Thomas Jefferson was a founding father, primary author of the Declaration of Independence, second Vice President, and third President, of the U.S.
After the Vice President left, one of the guests
informed the manager who he had turned away. The manager sent messengers to
Jefferson begging forgiveness and requesting his return.
Thomas Jefferson graciously accepted the apology but said,
“If he has no room for a dirty farmer he shall have none for the Vice President.”
Partiality yields a harvest of regret.
My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come
into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there
should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to
the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good
place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my
footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become
judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen 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. Do not
the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that
noble name by which you are called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the
Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9
but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as
transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in
one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,”
also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do
murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do
as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment
is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over
judgment.
Brethren;
the familial word, found in every chapter of James, fifteen times total. Twice
in our text, three times in this chapter. In context it refers to the entire
family of God, regardless of gender, race, or social status.
Do not hold the faith of our glorious Lord
Jesus, do not declare your
faith in Christ, do not go about claiming to be a Christian...
With partiality. With
favoritism, with prejudice, judging one and favoring another.
Don’t be like the foolish hotel manager to Thomas
Jefferson.
Maybe Jefferson should’ve handed that hotel manager a
little something he wrote. You may have heard of it.
"We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness".
Those words are not Scripture but certainly founded
upon Scripture and inspired by the Holy Spirit.
All people, no matter their race, gender or social
status, are created in the image of God, loved by God, with rights given
by God, without partiality.
That’s the heart of God.
No hypocrisy, no double standard.
For
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son the whosoever,
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting Life. John 3:16.
Mahatma Gandhi read
the gospels, was convinced, and convicted and with the intention of becoming a
Christian he went to a Christian Church.
Regrettably, he was offered no seat, but only a
suggestion that he go worship with his own kind.
He left never to return.
Think of the worldwide impact Gandhi made. Einstein admired
him. The Hindu religion was promoted and influenced greatly around the world
because of him. It might’ve been, it should’ve been, for the cause of Christ,
had it not been for the sin of partiality.
Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 3:25, tell us,
there is no partiality with God.
James 2:9 makes it clear, if you show partiality,
you commit sin.
The sin of partiality isn’t in the spotlight like adultery
and murder. It’s more subtle, like the serpent, more deadly, and spreads like
wildfire.
From way back in the Old Testament, to the days of
Jesus and James, to Thomas Jefferson, to us today, people have problems with
partiality.
The sin of partiality triggered, Sarah casting out Hagar,
Jacob fleeing Esau, Pharoah, Haman, David’s boys’ battles for the throne...
Christ’s crucifixion (religious leaders’ jealous pride and prejudice). Hitler, the
Holocaust, Hamas, Islamic terrorists that given the chance would murder every one
of us.
The sinister sin of partiality poured gas and lit the
match of BLM riots. It funds the No Kings nonsense.
Isaiah 59 speaks of this day.
Isaiah
59:14-15
Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar
off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. 15
So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
But praise the Lord the story doesn’t end there, no
more than Jesus on the cross, or in the tomb.
That was just the beginning.
Isaiah 59:16-21 fills
in the gaps for the rest of HIStory, telling how He came the first time to
reconcile relationship; and He’s coming a second time to recompense vengeance
on the wicked and redeem the remnant of Israel and restore righteousness to the
planet. Forever and ever, amen.
Leviticus
19:15
You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor
or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.
This is why lady justice is blindfolded. To not
pervert justice, to not show partiality or favoritism, to judge fairly.
Today, the blindfold has fallen.
Rogue judges from the Supreme Court to the lowest
court, pervert justice with rulings outside the law, outside their
jurisdiction, outside their mind.
Promoting things, they would never otherwise stand for,
until they yielded to the poisonous, hate-laced, sin of partiality.
For example: They demand inclusion, based on race, ethnicity, and
or, sexual orientation. Not merit. It’s called Diversity Equity and Inclusion.
DEI.
No one in their right mind would ever choose a surgeon,
or a pilot, or air traffic controller, or... simply based on race, ethnicity, or sexual
orientation. Unless blinded by the sin of partiality.
DEI dictates people be treated differently due to
outward appearance or social status. That is, by definition, partiality.
Exactly what James just warned us about.
If you show partiality, you commit sin. James
1:9.
DEI demands partiality. DEI is a doctrine of
demons demanding sin. It claims to be a vehicle to rid racism, instead it
creates it, inflames it.
It does the opposite of what it claims to do, which is
a telltale sign of the devil’s handiwork.
DEI does the opposite of what the Bible teaches. Which
is characteristic of antichrist.
The Bible says:
Galatians
3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
1
Samuel 16:7
Man sees the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.
DEI is the devil’s counterfeit to the Lord’s unity and
equality.
Jesus shared His heart in John 17 when He prayed
repeatedly that His family would be one as He and His Father are one.
Dear Family of God, the only Way to discern a
counterfeit is to intimately know, the Truth.
Jesus tells us: I AM the Way, the Truth, the Life, no
one comes to the Father except by Me. John 14:6.
In these last days, to not be deceived, the Church
must know the Lord and the Word of the Lord.
Hebrews
4:12
For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Living Word reveals Truth without partiality
rightly dividing and exposing the heart of the matter from fleshly desires and
motives.
Which brings us to:
Cherry Picking Passage Partiality.
Partiality is not only a problem with people against
people, but also people against passages of Scripture.
Look at 10-13 again.
10 For
whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,”
also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do
murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak
and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no
mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
If you show partiality to people, you may also be
cherry picking Scripture.
Which we’re warned not to do.
“Man
shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of
God.” Matthew 4:4.
We’re called to be faithful in everything, every page,
every Word, every day every way.
Well Doug, I agree with most of it, but that whole turn
the other cheek thing. Nope, not doing that.
You’re showing cherry pickin’ passage partiality.
What was James 2:9? “...if you show partiality, you
commit sin.”
Oh. So are you saying that if I’m faithful to my wife 9
out of 10 days, that ain’t that good enough?
Mark
12:30-31
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This
is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You
shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater
than these.”
Just to be clear.
Ephesians
5:25
Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave
Himself for her.
That sums it up.
The law of love is the perfect law of liberty.
Without partiality.
A command without chains.
A call to maturity.
To do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.
Let’s pray.
Thank You Lord Jesus for helping us to walk
in purity without partiality. Please give us a yearning for Your Presence, an
understanding of Your Word, and wisdom to apply it. So, we can be fruitful soul
winners and disciple makers, that none are lost of all those You’ve given us.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
Prayer Requests:
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James 2:1-13
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James 2:1-13
This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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