WEBVTT 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:16.160 Good morning, church family. 00:00:18.240 --> 00:00:20.719 Okay, so we will be out of James 2 today. 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.920 And thank you, uh Tyler and Alexis for reading that and praying. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:24.880 Thank you so much. 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:30.880 Thanks to uh thanks to the folks that are serving in kids' ministry right now, discipling our kids. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:33.200 Thanks for everyone who served during the first hour. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:36.160 And thanks to you guys for being here and for us to worship together. 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:38.480 Um so we are in James 2. 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:53.519 Uh in this passage, James is writing to believers who had a problem with prejudice in their community, a problem with treating people differently based on society standards. 00:00:53.839 --> 00:01:09.680 As we read through this, I hope that we'll see uh the problem that they had in that we see our own hearts and our own sinful condition, and I hope that we see our savior and the beauty of the gospel in that as well. 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:16.879 The challenge in the South, if uh if you've if this okay, if this was youth group, we would start raising hands. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:18.560 I'm not gonna make you guys do that. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:22.799 But a lot of folks in here, you've grown up around church, right? 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:27.840 Like maybe you grew up in church, maybe you're growing up right now, like maybe maybe to the kids in the room. 00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:32.640 But a lot of us have grown up in church, and if not in church, around church. 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:35.439 Like we have an idea what's going on in scripture. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:38.480 Maybe this passage is something that we're super familiar with. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:41.039 Maybe James is somewhere you've spent a lot of time. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:46.319 The challenge as we read scripture is to hear it with fresh ears and open hearts. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:49.280 So I want to pray that we can all do that this morning. 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:50.640 Let's pray together. 00:01:51.039 --> 00:01:52.879 God, we thank you for today. 00:01:53.039 --> 00:01:56.400 We thank you for gathering us, and we thank you for gathering us around your word. 00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:58.719 Holy Spirit, we thank you for being here. 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:06.560 We pray that you would move, that you would move in our hearts, that you would help us to understand your word, that you would help us to be changed by your word. 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:08.000 It's in Jesus' name. 00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:08.800 Amen. 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:10.719 All right, let's read that passage again. 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:11.439 James 2. 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:14.080 This time we're gonna go straight one through 13. 00:02:14.480 --> 00:02:16.080 Okay, so James is writing. 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:23.759 He says, My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:45.599 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 amongst yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:47.759 Listen, my beloved brothers. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:54.879 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? 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:57.599 But you have dishonored the poor man. 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:09.919 Are not the rich ones who oppress, are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court, and are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:16.479 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you're doing well. 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:22.560 But if you show partiality, you're committing sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:26.719 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:30.479 For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:35.039 And if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you've become a transgressor of the law. 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:39.599 So speak and act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:42.879 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:44.960 Mercy triumphs over judgment. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:48.319 Okay, so we're jumping into chapter two in James. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:04:00.800 We've been we've been speaking through James and on Sunday mornings, but it's important to remember that the chapters, and I know this isn't new information, but you know, hang, I I teach a lot of like preschoolers, you know, so okay, hang with me. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:04.000 The big numbers and the small numbers, the chapters and the verses, right? 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:05.359 These were added much later. 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:10.319 Like James, when he wrote this letter, he didn't include chapter two and the verse numbers. 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:14.560 Like these are added later, so we can we can reference the same scriptures together. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:20.960 So why that's important for us this morning is when we start verse one of James, chapter two, James is mid-thought. 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:23.600 Like this ties back to the end of chapter one. 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:27.600 So before we start, let's look back there and see what he's talking about. 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:32.560 So uh James uh twenty-six and twenty-seven. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:38.560 If anyone thinks he's religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:47.040 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. 00:04:47.280 --> 00:04:48.480 Okay, so we have a break there. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:49.520 For James, he didn't. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:51.600 He's just writing the next paragraph. 00:04:51.840 --> 00:04:56.480 So at the end of chapter one, James's headspace, he's talking about religion. 00:04:56.640 --> 00:05:02.720 Another word we could use for religion here, this could have been translated worship, that same idea about bridling our tongue. 00:05:02.880 --> 00:05:06.800 True worship loves the vulnerable, widows and orphans in this society. 00:05:06.960 --> 00:05:08.880 I really couldn't take care of themselves. 00:05:08.960 --> 00:05:09.840 Like they needed help. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:17.280 So true worship takes care of the vulnerable, and true worship seeks to be free of the sinfulness of the world around us. 00:05:17.520 --> 00:05:21.520 So from that thought, he leads directly into what we're talking about in chapter two here. 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:23.360 This gives us an idea of his headspace. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:25.040 So, three points today. 00:05:25.200 --> 00:05:29.840 We're gonna talk about the sin, the standard, and the savior. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:35.120 So, first the sin, the sin that James is describing in this chapter. 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:38.880 Okay, remember, this was a different culture. 00:05:39.200 --> 00:05:46.320 Even here in the South, even the United States and our world, in different cultures, things are interpreted differently, right? 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:55.280 Like there's some communities uh here in America that uh children use first names for adults, you know, and that shows familiarity, that shows friendliness. 00:05:55.520 --> 00:06:03.680 Here in Mississippi, if Elliot runs in the room and starts calling you by your first name adults, that's probably interpreted differently, right? 00:06:03.840 --> 00:06:05.760 Here that like that's a lack of respect. 00:06:05.840 --> 00:06:07.280 But that's not the same everywhere. 00:06:07.440 --> 00:06:09.920 Um, so we just got back from summer camp. 00:06:10.080 --> 00:06:16.080 I wore uh, if you see me this afternoon at uh students, like I wear a lot of baseball caps, right? 00:06:16.320 --> 00:06:18.960 Like if you see me tonight, I'm wearing a baseball cap. 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.200 Last week, all week, I've got a baseball cap on. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:25.680 If I was wearing a baseball cap right now, that would be interpreted differently, right? 00:06:25.760 --> 00:06:27.040 As a lack of respect. 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:40.160 So these people in the first section of James 2, we can't assume that the people James is describing are the, we can't assume that our cultural context and theirs is the same. 00:06:40.320 --> 00:06:43.360 So there's two people in the first part of James that he's describing here. 00:06:43.520 --> 00:06:54.080 The first one, it says uh in verse 2, if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and then the second person, a poor man in shabby clothing, also comes in. 00:06:54.320 --> 00:06:56.160 Alright, so let's talk about this first person. 00:06:56.400 --> 00:06:59.920 He says it says uh a man in fine clothing and a gold ring. 00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:02.560 Uh again, if this was youth, we'd start raising hands. 00:07:02.640 --> 00:07:05.360 But I assume a lot of us have uh wedding rings in here. 00:07:05.520 --> 00:07:07.520 Mine's not made of gold, many are. 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:12.000 So there's a lot of people in here that probably have a gold ring on, right? 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:14.400 That's not what James is talking about. 00:07:14.640 --> 00:07:22.400 So in the time that James was written, your average, you know, Christian or Jewish person, they probably don't have a gold ring. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:24.160 Like that's nice stuff. 00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:27.200 Wealthy people often did have a gold ring. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:36.720 Um, maybe you've seen a signet ring before that you like put a seal, like you know, they would close a letter and put wax on it and put that and that shows, you know, who did it or whatever. 00:07:36.880 --> 00:07:39.600 Like a wealthy person might have one of those. 00:07:39.840 --> 00:07:43.360 But what James is describing is something even beyond that. 00:07:43.440 --> 00:07:51.360 If we go back towards the original language, it says it's not just a gold ring, it's more like gold fingered, is more literal of a translation. 00:07:51.520 --> 00:07:55.680 So we're not talking about one gold ring, we're talking about like blinged out, right? 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:03.680 So in this time period, uh, people would wear uh jewelry like that to signify their their position in society, their worth. 00:08:03.840 --> 00:08:11.360 There's an extra biblical source that said that sometimes people would even wear like six rings per finger to show, like, oh, you got one ring. 00:08:11.440 --> 00:08:12.720 I got like a billion over here. 00:08:12.880 --> 00:08:14.400 Like, I'm super great, right? 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:21.280 Back in the original language, too, where it talks about his fine clothes, like that word, that that fine word means uh shining. 00:08:21.520 --> 00:08:24.720 So like his clothes are super clean and super nice. 00:08:24.880 --> 00:08:28.720 So this guy has walked in and he's like all he's all blinked out. 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:33.519 He's got like you know, rings on every finger, he's got the nicest suit you've ever seen. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:39.519 And then the other person, so that's person A, the other person, person B, says that his clothes are shabby. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:43.440 That word shabby, it could be interpreted filthy, dirty. 00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:52.240 Okay, so we've got a person that's like really nicely dressed, they're conveying their importance by the way they're dressed, by the way they're carrying themselves. 00:08:52.399 --> 00:09:01.120 And then you've got another person who's dressed in dirty clothes, you know, and looks maybe, maybe unhoused, that's that's walking in. 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:05.519 So the difference that James is describing here about how they're treated. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:07.840 Uh oh, one more before we move on. 00:09:07.920 --> 00:09:11.120 Uh, in verse 2 it says, comes into your assembly. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:13.920 That it's a that word assembly is unique here. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.960 Uh every other place in the New Testament, that Greek word is used, it's it's translated synagogue. 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:21.680 So now remember, James is writing to believers. 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:26.480 He's writing to Christians, but he's writing to Christians from a Jewish background. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:36.560 So he's conveying to them someone who walks into your Christian gathering, but that to them is just like a temple gathering, like a gathering to worship God. 00:09:36.800 --> 00:09:38.480 Okay, so we've set the stage. 00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:48.639 Uh whether this really happened is debated, like whether this was a real thing that James is addressing, or he's just using a real problem to the believers that he's addressing. 00:09:48.800 --> 00:09:50.080 So we've got two people. 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:53.519 We've got one person who's dressed fine. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:57.360 They have uh fine is in like a, they're dressed really nicely. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:06.800 They're conveying their importance by the way they they're dressed, and you have another person who's not dressed nice at all, who maybe doesn't smell great, right? 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:12.800 The person who's dressed finely, they say, Oh, come to the front row, sir, please. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:14.560 Like have the seat of honor. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:18.639 And the other person, they say, Maybe it's best if you stand in the back. 00:10:18.879 --> 00:10:22.399 Or it says, sit at my feet, that would be what a servant does. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:29.519 So saying, person that obviously you're an honorable person, obviously you're an important person, we're gonna give you the place of honor. 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:34.160 Other person, maybe you can stay out of the way while we worship. 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:36.960 So that's what James is describing here. 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:47.360 In verse 4, have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:54.240 James is revealing that their outward actions are revealing their inward hypocrisy. 00:10:54.960 --> 00:11:01.200 They're acting this way outwardly because inwardly they have a wrong belief about the people that are there. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:17.120 The believers that he's writing to, what he's describing in a way, stick with me, in a way, it kind of makes sense. 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:30.560 If someone were to walk in, um, I don't know, like the governor or something, walks in, like someone that we all recognize as an important person, it makes sense that we would say, oh, please come in. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:31.759 Do you want a cup of coffee? 00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:33.040 Let me get you a cup of coffee. 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:34.160 You want something to eat? 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:37.360 Here, you sit up front, like we're so glad that you're here today. 00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:41.519 James is saying that the problem is that we're not treating everyone that way. 00:11:41.680 --> 00:11:45.200 We're only treating the ones or the believers that he's writing to. 00:11:45.279 --> 00:11:49.519 They're only treating people that have societal importance that way. 00:11:51.040 --> 00:11:59.440 Let's imagine that uh an influencer or a celebrity walks in like today to visit, you know, Dwayne The Rock Johnson walks in. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:02.720 Everybody's favorite celebrity, hands down, The Rock. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:05.840 He walks in the back door and he's come to worship with us today. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:10.160 I mean, we would be naturally a little okay, maybe confused. 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:14.240 Like, how is it that you've arrived here specifically? 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:17.279 We have some questions, but but we're glad that you're here. 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:23.200 Maybe as we bring him to uh whatever the the seat of of uh distinction is in here. 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:24.399 I don't know if that's our front row. 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:27.360 Our front row is not well well set on. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:28.800 Maybe that's the back row here. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:38.879 But uh, but as we give him the seat of distinction and we treat him like it's a big deal that he's here, maybe part of us is hoping that we'll see him later. 00:12:39.040 --> 00:12:51.440 You know, maybe you're at a nice restaurant this week, and because The Rock is visiting Madison, Mississippi in this scenario, maybe you're at a nice restaurant this week and you see him, and he goes, like, oh, and he gives you he gives you the eye, you know, he gives you the wink. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:53.759 Like, I know you, like we worship together. 00:12:53.920 --> 00:12:55.920 Like that would make you feel good, right? 00:12:56.160 --> 00:13:06.560 So the people in James' time, somebody walks in and they're a person of distinction, you're like, Well, I mean, I want to treat this guy nice because think of what he can do for our community. 00:13:06.800 --> 00:13:08.240 Think of what he can do for me. 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:10.000 Maybe later I need a job. 00:13:10.160 --> 00:13:13.040 Maybe this guy, you know, works at the bank and I need a loan. 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:14.720 Maybe this, you know what I mean? 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:18.960 Like this person, we're gonna treat them well because of what we can get from that. 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:25.120 Now the other person in shabby clothes, like, well, what do they have to offer us so they can stand in the back? 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:28.000 That's the situation that James is addressing. 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:42.639 In verse five, it says, 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? 