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JAMES - Be Doers of the Word, and not Hearers Only
Studies in the Letter of James (by Dr. Richard Thomas)

Chapter II

The evils of snobbery (James 2:1-13)


JAMES 2:1-13
1 My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality. 2 For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in; 3 and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing, and say, “Sit here in a good place”; and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool”; 4 haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in 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. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? 7 Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called? 8 However, if you 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, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom. 13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Verses 2 and 3 give us a hypothetical instance of social prejudice, the manifestations of which are bound to vary with area and age. Gold rings were a status symbol in the apostolic age. The elite wore rings on every finger of both hands. Nowadays status seeking and status showing takes other materialistic forms, a Porsche or Ferrari, rather than mere details of dress.

Discrimination may be justified by specious arguments. We are told that blacks feel more at home in their own largely segregated churches, or else that their exuberant modes of worship and witness are likely to disturb staid congregations in the more fashionable churches. In fact the immigrant whether black or brown regards a welcome acceptance by European congregation or club the highest of status symbols. Fast cars, neat houses and high salaries do not compensate for a feeling of rejection. Gold rings are set against shabby clothes. There is of course no virtue in the latter, just as there can be no harm in wearing a ring or two (Luke 15:22). Our principal at college used to warn us against ostentations in overdressing and an equally showy shabbiness. Both draw attention to the outward appearance of the speaker and detract from the impact of his message.

Clearly the principle goes beyond this single example. If it is wrong to abase the poor in church, it is wrong to treat them disrespectfully anywhere. It is conceivable for some Christians to be nice to their ‘inferiors’ in the hallowed ambiance of church and avoid them elsewhere. Some will argue that you cannot treat all men alike. You must graduate your conduct according to Confucian rules of reciprocal relationships. However, the safest course is to obey the simple rule left us by the humble fisherman and leading apostle Peter, “Honor all men” (1 Peter 2:17). The Greek text does not mention ‘men’ so we have to honour all women too. Peter next tells us to honour the king, using precisely the same Greek verb for respect. Surely this attitude is clearer to the mind of Christ and the practice of Paul, who never suffered from an inferiority complex or displayed obsequiousness in the presence of rulers, nor was he ever discourteous to the humblest of people. To treat people differently on account of their class is to judge by false standards; you may recall our definition of wisdom as weighing issues and persons in the light of eternal values.

One vital reason why the poor and the neglected deserve our earnest consideration is that God chose them along with the foolish, weak and base in preference to the wise, mighty and noble. The poor in spirit are often rich in faith and their portion is God’s Kingdom (Matthew 5:3). A crown (1:12) is worth little without the kingdom which is symbolised by it. Both crown and kingdom are promised to those who love God. Whether or not we have set our hearts on crowns and diadems what really matters is to be rich in faith towards Christ. The poor have so much to put up with that we should always show a bias in their favour. Fair-mindedness demands no less.

Prejudice leads to dishonour, to oppression and victimisation in law. We take comfort in the fact that in our democratic society the rights of ordinary citizens are safeguarded, and the grosser forms of injustices cannot be tolerated. But it is possible to act within the law and act cruelly. Recently a programme on T.V. discussed the action of an Aberdeenshire laird who was about to evict his tenants on a legal technicality. He sounded like a decent chap standing up for his rights. The real reason behind the eviction was the willingness of American oilmen to pay ten times as much for cottages as his tenants were able to afford. For these poor folk eviction would mean the loss of livelihood and in some instances the break up of the family. For us the principle is obvious: never go to court simply to drag a helpless human before a judge for love of money or out of sheer animosity.

Already our Lord’s prediction that many of his followers would be haled before governors and rulers had come to pass in a thousand cases. James had stood before such a court or was soon to stand. Self-defence in the presence of a corrupt judge would have little chance of success, when carried out by humble believers. Accusers ‘who oppress you’ (7) could scheme and blaspheme to engineer their destruction. To blaspheme the name of Christ, using slander and malicious language was only to be expected when the victim bore that name and the prosecutor happened to be a fanatical Jew. It is at times like this that the Holy Spirit becomes their advocate, speaking for and through ‘unlearned’ believers, delivering them from danger or else confirming their testimony for Jesus. Either way the honourable Name would be lifted up.

We have the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have done to you”; and we have the royal law, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (8). Other religions offer their members the negative injunction, not doing to others what one finds hateful. Christianity calls for a positive response of doing, loving our neighbour in practical ways. The verdict of the crowds on the healing ministry of Christ was “He has done all things well” (Mark 7:37). That is because love of friends and foes was His sole motive in action. Whenever you truly love others as you love yourself you do well. More than that you cannot do. But how do we love ourselves? Not by whispering sweet nothings in my ears, sending valentine cards to myself on the appropriate date, kissing or caressing my checks in narcissistic delight. We love ourselves by caring, feeding, housing, clothing the body God has given us, training or edifying our minds and raising our spirits. In the measure that we do these things for others we show truly that we love them.

One significant axiom in law is that justice must be the same for all. All are equal under the law (9). To show partiality in our dealings with men is to commit sin; God’s law then convicts us as transgressors. A single transgression is enough to create a barrier between me and God. Yet partiality by its very nature cannot be a ‘one off’ transgression. The prejudiced person demonstrates his prejudice every day. Nonetheless, God’s word explicitly says that if we keep the whole law and fail in one item we have broken both the letter and the spirit of the law. How many crimes does it take to make you a criminal? Just one. How many holes in the bottom of a boat does it take to sink it? Just one. We can no more argue with the sea seeping into a vessel, than we shall be able to dispute with God when He delivers His judgment on the day of reckoning (2 Corinthians 5:10), when we discover how far short we have fallen from His lofty standards (Romans 3:23).

In any event it is not one transgression for which we have to give account. We have lost count of the multitude of sins we have committed and the obligations we have omitted to fulfil. Since God remembers our past sins no more, perhaps we who are freely forgiven by His Son should not dwell on those failings, except as a reminder of the debt we owe, and an incentive to greater devotion (Romans 1:14,15). When we disregard a single point of the Law we disregard the Lawgiver; the unity of law flows from the unity of One who gave the Law (4:12).

James proceeds to select two of the more flagrant transgressions figuring in the moral law (11), adultery and murder. You may remonstrate at this and cry “Not guilty”. We shall need to recall the Sermon on the Mount and search our hearts, if we try to establish our innocence (Matthew 5:21,22,27,28). Let your words and actions be regulated by the realisation that you will be judged according to the law of freedom (12). This is the law of the spirit not of the letter. The man who draws attention to the fact that he has kept one or other of God’s laws, will be shown by the all-seeing Judge, that more often than not he has failed miserably. “In many things we all offend” (4:2). God who commands us to love our neighbour and our enemies has Himself loved us while we were yet His enemies. He who offers blessing to the merciful, has let His mercy triumph over judgment (John 3:17).

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