Social Restoration - Phase 1: Social Distinction, Part 1

Social restoration we would all agree we needed the division, the rancor, the judging one another. It's ugly and is destructive. How do we come together where do we begin that's today stay with welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with your finger Living on the Edges of international discipleship ministry featuring the Bible teaching up children in the early this program we begin a brand-new series called social restoration. It will play favorites. Consider all kinds of trouble. The soul, the question is why do we do it, what is it about going favorites. It seemed like a good idea what were going to talk about that, why God says is stop it time to time Cupid bites his son Ryan to do the teaching. So Ryan's with us today, but you will be here later to bring some extra insight so be sure to stay with us for that. Let's get going, Shelley. Here's Ryan Ingram with his message social distinction. James chapter 2 were kicking off a brand-new series called social restoration. We want to take this opportunity to press the reset button and go okay this is what it looks like to be a Christ centered gospel community and so how do we experience social restoration and as you already recognize that question has so much more weights today and the question how do we have experience social restoration in a country that's experiencing social unrest, while James the brother of Jesus. He was pastoring in fact an incredibly unjust death had happened to the church.

It was the stoning of Stephen where he was stoned to death and persecution broke out on the church and so this church in Jerusalem. These people were scattered from their homes and then there trying to figure out how do you live how how to engage back in to like what it look like to be a follower of Jesus when your world turned upside down in your dispersed and displaced from your norms in your society and your relationships and your family and and so he begins in chapter 2 talking about the social restoration and were actually going to look at four phases four phases for social restoration social distinction us were talking about today think James got a safe you want to experience social restoration. There needs to be social distinction that marks the community of Jesus there needs to be a clear distinction that aside as set apart the community and the followers of Jesus. And so to pick up what James says and his letter, James chapter 2 verse one. If you got your Bibles would you open up to them. He begins his wife, my brothers and sisters believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. My brothers and sisters believers followers of Jesus people have committed their life to Jesus who said your way. Jesus, not my way you're calling to lay down your life, take up your cross and follow him.

Believers, you must not show favoritism. First things James is going to tell us is there is a social distinction for followers of Jesus like the social distinction of Christian is there is to be no social distinction not I love how James opens this up he says it this way, brothers and sisters and if you are reading the book of James. You'll note that he uses that many times.

In fact, 14 times, like brothers and sisters, and in this context I just can see James like trying to remind his people that your brothers or sisters or family you love each other.

Reminds me of when my boys especially are in the backyard, and most the time is great, but everyone smiles, you know they're wrestling and something happens and also think it's really really heated or you don't have to go back there.

Everyone's logical guys.

Yeah, cool. It's brothers you love each other, where family and family sticks together and family takes care of one of this is what James is saying says believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Like that's what's most important about us, distinguishing us and then he says this must not show favoritism. In fact, the construction in the Greek, there is its assume that this is already happening, that this is going on right now in fact it's a command that saying stop what you're doing. There is an activity going on and you need to hold it right now and so the command is simply this stop playing favorites the church in Jerusalem that spread out all of sudden they're beginning to show favoritism or partiality, or preference to certain people, which means you're not showing favor not showing partiality, not showing kindness to other type of people. The social distinction of a Christ centered community is that there is to be no social distinction. I'm not going to play favorites for you. I'm not gonna make you higher than anyone else. In fact, it's interesting William Barclay at theologian rices. The church was the only place in the ancient world worse social distinction did not exist as a society built on classes.

A society built on your social dignity and distinction, and you gotta imagine how home incredibly weird. This must've been as a new community formed and you have a master and the slave sitting next to each other as equals or better yet, what often happen because early Christianity was a religion of the poor, not of the elites. It was a religion that spread among those who didn't have much, and who were mistreated and and who were misfits and and you would have a slave leading the church group gathering and you have a master sitting under his leadership, and you had this incredible new reality of how we are to relate to one another and he says stop playing favorites. What is favoritism. The Greek and English lexicon of the New Testament, so she wanted to go look this up, you could define favoritism.

This way to make unjust distinctions between people by treating one person better than another, to make an unjust distinction between people by treating one person better than the other and the underbelly of favoritism is prejudice.

