Respect of Persons: An Old Problem
James 2:1-13

INTRO: Good morning church. In bible study we are currently looking at the book of James chapter 2. Dale is doing a wonderful job covering this tough topic. And I thought it worthwhile to bring it to our attention again. I wish that everyone could attend that bible study. For our text this morning I will be using James 2:1-13 and I’m using the New King James version.

Let's read those verses together. James 2:1-13. “1. My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3. and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place,'' and say to the poor man, "You stand there,'' or, "Sit here at my footstool,'' 4. have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5. Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6. But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7. Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 8. If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself,'' you do well; 9. but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery,'' also said, "Do not murder.'' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”[NKJV]

Other translations use the words “favoritism” or “respect of persons” instead of “partiality”. I have found that in talking to folks about James that this phrase “respect of persons” has been a bit confusing for them. You see, we look at the word “respect” and we think, that is a positive thing, we respect others. Indeed that is true but the phrase “respect of persons” in the original language, is a compound word, prosōpolēmpsia (pros-o-pol-ape-see'-ah), meaning partiality or favoritism. Literally the word means “receiving of face.” In the Old Testament this phrase is also seen as a warning in such places as Proverbs 24:33 which says “… It is not good to have respect of persons in judgment.”[KJV] Two words in Hebrew are used here for “respect of persons”, literally “to regard a face”.

Back to our text. In these verses James, the brother of our Lord, confronted a problem that's been around for a long time, and that is having respect of persons. We might also refer to it as unfair judging.

This is not only an old subject, but it receives a lot of attention today. That being the case, perhaps this is a good time for us to be reminded of these instructions from scripture. You do not hear that expression, “respect of persons” very much, but you do hear a lot about prejudice, class-ism, age-ism, clique-ism, race-ism and similar subjects. We need to know what the Bible teaches. The Lord wants us to follow His instructions, and we will be judged by His word at that last great day.

James was written in the first century, and he was not the first one to deal with this topic. Jesus dealt with unfair judging in Matthew 7. God warned of favoritism back in the time of Moses. As God's people, we're not immune to unfair judging.

James is writing to Christians, people who had become followers of Christ. We learn from James chapter two verse one, that having respect of persons is forbidden in Christianity. He says, “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality”.

I. James very plainly says, “show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord”. In other words, “don't be guilty of favoritism”. That clearly shows that having respect of persons is forbidden in Christianity.

A. We need to point out that God is no respecter for persons, and this is shown a number of times in scripture

1. For example in Acts 10:34, Peter had gone to the home of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert. “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.” Peter concluded from his experience that God is no respecter of persons.
2. Let's look at Romans 2:11. “For there is no partiality with God.” Paul makes a crystal-clear statement of God’s impartiality.
3. In Ephesians 6:9 Paul has been addressing the reciprocal relationships between slaves and masters, and concludes, “And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

B. The point is this, to be like God, His children must not show partiality.
C. Back in James 2:9, “but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” Whoa, James doesn't beat around the bush, does he? Not only does he show us in verse one that having respect of persons is forbidden in Christianity, but he went on to say in verse nine that those who are guilty of this…transgress the will of God and the transgression of God's law is sin.

II. Let's look at James 2:2-4. Here James illustrates what he's talking about. There are a lot of similarities between the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of James. They both said things in a very clear and easily understandable manner, and to make matters even clearer, they used some powerful illustrations… examples.

A. The situation that's presented here has to do with an assembly of Christians being gathered together, and two men enter that assembly.

1. One man is obviously a rich man. He's wearing a gold ring, and he's wearing some fine clothing.
2. The other man is a poor man, and he's wearing vile raiment.

B. The people in the assembly who treat those two men differently are guilty of having respect of persons.

1. Those who practice partiality will give the rich man what we would call the best seat in the house—the most honored seat.

a. Is he treated that way because he's such a good man? No.
b. He's being given that preferential treatment just because he is rich. No one knows anything about his character. All they know from his appearance is that he's wealthy, can afford nice things and so he gets the best seat in the house.

2. What about the other man? Those who have respect of persons, i.e. practice partiality, will tell the poor man to stand over there in a corner somewhere or sit in a very lowly place.

a. Is he treated that way because he's such a bad man? No.
b. He's being treated that way just because he's poor.

C. That kind of treatment toward those two men demonstrates prejudice.

1. It demonstrates unfair judging and those who are guilty of such partiality are described as being judges with evil thoughts.
2. Rather than judge in that manner, Christians must follow the instructions Jesus gave in John 7:24. “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

a. Some people have the idea, the mistaken idea, that all judging is forbidden. That's not the case. There are certain types of judging that are forbidden but the Bible actually teaches us to make certain judgments.
b. When judgments are made, they're not to be made based on appearance. The Bible has told us to judge, by what is right according to the standard of God’s word. Yet, we are not to condemn, and we are not to be judgmental. Rather, we should make evaluations.

