Favoritism (Part 5 of 6)

Showing favoritism simply unfair them. In fact, we break God's greatest commandment. When we discriminate on the basis of things like wealth or race, or social status. So how can we treat others in a way that pleases God for life Alistair Begg unpacks the core principle that can help us resist our own inclination to show favoritism turned to James in chapter 2 verse eight if you really keep the royal law found in Scripture love your neighbor as yourself. 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 all of for he who said, do not commit adultery also said do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have 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.

Amen just a prayer together as we look to the Scriptures. Father, we thank you that we have a Bible to which we are able to turn thank you for the work of the Holy Spirit to illumine the pages of the Bible to us to conduct that divine dialogue in our lives whereby beyond the voice of a mere man we we sense that this is none other than God himself knocking at our door, speaking to us words of caution, challenge and comfort accomplish your purposes.

We pray in this study so that we might love Jesus and serve him, for we pray in his name.

Amen. Well, just one simple phrase has allowed James to if it were sent the cat among the pigeons. That phrase is back in verse one.

Don't show favoritism is one of those phrases where we are quite honest in recognizing that there is no part of it that we do not understand. James is clear he's concise. He is candid and he is actually pretty courageous because for him to challenge favoritism was to challenge something very close to home and for eyes to open our Bibles this morning and look at this particular section of Scripture is once again to be confronted by something that we find pretty close to home in, if we are honest, a little closer than we would be prepared perhaps to admit because while all of us without exception would be unwilling to endorse the practice of discrimination. None of us are able to deny the presence of discrimination. The presence of partiality. Indeed, we might argue that our whole culture is put together on the basis of choosing favorites and establishing ourselves in ways that disengages from the people around us. The prevalence of discrimination is among us, as it relates to nationality to social status to race. That's all. Just for starters, and it would be one thing if this was simply a secular problem, but it is not. It is a religious problem.

It is more significantly a Christian problem.

It is a personal problem. That's why I say to you that when we look down at the Scriptures.

Here we find them. Looking back up and eyes and realizes we've done so many times before that although we are trying to understand the Bible. The Bible is a book that understands its James.

I think without question must've had in mind the story that Jesus told of the good Samaritan, but I'm one occasion a man came up to Jesus and he asked him what he had to do to receive eternal life. Jesus said while you read the Bible what you know about the law. He gave back to them. The law love the Lord your God with all your heart and your mind and your strength and love your neighbor as yourself. And then Jesus said to the men will go ahead and do that and you will live.

Interestingly, the man comes back by saying this, who is my neighbor who is my neighbor and fight the King James version. If I recall it reads, but the man seeking to justify himself, said, who is my neighbor already trying to do.

He was trying to discriminate. It was customary for the Jews or the Essenes or the Pharisees to draw little circles around themselves when it came to the fulfilling of the law of God. And so the law is perfectly clear. Love God in his entirety, and with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. The man says that Jesus could you please just tell me who my neighbor is trying to do is trying to limit the number of people that are in his circle so that he can disregard all the people that are outside his circle and I say to you again that man is not an unusual man.

That is why the challenge here in James chapter 2 reverberates through our congregation, and indeed through our lives. I haven't found these verses the easiest to get a handle on and so I've gathered my thoughts under four words I'll tell you what the words are so that you can know that were making progress.

The first word is if the second word is but the third word is so the final word is because if but so because you recognize that there is a progression in this and is the progression that James provides for us here. Verse eight begins with our first word. If if you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, which is love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing right will stop right there because the next verse, verse nine takes us to our second word, but once I James is done by comp in verse five is remind his readers that they are the inheritors of the kingdom kingdom that God has promised to those who love him. And Jesus is the King and his kingdom, and because he is the king he decides what happens in his kingdom, and the royal law that he has established is summarized all of God's moral law summarized essentially in the words of Jesus in love God with your totality and love your neighbor as yourself. And it is this royal law found in Scripture, which bears all of the testimony to the kingly rule of Jesus love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said is a summary of the second table of the 10 Commandments. Some of us grew up in churches where the 10 Commandments were recited every Sunday. Not a bad practice. It takes time but is purposeful. Others always grew up in churches where the 10 Commandments appeared before is on the wall and demands that we were immediately at least through our eye gaze confronted by the fact that God has certain standards that he has designed and desires for us and when we get to the second tablet of the law says that there should be no murder, no adultery, no stealing nor lying and no coveting well.

How do we summarize that love your neighbor if you love your neighbor, you're not going to commit adultery. You're not going to lie to them, steal from them covet. You certainly not going to kill them. That's what Jesus has made clear in the Gospels and that's what his brother now is driving home in this latter the royal law found in Scripture love your neighbor as yourself. In other words, love is the ruling principle at the core of God's moral demands. I ruling principle which is then worked out in our everyday lives. It would be one thing if the call to love was a cold or some emotional experience whereby we went away in a corner and tried to engender it, but it is not that if you keep the royal law found in Scripture love your neighbor as yourself.

