JAMES 2
1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
WHEN THE “SMELLIES” COME TO CHURCH
The epistle of James is probably one of the toughest to read in the New Testament, but it is also the most practical.
It provides insight on so many relevant things in our lives.
Here James gets very practical and touches on a subject that we don’t really like to admit happens in our churches…partiality.
Are we guilty of this sin?
Most of us commit this sin without realizing it.
… let me explain.
In our church in Nanjing, we used to have an old lady, who collects rubbish for a living, like many do in China.
She lives in a very old property and has to go to the public baths to wash. We went to her home once, it would be bulldozed if this home was in the UK and called unfit to live in.. thankfully she moved to another city to be with her son in a good flat.
Every Sunday, she walks about 2 miles to church or is brought by her husband in a cart like vehicle.
We love this sister very much and she comes and sits right at the front, right under the nose of the preacher.
Would you go and shake her by the hand and welcome them in the name of the Lord? Or would you stick your nose in the air and talk to your little closed circle of friends?
Every time she came, I would get a great big hug off her, it meant so much. We are told to greet each other with a holy kiss and to be kindly affectionate towards one another.
Why are we the complete opposite?
Many people come to faith, because they see the difference in our true Christian love and fellowship.
They will know we are Christians, by our doctrine, by our knowledge of the bible or by our fancy churches.?..NO!
They will know we are Christians:
BY OUR LOVE
We know this dear sister is so gracious, so loving.
She only has her Bible, no internet.
She just has Jesus.
The Lord is sick and tired of the attitude of the church towards those who are broken.
Our actions makes us a poor witness of the Lord’s love for all people.
God looks on the heart.
When Samuel was ordered by God to anoint a new king to replace Saul, Samuel looked on one of the older more handsome sons of Jesse, and said in his heart, “this is the Lord’s anointed.”
But God rebuked Samuel and said, “Do not look on this man because of his stature, for I have not chosen him.
Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Verse 9, puts it into context, if you have respect of persons, whether in word or even in thought, you are in believer that is guilty of sin.
So I urge you, Let us love all our brethren and stop judging your fellow brethren. True Christian love sees past people’s appearance.. amen.
God bless you
Keith