While We Are On the Subject of Religion

James is discussing the topic of religion and its significance in the lives of believers. He emphasizes that true religion should be displayed through actions and not just words. James criticizes those who show favoritism based on wealth and reminds them that God chooses the poor to inherit His kingdom. He encourages believers to love their neighbors and warns against showing favoritism, as it goes against the royal law found in Scripture. James concludes by emphasizing the importance of acting with mercy and not judging others, as mercy triumphs over judgment. He reminds believers that their religious practice should be pure and faultless and accepted by God. James also highlights the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and how believers are recipients of His divine presence. reading of Scripture. We continue in James, James letter, we're beginning of chapter 2 verses 1 through 13 is our text for today. The letter James wrote to the church so many years ago and still valid and viable for the church today. So the truth of God's Word from James chapter 2 verses 1 through 13 and this is God's Word. My brothers as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also 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 against among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen my dear brothers, 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 to those who love Him? But you have insulted 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 slandering the noble name of Him to whom you belong? If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, love your neighbor as yourself, then you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking it all. For he who said, do not commit adultery also said, do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you become a lawbreaker. 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. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please be seated. James is indeed heavy text for us, and it should cause us to think, and it should cause us to ponder and look at our own lives and examine our own hearts. And that's precisely why this is here in the Bible. So this morning we're talking about, while we're on the subject of religion, and here's how we'll study this text. Verse 1, we'll see the evidence and display of the glory of the Lord. Verses 1-7, James talks about the pursuit of true wealth. Verses 8-11, James reminds us of the obedience of faith. And the verses 12 and 13 we read of the law of mercy. Recall that in the concluding verses of chapter 1, James brought up the matter of religion, specifically his discussion concerned those who would consider themselves religious. What does it mean to be religious? And is being religious a proper and correct practice? And is this a right goal for the followers of Christ? What does it mean to say we're religious people? And should we even be concerned about it? We look to scriptures, we certainly get the sense that our religious practice is seen by God as incompatible with our faith. Consider, for example, the words of God quoted by the prophet Amos. This is available to us in Amos chapter 5, verses 21 and 22. Amos is prophesying in a day and a time when things are really going downhill for the people of Judah, just before the conquest of Judah by the Babylonians. And listen to what Amos says about religion and religious people. Amos says, and hold on to your hats, here it comes, he says, I hate, I despise your religious feasts. I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Amos quoting God. And as we look to the New Testament, we find there also the condemnation of the religious. Recall this is the words of the writer of Hebrews when he writes this. He says, day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties. Again and again, he offers the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. So we read last Sunday where James offered his contribution to discussion concerning the religious. And as we saw, the Apostle didn't necessarily have much regard for those who prided themselves on being religious. James, we know, was even willing to offer the harshest criticism, describing the religious person as one who deceives himself so that his religion is worthless. But even with that, James was yet willing to hold out hope for those who would strive to be religious. Remember that James concluded the chapter with a vision of religion that would truly be God-honoring. James chapter 1 verse 27, James wrote, "...religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." We noticed last week that James' reference to our attention to purity points us to our love for God, while our care for orphans and widows represents the bigger picture of our love for others. Love for God, love for others, love truly displayed in these ways, stands as the model. And according to James, the definitive example of religion. Religion ought to be the outward extension and display of our hearts. Religion should be just that. Amos, as well as the writer of Hebrews, were correct, though, to point out that our religious practice is often worthless and meaningless. And so, yes, religion is often understood in a negative light. People like to downplay or disregard for religion. It's even common, is it not, for believers to make a point to describe themselves as separate from religion. People will say, believers will say, oh, look, don't put that label on me. I'm really not a religious person. We say that all the time. I'm not about religion. I'm about a relationship, which is correct in that way. We are about a relationship, but we're quick to discharge the notion of religion as well. But while James affirms the negative understanding, he also argues that this does not have to be so. Our religion, James says, can be pure and faultless. Our religion can be that which is accepted by God the Father. And so today we move into chapter 2, and here we find that James continues to develop his analysis of religion and our participation in it. Notice verse 1, my brothers and sisters, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Here, James starts out going beyond a simple reference of the divine. Why can't he make just some reference to believers in the Lord? Why does the apostle here elaborate? Well, to be assured, this is not just mere window dressing. James is not adding this detail just to increase his word count. He references here glory. He says, we're believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Why the reference to glory? Of course, when we think of the divine glory, there's a couple of scenes in the Bible that pop out at us, a few scenes that come to mind. Recall in Exodus, when