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:43.279 Okay. 00:13:43.920 --> 00:13:45.840 It would be easy to misinterpret what's going on. 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:50.879 He's not saying that your bank account is a tie, is tied to your standing with God at all. 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:54.879 Remember the word he used for assembly, like synagogue. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:58.399 He's talking about a Christian gathering that these people come into. 00:13:58.560 --> 00:14:00.480 So there's an assumption of faith. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:05.759 There's an assumption that these are brothers in Christ who have come in, family in Christ. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:13.279 He's not saying that this person in shabby clothes is special because of the amount of zeros in their bank account. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:14.480 Like he's not saying that. 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:20.320 He's saying that God has chosen this person in this in this hypothetical scenario. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:23.600 God has chosen this person who's of low stature. 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:25.279 He's given them great faith. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:29.920 So even though they don't have great wealth now, imagine the inheritance waiting for them. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:32.240 Like that's the idea that James is giving them, right? 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:37.920 Now, verse six, it says, but uh but you have dishonored the poor man. 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:41.600 Are not the rich ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court? 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:46.720 Verse 7, are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:51.040 Okay, so we're just setting the stage here of what James is talking about, working through that. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:54.560 Um, because I mean, hopefully this week nobody's dragged you into court. 00:14:54.800 --> 00:14:57.519 So we're we're trying to catch up with where James is. 00:14:57.680 --> 00:15:05.920 He's not saying that this rich person also, just like he's not saying that the poor person has a special station with God because of where he is in society. 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:08.000 He's not the same thing for the rich person. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:11.519 He's not saying the rich person is automatically bad because of who they are. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:16.160 Instead, what James is doing is drawing their eyes to the society around them. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:26.800 And he's saying, if you're dragged into court, believer, in this first century church, if someone is oppressing you because of your low station in society, isn't that the rich? 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:28.560 That's what James is saying here. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:37.040 He's saying when they drag you into court and it comes out that you're a believer, don't they dishonor God by mocking him in this situation? 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:46.160 Okay, so James is not affirming that our relationship with God is tied to our socioeconomic status or where how much money we have or where we are in life. 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:47.759 That's not what he means. 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:54.160 James is saying that these worldly standards don't make sense in the kingdom of God. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:59.200 Outside of the church walls, there's some logic into treating people this way. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:03.360 He's saying that Jesus is calling us to something different. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:13.040 Luke 6.20, so we know uh Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount, Luke 6, some people call that the Sermon on the Plain, has a lot of parallels. 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:19.360 In Luke 6.20, Jesus says, Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:24.960 James here is calling directly on the teaching that he heard from Jesus himself. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:35.600 He's saying that these people, regardless of how much money they have and how fine clothes they have and how many rings they have on their fingers, like we are together in the kingdom of God. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:39.440 Alright, so that's the problem, the sin that's being addressed. 00:16:39.680 --> 00:16:42.480 Let's talk about point two, God's holy standard. 00:16:43.680 --> 00:16:44.879 Verse eight. 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:52.399 If you really fulfill the law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you're doing well. 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:58.639 But if you show partiality, you're committing sin, and you're convicted by the law as transgressors. 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:04.960 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:09.119 For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, do not murder. 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:14.480 And if you do not commit adultery but do murder, you've become a transgressor of the law. 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:20.160 Okay, so the first thing to note here in verse 8, James calls it the royal law. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:22.880 So not just the law, the royal law. 00:17:23.120 --> 00:17:29.600 This uh this word royal, it doesn't just mean coming from the king, it means belonging to the king. 00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:34.799 So James is conveying to his audience this law has special importance. 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:36.559 This law is significant. 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:39.039 And what law is he talking about? 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:43.279 Okay, let's turn together to Matthew 22 and hear from Jesus himself. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:47.839 Matthew 22, we're gonna read verses 34 through 40. 00:17:52.400 --> 00:18:02.400 So this law that James is referring to, this law that they're that they're potentially breaking, it comes from Jesus in Matthew 22. 