Every Day Devotion

James 2:9 [9] But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (ESV) So let's assume for a moment that you have been guilty of showing partiality towards someone in your church. Do you consider it a big deal? James tells us that God thinks it is a big deal. He tells us that if we show partiality we are committing sin and are convicted by God's law as transgressors. That sounds more serious than we might have originally thought. Consider for a moment what the church is. The church is the body of Christ. It is the God ordained means by which the Gospel is preached and lives are transformed. Church is not a meeting we go to once a week, or even less. Church is not a building. Church is a living body. If the body is sick it will be ineffective. God wants his body to be holy. The Apostle Paul refers to the church as the bride of Christ. This bride is being purified by God and he desires to present her to Christ as spotless. ...

James 2:8 [8] If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. (ESV) Do you fulfill the royal law? We find this law that James is referring to in Leviticus 19:18. This Law that was given through Moses said: "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself : I am the LORD. Jesus himself referred to this law when he summarized all of the prophets as being hinged upon two basic laws: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. In the context of this passage James is referring to how we treat others, specifically without favoritism. Imagine again the illustration that James gave of two different people walking into a church gathering; one rich and one poor. If we are truly loving our neighbor as our self we will not tell the poor man to take a seat in the back. As for this idea of lov...

James 2:7 [7] Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? (ESV) There is a lot of talk these days about bullies. Most elementary schools have strict rules about bullying. Yet, with all of the rules in place, there will always be bullies. We see bullies in the political realm. We work with bullies. We encounter them in virtually every area of our lives. Truth be told, you and I have probably been bullied, and we have probably bullied others at some time. James is describing some bullies that the church was dealing with. They were the rich ones mentioned a few verses ago that were being given preferential treatment in the church. Part of the reason why they were getting such treatment may have been because members of the church were afraid of them. They may have sought to appease them. We get a better glimpse of what kind of bullies the church was dealing with as James talks about them blaspheming the honorable name of Jesus Christ. I can t...

James 2:6 [6] But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? (ESV) There is something to be said about how we treat the poorest among us. If we give honor to the rich while ignoring the poor James says that we are dishonoring the poor man. In this particular passage the dishonor was something as simple as having the poor person sit in a seat that was less desirable in the place where they had a church gathering. A great question for the people who James was writing to would have been, "Where would you have Jesus sit in your midst?" Consider what Jesus said in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Jesus said, "And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). If you view someone as being the least treat them with greater honor. Do not dishonor the poor. If we consider what Jesus said we can e...

James 2:5 [5] Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? (ESV) Imagine for a moment that you are a King, building your own kingdom. If you could choose people to belong to your kingdom what kind of people would you choose? Maybe you would choose rich people so that they could contribute more to your treasury. Perhaps you would make sure the people you choose are healthy, not bringing unwanted diseases into your kingdom. Or maybe you would choose the beautiful?  The charming? Witty? I doubt you are going to get to choose people for your kingdom. But, our God has been building his kingdom for some time. And you might be shocked to find out who he has been choosing for his kingdom. James tells us that God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. His standard is not the same as ours. Why not the rich? L...

James 2:2–4 [2] For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, [3] and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” [4] have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (ESV) There continues to be a plague that infiltrates the Church called the "prosperity Gospel." Yes, I know that sounds harsh calling it a plague. I was actually trying to be gentle. Proponents of this so-called Gospel promote the notion that if you are truly following God you will be rich, healthy, and essentially better than your brothers or sisters who lack the level of faith that you have attained. This foolish teaching would surely fly in the face of what the Apostle James tells us in this passage. We are not to value the rich and prosperou...

James 2:1 [1] My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. (ESV) It is possible that I might offend you in today's devotional. I do not try to offend, but I believe this verse offends our natural tendencies. That is one of the things I love about this epistle of James. He is not concerned about coddling the feelings of his listeners. He is far more concerned with making mature disciples of Jesus Christ. James tells us to show no partiality as we hold the faith that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. Let's pause for a moment. Think of the way that he just described Jesus. He is Lord. In fact, he is the Lord of glory. All glory belongs to him, and him alone. What happens when we show partiality? We give glory to lesser things than the Savior. That is idolatrous. We know that Jesus deserves all glory. Yet, when he came to this earth how did he come? Was he born in a King's castle? No, there was n...