Faith That Refuses Favoritism - Aaron McRae

Playing favorites may feel like a phase we outgrow, but James confronts how deeply partiality still shapes our lives—and our faith. In James 2:1–13, we are warned that favoritism based on status, appearance, wealth, or ideology is incompatible with faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

This teaching by Pastor Aaron McRae exposes how easily we absorb the world’s habits of ranking, judging, and dividing others, often without realizing it. James reminds us that true faith is not merely held—it is lived. Faith in Jesus must look like Jesus, expressed through mercy, humility, and love for neighbor without exception.

Through Scripture, cultural insight, and practical application, this message calls believers to examine their hearts, reject unconscious bias, and live under the “royal law” of love. Ultimately, James leaves us with a defining vision for Christian living: mercy triumphs over judgment.

James Study Journal – Weekly Scripture readings, reflection prompts, and space to apply the teaching personally or with a group - https://hillsidechurches.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/James2026_Journal_FINAL.pdf 

Discussion Guide – Designed for small groups, coffee groups, or families to process the message together - https://hillsidechurches.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Discussion-Guide-1.18.26.pdf 

Resources & Scripture References
Primary Text: James 2:1–13

Supporting Scripture
-Leviticus 19:15, 18
-Genesis 1:27
-Galatians 3:26–28
-John 1:14
-John 15:12–13
-Exodus 33:18–19
-Ephesians 3:17–19

Referenced Authors
-Douglas Moo, James
-Scot McKnight, The Letter of James
-N.T. Wright, Early Christian Letters for Everyone
-Scott Sauls, Irresistible Faith

Stay Connected:
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/c/HillsideCommunityChurch
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/hillsidechurches/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/hillsidechurches
Hillside Website | https://hillsidechurches.com

For the full gathering of this message which includes worship, visit our Youtube channel.
 
Stay Connected With Hillside Community Church.
Youtube | https://www.youtube.com/c/HillsideCommunityChurch
Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/hillsidechurches/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/hillsidechurches
Website | https://hillsidechurches.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

I want to welcome those of you online. You can grab a seat. Thank you so much for being here. The late 90s, I was a seminary student and I was brand new in ministry. I had an old youth pastor who called me up one day and said, I have an idea. What if me, what if you dress up like a homeless person? And I'm going to take my teens to a camp and we're going to be on a bus and we stop at a gas station and you're dressed like a homeless person in front of this gas station and we pick you up. And I'm like, that sounds like a terrible idea. I'm in. And so I'm about an hour and a half or two outside of town. Um, I was dropped off. I'm sitting out front. I I have all these interactions and I am nervous. Like I just I don't know anybody, they can't recognize me, but I'm like, they're gonna judge me. I'm I'm gonna be treated poorly, like all these kinds of things. And surprisingly, well, number one, most people just ignored me, but but then surprisingly, most people were pretty nice. And then the bus pulls up. I'm like, oh no, here we go. And teenagers, junior hires, and high schoolers are walking beside and and sort of not really paying attention or whatever. And then my friend Mark passes by and strikes up a conversation, and now sort of a group gathers. And the next thing I know, I'm on this bus going to youth camp with this group of high schoolers. And I was shocked at the grace and the mercy that these teenagers showed me. It wasn't at all what I expected. Because have you ever been unfairly treated? Have you ever been judged? Or have you ever judged? Have you ever been overlooked? And we're in a series through James where James is addressing some of these core, core principles of what it means to follow Jesus. And he's basically saying, here's Aaron's version. If following Jesus and your faith in Jesus doesn't make a difference on the way you live your life, you've got to ask yourself, do I actually have faith in Jesus? Because a saving faith changes our priorities, it transforms us, it makes us more like Jesus in the way that we think and act and speak and live our lives. And part of what James is writing about again and again is relationally. And so following Jesus, faith in Jesus, changes the way we do relationships with all kinds of people, with everybody, actually. And so we want to be the kind of people maturing to have a faith more like Jesus as we interact with others. So we are in James chapter 2 today. And would you do something? We don't always do this around home. Would you stand for me with me in honor of the reading of God's word? I'm going to read verses 1 through 13. James writes this, my dear, my brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, Here's a good seat for you, but say to the poor man, You stand there, or sit on the floor by my feet. Have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers and sisters, has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith? I love that, rich in faith, and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love him. But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as a lawbreaker. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not murder. If you do not commit adultery, but you do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. So speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Aren't you glad for that? Mercy triumphs over judgment. You could be seated. As we jump into this conversation today, I had one of those God moments that just shocked me a couple of months ago. Nine months ago, I was working on this passage. I was outlining it, I was trying to come up with illustrations. Nine months ago, I came up with an illustration for this passage today regarding uh Julie Boyd and Living Room International and one of our strategic global partners. And I was like, she's such a perfect example of this. I want to make sure I share that story. And then just weeks ago, we got a call that Julie was going to happen to be in town, sort of a last-minute kind of thing. And I was like, let me say, better than me sharing a story about Julie, why don't we have Julie come and share about Julie? So for those of you who don't know about living room, uh let's show a two-minute video just to get you acquainted and then give Julie a warm hillside welcome as she joins me for a quick conversation.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