Moses asked God, he said, God, now show me your glory. And God promised to Moses that he would do so. And God, in fact, does reveal himself before Moses. Or remember the scene in 2 Chronicles, at Solomon's dedication to the temple in Jerusalem, where scripture reports that the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God. Or can we not help but picture the scene in which Isaiah was brought forth into the very throne room of God, and in the divine presence, Isaiah saw the angels surrounding God's throne, and he heard them crying out, saying, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. These scenes, captured for us in the Old Testament, display the divine glory. Glory defined by Bible scholar John Mottier as the personal presence of the Lord, in all his goodness, and in the fullness of his revealed character. Yeah, we still don't know what that looks like. I can't imagine what that scene looked like on that day at the dedication of the temple. I can't even begin to imagine what Moses must have seen. And I certainly can't imagine the glorious scene before Isaiah. Yet we're told in scripture that these are indeed scenes of glory. And this seems to be a fitting and accurate description of the term, as the writers of Exodus and 2 Chronicles, and also the prophet Isaiah, make the faithful attempt to portray the divine glory. They're trying to describe something, and they don't really know what they're describing either. How do you find words to adequately describe what they're seeing? I don't know. And when we think of the display of divine glory, we would also be so inclined to these particular texts. Now here in our text for today, James offers his reference to the divine glory. Notice how he describes the Christ followers. He describes us as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. James wants us to know that just as the glory of God was made known in these and other great Old Testament narratives, the greater revelation of the glory of God is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. The greater revelation of the glory of God is found in our Lord Jesus Christ. And because we are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, we are recipients and partakers in the personal presence of the Lord in all His goodness and in the fullness of His revealed character. And this truth is made known throughout the New Testament. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul points us to the light of the gospel, the glory of Christ, who is in the image of God. Or the writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3, he declares that the sun is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being. So believers in Jesus, we do not merely subscribe to the teaching of a wise man or the insights of a guru or a celebrity. And we're certainly not drawn to the illusions of a magician. No, we are believers in and co-laborers with and worshipers of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Just as Isaiah was drawn into the glory, the presence of the glory of God, you and I also reside within the presence of the glory of God, because the fullness and the greater revelation of the glory of God is found in Christ, the glory of the Lord. Now, admittedly, I consider that and I say, I am absolutely not worthy of such a scene. And remember, that's what Isaiah said, too. He said, I'm not worthy of this. I am a man of unclean lips and I am amongst a people of unclean lips. Right? We've read that before in the Scriptures. Isaiah understood that he was not worthy. I am unworthy. I see that same sense. Nevertheless, that's what we've been ushered into, the glory of God. So a good question for us here is this, why does James sense the need to interject this truth about Jesus? Why can't we just, he said, you know, follow Jesus, believe in Jesus. Why does he have to interject that truth there? And it's this, we serve Christ Jesus, we serve Christ who is indeed the Lord of glory. In the opening verses of John's Gospel, John the Apostle writes, chapter 1, verse 14 of his Gospel, the Word became flesh, made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Christ is therefore worthy of our worship and worthy of our devotion, and here he references the regulations against showing favoritism. Here then it pops in the text. Now the command showing his favoritism appears in numerous places in the Old Testament, right? Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 17, Moses says, you shall not show partiality in judgment, you shall hear the small and great alike. Second Chronicles 19, now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, judge carefully for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery. Proverbs 28, Solomon's words, to show partiality is not good. And as we've seen in verse 1, James' words are in agreement. Brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Here James is not anything new to the commandments of God. James is repeating and focusing again on God's command. James says, you remember this was part of the Old Testament law and it's also an important and binding practice for the believers in Jesus, don't show favoritism. And so James is going to comment on this further. And to begin, he throws in a little detail that now escapes us in the text, but we're going to flesh this out here. Notice verse 2, James gives this little story. He says, suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes. And then there'll be a poor man also coming in with shabby clothes. Now notice the word in verse 2, notice the word rendered in the New International Version as meeting. In the King James Version or the English Standard Version renders it as assembly. Both meeting and assembly are technically correct, but they don't offer enough precision because the original language here uses the word for synagogue. The verse should more accurately say, suppose a man comes into your synagogue wearing a gold ring and fine clothes. Now this is historically accurate because in the first century, Christians worshipped in synagogues. We didn't have churches yet, that wasn't happening yet. You recall Jesus preaching in synagogues, you recall the text in Acts where Paul and some of the apostles are preaching in synagogues, this is a common thing. He would worship in the first century in synagogues. So suppose a man comes into your synagogue, he comes in during the worship service, comes in to be at church with the rest of the believers wearing a gold ring and fine clothes. And then another man comes in wearing shabby clothes. So this illustration, James speaks not of two men attending any ordinary meeting or just any assembly like it's the Apple Festival or some other event going on around, which