You do right.

In other words, is like calling on the one side of the coin it says love, and on the other side of the coin it says righteousness to love your neighbor as yourself, says James is to do the right thing to do the right thing is to love your neighbor as yourself is not a question of feelings.

The question of doing what is right. We often think of that completely upside down. Only a topsy-turvy way of thinking. I get were held when we come to the marriage service because in the marriage service or no question about anybody's feeling not in any sensible marriage service.

There is not in the ones that have stood the test of time over hundreds of years. The minister never asked the person how you feel about our how do you feel about him because the answers would be multifarious. The question is, all directed to the will.

Do you think are will you love her.

Will you keep yourself only to her, will you promise to do this and do you promise to do that and all of these promises are an expression of the royal law found in Scripture love your wife as yourself. Love your husband as yourself. Love is revealed in obedience and obedience expresses itself in love. When we move into anything that talks about the law.

Some Christians immediately get very fidgety because they have grown up with a misunderstanding of the place of the law in the Christian life and they have completely set it aside by using a particular phrase, which is a biblical phrase. We are not under law, we are under grace. Of course we are. That's exactly what the Bible says were not under law as a means of justification were not under law, as is the dynamic of our sanctification by the fact of the matter is the law.

This perfect law that gives liberty as an abiding place in the life of the Christian. Otherwise, how do we know what were supposed to do if were supposed to just sit around and wait until our feelings move us how well of most of his been doing on that.

How many have felt that it would be a good time. They just felt as though the other by a Harley-Davidson and an end run away to do somewhere in the in the deep South of the Far West and if they been sitting around for long enough, they may be able to add to that on the Lord told me I know he did not. There is nothing about Harley-Davidson's in the Bible.

I guarantee you that there is something about triumphs, but not Harley-Davidson's you see how dangerous it is and it happens all the time. All I II feel I'm feeling this and I'm sensing that and I believe the Lord is saying this in the next thing. Stop most of that nonsense.

The abiding rule of God's law is whereby we find the basis for determining what were doing and that is not legalism that is not legalism.

Legalism is an approach to the law, whereby we use it as a mechanism for putting ourselves in our right standing with God.

We know that we cannot do that. Legalism says Graham Goldsworthy is a subtle thing. Those who do not place the same emphasis on the law will be branded as antinomian as against law, even lawless, but it needs to be emphasized that recognizing that God requires us to honor his law and to be lawful is not the same as being legalistic to get that five God requires us to honor his law and be lawful, cannot be equated with being legalistic. If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture love your neighbor as yourself for testing as yourself is in their for just me. Love your neighbor say well care how you want me to do so.

The word is love your neighbor as yourself.

How do you love yourself.

To love yourself you wake up this morning say I love me I love me I love me. I hope not. I was greatly helped by this quote. If we want to know how we are to love our neighbor and we must ask a prior question. How do we love ourselves. Never it is to be hoped with an emotional thrill. Rarely is a matter of fact, with much sense of satisfaction, mostly with pre-wholesale disapproval often with complete loathing but always with concern care and attention when we catch sight of our faces in the mirror first thing in the morning. The word comes spontaneously to the lips. Yet once we take that revolting face into the bathroom. We wash it intended and make it as presentable as nature will allow. And so it goes on through the day. Loving ourselves means providing loving care and attention. This is the model in which were to base our relationship to all to whom we owe neighborly juicy everything conspires today to define love, primarily in emotional terms scripturally love is to be defined in caring terms for the love that is owed to our neighbor is the love we expand on ourselves so that love is not the victim of our emotions, but the servant of all wills to be saying if it is a pretty big if you keep the royal law found in Scripture and love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing right.

Why are you doing this because it's right.

How do you feel I don't know how I feel but I'm doing this because it's right is quite staggering. Is that because we we are at the end of a period of a couple of decades 25 years really in which, within the framework of evangelicalism. There such a shift away from any notion of duty. Any notion of obligation anybody does anything out of duty or obligation clearly doesn't understand Christianity so were told.

I thing that's wrong.

I thing the Bible says it's wrong see if we operate simply on the basis of the stimulation of our hearts are our emotional drifts.

There's no saying where were going to end up. Yesterday I did something that was right. I think it was an expression of love. I didn't feel any emotion in it at all. I did it would because it was right. I went over to see some people who were leaning I thought I need to go and see them because her leaving half and he said forget it or leave it, they won't care.