00:18:03.360 --> 00:18:18.000 In verse 34, he says, or Matthew says, but when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced, he is Jesus, had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:21.360 Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? 00:18:21.600 --> 00:18:29.279 And he said to them, or he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 00:18:29.600 --> 00:18:32.960 This is the great and first commandment, and a second is like it. 00:18:33.120 --> 00:18:35.120 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:40.079 On these two commands depend all the law and the prophets. 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:40.720 Okay. 00:18:41.360 --> 00:18:55.360 So back in the Gospels in Matthew, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, these two Jewish groups that Jesus is often talking to when we see him talking in the Gospels, the Pharisees have to gather together and uh let's figure out how to trick Jesus. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:57.279 Let's ask him, what's the best law? 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:00.799 Because anyone he says, we can say, uh-uh-uh, remember this law. 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:05.200 Because remember in the Old Testament, there's tons of rules that the people needed to follow, right? 00:19:05.360 --> 00:19:09.200 So the Pharisee comes up, the Pharisees were very law-focused, remember? 00:19:09.360 --> 00:19:12.240 And they ask Jesus, what's the most important law? 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:18.720 And he responds, You love your love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:20.559 And then he gives them a bonus. 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:23.839 He says, the second, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:29.039 So, and he goes on to say, On these two commandments depend all the law and prophets. 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:33.920 Okay, what does Jesus mean by on these two commandments depend all the law and prophets? 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:41.120 That all of the works of the prophets, all of the laws in the Old Testament, they depend on these two things. 00:19:41.360 --> 00:19:47.200 If you could perfectly do these two things, you would perfectly fulfill the entire law of God. 00:19:47.519 --> 00:19:52.160 Jesus lived a perfect life because Jesus perfectly did these two things. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.240 He loved God with everything he had, he loved God perfectly. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:00.240 God is of infinite worth, and Jesus gave him infinite worship. 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:02.079 He's the only one who could have done that. 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:06.400 He loved God infinitely, and he loved his neighbor as himself. 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:09.759 So if you fulfill those two things, you're covered. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:11.120 That's what Jesus is saying here. 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:16.640 So James is hearkening back in James 2, he's calling that the royal law. 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:23.360 Well, okay, if that's the royal law, and that's the law coming from the king, then who's the king? 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:27.039 I told you you didn't have to raise your hands, but we'll do some call and response. 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:28.880 Like, so who's the king? 00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:31.759 Jesus. 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:32.559 Thank you. 00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:33.279 Appreciate you. 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:34.160 Yeah, that's right. 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:34.799 Jesus. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:35.600 That's right. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.519 Okay, look back to uh verse one. 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:45.759 It says, My brother, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 00:20:46.079 --> 00:21:00.400 He's pointing towards the kingship of Jesus and saying, from the king, okay, we have the kingdom of heaven that we're citizens of as believers, and that king is King Jesus, and from that king comes this law. 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:02.400 Okay, that that's important. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:08.079 So, you know, in the United States, we have different laws from different levels of government, right? 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:32.079 Like we have uh maybe you have, you know, you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, and HOA has rules, and then in the city of Madison we have laws, and then in the state, or in the county we have laws, in the state we have laws, and then the federal government has to obey this federal law because it seems to conflict with what my HOA president says I should do. 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:32.559 Right? 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:33.360 Yeah, exactly. 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:34.640 That would be insane, right? 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:37.440 Like, no, you obey the federal law, they will put you in jail. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:40.319 Like, life pro tip, don't break federal laws. 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:42.640 Like, that's not gonna work out for you, right? 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:52.160 So, here in the kingdom of heaven, James is pointing out that this law we're talking about, love your neighbor as yourself, it's coming directly from the king. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:53.759 Like, this is important. 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:56.160 What does he say about it? 00:21:56.559 --> 00:22:03.360 He says, if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you're doing well. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:07.120 So, like, hey, if you love your neighbor as yourself, good job. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:09.039 Like, we all agree, that's fantastic. 00:22:09.120 --> 00:22:11.360 You love your neighbor as yourself as yourself. 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:18.079 The problem in the Passage is as I read it, I feel this progression of dread. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:18.640 Okay? 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:22.240 So he says, if you obey that law, great. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:24.000 We all agree, that's a good thing. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:25.200 Verse 9. 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:32.799 But if you show partiality, you're committing sin and you're convicted by the law as a transgressor. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:36.559 Okay, so if you love your neighbor as yourself, that's fantastic. 00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:42.400 If you show partiality, you're not loving your neighbor as yourself, and that's sin. 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:43.279 Okay. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:50.079 We maybe, we maybe think that we're safe from this passage. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:55.759 Like there's a temptation to read uh verses one through seven and go, got it. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.960 Somebody walks in in shabby clothes, don't treat them different. 00:22:59.120 --> 00:23:00.640 Like, all right, who's next? 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:02.160 Like, let's move on. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:05.279 But like let's camp for just a second. 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:11.600 Maybe I only know of a uh a couple of occasions that uh a person has come in who's homeless to worship with us. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:14.960 And I'm thankful that in our church that wasn't an issue. 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:19.759 In our church, many of you probably didn't know that happened because we didn't treat them any differently. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:21.360 Like, I praise God for that. 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:22.960 That that's fantastic. 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:26.079 But that's not something we run into regularly, right? 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:32.079 What other ways do we uh does society divide people? 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:35.920 Society divides people by how much money they have, certainly. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:41.440 Society divides people by race, society divides people by who you voted for. 00:23:41.600 --> 00:23:42.960 Y'all, that's a big one. 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:44.720 Who you voted for. 00:23:45.360 --> 00:23:59.519 So what James is saying here is if we show partiality based on any way society would divide us, we're not loving our neighbor as ourselves. 00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:14.799 If there's anything that makes me feel like I'm better than you, if there's anything that makes me feel like you're less than me, if there's anything that makes me feel like we should be separate in the body of Christ, then we're not loving our neighbor as ourselves. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:22.160 And James says that that's okay, if you if you love your neighbors yourself, that's fantastic. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:27.920 If you show any partiality, any otherness to anyone, well, that that's sin. 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:29.680 But not just sin. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:35.279 Verse nine should kind of stop us in our tracks. 00:24:35.600 --> 00:24:38.160 Verse nine says, it's not just sin. 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:41.039 We're convicted by the law as transgressors. 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:46.319 Okay, imagine a um uh property line, okay? 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:48.640 A line between you and your neighbor's house. 00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:51.519 And in this situation, you and your neighbor really don't get along. 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:52.880 Okay, it's imaginary. 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:53.680 Go with me. 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:55.200 So there's this property line. 00:24:55.360 --> 00:24:58.319 If you step on the neighbor's side, that's trespassing, right? 00:24:58.400 --> 00:24:59.600 That's a trespass. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:05.920 But there's a maybe you're mowing your grass and you step in a hole and you're kind of like, ah, like I fall over and I land on my neighbor's side. 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:07.360 That was unintentional, right? 00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:10.799 Like that was trespassing, that was a trespass, but I didn't mean to. 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:12.480 I kind of stumbled over there. 00:25:13.120 --> 00:25:14.559 Transgressing is different. 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:16.160 Transgressing is on purpose. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:20.720 Transgressing is I know that there's this line and I'm choosing to step over it. 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:24.000 It's not a whoopsie, it's like a it's an on-purpose. 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:32.960 So James is saying, if you're not loving your neighbor as yourself, if you're showing any partiality to anyone, good or bad, that's an intentional sin. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:35.680 Y'all, like, we could just stop there. 00:25:36.079 --> 00:26:04.240 Like Jesus, who died on the cross for us, Jesus who lived that perfect life and loved his neighbors perfectly, loved himself, or well, himself, God, yeah, but loved God perfectly, Jesus who committed no sin, who died when he died, he took my sinful life onto himself and took his life of righteousness and gave it to me, then I would intentionally sin against him. 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:06.079 That should stop us in our tracks. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:08.319 Like, I'm not saying there's not forgiveness for that. 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:09.440 Of course there is. 00:26:09.600 --> 00:26:11.680 There's forgiveness for transgression, 100%. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.720 But it's but James is saying this is serious. 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:16.559 Like you're sinning on purpose. 00:26:16.799 --> 00:26:18.000 Okay, verse 10. 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:22.960 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 00:26:23.120 --> 00:26:25.360 So we were talking about this progression James has here. 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:30.160 So, like, if you keep the law, if you love your neighbor perfectly as yourself, that's great. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:31.120 We all agree. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:33.759 But if you show any partiality, that's sin. 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:37.680 Excuse me, and that's intentional sin. 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:44.880 In that next verse, verse 10, James says, and if you don't keep any of the law, you're actually breaking the whole law. 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:46.559 Like it's an all or nothing. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:50.079 If you've broken one law, you're a breaker of the law. 00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:54.640 Verse 11 says, For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. 00:26:54.720 --> 00:27:00.160 If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:03.279 Okay, so if you love your neighbor, that's fantastic. 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:07.039 If you show any partiality, you're not loving your neighbor, and that's sin. 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:09.039 And that sin is intentional. 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:15.839 And if there's one sin, you've broken the whole law, and he starts talking about adultery and murder that are really serious. 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:17.039 Like, you see what I mean? 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:20.160 James is showing us that this thing that seems so simple. 00:27:20.400 --> 00:27:28.480 Like, oh, I just, you know, someone, someone within the body of Christ, someone within our Christian congregation, I didn't treat them well. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:30.240 It doesn't feel like a big deal. 00:27:30.400 --> 00:27:32.160 James is saying it's a huge deal. 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:35.759 He starts talking about murder, that we all agree is a big deal. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.079 Remember that James's audience is Jewish. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:42.400 When he starts talking about adultery and murder, that's not by accident. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:47.039 These people would remember that in the Old Testament the punishment for that is death. 00:27:47.279 --> 00:27:48.799 Because they've broken the law. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:51.920 James is saying that it's it's serious. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:28:04.079 Leviticus 19, 15 says, You shall do no injustice in court, you shall be not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:06.000 Deuteronomy 117. 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:10.559 So, Deuteronomy 117, we're talking about the beginning of Deuteronomy. 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:15.440 You shall not be partial in judgment, you shall hear the small and the great alike. 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:19.519 You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:30.240 James 127, we just read, 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. 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:31.279 Here's my point. 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:33.920 Like, God has always intended this. 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:40.240 From the beginning, God has always intended that we not differentiate between people based on what society says. 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:42.319 Colossians 3 11. 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:55.120 Here, so within the faith in the kingdom of God, here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, that would have been somebody who didn't speak Greek. 00:28:55.360 --> 00:29:00.559 Scythian, those are the barbarians that live down by the sea, the hillbilliest of hillbillies. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:04.400 Slave or free, but Christ is all and in all. 00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:10.799 So in Colossians, it's talking about all these things that society would separate us, Greek or Jew, slave or free. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:12.079 Slave or free, y'all. 00:29:12.160 --> 00:29:13.279 That's a big one. 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:17.839 That in the body of Christ, in the kingdom of God, those things don't divide us. 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:19.279 We have Christ. 00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:20.960 Christ is all in all. 00:29:21.120 --> 00:29:23.039 One more, Galatians 3.28. 00:29:23.200 --> 00:29:27.839 Again, this same Paul's this same, uh, there's neither Jew nor Greek, this theme again. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.720 There's neither Jew nor Greek, there's neither slave nor free. 00:29:30.880 --> 00:29:35.200 There's neither male nor female, for you're all one in Christ Jesus. 00:29:35.360 --> 00:29:42.240 Think of what, if we were sorting people, what more fundamental thing could we divide people on than male and female? 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:44.960 Paul's not saying that these things no longer exist. 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:46.240 They certainly do. 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:53.920 Paul's not saying that there's no longer Greeks and Jews, there's no longer slave and free, there's no longer male and free male and female. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:55.600 All those things still exist. 00:29:55.920 --> 00:30:02.720 Paul's saying that our identity in Christ supersedes anything that could divide us. 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:09.440 So anything that could divide us, our unity in Christ is more important than that. 00:30:09.600 --> 00:30:15.839 Our unity in Christ bonds us together in such a special way that there's nothing that could divide us. 00:30:17.360 --> 00:30:21.519 Caring for the vulnerable was always God's plan for his people. 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:27.759 Now, if we ended the sermon here, um, I would go home and I would tremble. 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:45.839 Because James has just explained to me, and we've pulled some other verses to help elaborate on that, that if we treat people differently for any reason that society would tell us to treat people differently, then we are a sinner who has broken the entire law and we are in trouble. 00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:47.839 Let's look at the next point. 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:49.279 Our Savior. 00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:53.759