III. James goes on to show us at verse 5 that having respect of persons makes no sense.

A. Look at verse five and the first part of verse six. James 2:5-6a “Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man.” Consider the way that God has treated the poor.

1. Jesus said, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” In Luke 6:20. He has blessed the poor spiritually. Does that mean that all poor people are good? No.
2. That's just the way it is. Looking down upon poor people just because they are poor makes no sense

B. Then James asks us to consider how rich men have treated Christians. James 2:6b-7 “Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?”

1. An example of that is in Acts 13:50, “But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas.” Here the honorable people were stirred up against the apostles. Rich men have gone so far as to blaspheme the name of Christ.
2. This by no means indicates that all rich people are bad. We know better than that. In the Bible, we read about several wealthy men who were faithful followers of the Lord.
3. As a general rule, the rich are more antagonistic toward Christians than the poor. That's just the way it is. Showing preferential treatment to rich people just because they are rich makes no sense.

C. When we think about the reasoning that James is putting forth, we see that respecters of persons, those practicing partiality, demonstrate a lack of spiritual discernment.

IV. Next let's look at James 2:8-13 and here James points out that having partiality violates the royal law. What is the royal law? It's identified in verse eight.

A. “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself,'' you do well;”

1. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus identified that as the second great commandment. Jesus was asked, “36. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?'' 37. Jesus said to him, " `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38. "This is the first and great commandment. 39. "And the second is like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40. "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.''”
2. Let's look at Romans 13:8 for a moment. In these verses, the apostle Paul refers to the same law, and he shows that it's a comprehensive commandment. Romans 13:8-10, “8. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery,'' "You shall not murder,'' "You shall not steal,'' "You shall not bear false witness,'' "You shall not covet,'' and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'' 10. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” That royal law sums up our responsibilities toward our fellow man.
3. Jesus identified the royal law when He gave what we call the golden rule—to treat others the way that we want to be treated. Why is it called a royal law? Because it is a law of the kingdom, it is given by the King.

B. Having respect of persons is a violation of the royal law. Verse 12 says, “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”
C. Verse twelve teaches us to speak and act according to the law of liberty because we will be judged by that law, and what does that law of liberty teach us? It teaches us to avoid having partiality.

1. Then verse 13. Still speaking of the judgment in verse 12 it begins with a warning, “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.”
2. Then in the last part “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
3. The law of liberty emphasizes mercy over judgment, and remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
4. James teaches us that those who show no mercy will receive no mercy.

V. God does not do it. God’s word teaches against it. The church is warned about the consequences of it. Yet, in almost every congregation it happens. The evil of which we speak is being a respecter of persons. It is an old problem, this evil of partiality.

A. It is against the nature of God to be a respecter of persons. He is the Creator of all mankind. Therefore, He treats all in the same manner. There is no bias with Him. He does not favor one above another. He does not treat human beings with partiality.
B. This is true in the matter of salvation. Every human being has the ability to be forgiven of their sins. All have access to the blood of Jesus whereby they can be cleansed of iniquity.

1. The Jews of the first century had a difficult time with this concept. When God selected them to be His chosen people, they thought that God’s favor rested solely upon them. They were His “favorites.” All others were heathens and dogs. When the gospel began to be preached, it was clear that this concept was false, but the Jews still held to it.
2. Even the apostles struggled with it. It took a vision from the Lord and the baptism of the Holy Spirit to convince Peter that the Gentiles could become God’s children.

C. God is also no respecter of persons when it comes to His judgment. He will judge all fairly. He does not have one standard of judgment for one person and another standard for someone else. He will not overlook one person’s sins and hold another accountable for committing the same sins. Paul wrote in Romans 2:6f that God, "will render to each one according to his deeds'': eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil, … (then in verse 11) For there is no partiality with God.”
D. Christians are to be Christ-like. It is sinful for us to play favoritism. It is a transgression of God’s will to treat individuals with partiality.

1. We as Christians are not to play the game of partiality. James 2:9 states: “but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”
2. In James 2:4 he describes those who show respect of persons as being “partial” and as being “judges of evil thoughts.”
3. In James 2:8-9 he indicates that this behavior runs in direct opposition to the law of love.

E. There are many excuses one could use to try to justify being a respecter of persons. Some might say: “Isn’t it just human nature?” By this they mean that all of us have those that we are closer to than others. We have those that we associate with more than others.