There wasn't really a model here for us to work from. You know, we were not trying to create an American model of hospice, but what does it look like in Kenya? What does it look like in this environment? People come and they're cared for, they're listened to, they're given a voice.

SPEAKER_02 6:01

When you have people who are willing to go with you in a journey, there is hope.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

People are supportive, people care. They don't live here. But living room, we don't give.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

The impact that we will have on the larger healthcare system, it's hard to even imagine how much we're gonna be able to care for more patients. This new outpatient care center that we're creating, being able to provide emergency services, an eye and dental and maternal and child health, expanded physical therapy spaces, an ICU in a 32-bed pediatric inpatient unit. Really, there's nothing like it in the region yet.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Yet we will have an opportunity to give that not only to the community that is around the hospital, but to the entire city of Elgorit and even outside the field of El David.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

What Libyo we are trying to do is to advocate for the poor, to give them back their dignity as a puzzle.

SPEAKER_03 7:11

Believing health care is a human right and wanting people to access it and provide quality, affordable care. I am so grateful for being a part of a team where we continue to ask what does it look like to love in this situation and try to live that out as we care for people?

SPEAKER_04 7:32

Would you welcome Julie with me this morning? It's a sort of a question that frames a lot of what you do. What does love look like in this situation? How did you start off like following Jesus with that question in front of you?

SPEAKER_03 7:58

So big question, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:59

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

Um so I had moved to Kenya to a village called Kip Carin from Los Angeles. So I had gone to APU, I was working at Cedar Sinai in their HIV unit for a few years, and I moved to Kenya for what I thought would be a year or maybe two, and that was 22 years ago. Um and about five years into a journey that you know I didn't know the big picture, but a part of a Kenyan team doing home visits. There were two severely malnourished babies that were HIV positive and orphans, and um at the end of the day, they weren't going to survive in the community, and so we decided to create an inpatient center for those two children. Not with the idea that it was going to become anything like it has become, um, but it was the question of what does it look like to love that led us to lean into that, and then one of those children came back to life and is just recently finished high school and is in college, and the other passed away after six weeks of care. And I think it really is like a picture of what God has invited us to do is that some of the outcomes are not within our control, but the love that we are called to l lean into and to live out is what regardless of it.

SPEAKER_04 9:22

Yeah, yeah. Um you said something in the last service that I thought was fascinating. You said we're supposed, or I don't know your exact words, but you said experts in mercy.

SPEAKER_03 9:31

Yeah. So I had been living in Kenya and I was kind of wrestling with how do we make medicine all that it should be? You know, I'm a nurse and how do we like I wanted it to be quality. I want there to be excellence, which I fully believe that's what God invited us to do, is how to do things with excellence and compassion. And as I was praying and wrestling with that, I really felt like God said to me, Become an expert in mercy.

SPEAKER_04 9:58

Wow.

SPEAKER_03 9:58

And so for a team of now 275 who I work with 275 staff. 275 staff. Um to cultivate within that team this vision that we have of being a community of compassion that honors life and offers hope, and how to do that practically every day. Um and wanting God's spirit to to lead and guide us and to trust. I said this earlier, but I really feel like love will not lead us astray. And so, how to lean into that, believing that we don't know all the answers. Thankfully, like God didn't give me an entire picture of where we were going, but step by step it's been like if you're faithful with this, then there's another step. And so that's where we're at now.

SPEAKER_04 10:48

So beautiful, so beautiful. So for us, as just even to enter into where you're at right now, how could we pray for you, for for your family, for your for for living room as well? What would be those maybe most urgent depressing needs that would be um and and I would encourage us maybe to write them down and to take it seriously. How can we join you in prayer?

SPEAKER_03 11:09

Yeah, it I I have been coming to Hillside since I think it was 2007. Um, and you have been a part of this journey. You have accompanied us for all of these years, and I will always be grateful for the ways that you have prayed for us and stood with us in really tangible ways that and and believed in this journey as it's been written, you know. Um so yes, I would be really grateful for your prayers. Um, it's been a challenging season navigating some changes this year financially, like the healthcare system shifted quite a bit with uh within Kenya, but also changes within USAID, and some of those things have been kind of monumental in our in our approach and things. And so I'd be really grateful for prayer as we're stepping into a big change in opening this new outpatient care center, um, both for the team that's developing that God would provide for that, as well as just the financial provision to finish what we've started. Um and then I think in the same way that I was saying, like our numbers of staff have grown so much. So that we would continue to be a community that is committed to showing up every day and loving and to be merciful and to do it with excellence, and that God would continue to provide in that way. Um feels really, really important to me.