Then I said yeah but I wouldn't be right and so because it was right because the rest will be wrong. I did what was right. I went over love them I love them either. I feel really know.

I prayed with him give him. But if anyone keeps the royal law found in Scripture love your neighbor as himself, herself, yourself. Second word but spend too long on the first I apologize will catch, but if you show favoritism. James still hasn't let go of this, you see is back in favoritism again. The contrast is clear. If you keep this royal law you do right. If you show favoritism to sin. I remember what James is introduced as his illustration back up.

In verses two and three.

Suppose he says this is a supposition. Imagine a man comes in and he wears a gold ring on his fine clothes and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show particular attention to the man wearing the fine» night seat and you disregard the poor man then you have become judges with evil thoughts. In other words, you violated the royal law found in Scripture. Now I find it very interesting that he comes back to favoritism not not on account of the five that it was mentioned previously, but in light of what he then goes to in verses 10 and 11 to make his other point. He goes to murder and to adultery. Nobody can say that because the did one failed to do one that there are clear and the other, but the interesting thing to me is that he doesn't say love your neighbor as yourself you're doing right.

But if you but if you murder, you sin and are convicted by the law is a lawbreaker or if you steal, or if you covet actually go to one of the commandments per se. He goes back to favoritism, which makes it all the tougher because some of us are tempted to think that provided we haven't done any of the big 10 is it were or not the meaning the main ones in the Big Ten that we can somehow or another I just go quite narrowly, along with a little bit of slander and a little bit of gossip and a little bit of favoritism a little bit of a judgmental spirit, and so on. Because after all, you know were not were not breaking anything here really of significant. James lays the acts to that notion now it's not multiple-choice is not 6/10 to be attempted because look at what he says whoever keeps the whole law and stumbles.

At one point, his grave is guilty of breaking all of it. The fact of our breaking God's law is significant and serious because God's law is an expression of his character and his nature.

The reason we have the law of God is because it says to visit if you like verbally what God is ontologically God does not reveal himself to the people in the Old Testament. Images show you this if you want in. In Deuteronomy 4 in Deuteronomy chapter 4 when God reveals himself in this great call for obedience. This is the hallmark of the chapter and then the forbidding of idolatry. Just Deuteronomy 4 if you just looked on in verse 11.

You came near, and student the foot of the mountain while ablaze with fire to the very heavens with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire you hear the sound of words but saw no form. There was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, the 10 Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and he wrote them down. Verse 15 comes back to the same thing you saw no form of any kind.

The day the Lord spoke to you at horrible out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape and so on.

The fact is that God revealed himself in court.

He said he revealed himself and what he said and what he says is expressive of his character and of his nature therefore of I look at the law of God and say I don't have to deal with this one.

What I'm saying is that the number one of my love for God is deficient but also at the same time that there are aspects of God's nature, which actually don't matter and that cannot be say that one of the commands has less of an impact on me than another to break God's law to show favoritism is to be a law breaker.

Jesus said if you love me, keep my commandments. Love is revealed in obedience doing the right thing regardless of how we feel listing to Alistair Begg on Truth for Life. If you're enjoying Alister's sermons from the book of James. You can hear his entire teaching through all five chapters.

Listen for free@truthforlife.org or search for the series on the mobile app you can also purchase the teaching on a USB for just five dollars when you visit Truth for Life.org/store along with Alister's messages we choose books that we can recommend to you, and we choose them with great care. The book were recommending today is a book for children. It's titled little pilgrims big journey part two this is a story drawn from the sequel to the classic book, the Pilgrim's progress written by John Bunyan in this fictional story the main character is a girl Cristiana might be particularly encouraging for the young girls who will read the book Christianity embarks on an adventurous journey to the celestial city along the way, she meets many who try to divert her stories and allegory of the Christian life and it teaches young children how to stay on the path that leads to eternity little pilgrims big journey. Part two is split into short chapters. Perfect for reading at bedtime, your children or grandchildren will learn that God is with them always, even when they encounter difficulty or doubt or danger. Each chapter finishes with a summary to help clarify the meaning of the story and it provides you with questions for additional discussion requester copy of little pilgrims big journey part two when you give a donation of Truth for Life.org/donate or you can call us at 888-588-7884 that did you know that you can access nearly 3000 of Alister's audio or video messages for free on our website or that you can read articles that are taken from Alister's teaching we post new articles each week. They cover a wide variety of topics. Just like Alister's sermons there free for you to read or to share to find the most recent articles@truthforlife.org/articles Bob Lapine thanks for listening. Hope you enjoy your weekend and are able to worship at your local church. A good solid Bible teaching church and then join us Monday for the conclusion of today's message is will find out how God's law actually grants us freedom. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life learning is prolific