1. However, we must not mistake “closeness” for partiality. Jesus was closer to Peter, James, and John than to the other apostles. His closeness did not keep Him from being impartial. When Peter sinned, he was confronted just as Judas was.
2. Another excuse is that being impartial is hard to practice. The situations in which we are called to follow the command may make adhering difficult. It usually involves sin in the life of one that we are “partial” towards. It could involve the discipline of a loved one. Just because something is hard though, does not mean that it should not be done. It was probably hard for Abraham to offer Isaac, but his faith pushed him through the difficulty. In 2nd Timothy 2:3, Paul tells Timothy, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”

VI. Then there are the pressures from the outside.

A. We sometimes fail in this area because we know that others will get angry if we are impartial.

1. If we treat a family member like we treat someone outside the family, the family member might get upset.
2. If we treat the rich like the poor, the rich will become disgruntled.
3. There is no doubt that the practice of the command to “have no respect of persons” will rub some the wrong way.
4. The question, however, is not whether we please others, but whether we please God. Paul put it very well in Galatians 1:10, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

B. We allow this potential of upsetting others to allow the world to influence us. James gives us an example of a particular kind of discrimination, which we might call class-ism. The principle of respect of persons goes beyond this particular type of partiality though.

1. Showing respect of persons means to treat someone unequally with another who deserves equal treatment.
2. The basic idea behind respect of persons is a judgment based upon false standards.
3. Let me ask a few questions as examples;

a. Do we turn our noses up at the one whose smell is less than fragrant?
b. Do we look away from those whose manner of dress is not as nice as ours?
c. Do we heartily shake the hands of the “clean,” but neglect the hands of the “dirty?”
d. Do we look down upon the “employee” and give favor to the “boss?”

C. As I said before it is an old problem and has been with us at least since the days of Moses.

1. Leviticus 19:15, “You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. But in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”
2. Deuteronomy 1:17, “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man's presence, for the judgment is God's.”

D. Another way society influences us to show partiality that we see often today is what we can call age-ism. Our behavior toward the elderly. This too has been with us since ancient times.

1. Leviticus 19:32, “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.”
2. God takes respect for the elderly seriously. 2nd Kings 2:23f tells of something that happened to Elisha as an old man, “And he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!'' So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.”
3. This last instance teaches us that not only will God judge us based upon our respect for the elderly, but whether we mock/deride a condition which the elderly cannot control.
4. In the New Testament this issue is discussed by Paul and Peter.

a. 1st Timothy 5:1f, “Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, the younger men as brothers, the older women as mothers…”
b. 1st Peter 5:5, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”

5. What about us today?

a. Do we desire the company of the young over the old?
b. What are we teaching our youth when we put them on a pedestal while we neglect our elderly?
c. What we teach our youth today regarding respect of the elderly, in both our actions and attitudes, they will practice upon us tomorrow.

E. I’ll mention one more way we are influenced in our actions and attitudes, and that is something I would call clique-ism. This is the temptation to simply associate only with those with whom we are most comfortable. Clique-ism is the idea that I have my own little group with whom I associate, and politely ignore everyone outside of that group.

1. It is also the idea of accepting into one’s fellowship, only certain people and we end up showing favoritism among those who are saved.
2. In Philippians 2:1f Paul tells us, “1. Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2. fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,”

CONCLUSION:
Yes, not being a respecter of persons, not being one who shows favoritism, can be difficult at times. There is much to influence us to the contrary. As Dale pointed out, the Bible has a lot to say about being a respecter of persons, or showing partiality to one person over another for some particular reason. We are warned that if we show partiality we commit sin.

In all that scripture tells us, we can conclude that God doesn’t want the law to be applied differently to different people because of the position they hold in society, the amount of wealth they have, or what they may think of themselves. God has set a standard of right and wrong for all; He will judge all by the same standard; God’s plan of salvation is the same for all, and those who desire to be saved can be saved by exactly the same plan.

It has been suggested by some that since God is no respecter of persons, how can He work in the life of an individual Christian? How can God favor His children with His Grace, the answering of prayers, providing for help in life, healing of sickness, and other personal matters? Those things have nothing to do with God’s standard of righteousness, or salvation.

For example, take a county judge. In his job as judge, he is expected to apply the law equally to everyone. This means that both the wealthy and the poor should be treated equally by him in court. However, when he goes home to his family, he may bring his children gifts. Does the fact of his being a county judge mean that he has to give gifts to all the children of the county? Of course not. It is only in his application of the law as judge that he must be impartial. In his home, he may bless his own children without concern for being impartial.

When the Bible says that God does not have respect of persons, it doesn’t mean that God must bless everyone exactly the same. If that were the case, there would be no men or women, children or adults, wealthy and poor, intelligent and non-intelligent, strong and weak, etc. God does bless different people with different gifts as His grace is extended to each. This is not the same thing as God showing respect of persons relative to salvation. God may bless who He so chooses in whatever way He chooses to bless them, and He continues to be impartial regarding salvation and judgment.
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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins… If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Based on Sermon by: Raymond Sieg