The entire second chapter of James addresses two areas: the hypocrisy of partiality  or prejudice (James 2:1-13) and the life-altering alliance between faith and works  (James 2:14-26). In the first section, using the rich and poor as an illustration, James disassembles the sin of prejudice, as it existed among the congregation.

SUMMARY

Chapter Summary: James 2

The chapter addresses two areas: the hypocrisy of partiality or prejudice and the life-altering alliance between faith and works.

Section Summary: James 2:1-13

Using the rich and poor as an illustration, James disassembles the sin of prejudice, as it existed among the congregation.

Post Summary: James 2:1

James 2:1 – My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

DEFINITIONS:

• faith/πίστις/pistis
  • ‘Pistis’, the Greek word for faith, appears 243x in the New Testament. The word means, ‘the state of believing on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted, trust, confidence, faith1’. The ‘Theological Lexicon of the New Testament’ offers the following: “No secular text can offer a parallel to NT or OT “faith,” but pistis, which derives from peithomai (“be persuaded, have confidence, obey”), connotes persuasion, conviction, and commitment, and always implies confidence, which is expressed in human relationships as fidelity, trust, assurance, oath, proof, and guarantee. Only this richness of meaning can account for the faith (pistei, kata pistin, dia pisteōs) that inspired the conduct of the great Israelite ancestors of Hebrews 11.2″ The word appears here as the direct object. The ESV translates this as ‘you hold the faith’, ‘you’ being the understood subject in the KJV.
• respect of persons/προσωπολημψία/prosōpolēmpsia
  • The word means partiality, favoritism, or prejudice. Literally, ‘to accept the face’ or ‘treat one person better than another’. The term can also signify favoritism or preference.

BACKGROUND:

• None Available

QUESTIONS:

• What Is it about The Glory of God that Makes Prejudice Unlikely?
  • What images do you suppose the descriptor, ‘Lord of Glory’, conjures for an Israelite? Tales of the glory were part of their heritage like Columbus coming to America or Washington, crossing the Potomac. Why wouldn’t it? After all, this is a Christian-Hebrew assembly. Clan fathers would sit with their loved ones and recall Israel’s odyssey with the Glory. In hushed tones, they spoke of what their ancestors saw. The lightning. The cloud. The smoke. The brightness. The thunder. They recalled the Exodus. They remembered how the glory moved behind Israel, standing as a barrier between them and the crazy mad Egyptian army. Go behind them? A barrier? Yes, a solid wall of Glory so potent it ripped the wheels off Pharaoh’s tank chariots. Try running through such a blockade. No chance. Pharaoh’s bunch found it out in a hurry. Picture it. A Hoover Dam of Glory on one side. On the other? The Red Sea splitting into two Jericho like walls of its own. Somewhere in the geological strata of the Nile lies the evidence of Egyptian futility. The Glory got them. The Glory buried them. Exodus 33:18-19 says the Glory is the goodness of God to a man. We have thought of goodness as God’s mercy wrapped in swaddling clothes. It is, towards His kids. But towards the abusers of his kids, his kindness warps into the pro-active protectiveness of a parent. God considers it a righteous thing to fulfill the role of Father. Others, besides Pharaoh have tried to challenge the Lord. Rebel attempts against the Glory dot the human timeline. The casualties testify to the futility of human arrogance. [Tweet “Miriam’s uninvited criticism of her brother did not survive its encounter with the Glory.”] Miriam’s uninvited criticism of her brother did not survive its encounter with the Glory. (Numbers 12:1). The earth split like the Red Sea to swallow Korah’s rebellion (Numbers 16:19-35). Israel’s unbelief (Numbers 14:10-12) fared no better. Against this backdrop, James steps forward. He slides favoritism, you know lousy stinging prejudice, within ten Greek words of the Lord of Glory. What do you think? Can it fare any better? You know as well as I, it has as much chance of survival as Dagon did before the Ark of the Covenant (1 Sam. 5:1-4). But remember, James addresses, born again, blood washed sons of God here. They just happen to be acting like sons of Pharaoh instead. Thank God for the Blood. Thank God for Jesus. If it wasn’t for His intercession, break out the shovels, man. It’s grave digging time again.

