Download discussion questions:  James 2:1-13

James began his letter with a positive twist on negative experiences:  “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).  His reasoning, counter to our natural response to difficulties, is that those difficulties provide opportunities to prove the genuine quality of our faith.  That authentication process is intended to be a source of great hope rather than discouragement.

Recognizing authentic faith continues through his letter.  James mentions a distinctive feature of “pure and undefiled religion” in contrast to religion that is “worthless” (James 1:26-27).  As last week’s blog pointed out, one writer suggests that the rest of the letter of James is about defeating those kinds of deception:

And the idea of these verses [vv. 26-27 – mw] – that true religion is manifested in a lifestyle of obedience to God – becomes the leitmotif [main theme – mw] of the next four chapters.  To some extent, these verses set the agenda for the rest of the letter.[1]

The passage our group considered this week comes back to that topic as James addresses the problem of partiality in the church.  He had already mentioned the metaphorical contrast between the spiritual and material conditions of poor and rich (James 1:9-10).  He returns to those categories in the context of more evidence of genuine faith in this passage.

 

Contrasts

When you read a passage of Scripture, where do you start in your methodical study of the passage?  Often as you read, some pattern will draw your attention.  That pattern is usually a good place to start.  This passage contains a number of contrasts that our discussion pointed out:

• “partiality” and “faith” (v. 1) – This was the example highlighted on the handout. While a thesaurus would not list these as opposites, James clearly uses that contradictory condition as the starting point of his exhortation.
• “fine clothing” and “shabby clothing” (v. 2)
• “sit” and “stand” (v. 3)
• “poor in the world” and “rich in faith” (v. 5)
• “love” and “partiality” (vv. 8, 9)
• “keeps the law” and “fails in one point” (v. 10)
• “rich” and “poor” (v. 2, 3, 5, 6) Also note that James refers plainly to the “rich” only once, in verse 6, but he mentions the “poor” explicitly four times.  The other comments on the rich are about clothing and jewelry, perhaps an allusion to their focus on outward display of wealth.

All those contrasts point to a concern about the differences in how the church responds to different people coming into an assembly.  Someone asked if the “rich” and “poor” were Christians.  We discussed the fact that James describes the problem as making “distinctions among yourselves” (v. 4), which seems to indicate the partiality was shown between rich and poor Christians.  The later reference (vv. 6b, 7) about oppression and blasphemy sound more like non-Christians, suggesting that even the Christian rich were influenced by their non-Christian economic peers.

Partiality

In our previous discussions, we saw how the dispersion (James 1:1) of the believers might have been due to persecution.  That flight from oppression could lead to significant economic disparities.  James may have been concerned that such disparity would affect (or already was affecting) the fellowship in the dispersed church.  The sharing of common property practiced by the newborn church may not have lasted, especially when persecution intensified:

Given the external situation, one would also expect internal effects.  The generosity of the 30s and 40s had worn off.  The church is now routine.  Under financial pressure people tend to hold orthodox belief, but also grasp tightly to whatever money they have.[2]

In light of those harsh realities, James warned against the very human tendency to discriminate and show partiality (James 2:1, ff), especially in economic matters.  Like being a hearer and not a doer of the word (James 1:23) or not bridling the tongue (James 1:26), such partiality is inconsistent with genuine faith.

Royal Law

James makes it clear that partiality is not a minor matter.  The “royal law” (v. 8) is the law “carrying the King’s authority,” and that law (from Leviticus 19:18) is “cited 6 times in the synoptics and also in Rom, 13:9 and Gal. 5:14.”[3]  Loving your neighbor as yourself is clearly a key theme throughout the Bible.  Partiality is a direct violation of that “royal law.”  To emphasize the severity, James points to murder and adultery to make his point that violations of any part of the law are equally serious.  Failing in any part makes us “guilty of all of it” (v. 10).

We discussed why James used adultery and murder as his examples.  Someone observed that those are two elements that Jesus used to define genuine application of the law.  This is one example of how James repeatedly bases his letter on the teaching of his half-Brother:  “the whole book exudes the Sermon on the Mount.”[4]

The law as explained by Jesus is not only about external actions (illicit sex or homicide) but about the heart (lust and anger).  James makes it clear that even when we don’t openly say, “You sit here in a good place,” the attitude of partiality in our heart is equally sinful.