SPEAKER_04 12:38

And you guys do that so well. You model it so beautifully. So what you see here is very present in Kenya as well, the the ethos of mercy and love and compassion. And and uh let's just do this, let's pray. Um, but I want to ask you to extend a hand, but also we won't go into detail, but just pray for her family as well, as they're in a season of seeking what what medical uh opportunities would be best for for kids, and just for God to open doors, like pray specifically where maybe there seems to be no way that God would make a way possible that would just blow everybody away. Would you join me? Extend a hand and let's just pray. God, thank you so much just for this quick glimpse of what you're doing through Living Room, through Julie, through uh hundreds of staff members. She said earlier that she thought tens of thousands of patients would be able to come through these doors in the next little bit. God, uh the the small dream when she first took a quick mission trip years ago as a college student has blossomed into something that we could have never imagined. And you're the same faithful God now that you've always been and make a way, provide for them, financially, provide for them in systems and structures that have a lot of complexity to it. God, would you just open up doors of opportunity? Would you just make uh your uh kingdom will um provided for and established in Jesus' name for her home, in her home, for her kiddos. We pray, God, for healing and hope. We pray uh for Titus right now as he's judg juggling multiple kids and a dog. God, just give him grace and favor and we pray for healing, God, and we pray for open doors of opportunity for medical treatment. We pray that you would move, God, as only you you can move. We entrust the Boyd family to you right now. And we pray all of these things in Jesus' name. Everybody, would you join me with an amen? Amen. God bless you. We love you, and we're so thankful for you. And Julie will be out in the lobby uh after the gathering. She would love to get to say hey to you if you want to be able to just meet her or say hi to her because it's been a while. Uh, James chapter two is where we are. If you want to turn there and follow along, we're just going to jump right in because we have a lot to get through. Um, and Julie's question, what does it look like to love in this situation? Is such a powerful guide as we go through this. Verse 1, James writes, My brothers and sisters, remember we've said this if you've been here. James is a leader in the church, but he's also a pastor. He's a shepherd, he's tender, and he's like, brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Now, this passage, this is written a couple thousand years ago in Greek, and so there's a translation, and so a more accurate translation probably according to scholars would be something like this not just, hey, believers, but those of you who have faith in Christ, like you have it. If you have faith in Christ, and James says it in a similar way in verse 18, but someone will say, You have faith, and I have deeds. Show me your faith without your deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. James is saying, if you have faith, he's not just saying, Do you believe in God? in just a few verses. Read the rest of chapter 2. That's where James says, even the demons believe that there is a God and they tremble. It's not just believing there's a God, it's having saving faith. Saving faith is repentance. It's a turning to God, away from our sins. It's a, I'm sorry for my sins, God. I need your salvation in my life. It's looking to Jesus specifically for this salvation, not to ourselves. We can't save ourselves. So James says, if you have this faith, you're a believer. But look what he says. In our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, which I just think is beautiful and amazing, because in James he doesn't really use the name Jesus a lot. I think two times, and this is one of them. But it's assumed all throughout that it's about faith in Jesus. And so James is not explicitly mentioning Jesus, but it's all about. The whole letter is about what faith and salvation and life in Jesus are about. And he's exalting Jesus as the rightful authority, the object of our faith, having faith in Jesus. He's the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Like John, the apostle wrote in John 1, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father full of grace and truth. He's glorious. Does anybody use the word glory or glorious about anything else other than like God? Like a sunrise. It's glorious. I would just say this: use the word sparingly. It's a good word for God and God alone. It's a good word for Jesus. And James is saying, you just have to understand, Jesus is the Christ. He's our deliverer, our judge, our Lord, our savior. He's the only one worthy of worship. I was reminded yesterday, we had a little training here, and we were just reading through Philippians, and I was just reminded that uh in Philippians chapter 2, we're told one day every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is what? Lord. He's King of Kings, He's Lord of Lords, incomparable. And James is making this all about Jesus, and he's saying a faith that is in Jesus is a faith that will act like Jesus, look like Jesus, relate to other people