I make it free judgment about who you are, favoritism, and I'm going to play favorites because your well see I'm gonna you know because I can get something from you on the play favoritism because your influential maybe your influencer on Instagram or something like that like man I want to rub up and get next to those type of people I'm gonna play favorites to them because you have some sort of power or influence. Or maybe you have a position that you hold which then means that those who don't hold that or who become in any way less than that we treat less than he says stop playing favorites. We do this in the church spiritually. We play favorites with who's our favorite pastor stop playing favorites with what's our favorite, you know, church denomination stop playing favorites. We we do this socially hit. Whether it's rich, poor, black, white, whatever it is. Stop playing favorites. We do this, politically stop playing favorites run. Talk about this in a minute but you can disagree with someone and still honor and love them and politically. What we do is we take our partisan side and anchor that in play favorites and push down and align those who are on the opposite side to stop playing favorites while what is favoritism or partiality look like James is then going to go and share an illustration and is out of their own context is just driven analysis opposed you know a rich person shows up to your gathering, then any says suppose someone pulled up in a Ferrari and there like you know pull out they step out and you know obviously this red Ferrari because that's the kind of far you have to get if you're going to get for arts and he pulls up in the eye-catching, everyone's right well look at this guy steps out got designer jeans the coolest you know sure he's wearing the gold rimmed glasses, perfect hair, perfect smile and you're just like look at him and I and everybody's, looking like I want to get around him. I mean he's got monies got played. Maybe he's an important person and then he says suppose a poor person comes in our context. Maybe it's a homeless person and he says if you take that wealthy person and you put them in a seat of honor, and then you say to the poor person you know what you can send in the back. The homeless guy you know you can sit over here. We don't really have a seat arrears about how about you stand outside you, smelly. He makes this interesting, notice what James says about when we do that he says have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges remember that free judging prejudice and become judges with evil thoughts seat favoritism is so prevalent in our culture and we all are guilty of it that we've become blind to it. It happens in the church is what James is saying says it should not have the distinctive mark of a follower of Jesus of the church in the bride of Christ is that there is to be no social distinction, so let's unpack this. What is it you know favoritism partiality really look like. First, it looks like exactly what James is saying treating certain people as more valuable than other people. It looks like treating someone else that they're more valuable, more worth your time worth your energy worth your thoughts then other people in the inverse, then is true as well. If you treat other people as more valuable than you're going to treat certain people as a less valuable then you it is interesting. I love this quote Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, is this the supreme religious challenges to seek God's image, and one who is not in our image, see how I treat you as a reflection of me and how valuable I believe you to be God's going. I will wait a second every single person on the planet, rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat is in image bearer of the God most high, valuable to favoritism plays out when I treat certain people as more valuable than other people. When I treat wealthy people is more valuable when I treat beautiful people.

When I treat influencers when I treat those important position as more valuable than other people. It looks like when I look down on those with whom I disagree when I'm looking down and what happens when we look down.

We also often put down when we look down on people. We often lash out at them seek prejudice or favoritism. Partiality is treating people as more valuable than others is also looking down on those with whom you disagree and finally it's overlooking those who make you feel uncomfortable is when we overlook the people around us that make us feel uncomfortable.

The people that come to my mind is the homeless population. Frankly, I remember my my kids and I were picking up chipotle to go and so we get chipotle and as were pulling out and point onto the road. There's a homeless, a young homeless man and I gotta be honest, let me just tell you my heart. I looked at him is like pretty I'm pretty sure he's a meth addict I I don't agree with why he's there. What I do prejudge them in my my son says that, can we give him some of our food and I I gotta be honest a little bit German phobic and was like well we have tacos and can't really give tacos one taco and then we have to touch him. I did explain all this. This is what I'm thinking right now.

I don't think so dad can I just give them one of my tacos well you see tacos don't transport well and this is not how it goes in the light turns green and he's still asking dad, why can't we give him out and I realized my son gets it and I don't and I said son let's turn around and let's go buy him a bagel burrito and let's drop it off site. Thanks. Thank you.

As you lead the way.

Not me. See favoritism or partiality is overlooking those who make you feel uncomfortable and it's such that I find in my heart that is not just an act, but how do I make this habit is like the person that comes over that is a little awkward maybe or that you go there and AGR that's extra grace required person where like my gosh going on now.

How can I love them. How can I engage in, and not just go it would be easier. You're right, it would be easier and are there times where you just hang with friends absolutely am not saying that you don't do that but but where we wouldn't be a click oriented but we would lead to the fringes. Every single person's valuable and were not gonna look down upon those we disagree were going to learn how to lovingly disagree and treat one another with honor and respect and were going to engage in those uncomfortable places to love those that Jesus and so James then shifts the conversation from talking about what is favoritism what is it look like and he wants us to get this what why he starts with like this this this is a big deal and he says all why is this such a big deal he's going to give us three reasons. Reason number one. First is an affront to the very heart of God as an affront to the character of God. He begins it this way. He says listen and tension. Don't miss this and get my dear brothers family family, especially in the family of God. This should be happening listening to the edge Chip Ingram and wailing groups. Teaching is from his series, social restoration right will be back with part two of his message.