Our Church (and Your Church)

This passage lends itself to immediate application.  We considered the fact that as soon as we left the group to go to the worship service, we would be faced with possibilities of partiality.  What new people would be visiting?  What church members do we not know very well?  What distinctions might we make that would be violations of the royal law?  Several suggestions came up:

• Clothing, style of dress – that partiality could go either way – people who we perceive as overdressed or under-dressed
• People who are like us or who are different
• Race or ethnicity
• Age – much older or much younger than we are comfortable with
• Familiar people or strangers
• Wealthy or homeless
• Loud or shy people, outgoing or introverts
• People with disabilities

All of these cases would violate the instruction to “show no partiality” (v. 1).  As one writer summarizes, “showing favoritism is willful sin.”[5]

We also discussed the question of “why” we tend toward partiality.  The general consensus was “What’s in it for me?” or “How might this person benefit our church?”  The perception that a person who looks successful and has self-confidence, and perhaps is on a higher economic level, will be much more of an asset to us personally or corporately.  As one person pointed out, those descriptions sound like the warning James gives about becoming “judges with evil thoughts” (v. 4).  Another comment compared churches to HOAs (Home Owners’ Associations).  “If you don’t live up to our standards, you really are not welcome here.”

The Ministry of the Pew

In order to help us avoid being the “Church HOA,” there are several suggestions for before, during, and after a worship service.  The article, The Ministry of the Pew[6], provides much more detail, but the substance is summarized below.  (In God’s always amazing providence, I came across these suggestion earlier in the week, completely unrelated to this study!).

Before

• Preparation
  • Think ahead of time (Hebrews 10:26)
  • Pray – pastor, music, newcomers
• Newcomers
  • Greet them
  • Invite them to sit with you
  • Introduce them to others
• Arrive early
  • Ready to participate
  • Ready to welcome new people
  • Ready to help with last minute setup

During

• Be involved
  • Active listening
  • Active singing
• Logistics
  • Look for opportunities to help
    • Latecomers looking for a seat
    • Any problems (spilled drink, etc.)

After

• Discuss God’s Word
  • Engage others
  • Offer specific comment about sermon
• Encouraging feedback
  • Pastor
  • Musicians
• Newcomers
  • Conversation immediately after service
    (Newcomers tend to leave right away)
  • Offer to meet for coffee
• Pray with others
• Plan to stay late!

 

Obedience

Those suggestions for avoiding partiality are opportunities to be doers and not mere hearers of the instructions James gives in this passage.  Those opportunities, as James continues to emphasize, are ways to authenticate the genuine quality of what we say we believe.  We have the opportunity to see God’s law of liberty (James 1:25, 2:12) at work in our life:

God’s gracious acceptance of us does not end our obligation to obey him; it sets it on a new footing.  No longer is God’s law a threatening, confining burden.  For the will of God now confronts us as a law of liberty – an obligation we discharge in the joyful knowledge that God has both “liberated” us from the penalty of sin and given us, in his Spirit, the power to obey his will.[7]

James will continue to develop and expand that theme in the next section of his letter as he discusses the way genuine faith results in works.  He started with the care of orphans and widows (James 1:27) and then broadened the concern to the general non-discrimination of the poor (James 2:1).  The next section (James 2:14-26) extends his discussion to good works in general as signs of a believing heart.

Good works are not burdensome actions we must manufacture to convince ourselves that we have faith.  Rather, the works produced by genuine belief provide evidence that authenticates faith.  Like our perseverance in trials, those authenticating works provide reassuring evidence of our relationship with God.  The evidence of those works increases our joy (James 1:2).

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[1] Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 96.

[2] Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982), 33.

[3] Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982), 114-115.

[4] Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982), 16.

[5] Craig L. Blomberg, Mariam J. Kamell, James, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Zondervan, 2008), 117.

[6] http://pwac.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Training-Topic-The-Ministry-of-the-Pew.pdf  retrieved December 2, 2019.

[7] Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 117, emphasis in the original.