like Jesus relates to us. It's a faith that marks us, transforms us. And so let's apply this. James is sort of giving relationship advice. So anybody need relationship advice today? Like for your marriage, for how you interact in your social media accounts. Some of us need a lot of relationship advice there. Let's just take this as James' relationship advice. And the first thing he's going to say is this there's a warning on the flaw of favoritism. It may be subtle, so we got to pay attention. A warning on the flaw of favoritism. Favoritism can mean partiality. It literally comes from a word that means in the ancient world to receive the face. Think about it. Receive the face. It means you're welcoming or receiving someone based on superficial things. Physical appearance, what do they look like, social status, race, to receive the face of somebody, show partiality is to make judgments. And we're welcome or we're not based off of that. James did not come up with this idea, nor did Jesus. The Jewish people heard this kind of a law, this kind of teaching forever in Leviticus 19, where we read these words do not pervert justice, do not show partiality. Same idea. To the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. And if you read the Bible, you will see the Bible is really honest about the ways humans show partiality, favoritism, prejudice, whatever. All throughout the New Testament, there's this struggle about the wrestling between Jewish people and Gentile people. It's racist in its undertones. Through and through, Peter has to have a vision from God multiple times, even to start to overcome the prejudice in his heart. You see the struggle between men versus women in that ancient world that Jesus and Paul are entering into. A woman often was no better in a society than your dog. And I don't mean your cute little golden doodle that you cook breakfast for. I mean like the filthy, nasty dogs of the ancient world, and women didn't have much of a right or a voice, and the Bible is elevating the rights in that kind of society. There's discrimination between rich and poor. There's all kinds of wrestling. Read the Proverbs, wisdom literature. There's that kind of wrestling. And just like in our world, there's wrestling between the old and the young. Who gets the advantage? Who's in charge? Healthy versus sick. Well, stay away from those people. Right versus left, and all kinds of, I'm not even going there today. And we can make excuses. I'm not judgmental. I don't show favoritism. I just have strong opinions. I don't show partiality, I'm just outspoken. I don't play favorites, I'm just having a bad day, and I happen to have a lot of bad days. Part of the reason that there's a flaw that we've got to be aware of of favoritism is because it can be so subtle. There's a study a number of years ago out of Princeton that we as humans often unconsciously make snap judgments about people and it takes one-tenth of a second. In one tenth of a second, here's what the study says. In one tenth of a second, we judge, our brains judge unconsciously, the attractiveness and trustworthiness of a person, and we don't even know we're doing it. Imagine that. We can judge the trustworthy. I could look across this room and see who's trustworthy or not in one tenth of a second. It doesn't really work that way, right? But that's how our brain works. And so in this study, here's what they decided. Um, we decide very quickly whether a person possesses many of the traits we feel are as important, such as likability and competence, even though we've not even exchanged a single word with them. That's why it's dangerous. We don't even often realize we're doing it. And we've got to become aware. And we've got to retrain our brains and be formed to think differently. We we've got to be formed to think like the earliest chapter of the Bible says in Genesis 1, where we are told, so God created mankind, humans, in his own image. We're the pinnacle, the masterpiece of creation in the image of God. He created them, male and female, he created them. We have been created, made in the image of God. Our identity, our truest identity, is discovered in who God created us to be, not look inside of you and be who you want to be. So we've got to come alive. Every single person has been created in the image of God. And then on top of that, in the midst of all of our divisive uh things that try to pull us apart, if we are in Christ, we've been made new creatures, new creations. And in Galatians 3, the apostle Paul writes this so in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through, what's the word? Faith. Through faith, we're made children of God. We're established as children of God. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ, meaning you're putting on new clothing. It's a new identity. You're getting rid of some old clothing. And there is neither Jew or Gentile, neither slave or free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now, of course, there's still Jew, Gentile, and male and female and those kinds of things. What he's saying is you have a new primary, ultimate identity. Who you are in Christ. And so then James gives this illustration of two guys. They walk into a meeting of a church, and one of them is filthy rich, and you can tell by the way they're dressed, and it literally is translated the gold-fingered man. The gold-fingered man comes in, you're like, whoa, whoa, get him the best seat. And then the poor man in dirty clothes, you're like, just go stand over there. And James is like, wait, the faith that we have in Jesus is incompatible with that kind of favoritism. Douglas Mu, in his commentary on James, says, a favoritism based on external circumstances is inconsistent with faith in the one who came to break down the barriers of nationality, race, class, gender, and religion. So what does it look like to love in the situations where we don't see eye to eye with people at work? Like we have a completely different worldview. So what does it look like? Well, they're an idiot, and I'm right. And how is it that we're always right and they're always idiots if they don't see things our way? What does it look like when there's a discussion going on and you're wrestling through things and you don't want to listen, you just want to correct? What does it look like when there's a neighbor who's hard to get along, and you're like, well, if they would just be nice to me, then I will be nice to them. Well, that doesn't sound like the way of Jesus, does it? And so these things begin to impact the way that we live our lives, the way that we relate to other people. And on top of that, I don't have time for this. James says, not only did you discriminate, he said, you've made yourself a judge in the place of God. Be careful. It's dangerous. Look at verse 5. James continues. And he says, Listen, my dear brothers and sisters, listen, marks. That's that's this word like to mark a transition, to mark a, you gotta pay attention. Listen, my dear brothers and sisters. Again, he's saying it in love. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him. Rich in faith. I I love that phrase. I wanted to call the whole sermon rich in faith. It's so good. But James says, like, there's something going on you need to listen to. I need to listen to. We talked about this last week, that we need to listen to what God wants to say. In his commentary on James, Scott McKnight says there's different levels of listening that I think it's interesting to think through this. On one level, there's attention. Like, are your ears open to God's word? We're paying attention. But then there's absorption. Are you letting God's voice fill your being? Are you are you letting God's voice be stronger than all the other voices that are clamoring for your attention? It's it's letting God's voice fill our being so we can hear what he has to say. But then there's the third level of hearing, to do what God says. That's what James is calling us to again and again. And he's saying, it's it's good to hear. We've got to start there, but then we've got to absorb, but then we've got to put it into practice, or we didn't really hear. And he uses this phrase, rich in faith. And here's sort of the New Testament idea. We are rich in faith in Jesus Christ in this. We have an inheritance both here, now, and for eternity. An inheritance in in Jesus Christ. We've been made rich in faith. And we have an inheritance. There's no amening going on at all. You're like, but I sort of like money here on earth. We have an inheritance, we are rich in faith, and it is better, it's a better inheritance and better riches than absolutely anything this world has to offer. Thank you for your whisper, amen. Incomparable are the riches we have through faith in Christ, both for now and eternity, than the riches of this world. We're made rich in faith. And God has chosen the poor, is what James says. Not saying that all poor people have saving faith, not saying all rich people don't have saving faith. He's not saying that, but he's saying there's in that day and age, let's not talk about us, let's talk about them. In their day, there was a priority, a favoritism given to the rich that was causing the poor not just to be overlooked, but to be exploited. And James says, we can't do that. We can't do that. He's not saying uh poor is good, rich is bad. He's saying faith in Christ, wherever you're at, poor or rich, is what will bring you to life. Uh a couple summers ago, I was reading Scott Saul's book, Irresistible, and this caught my attention. He said, Being poor is no more a sign of God's unhappiness than being rich is an indication of his favor. And some of us are like, wait a minute, really? Because I thought if you're rich, it just means you worked hard, you did everything right, and you're good with God. And Scott Saul's example is well, if that's what you believe, then here's a problem. Look at Jesus. He was poor. So what did he do wrong? Where was he in sin? And so it's not about that. It's that's not the distinction that's being made. The people of Jesus can hope in the richness that comes through faith in Christ. The rest of the world can only hope in riches that come from stuff and more of it, and newer and bigger, but it just doesn't ever satisfy. Look at verse 8. James says, if you really keep the royal law, I love that royal law. When you hear the word royal, help me. When you hear the word royal, what do you think? Rich, purple? Thank you. King kingdom, the royal law. Remember earlier we said Jesus is the king of kings, the royal law. If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, hey, mine's highlighted in purple too.

