Favouritism is Against God’s Law (James 2:9-13)

James, as we have seen, is a pastor writing to encourage believers to serve God in difficult circumstances mainly caused by persecution. His advice is that such times are not periods when they can slacken their commitment to the Lord and his requirements. Trials will be difficult but they are not sent in order to see if believers will lose their devotion, although that is an obvious danger. Instead trials test the genuineness of their faith. There are many ways in which such genuineness will show itself, and James here considers how obedience to God’s law is a means of showing that they are the real thing. Such obedience will give assurance to themselves and confidence to others that they are genuine disciples.

The fact that James continues his attack on favouritism tells us that it was an existing problem or that it was a potential problem. He has already shown that it was sinful to show favouritism against the poor, many of whom had been chosen by God. Now he proceeds to show that favouritism is an expression of disobedience to God’s law and is a failure to appreciate God’s mercy. Of course, we need to ask why the Holy Spirit caused these verses to be recorded in God’s Word. I would say that the answer is obvious – favouritism is a sin that is likely to repeat itself in Christians.

Favouritism can be shown in many ways. One example is what took place in Corinth when the church members there identified themselves with a church leader and rejected other church leaders – the particular leaders, Paul, Peter and Apollos, were appalled at the favouritism. Favouritism was shown by Barnabas to his relative Mark and it caused division between him and Paul. Favouritism was shown by Peter when he refused to eat with Gentile believers in Antioch. Favouritism was also shown in Corinth in the way that church members behaved before the Lord’s Supper. Those examples were caused by different reasons, but the individuals involved all expressed favouritism. So we should not be surprised when we see favouritism or even when we practice it. It is one of the devil’s best tactics.

The duty

James reminds his readers that the law they obey is a royal one, which indicates its dignity and of the status of the lawgiver. In general, laws reflect the lawmakers. Once we know the opinions and outlooks of those who make our national laws we can anticipate what they will legalise. They should be pleased once they pass their laws because those laws are what they regard as good and beneficial. When it comes to the divine law, it will reflect the character of the divine Giver. Since he is good, gracious and glorious, his law will be good, gracious and glorious.

When we say that the law is good, we mean that it is beneficial and that obedience to it brings various advantages. For example, if everyone obeyed it, there would be no crimes. In saying that the law is gracious, we mean that it is beneficial for sinners to base their lives on it. We cannot use the law to get life from God, but obedience to the law will reveal that we have received new life from God through the work of the Holy Spirit. So the law is beneficial to those who would love to keep it perfectly, but who cannot do so because of their remaining sin. And when we say that the law is glorious, we mean that it produces beauty in those who obey it. The most beautiful sight or being in existence is God because everything in him contributes perfectly and fully to his overall splendour. His law reflects him, so when we obey it we reveal what God is like. And our lives become balanced and beautiful to look at.

At the same time, obedience to the royal law is a glad confession by subjects to the sovereignty of the lawgiver. We obey the law because he says to do so, and we obey it because we know what kind of sovereign he is. We know that he would not ask us to do something that will be bad for us in a spiritual way.

Not only should we observe their glad confession when keeping the law, it is also worth noting the part of the law on which James focuses. We might imagine that since he is concerned about their devotion to God he might mention the first table of the law which is concerned with one’s relationship to God, his name and his day. Instead James directs his readers to the second table of the law when he says ‘love your neighbour’. The fulfilment of the law involves human relationships as well as reacting directly to God. Within the love of one’s neighbour will be found fellowship within the church and witness outwith the church. We cannot love God if we do not love his people and we cannot serve God if we do not witness lovingly to the world.

I suppose we need to ask ourselves how such a response to God’s law shows itself and I would suggest that it happens spontaneously. After all, his law has been re-written on the hearts and minds of his people in connection with the blessings of the new covenant. There can be a reluctant attempt to keep this set of commandments, but a reluctant attempt is not a loving one.

There is another detail we can observe under this heading, which is that we should commend those who express love for their neighbours. James does so when he tells his readers that they will be doing well if they live in such a manner. We live in an age that wants to bring people down, but the gospel pushes in the other direction. When someone does well, we should say so. Paul often commends his fellow workers and John commended Gaius for showing hospitality to travelling preachers (3 John).

The danger

Having reminded them of their duty, James returns to a danger that they faced, a danger he has already highlighted in the previous verses. The danger was showing partiality, and it should be obvious that this activity can never be an expression of loving another person. We don’t know in what ways his readers were guilty of this attitude and action, because it includes both. Yet it is not difficult to imagine some scenarios.

James has already mentioned the possibility of showing favouritism to a wealthy person who happened to call in at one of their gatherings. Worldly wisdom may have suggested that it would be good to cultivate this man’s friendship because he could help them in difficult situations. But such preference could not be an expression of loving your neighbour. Instead it was a way of a person protecting himself.

Partiality is always an expression of loving oneself. If I choose to avoid those who are difficult to handle, it is because I love myself and want to give myself an easy time. If I choose not to share with someone because they have offended me at some time in the past, that is an expression of self-love that thinks I am too important to be offended. I may give benefits to an individual or to a set of individuals because I want to work myself into their favour. I may regard them as important and not bother giving the same benefits to those I regard as unimportant.

Yet when we engage in such behaviour we are breaking God’s commandments.  The law defines us as transgressors, as those who have ventured beyond the limits that God has laid down. In fact, we then are doing something that God does not do, which is to show favouritism for selfish reasons, and this means that we cannot appeal to him for support. The law highlights clearly that the space we now occupy is outside the path of obedience and that is not a suitable place for believers to occupy.

The problem is made worse by the fact that in showing partiality James’ readers were breaking not just one commandment but were breaking the law as a unit. It is not possible to assume that we can obey nine and break only one. This shows the seriousness of breaking one commandment. Even if it is a smaller sin than adultery or murder, it is the one law we have broken and therefore we face the penalty of having broken it. Of course, we know that we have broken the law in numerous ways.

James chooses two large sins when he mentions adultery and murder. Perhaps he was thinking of David when writing this verse since they were the particular sins that he had committed when he became involved with Bathsheba. But I don’t think James is only suggesting that we look at David and imagine that we should not think of our own sins. Instead we are meant to think about what has been called the spirituality of the law. We see this in the way that the Saviour applied the commandments, including those on murder and adultery, in his Sermon on the Mount. Speaking nastily or angrily with or about another disciple is breaking the sixth commandment and having immoral thoughts is breaking the seventh commandment. The spirituality of the law reminds us that its application is concerned with more than our external responses.

The decision

James reminds his readers that there will yet be a future judgement at which their actions will be dealt with. He tells them what the standard will be – the law of liberty that showed to them how to live a life of freedom. What does James mean here?

He means that because they were Christians God’s law enabled them to live a life of freedom that included loving their neighbours. On one occasion, Jesus was involved in a discussion about the meaning of loving your neighbour. In order to help his listeners to understand his point, he told the story of the Good Samaritan. The point of the parable is that anyone can show mercy, and that anyone should be the recipient of mercy. God’s law, once it has been re-written on the hearts of sinners, leads them to love practical expressions of mercy.

What will happen if we don’t show mercy? James says something that is very similar to what Jesus said in the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’ James says that those who show no mercy in this life will not receive mercy on the Day of Judgement. It does not matter what other activities they have done, if they have not engaged in practical expressions of mercy there will be a severe judgement.

This merciful expectation covers both a person’s speech and his actions. After all, it is easy to state a verbal approval of acts of mercy and not engage in any. James wants us to be doers of the word as well as listeners. Believers should be balanced, with their speech and their behaviour complementing one another.

James draws his readers’ attention to the amazing fact that divine mercy makes it possible for us to escape divine judgement when he writes that ‘mercy triumphs over judgement’. God will judge those who disobey his commandments, but such is his love of showing mercy that he will rather bestow it than impose judgements. Therefore, we need to ask for his forgiveness whenever our disobedience to his commandments has led us to express an unmerciful spirit. His readers had shown favouritism to the rich who came into their gatherings, which meant that on those occasions they were not showing mercy to the poor. They probably had their reason for their choice, but their practice was taking them towards a dangerous prospect at the judgement seat. This is a reminder that one unforgiven sin is sufficient to condemn us.

Application

What lessons can we take from this study. Here are three. First, there are no little laws. Some could imagine that favouritism is a little sin, but it is not. Practising it leads us to be punished for breaking the law, not just a commandment. Second, all true Christians are merciful because God has been merciful to them. Third, all Christians live in light of the judgement seat and recognise that God will judge them for their behaviour.