Rags, Riches, and the Royal Law

Order of Service

• Hymn of Praise — Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (#239)
• Call to Worship — Deuteronomy 10:12-14
• Hymn of Praise — Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (#239)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 33 (Q&A 88–91)
• Hymn — O Trinity of Blessed Light (#161)
• Prayer
• Scripture Reading — James 2:1-13
• Sermon
• Hymn — Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendor (#324)
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: Rags, Riches, and the Royal Law

Scripture: James 2:1-13

I. The Sin of Partiality Introduced

A. James opens with a direct command: show no partiality — do not practice favoritism B. The word for partiality means making judgments about people based on external appearance C. The illustrative scene: a well-dressed, wealthy man welcomed warmly; a poor, shabby woman shown to an overflow room D. James declares this practice sinful: making such distinctions is to become "judges with evil thoughts" (James 2:4) E. This is an old and chronic problem

1. Samuel judged by outward appearance when sent to anoint Israel's king (1 Samuel 16:7) — "the Lord looks on the heart"
2. The story of Mrs. Lane Adams: ignored anonymously, fawned over once her identity was known

II. Flee Partiality Because of God's Choice (James 2:5-7)

A. God in his sovereignty has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom

1. Election is entirely by God's grace — no goodness or foreseen response in the person chosen
2. Paul: predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11) B. James is not teaching liberation theology — poverty is not automatically a ground of God's favor
3. He is observing that the materially poor more readily feel their need for God
4. Jesus: it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom (Matthew 19:24)
5. The rich are tempted to self-sufficiency; "new money" soil can be the hardest for gospel ministry C. The rich in verses 6–7 are those who oppress the church and blaspheme the honorable name of Christ — yet some Christians foolishly fawn over them D. The spiritually poor — humble, meek, knowing their need — are those who find Christ because he has chosen them
6. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3)
7. God uses the foolish to shame the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27) E. Many materially wealthy are also chosen — Abraham, David — riches do not disqualify
8. The warning: let the materially blessed guard their hearts and remember their true need F. Illustration: Strider/Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings — dressed as a beggar, revealed as king
9. Application: Christ himself was poor in the world, had no place to lay his head, yet was King all along (2 Corinthians 8:9)
10. Christ's people are more than they appear — chosen to be glorified with him
11. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free… you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28)

III. Flee Partiality Because of God's Law (James 2:8-13)

A. The Royal Law: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself"

1. Quoted from Leviticus 19:18 and from Jesus in Matthew 22:39
2. It is the summary of the second table of the moral law (commandments 5–10) B. The law functions as a mirror — look into it and see partiality as the failure to love one's neighbor
3. James says plainly: "If you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors" (James 2:9) C. The law is one fabric — breaking it in one point means breaking all of it (James 2:10-11)
4. Illustration: being convicted of every traffic violation for breaking one
5. Partiality makes one a transgressor of the whole law — it is no small thing D. The exhortation of verses 12–13: keep on speaking and acting consistently with faith
6. The verbs are present active — ongoing, habitual obedience required
7. For the believer, the law is now the "law of liberty" — freed from the law as a means of salvation, freed with power by the Spirit to keep it
8. The law is the "implanted word" (James 1:21) written on the heart E. Warning: "Judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy" (James 2:13)
9. Jesus: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matthew 5:7) — here reversed as warning
10. Those who have received the overabundance of mercy in Christ will show mercy to others F. Closing appeal: Christ, though rich, put on rags and became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9) — live with one another in a manner consistent with what you have received in him