unknown 30:41

Look.

SPEAKER_04 30:43

Um, I didn't do that on purpose. Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as a lawbreaker. If in verse 8, contrasts verse 6 and 7, dishonoring, exploiting, and blaspheming the poor in the name of Jesus. Again, this is from Levitical law that we're to love our neighbor as ourselves. Even that idea didn't start with Jesus. The Jewish people were taught from the very formation of their identity, this is who we are. We're the kind of people that we love God first and we love others second. Then Jesus reiterates that when a religious teacher asks him, What's the greatest commandment? And Jesus said, The greatest commandment is what? Love the Lord your God with all your what? Heart, soul, mind, strength, the totality of who you are. And Jesus is basically saying, But you didn't ask, but the second is just like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. And on all and these two things hang all of the commandments, all of the commandments. It's Jesus saying, love is the litmus test. See, we live in a world where there's all kinds of litmus tests. Are you faithful? And it's usually our own devices, it's our own preferences become a litmus test. Jesus, scripture says, love is the litmus test. The world will know you are my disciples by your love for one another. Love is the litmus test. So, James on relationships, we've got to understand a call to the royal law of love. It's a call to the royal law. Again, there's a kingdom. It's different than our kingdom. There's a king, meaning there's a new authority that we're listening to that guides us. The royal law of love. See, Jesus speaks to this in John 15. He says, My command is this love each other. Here's the how. As I have loved you. So the question is, how has Jesus loved us? What words would we put on that? Unconditionally, sacrificially, so we're to love others just like Jesus has loved us. Well, well, then what does it mean? Like, who will we love? Well, now it gets worse because then Jesus says, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. You're like, no, I want to love those who love me and are like me and they talk like me and they like the movies that I like, they like the same spiciness level of food that I like. I want to love the people that are like me. And Jesus is saying, that's good. That's not enough. That's human love, that's not a royal law of love. And Jesus is doing a new work and he's inviting us to be formed and shaped by him. Look at his disciples. Not just the 12, but you could start with the 12, but even those that are around him. His disciples are a diverse ragtag group of people. There's some that are a little more wealthy, there's some who are like dirt poor. There's one who's a tax collector, meaning he is like, he is colluding with a government. There's one who's a zealot, he wants to kill every person in the government. There's men, and then there becomes women, all these women they marry. I can't keep the Mary straight. There's all these people, and you're like, this is just a very diverse group of people that Jesus has around him. And then T. Wright, in his book, Early Christian Letters for Everyone, he says, Don't let the world leave its dirty smudge on you. The world is always assessing people, sizing them up in one-tenth of a second bites. Always assessing people, sizing them up, putting them down, establishing a pecking order. And God who sees and loves all alike wants the church to reflect his generous, universal love in how it behaves. So are you being shaped to love like God loves, to love what others like God has loved you, even when maybe you're disagreeable or you've done things and God's like, My love is unconditional and my love is sacrificial. Or are you loving others like our world tells us, primarily how you are being trained and formed by this? This is training us, shaping us, forming us how to interact with other people. Do you know that? The average American spends seven hours a day on a screen. So you could say phone, you could say computer, you could say TV. Seven hours a day on a screen. 49 hours a week on a screen. I've been talking for 32 minutes or so. My 32-minute talk can't compare to the seven hours this is in front of us a day. This is shaping us and forming us, and it's divisive material. Let me tell you how divisive it is. Um, it helps curate what we already think, want, and believe. And we're like, that's amazing. I'm on social media and everybody agrees with me. That's because there's an algorithm that sends you stuff that is going to keep your attention and let you think everybody agrees with you. And if five of us, one from that section, this section, this section, this section, this section, I think that's six, but you know what I mean, stood up here with YouTube, every one of our YouTubes would be different. If we had Instagram, no, let's say that, Facebook, because that's even that's just general, generationally funny. If we stood up here with Facebook, six of us, and we looked at our feeds, our feeds would be completely different based on what we like, where we spend time, where we give attention, because this isn't given to you to try to correct you or help you. It's given to you to try to keep your attention longer so it feeds you more of what you already think. It gives you more of what you already like. But what if what you like and what if what I like isn't what we need? And the word corrects us, and the word confronts us, and the word gives us a plumb line to say, hey, here's where you're a little bit off, and here's where God is at work, and he is faithful, and he is good, and you can find alignment and life and peace and joy in his word when you align your life to it. This, this, I'm not saying this is bad, I'm not saying throw it away. I'm saying be careful, be careful, be careful. And I'm saying, listen, listen, listen to this. Because what does love look like in this situation is going to be found here. What does love look like in this situation? A whole different answer when we disagree, when we don't see eye to eye. That's this is when we get, I think this is true. And if you don't think what I think is true, then you are an idiot. That's what this does. Am I right? And some of you are like, oh no. And some spouses just got an elbow in that moment. Verses 10 and 11 warn us don't play the comparison game of sin. And the comparison game of sin, there's two extreme examples, adultery and murder. And a lot of us today are like, whoo, haven't done that. I guess greed and pride aren't so bad after all. And James is like, if you sin, you sin. If you sin, you break the ways of God. We're all in the same boat. There are no perfect people. God's grace and God's mercy and God's love is for all of us, no matter the quote unquote level of our sin. Verse 12. So then speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. James doesn't avoid judgment, he just puts it in its proper context. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. Don't you want to be judged by a law that gives freedom? He says, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. We're living in a world that wants to lead with judgment towards anybody who's not like us. But look at how James ends this. But mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy triumphs over judgment. The third thing is the M O. This is what I mean the mission objective. The mission objective is that mercy triumphs over judgment. It's a mercy mission that God is on through Jesus Christ. Is there judgment? Yes, absolutely. The Bible talks about that. There is judgment, and it's coming. It's sometimes it's sneaking into our life now, but it's coming in eternity. It is coming. But mercy triumphs. God is leading with mercy. I love how Julie said, we're to become experts in mercy. Receiving God's and giving it to others. We've got to recapture this vision of Jesus the merciful. There's a man lame and he is sick and he is laying by a pool and people walk by him day by day. They don't even make eye contact, they just try to avoid him. But Jesus in his mercy, he has moved in his heart, and he has to go nearer to this man. He has to show him what healing and what hope looks like. There's children that are being brought to Jesus. Do you remember what the disciples did? Get those kids out of here. This is a busy, important man. He doesn't need the kids. And Jesus is like, let the children come. For my kingdom is of the humble, like a child. And you don't enter my kingdom until you're humble, like a child. Jesus is eating dinner with tax collectors and prostitutes. He's around these tables with people that you and I, if we were at corkies with them, they would raise some eyebrows. And Jesus at dinner, and the religious leader is like, What is he doing with those people? And Jesus is like, well, the people who think they're healthy don't really need any help. But the people who know they have a need are the ones I've come for. Jesus is looking at the lost and the broken, and the ones who are like, I have no place to turn, stuck in my sin, lost, rejected by religion, and Jesus on a cross and pays the ultimate price. Out of love, he sacrifices his life. And anyone who is far away can find grace and mercy in God through Jesus Christ. It's impossible to overestimate, to over celebrate at the mercy of Jesus. And aren't you glad he doesn't give us what we deserve? Mercy and judgment, they're not opposite opposing forces. They're both God's prerogative. It's just he leads with mercy. And it's available for all of us. I love this quote. It's a person quote. So like I don't agree with every aspect of it, but it's a great quote. It's the Holy Spirit's job to convict, Billy Graham says. God's job to judge, and my job to love. And we have turned it around to say, it is my job to convict. It is my job to judge. And God, I'll leave the love up to you. That's not what James and Jesus are talking about. So what does it mean to ask God? Maybe for some of us here today that we're we're not a Christian. We've never experienced the love of God. What does it look like today to say, God, I need you. Please forgive me. And I turn to you. Our prayer team would love in just a few minutes to pray with you towards that. What does it mean for you to say, God, search my heart? Search, God, my one-tenth of a second judgment. And give me your grace and your mercy and your love to see others like you see them. Search my heart, God. What does it mean to say we want to be shaped and transformed to be the kind of people who love and show mercy like Jesus shows love and mercy to us? And it starts with receiving. And so, like we've been doing in James, and we've got these memory verses in the journal, if you've not gotten one yet, we're going to pray together Ephesians 3. It's a prayer the Apostle Paul wrote, just inviting God to move in our lives. So will you stand with me and out loud, let's pray Ephesians 3, 17 through 19 together. Okay, will you say this out loud with me? This is our prayer to God. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. And to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. God, would you fill us with the fullness of who you are? Would you let us know how high, how deep, how wide your love is? A love that passes knowledge. Let us experience your love. Let us walk in your love. Have your way in us. And then let us go and love others likewise. Let us love and show mercy to others like you have loved and shown mercy to us. In your name, Jesus, we pray.

SPEAKER_01 45:21

Amen.