there's nothing wrong with those, but this is in synagogue. This is for worship. The man with the gold ring and the fine clothes and the man wearing the shabby clothes are walking in the door of Grace Point Church. They're coming to worship. Now James tells us this because he wants us to know that the setting for his illustration is worship. The believers in Jesus have gathered for worship and two visitors have joined them on that day for worship. And one of the visitors has come to join Christ's followers wearing a gold ring and fine clothes while the other visitor joining the worshipers is a poor man in shabby clothes. And introduced to the two visitors and having understood the condition of the two, James then tells us about the partiality that's shown that day in the synagogue. He says, look at verse 3, he says, if you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, here's a good seat, but you say to the poor man, you stand there or maybe sit on the floor by my feet. James says, as the believers show partiality in this way, then verse 4, look at the text, have you then not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? In other words, James says that this kind of partiality is in fact sin. Now we would like to assume that this kind of attitude and practice, it would likely assume this practice was common among the Christian gatherings in the first century, but certainly it does remain a heart check for believers and remains a heart check for us. Now from what visitors to our church tell me, y'all have always been and continue to be a warm and welcoming congregation and I appreciate that about you. People come to visit and they say they feel love in this place and I hope they do and I think they do and I've seen you interact with folks that walk through our door. Nevertheless, it is the truth that the church has not always been a welcoming place and so believers in Jesus are constantly reminded that there's to be no partiality shown in the house of worship and among the believers, wherever they may be, whatever day it is. So we wouldn't show partiality here on a Sunday morning, but we also wouldn't show partiality down at the coffee shop one day or over at Martin's or out on the golf course. We wouldn't show whatever it might be at work, picking up your kids in line at school. We wouldn't show partiality wherever it might be and wherever day it is. Now this certainly is a good lesson, a moral lesson for the Christ followers. It's a story with common sense wisdom and sacrificial practice on a level with the parable of the Good Samaritan, right, or the gospel stories of Jesus feeding the multitudes. We can see this story is comparable in that way. It speaks of a morality and a practice that is right and that is good. Christian faith has always been one, of course, identified as one which maintains a deep care and concern for the poor, for the hungry, for the homeless, for the sick. There's a lot of things that happen in our society with government and with other practices in our culture that were started by the church. Who started hospitals? The church did. Who started schools? The church did. These things were started by the church. Government didn't offer these things. These were started by the church. The church was involved in communicating blessing to people. Christian faith has always been identified one that way. Recall that story, and it involves James. When Paul is in Acts, when Paul comes to the council of the apostles, and they're going to judge Paul about whether or not he can preach to the Gentiles. And the concern was whether or not people should be Jewish first before they became Christians. And it was James who said, you know what, we believe that this is right, that Paul's ministry is good, that Paul is ministering to the Gentiles, and we're going to bless him, and we're going to send him, and we're going to support him. Then remember James' one concern. It was, Paul, all we ask is that you minister to the poor. James is still focused on that motivation to be focused on the hungry, the homeless, and the sick in the community. And along with care and concern for the poor, James offers wisdom here, reminding believers not to be persuaded or enticed by those who present great wealth. James argues that not only is this insulting to the poor, but misses the hazards that the wealthy bring, verses 6 and 7. Is not the rich the ones who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of whom you belong? In fact, is there not a good warning here to be careful in connection with those with wealth? And does not James spell out the benefit for us to align and engage with the poor? Yes, the warning is present, and yes, James' words are clear. And yet, we notice something else in the text. We notice that the concern over wealth and poverty, in the Apostle's words, is not merely economic. He's focused on economic wealth, right? He's focused on economic poverty. But it's not merely economic. Look at verse 5. Listen, my dear brothers. 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 to those who love Him? James' heart for the impoverished goes beyond wealth. His desire is focused not so much on people being rich in wealth, but instead also would be focused on those who would be rich in faith. They would not necessarily inherit a worldly estate, but they would inherit the kingdom. Now we've seen this before, haven't we? This language appears to us previously in the Sermon on the Mount, the opening words of that sermon known as the Beatitudes. Jesus says this. It's recorded in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5, verses 13 through 12. And we read this and we think, clearly Jesus is thinking more than just about the money in someone's pocket. That's important. He's not downplaying that. But listen to Jesus' concern. He says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure at heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. As it turns out, the focus is not merely on economic poverty and provision. It's there, but it's more. And this demonstrates, of course, the error of many in the Protestant Church, many throughout the Church of Christ, especially in the mainline church, which continue to see this passage as one which at least primarily and perhaps exclusively only referenced material poverty. In doing so, a large portion of the church fails to receive and comprehend the call of the gospel here, the call of the great commission here, to which this passage truly points. Certainly, we would be concerned for those who are economically impoverished. James makes that clear. But James here is also reminding us that there is a greater poverty, a spiritual poverty, and there's a greater good to which Christ's followers must attend, and it is that we would work to see the people become rich in faith with the goal of their inheritance of the kingdom of God. You and I must be concerned with the pursuit of true wealth. In our study today, we come to verses 8 through 11, and James here affirms our responsibility to minister to those who are in need, in need of provision, but also in need of spiritual truth. And we're to do this as an act of faith, and we're to do this as an act of obedience. In James, verse 7, James has mentioned the kingdom of God, our service to it, and with regard to serving those in need, those working for the kingdom, must act in accordance with royal law, with what James describes as the royal law. What is the royal law? James offers this, love your neighbor as yourself. Now, of course, that command was given initially in Davidicus, and then, of course, that command was emphasized by Jesus. Recall it's recorded in Matthew's gospel that an expert in the law once asked Jesus, they said, Teacher, what's the greatest commandment in the law? And, of course, they were kind of thinking that he might pick out one against adultery or one against murder or one against not honoring your parents or not keeping the Sabbath. What's the greatest commandment in the law? But Jesus replied, love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. James here offers that if the believer is keeping the law, this law, James says he or she is doing right. So here we are each called to the obedience of faith. There's an obedience of faith. To be a faithful person, to be religious, there is an obedience to which we must follow. Yes, believers in Jesus are called to serve the economically impoverished, but in greater sense we would serve the spiritually impoverished. This is the obedience of faith in the life of the believer. We would be caring and concerning for those who don't know Jesus so that they would and we can make Jesus known to them. So as we know, the Bible is not just a collection of good moral lessons and common sense wisdom. It is. And some would certainly relegate it to that, but we know that in the scriptures we find more than just morality and wisdom. So what is really going on here? What is James trying to communicate? Well, let's kind of pull these various strings together and see if we can boil it down in a nutshell to what James is communicating. And it goes something like this. James is saying to the religious people, to the churchgoers, to the Presbyterians, James is saying this. So you think you are religious, so you think you're properly and devoutly worshiping God. Well, church, hear this, you claim to belong to the Lord Jesus Christ in whom the fullness of glory dwells. But when you come to worship, when you come to this place to be outwardly religious, you would deny that glory by showing partiality to those who would join you. You favor the wealthy and you dishonor the poor and you disregard us not merely for people who are poor economically, but also in matters of faith. And my dear brothers and my dear sisters, this should not be so. If you are to be a religious person, know that the way to express your religion is concerned with the needs of the poor, the economically poor, of course, but above this, concern must be focused on the spiritually poor. And in this way, you demonstrate that you are religious, and in this way, you follow the law of God. And to disregard this command disregards the glory of God. James is one heavy dude, and he makes me uncomfortable because he reminds me of all the stuff I'm really not doing. Admittedly, James is difficult, and yet we know it's true. We know that James is communicating God's Word. So we conclude today with verses 12 and 13, and here James offers wise counsel indeed. At the beginning of verse 12, we're reminded to both speak and act. Believers are not only to use religious-sounding words, but those religious-sounding words must be accompanied with religious action. Our words are to be words of mercy, and our actions are to be actions of mercy. And we are the people who must do this, for we are those who have been shown mercy. God has promised mercy to those who trust in Jesus for salvation. We're not here because we deserve it. We're not here because we've earned the badge and earned the rights. We're not here because we've bought our way in. We're not here because we have qualified for this on our own. We're here because God has been merciful to us. God has promised mercy to those who trust in Jesus for salvation. It's the law of mercy that is the law that gives freedom, isn't it? It's the law of mercy which is the law that gives freedom. And it was perfectly fulfilled by Christ on the cross, and so to granted to the children of God. And the greatest riches that one could ever receive is the blessing of the mercy of God poured out to us by and through Jesus Christ. And it is this mercy, mercy which declares acquittal of charges and declares freedom on the day of judgment. We celebrate this truth in our lives, gift given to us, blessing poured out to us, mercy shown to us. We communicate this truth in our lives and we would do well to communicate it to anyone whom we meet because mercy triumphs over judgment. Let's bow our heads and pray, shall we? Heavenly Father, we thank you again today that you have reminded us of this gift that you've given us, this gift that continues to bless and call us to living more along the lines of the example of your Son, that we would live as fully devoted followers of Christ, that we would set aside our sin and set aside the things of this world and that we would trust in Christ and that we would then go therefore and be ones who would be considerate of those around us, that we would be sacrificial in our giving, not just giving of our possessions but giving of our love and giving of the truth of the gospel. You've given us the truth concerning Jesus and you've given us this truth so that we might then give the truth about Jesus. Burden us with this today, we pray, Father. In all of the circumstances and situations of our life, we meet someone on the street or at the store or at the workplace or wherever that we would be ready and willing to bless and to communicate the gospel. So, Father, we thank you for this truth. We thank you for James' words. They're harsh. They remind us of our need to be a people who would grow in faith and grow in knowledge. We confess that our salvation is still being worked out. Not only are you the God who has saved but you're the God who is saving his people and we know you're still working in our lives. And for this, we're thankful. And for this, we praise you. And for this, we give you glory in Jesus' name. Amen.