Cecil A. Fayard
Elliott Baptist Church
February 6, 2005
Can I Help You?
James 2:1-13
INTRO: How we treat people should not be dictated by the social strata that they are in. All of us must be careful about our attitudes towards others. We are not to look down on the poor. We are not to fall all over the rich.
Rich and poor alike should feel at home in our congregation– all should feel accepted and loved. It is not wrong to honor the rich as long as we do not despise the poor.
The Bible teaches us that there are two positions in the social strata that are very difficult. Two classes that can be a curse: poverty and riches. Proverbs 30:8 says: "...give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me."
God is not against His people having nice things, but He is against things having His people. But friends, we need to be laying up treasures in God’s bank, making spiritual deposits in heaven (Mt 6:19).
I. VSS 1-4, PARTIALITY AND PREJUDICE
A. Vs 1, Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Then, ....."have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons."
1. Note that James, the half brother of Jesus Christ according to the flesh, recognizes and proclaims the deity of Christ by giving His full name, "our Lord Jesus Christ." And he declares Him to be, "the Lord of glory."
a. Jesus is co-equal with the Father (Eph 1:17).
b. Co-equal with the Holy Spirit (I Pet 4:14).
c. His glory is evident in the incarnation (Jn 1:14).
2. Yes, Jesus is God, and yes, He is the one to whom all glory is due for He is the Lord of glory. The Lord of glory at no time had respect of persons. He was not and is not a respecter of persons (Mt 22:16).
a. "Our Lord’s glory is from everlasting to everlasting, but never once during His earthly ministry did He favor one man over another on the basis of wealth, class, or social distinction" (Strauss 69).
b. Believers are not to accept some brethren while they cull others.
c. We do not need a church with snobs, cliques, or social ladder climbers. We need a church of friends, fellowship, and love (Lev 19:15).
d. "Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ....with respect of persons." If you are saved, and the man next to you is saved, you are brothers in Christ.
B. Vss 2-4, What we have pictured in the verses before us is partiality in the assembly.
1. Vs 2, "For is there come unto your assembly..." This speaks of a local visible assembly possibly meeting in a synagogue (Jews meet on Saturday; Christians on Sunday).
a. Picture with me two men entering the assembly. One is dressed in "goodly apparel," jewelry and expensive clothing like the rich man of Luke 16:19. The other is dressed in "vile raiment," tattered, torn and shabby. Each of these men were at opposite ends of the social ladder.
b. The most important thing is not the clothes on a man’s back, but the Lord Jesus in his heart. Those who know the Lord are dressed in robes of righteousness (Isa 61:10).
2. Vs 3, It is human nature to show partiality, to usher the rich man up to the front, and seat the poor man out of sight or to have him stand in the back.
a. Both of these men were greeted and judged by their outward appearance.
b. "When visitors come into our churches, we tend to judge them on what we see outwardly rather than what they are inwardly. Dress, color of skin, fashion, and other superficial things carry more weight than the fruit of the Spirit that may be manifest in their lives" (Wiersbe 66).
3. Vs 4, The ushers were showing partiality; their motives were evil.
a. To keep from showing favoritism, we must see folks through the eyes of Christ.
b. If a visitor is a Christian, accept him because he is in Christ. If the visitor is lost, accept him because Christ died for sinners.
II. VSS 5-7, GRACE FOR SINNERS
A. Vs 5, In some churches, the poor believer is looked down on. I have been disappointed through the years by folks who look down on the less fortunate, the poor, and treat them like dirt.
1. I am glad that God calls out the poor. Salvation is not reserved for just one class of folks (I Cor 1:26-31).
2. Some of the most godly folks I have ever known are poor folks.
B. Vs 6, The rich, then and now, have influence. They exploit the poor; they get their vote, then forget them.
1. They influence decisions in court.
2. The saying that we have often heard is true: "Money talks."
3. God help us as believers if we act like the world’s rich.
C. Vs 7, The ungodly rich, by their actions, blaspheme the name of Christ.
1. Dear believer, called to be saint, do not act like a heathen. Mistrusting the poor is wrong.
2. Remember this, God through the blood of His Son has broken down the walls of injustice between the rich and the poor, educated and uneducated, the young and the old.
3. We are not to have walls of prejudice.
III. VSS 8-11, LOVE THY NEIGHBOR
A. Vs 8, To please God, to be obedient to Him, love your neighbor.
1. "Love thy neighbor" is the royal law because it is the King who have given it.
2. Romans 13:10, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
B. Vs 9, By paying special attention to the rich, the beautiful, the acceptable, we commit sin and are convinced of the law. "The law condemns, discriminating between the rich and poor" (McGee Vol 5, 647).
C. Vs 10, We do not need to break all of God’s laws to be guilty of sin. If I break one law, I am capable of breaking them all. If I break one or if I break them all, I am a sinner.
D. Vs 11, You may think that you are better than the poor man. If you do, you have sinned. It is sin to disobey God’s law, to break His commandments, to go against His principles.
IV. VSS 12-13, JUDGMENT IS ON ITS WAY
A. Vs 12, We will be judged for our actions toward the rich and the poor (II Cor 5:9-10).
1. "So speak ye" – our words will be judged. "I hope that poor family doesn’t come back!"
2. "So do" – our deeds toward folks will be judged.
3. Let us treat all men right because we are to be judged by the law of liberty.
B. Vs 13, God will judge our attitudes toward others.
1. If we have shown no mercy, we will be judged severally and lose rewards. Mercy cannot be earned but God can show less mercy on the man who has had a bad attitude toward the poor.
2. God will show mercy to the person who has practiced mercy with a right attitude.
CONCLUSION: God is not a respecter of persons. We should not be either.
For additional copies of the sermon CD's, please contact the church office:
Elliott Baptist Church
566 Nat G. Troutt Road
Elliott, Mississippi 38901
Phone: 662-226-4425
Pastors Email: cecilafayard@msn.com