James 2:1-7 Without Prejudice

James 2:1-7

1 My brothers and sisters, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in bright clothes, and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the bright clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: did God not choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? 7 Do they not blaspheme the good name by which either have been called?

When it comes to favoritism in the church of Christ , James 2:17, says keep that evil motive away from the house of God. In 2001 as many 87% of the Christian churches of America were either completely white or African-American parishioners. Any Christian who is a student of God’s word should say to themselves this is totally unacceptable and even to the non-Christian, they might say, what is wrong with your church? What if the church was  seen as a hospital, when anyone is sick or really hurting ;black, whites, native american, and asian all visit the emergency room of the hospital. It is kinda against the American  law to turn anyone who needs medical attention and healing. Jesus dealt with the issue of partiality many times in the gospels because some people were not allowed to worship or felt unwelcome. Jesus who is Lord of Church shows no favoritism or partiality to anyone of any race, gender, rich or poor or job title even if the person was a street beggar.

Matthew 9:12  But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

If Jesus gave and will give  His loving attention to anyone, lay His hands on anyone to heal anyone , if He  has deadly flesh eating disease like  leprosy, why can’t His church welcome and accept anyone who wants to worship and love the Lord. Most  American say the problem started long ago, it is a part of American history and American culture, but the Bible says it does not dwell in the past and to forget it.

Isaiah 43:18 (NASB) “Do not call to mind the former things,Or consider things of the past.

Isaiah 43:18  (NLT) “But forget all that—     it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

The church of Christ, His bride should not have any form of favoritism,  partiality or racism should exist or be acceptable in the house of God or Christianity. God bless you all, the Lord  Jesus whose image we are made in loves you and so do I. Samuel H

Galatians 2:6   But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.