COMMENTS:

• ‘My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,’
  • The Great Contrast between The Crucified Lord and the Glorified Lord
    • The phrase ‘Lord of Glory’ occurs here and in 1Corinthians 2:8. Paul calls on believers to remember the crucified Lord of Glory. What a contrast. The Lord of Creation, the Commander of the Light Realm, darkened as a moonless night. Who understands such a thought? The rulers of this age, the lords of the black realm, thought they did. Yet on the third day, their impure thinking rose to the surface like the scum of dead boiling chicken. God raised Jesus from the dead. He snatched him right out of hell’s clutches. When he did so, he arose as a new man. A resurrected born again man. The first model off the new creation assembly line (Romans 8:29). He didn’t emerge empty-handed either. Glorified by God’s own presence (John 17:5), He ascended with a new title. The Resurrected Lord of Glory. Consider the wisdom of walking in the murkiness of favoritism knowing this Jesus event.
• ‘have not… with respect of persons’
  • Prejudice: The Word on the Street
    • ‘Have not’ is a Greek imperative performing as a commandment. Commandments are orders from God. They are not Sunday school suggestions. The behavior of the saints towards the poor draws this corrective word from James. By leeching onto the rich, these sucking saints cast the poor man aside. James grew up in the same household as Jesus. He heard his ‘older brother’ teach many times on the subject of money. One day he heard Jesus say, “Possessions are not to possess you” (Luke 12:15). “You can’t serve God and gold” (Matt 6:24). Trading Jesus for George Washington’s won’t get you down the runway. Principles propel you. Character is king. James jacks this sin straight-up. Prejudice is dancing with the world’s way of thinking. Have you noticed how much of the corrective teaching in the Bible centers on rebuilding your thinking? You have thought in the way of selfishness rather than God’s love. You’ve thought justice in place of mercy. Outward body image in lieu of Christ’s image. Who we are in society in preference to who we are in Him. Spiritual growth only comes  as we turn loose our philosophies of life. Allow your thinking to shift into the way heaven thinks.
  • Favoritism Shows Where Your Faith Lies
    • The pandering saints James addresses showed where their faith rested. It wasn’t in El-Shaddai, the more than enough God. Their confidence focused on their puny ability to jostle for advantage. Maybe they confused one for the other? How often we think God needs maneuvering help. The Bible says the just shall live by faith (Rom. 1:17, Gal. 3:11, Heb. 10:38). What you live by, you exist by. It upholds you. You should move in faith, looking to God as your source. If the Spirit of God arranges a financial hook-up, you are on solid ground. If you try to do it, righteous principles may take the smack down.  On the other side of the street, faith and love are marriage partners (Galatians 5:6). Since, prejudice violates the royal law, it’s also a desecration of the life of dependence. You cannot have vibrant trust in God and engage in the sin of prejudice.
  • Our Unbiased and Impartial Heavenly Father
    • The scriptures testify to God’s impartiality. Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9, and Colossians 3:25 all translate from the same Greek word found in James 2:1. Many other verses show God’s unbiased attitude (Deuteronomy 10:17, 2 Chronicles 19:7, Job 34:19, Luke 20:21, Galatians 2:6, and 1 Peter 1:17). Prejudice wants to persecute the differences among men. God is the Creator of variety. He made man in shades and sizes. He made them male and female. Men go about uniformity the wrong way. They try to achieve it in the wrong realm. Potpourri, blessed assortment, reigns in the earth. It’s supposed to. All flowers are not the same flowers. All mountains not the same height. All men not the same color. In the Spirit, the realm where love is king, there is likeness. In that sphere, we are all one in Christ. In that domain, this Jesus bunch are all brothers. Galatians 3:27-28 explains this sameness. In Christ, there is neither race, social class, nor gender distinctions. Service is the separator. Jesus said those who want distinction must become the servants of all (Mark 9:35). Men who do not understand, continue to flood the earth with prejudice. The bad behavior permeates from days of old.  It is an old acquaintance of civilization with God its constant enemy.
  • Various Translations of ‘respect of persons’
    • The phrase ‘with respect of persons’ is translated in other versions as ‘show no partiality’ in the Revised Standard Version; ‘do not hold your faith…with an attitude of personal favoritism’ in the New American Standard; ‘never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance’ in the Good News Bible.