In our next program chips here now with some thoughts about what you heard today before he gets to that. I hope you'll take a second to go online or tap share and encourage others to join us for this series to social restoration is complicated, even with the best of intentions, well-meaning people get themselves into trouble. So how do we make a difference and bring light not heat leaves messages from Ryan Ingram bring a lot of clarity to the question. He looks at our current circumstances with the gospel vision of community, and provides biblical solutions for limited time, resources for social restoration are discounted and the MP3s are always free to order your copy or to send it to a friend visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org for additional information. Just give us a call at AAA 83336003, which I'm really looking forward to the series with Ryan. What can you tell us about maybe the impact that it's had. Or that you hope it will have for us going forward.

What was exciting for me was how parallel this series and its teaching is with the early church, the early church was dealing with racism between Jew and Gentile instead of black and white eye with tremendous prejudice between the slaves and and those that were free of Roman citizens non-Roman citizens. A lot of divides in a very multiethnic world political divides at the time and and government that was very, very impressive and so there's a number of things that are happening in this passage in James chapter 2 and then later James chapter 3 that the issues are specifically different but very parallel with some of the things were facing and I thought it was really interesting and I've had a chance to team up with my son and do some teaching awakening course.

He teaches there regularly but but it's multinational is multicultural and a great majority of them have come to Christ. Just in the last few years and so he's culturally speaking about. What does God say to these very pertinent issues not somewhere where it's not a big issue not where it's not really divisive, but in a place where it's a hotbed and I think birthed out of that is a series that will really help us learn how social restoration can happen is not because it's my son teaching is because what James is teaching in chapters 2 and chapter 3 applied not just in the Bay Area, not just in United States, but across the world and there is a huge need for social restoration and God has a plan for it.

So I'm excited for the Living on the Edge family to hear the series and more importantly to apply it will whether your radio podcast Orap listener, we've got you covered. I hope you'll set a reminder to be with us for this entire series and let me encourage you message notes are available for the series 2 so if you'd like to jot notes while you listen and get all the extra details the message notes are a quick download@livingontheedge.org or just Fill in notes on the app will now hear strip with a final thought as we wrap up today's program. I want to do a very brief review on sort of the three ways that we show favoritism or distinction number one. It's when we treat certain people is more valuable than others. Number two, it's looking down on those with whom we disagree in the number three it's overlooking those or shying away from those people who make us feel uncomfortable. Now I don't know about you but I can't think of a single person that doesn't do some of those things on a very regular basis and I mean unconsciously, I mean, when we really disagree with someone, we just tend to think were superior were right and they're wrong.

And then there's this issue is people that make us feel uncomfortable and like to just pause for a moment, because the desire of the series isn't that we just learn more about the Bible or we learn more about what it says in terms of prejudiced or favoritism. The real point is that we apply it, and it only happens when I get honest you get honest, so let me ask you who do you treat as more valuable than some other people, maybe even in your family or what about in your neighborhood where you work or is there an ethnic group or a kind of person or people that are from a different political party that you would treat or you look down on because there different than you and maybe a little bit closer to home, what about people that make you feel uncomfortable.

Maybe a marginalized person or a person from a really different background or maybe someone who just is the opposite polar end of you in terms your political views and what really needs to happen in America and you know as a believer in Christ we have those distinctions we can disagree we live in an amazing amazing country that's had such a rich history, but we in the church, especially now have to be the people that bring healing and light in unity and that means that we do something it's very very counterintuitive. It means that we treat people the way Jesus treats people and that means that we don't treat anyone more valuable than anyone else. It means we treat everyone with dignity and value because they're made in the image of God and so want to give you a two small assignments this week I'd like you to think of someone that makes you feel uncomfortable could be a homeless person could be a person of a different color, different political party. And here's your assignment proximity. All I want you to do is get near them physically and asked some questions. Don't try to convince them. Don't argue, don't do anything. All I want you to do is get to know them as a person what I've learned is when we stop seeing groups of people as them and they and meet individuals and hear their story and asked them questions without judgment. A lot of positive things happen.

The second thing I like you to do is watch your words this week words at them and they in blaming and pause for just a minute and say Lord Jesus, will you help me see other people the way that you see them. Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks at the heart can ask you to pray that and watch God work in you and then through you know a great way to stay engaged and connected to chip and Living on the Edge is with the chipping roadmap will get free access to all of Chip's recent messages is message notes and much more.

Not only that, but it couldn't be easier to call or email directly from the yeah will be with us again next time we continue our series, social restoration till then. This is to say thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge