Responsibility of Those Called

February 19, 2023 Background Scripture: James 2:1 -12 Lesson Passage: James 2:1 12 James wrote this letter to the Jewish Christians who were scattered away from Jerusalem as they fled the persecution against Christians. James wrote some very frank statements in his letter. He provided supporting scriptures with many of those statements. As Jewish Christians, the recipients would have been familiar with those scriptures. Even without the supporting scriptures, James wrote as an anointed authority figure of the first century Christian church. One of the situations James highlighted within the Christian congregation, was the inconsistency of being a Christian and showing favoritism. He pointed out that Jesus demonstrated grace towards all Jesus did not show preference for one and not another. The ultimate demonstration of it was Jesus' death for the sins of the world; everyone was under the penalty of sin because all have sinned. Jesus' unselfish sacrificial death was for everyone—whether they were generally unknown or well-known public dignitaries. The ramifications of Jesus' death apply equally to everyone. On the other hand, favoritism treats individuals differently based on how they are perceived by the one showing preference. James suggested that this way of thinking is evident whenever someone reacts to people based on how they dress. When the Christians gathered, well-dressed people were offered better seating arrangements than those who were poorly dressed. This means that people were being judged based on their appearance. To assume that a poorly dressed person is less deserving of favor is evil. That is jumping to a conclusion about the nature of the person being judged. Only God knows what is inside of a person. Therefore, God is the only one who can properly judge people. Furthermore, poorly dressed people are often considered to be impoverished. God's view towards the poor in this world is very different than ours tend to be. Jesus pointed towards the poor having the gospel preached to them as a sign of God working in the earth. How can we judge harshly those whom God blesses highly? James declared that it is a sin to show favoritism. Showing favoritism is a response of the flesh that causes one to miss the mark of holiness. Being partial towards others violates the law of, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The Law of God defines and describes holiness. A violation of the Law of God in any point makes one guilty of violating all of it. It is through the grace of God that we are saved because our flesh rebels against the Law of God. Our rebellion against God leads to more sin. Again, to sin in any point of the Law is to be guilty of violating all of it. Holiness can only be achieved through human effort by keeping all the Law. Therefore, our flesh makes it impossible for us to achieve holiness on our own. Only through the grace of God can we be saved. If we can only be saved by God's grace because we cannot keep the entire law, who are we to judge others in any matter? Again, all have sinned and come short of God's glory. The grace of God is our spiritual liberator. Grace calls us into liberty and frees us from the law of sin and death. This grace is available to all. It is our responsibility as Christians to extend the grace of God to others. We cannot do that and judge people at the same time. Our judgment of people causes us to look down on someone we should be lifting. Showing partiality exposes our need for grace. Having received grace, it is our responsibility to walk in it. Robert C. Hudson January 30, 2023