Thursday, November
13, 2014, 7:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song, “In Keeping Them.” Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read James 2:1-13
(ESV).
No Partiality
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,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit
down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and
become judges with evil thoughts?
Another word for “partiality” is “prejudice” or “favoritism.”
Partiality is defined as “an unfair preference for one person or thing over
another.” Prejudice is defined as “a preformed opinion, usually an unfavorable
one, based on insufficient knowledge, irrational feelings, or inaccurate
stereotypes.” And, favoritism is defined as “the practice of giving special
treatment or unfair advantages to a person or group” (Encarta). I believe all
three of these definitions, combined together, give us an accurate picture of
what is being discussed here.
Who are the “poor” being spoken of here? The NIV84
translates the “poor in the world” as the “poor in the eyes of the world.” I
believe that translation fits with this context, as the passage is speaking
here of personal prejudice, which is based off the unfavorable opinions and
feelings (or beliefs) of human beings, and not based on truth. So, this is not
speaking just of those who are physically poor, and even that is relative to
where we live, such as a poor person in America might be considered rich in a
third world country. This is also speaking of those who are humble and devout
in spirit, as is spoken of in the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. They
are the scorned and afflicted by the world; the lowly in the eyes of the world
who are dishonored and who are treated as garbage (refuse) to be thrown away. They
are those who the ungodly world judges as not fit for much; not worthy of
consideration; the hated, rejected, abandoned, discarded and despised of this
world.
We, as followers of Christ, are not to be involved in such
practices as these, especially with regard to our brothers and sisters in
Christ. And yet, many within the body of Christ, or who profess to be
Christians, treat one another with such disdain as this, and that is wrong! How
is the ungodly world to see the Christian life as any different from how they
live their lives if we, as professors of Christianity, treat one another no
differently from the world, or else we treat one another even worse than what
the people of this world treat one another? We are to be the light of the world
and the salt of the earth in taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to those in need
of a Savior, yet we do this not just by our words, but by how we live our lives.
Pay Attention
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, which he has promised to those who love
him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the 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?
It is obvious by this context that this is not speaking merely
of the physically poor, because not all physically poor people are chosen to be
rich in faith, nor are all rich people excluded from faith. Again, a more
accurate translation of this “in the world” is “unto the world, i.e. the
ungodly world being judge” (Source: biblehub.com), i.e. “in the eyes of the
world.” So, again, this has to do with prejudicial evaluations of other human
beings based off humanistic thinking and reasoning, and not based on the Word
of Truth. As well, this is addressed to those who profess Christ as Savior and
Lord of their lives, who are acting, behaving and thinking just like the world
instead of having the mind of Christ.
I believe this morning that the Lord Jesus would have me
focus my attention on the “poor” being those who are humble and contrite in
spirit, who love the Lord Jesus and the Word of Truth, and who are following
the Lord Jesus in obedience to his Word and in surrender to his will for their
lives, all in the power and working of the Spirit of God within them. They are
also ones who are putting their lives on the line by speaking publicly the Word
of Truth, and by sharing the full (unadulterated) gospel of Jesus Christ in a
world where the church is diluting the gospel to make it more pleasing and
acceptable to the world, so as not to offend the world. They are being treated
with much disdain even by the church, and by church leaders, because they stand
on the Word of Truth and do not compromise with the world.
Many professors of Christianity are dishonoring and
insulting their fellow Christians, based not in the Word of Truth, but based
off the philosophies, thinking and reasoning of the world. They believe the
world over believing the Word of God. Although I realize here that there are
many interpretations of scripture, and there are disputable differences in what
we believe is truth according to the Word of God, yet even if a passage (or
passages) of scripture can have more than one possible interpretation, we
should NEVER treat one another with such disdain as this merely because we have
a difference in belief. That is never ok for us to treat one another that way,
especially before an ungodly world. We can disagree, and we can share our
beliefs, but we should do so with gentleness and respect.
Yet, I am not speaking here of just differences of
interpretation of scripture, where it can have more than one possible
interpretation, but I am speaking of Christians who choose to follow the
thinking and the ways of this world, and to act just like the world, even
though scripture clearly teaches just the opposite. And, not only that, but
then they turn around and despise and mistreat their fellow Christians who are
following the Word of Truth and who are not conforming to the ways and to the
thinking of this world. They publicly insult them and even accuse them of all
manner of evil, and just because they are standing on the Word of God, and they
are not yielding to the ungodly ways and thinking of this world. These “poor in
the eyes of the world” (and in the eyes of the worldly church) are being
treated as the scum of the earth, without honor and respect, and as castaways. This
should never be! Not only are they dishonoring their own, but they are showing
favoritism to the ungodly (antichrist) world, which denies Jesus Christ as
Savior. How can this be?
Mercy over Judgment
If
you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are
committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps
the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For
he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do
not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
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 no mercy. Mercy triumphs over
judgment.
This phrase, “Mercy triumphs over judgment” is often taken
out of context and is used against those who hold to the Word of Truth, and is
used in favor of the ungodly. Many are teaching mercy in the sense of giving
people “a pass” for sin, i.e. to never confront sin in sinful man, but to be “nice”
and accepting of people just as they are, though steeped in sin.
I am not saying we should go around mistreating or being
mean to people who are living in sin. May that never be! We should always treat
people with love and kindness. But we should not be accepting of sin. We should
not choose to ignore sin or to never address it, just because to confront sin,
in the eyes of the world, would be considered “unkind”. In my opinion, the most
unkind and selfish act for us to do would be for us to never confront people
with sin. Thus, we would leave them dead in their sins, without hope of
salvation, without hope of relationship with God, and without hope of eternal
life with God in glory. For the believer who has returned to living for sin and
self, it would leave them out of honest fellowship with God, wandering, without
peace and comfort, without direction and purpose, and not walking according to
the Spirit, but gratifying the desires of the flesh.
If we truly love our brothers and sisters in Christ, and if
we truly love and care for the people of this world, we will tell them the
truth about their sin, and we will encourage them with the hope found in God’s
word, with the truth of the gospel, and with the promise of healing for their
souls via God’s grace and through genuine faith, which includes repentance and
obedience (submission; yielding to God and to his Word). As well, if we are
treating our fellow believers in Christ with dishonor, insults, and persecutions,
etc., just because they don’t believe like we do, or just because they stand on
the Word of Truth and don’t compromise and “make nice” with the world, then we
need to repent of that sin, and we need to get in God’s Word and learn the
truth, and then obey the truth. Amen!
In Keeping Them /
An Original Work / June 3, 2014
Based off Ps. 111:10;
19:7-11
Stand in awe of your
Lord.
Harken to His
teachings.
Follow where He leads
you.
Live for Him today.
Through Him you gain
wisdom;
Knowledge;
understanding.
To my Lord belongs all
Worship and my praise.
Perfect is the Word,
Refreshing souls in
His love.
His commands are
faithful,
Guiding us each day.
Joy comes to the heart
of
Those who love His
teachings;
Follow His
instructions.
He will light their
way.
Abide in the Lord, and
Obey His commandments.
His Word is more
precious
Than all of our gold.
By His Word He warns
us,
Comforts, and implores
us.
When we follow His
Word,
There is great reward.
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