendar

[00:35:43] But to love your neighbor as yourself is the commission its maturity this requires

[00:35:52] intentionality compassion

[00:35:55] Willingness to put others needs before our own

[00:35:59] They ask Jesus one day who is our neighbor

[00:36:03] You know if we're to love our neighbor as our south and who is our neighbor

[00:36:07] Is it the person that I share a lot line with?

[00:36:10] Is it the apartment upstairs or just the ones to the side like who is my neighbor Jesus?

[00:36:16] That's when Jesus told that famous story. You probably remember it of the Good Samaritan

[00:36:21] Others walked by this guy who had been beaten and robbed and left on the side of the road. They passed by

[00:36:28] Not tending to this man the Samaritan man sees him

[00:36:32] Takes care of him at the end of that story Jesus asked who was this man's neighbor

[00:36:39] So what what you see here from Jesus then is that to him a neighbor is someone that we come across in life who is hurting

[00:36:49] They're in pain. They need help and

[00:36:53] James is saying this should be the attitude or the posture of the church

[00:36:57] And I believe that for those of us who are looking we're surrounded by so many people who are hurting in physical ways

[00:37:05] emotional ways

[00:37:06] spiritual ways

[00:37:07] And we want to be a people who are known by our love

[00:37:12] Okay, the last thing I want to show you and

[00:37:15] We really need to take communion after this one because you know, I mean all of us. It's like, yeah

[00:37:20] I'm not this is not something I'm I don't think any of us would feel like I am just crushing this

[00:37:26] This is James's vision of maturity. This is where we're headed. This is where we want to go

[00:37:30] But the last thing I want to show you is that another way to love impartially is by living under the

[00:37:37] The shadow of final judgment look at verse 12 and 13 together says so speak and so act is

[00:37:42] Those who are to be judged under the law of liberty for judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy

[00:37:50] Mercy triumphs over judgment

[00:37:54] Here's his conclusion. He says let the words that come out of your mouth

[00:37:58] So speaks and let the actions that you take so acts

[00:38:03] Be governed as if your whole life

[00:38:06] will be measured

[00:38:08] analyzed

[00:38:09] assessed

[00:38:10] judged by the rule of Jesus's royal law to love your neighbor as yourself

[00:38:17] This is a shocking statement from James. I

[00:38:23] Mean he's saying like this is like think about your life

[00:38:29] Being measured at the very end of life

[00:38:31] According to this law that he calls here the law of liberty I

[00:38:39] Think it's shocking to many believers that they will give an account for their lives someday

[00:38:44] But the biblical concept is that even though we are reunited with God the father

[00:38:51] By his grace through faith

[00:38:55] We will give an account for our lives

[00:38:58] Second Corinthians 5 verse 10 says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ

[00:39:03] So that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body whether good or evil

[00:39:08] It's talking to believers there

[00:39:10] First Corinthians 3 verse 13 and to 15

[00:39:13] He said that each one's work will become

[00:39:16] Manifest or made clear for the day the day of meeting the Lord the day of judgment will disclose it because

[00:39:23] It will be revealed by fire and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done if the work that anyone is built on the foundation

[00:39:30] Jesus survives he'll receive a reward if anyone's work is burned up

[00:39:35] He will suffer loss though he himself will be saved but only as through fire and

[00:39:41] Romans 14 verse 10 we will all stand before the judgment seat of God and

[00:39:48] James here says you know on that in that moment of analysis

[00:39:53] the

[00:39:55] Royal law is going to be a significant part of that measuring process. I

[00:40:03] like that James calls it here the law of liberty because

[00:40:07] When we think about others

[00:40:10] We are set free

[00:40:12] From so much of the stuff that just entangles us day after day

[00:40:18] It's one of the most exciting things to be used by God in ministering to someone else

[00:40:22] Well, if you've ever had the experience where you're just having like a rotten day and then God uses you to help someone else

[00:40:31] It's just like man. That's what life is about. I had that this last Friday

[00:40:36] I was like a

[00:40:37] But I did do all this stuff out of these assignments

[00:40:40] I needed to do and all these things and it's like nothing was working

[00:40:43] I had to go get a smog check and that didn't work and it's just like nothing all day everything on my punch list

[00:40:49] It was like I didn't it looks like I didn't do anything and I worked so hard today

[00:40:52] And then we came to the night of worship and I got to share a little word there and people are like, oh that was so refreshing

[00:40:59] It's like yeah, this is what it was about at the end of the day. It was a good day

[00:41:03] The end of the day is a good day to spend your life for other people and the wise and mature person believes

[00:41:10] That their entire life is under the shadow of this final assessment

[00:41:15] How do you feel about that?

[00:41:17] Does that freak you out are you like I don't really like that I

[00:41:21] Don't I don't know about you, but I like this I

[00:41:25] Like here's what I like. I like that my father in heaven cares about what I do with my life. I

[00:41:34] Like that he's interested in me. I like that. He's not just like some

[00:41:39] Loose grandfather in the sky who's like, oh just you know, whatever whatever you want to do

[00:41:45] I don't even really care. You're just amazing. I

[00:41:48] Like that he's like I love you

[00:41:50] I love you so much that I send my only son to die on the cross for you

[00:41:54] I did everything I could to acquire you and I do care about your minutes and hours and weeks and

[00:42:01] months and years I care about the way that you spend your life and

[00:42:06] I care about you

[00:42:09] Miss spending your life in thousands of ways and so I want to show you that the best

[00:42:17] Life is a life of loving other people

[00:42:21] And I I just like that

[00:42:24] About our father in heaven

[00:42:27] And so today man, this is to me. There's a challenging passage

[00:42:33] You know, this is a challenging passage as a pastor

[00:42:35] I gotta tell you guys like I'm making quick

[00:42:39] I like this passage convicts me so much because I make quick judgments about you guys all the time

[00:42:46] You know, it just like happens, you know, it's like I'll meet somebody and it's like a three-minute introduction

[00:42:52] You know, it's like I don't I'm trying to figure out what I'm looking at here

[00:42:56] You know and it's like so many people and you know all of that and then like it's hilarious

[00:43:01] How wrong I am all the time that God has not given a pastor manning. I think as a gift of discerned discernment

[00:43:09] Like discerning of spirits, you know, like I just I don't ever get it

[00:43:12] You know, I'm like, that's a great person and someone will be like, hey, do you know the whole story there?

[00:43:17] Like whoa, okay

[00:43:19] you know

[00:43:20] Or I've got I'm suspicious. You know, they're like they're like the godliest person we have in the whole church

[00:43:25] you know like

[00:43:27] this one convicts me because

[00:43:29] The Lord is he wants us to be that kind of people who just like let's just go through life together

[00:43:36] We don't know the whole story. Let's not show partiality

[00:43:40] Let's be willing to make friends with people in our church who don't look like us talk like us think exactly like us

[00:43:49] Let's be willing to do that. I think that's the church that James envisioned

[00:43:58] Thank you for listening if you would like more teachings and information about Calvary Monterey, please visit Calvary comm

[00:44:05] You can also find books teachings through the Bible and articles from our lead pastor at Nate Holdridge comm

[00:44:12] Thanks again for tuning in. See you next week