James 2:1  My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
5  Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
6  But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7  Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

In chapter 1 James was directed by God to deal with the importance of true faith. True, Biblical faith has nothing to do with the charismatic name it and claim it heresy. True faith has to do with living in holiness according to God’s will. The Charismatics have no concept of holiness. They are very sensual in their attitude and actions. True, Biblical faith is a blessing to be around.
In chapter 2 James continued with the importance of the practical aspect of true faith. A born again Christian will exercise discernment. Biblical separation is not based on material things. It is based on spiritual things.
There was the danger of classifying people based on their wealth and their class. That is still a problem today. There are wealthy Christians today who can function well with others who are not as wealthy. There are others who live in a bubble and want only their type in that bubble. God directed James to remind the saints Who their Saviour and Lord is. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of glory and yet He left His glorious home in heaven and became a man obedient unto death. Unlike the fictitious Jesus of the Catholics, the true Jesus did not stand out from others because of His material richness. He stood out from others because of His spiritual character.
In verse 2 James contrasted two very different types of individuals that might enter into the local assembly. One might be well dressed and the other comes in with just regular clothing with nothing to indicate wealth. In verse 3 we see that the person well dressed with gold jewelry is described as wearing “gay” clothing. When I was a young person, the word “gay” meant happy. The sodomite abomination became more popular and they claimed the word “gay” as one of their descriptive words. In our text, the Greek word translated as “gay” means “brilliant, radiant”. It is in reference to something that would stand out from other things.
The sin that God was addressing here is to look at what the person is wearing and then seat them according to that. Interestingly, it used to be that the well connected person would want to sit near the front of the assembly where others would notice them more. In our time, it seems the front seats are least acceptable. People want to sit further back. James warned against mistreating the poorer people and putting them down just because they did not have the material resources of others. Jesus stated that there would always be poor people among us. Sometimes poverty is due to laziness. It can be due to mismanagement of resources. It can also be due to health issues or some catastrophe that has happened.
Poor people need the Gospel just as much as the wealthy people. Sometimes poor people are more susceptible to the Gospel, because they realize they have a need they cannot meet. Sometimes wealthy people can assume they are so wise in being able to amass earthly things that they do not need God in a true sense. They might have a fictitious god and they might be charitable but for the wrong reasons.
I have read that Elon Musk can be quite charitable to others. He is a very wealthy man, but he is also a lost man. He will not leave this earth in a rocket. When he dies all he has will be left behind. In his current condition, he will stand among the thousands of lost people and his name will be called out and the books will be opened and his works will be revealed and he will be cast into the lake of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for all eternity. It is important to keep things in their proper perspective.
In verse 4 James pointed out the partiality that the saints would be guilty of if they judged people on this superficial level. James declared that this judgment was evil. There is a proper judgment that needs to be enacted but it is not based on material things. It is based on spiritual matters.
In verse 5 James reminded the saints of God’s value system and His manner of judgment. Poor people can be rich in faith. Poor people can understand that their daily needs are met in God. Today not many poor people understand this. Our state run welfare system has been a poison upon our society. The state is run by ungodly people and they have no way of judging things properly. There are “bleeding hearts” involved there and they are working with other people’s resources and thus they are very poor stewards. They throw money and other resources around without any regard for responsibility.
Under God’s design, the needs of the poor are to be addressed by God-fearing people. To feed a person and give them other material things, without giving them the Gospel is a wasted effort. We see that all around us. We see too many middle and upper class people who also lack the needed discernment to be good stewards. God looks at the heart. He blesses those who know Him in ways the world cannot understand. The key quality is to have the love of God in the heart.
The saints James was addressing had despised the poor. They had used a worldly manner of judgment. They were not translating their faith into right actions.
James pointed out that rich people can be rather oppressive. They have the material means to drag saints before the judgment seat. Ungodly rich people do not appreciate the Gospel. They are not interested in tolerating it either. They want it stopped. They can bribe judges and law enforcement agencies to act on their behalf. Poor people cannot do that. Lost poor people might vandalize a church or a Christian’s property, but they do not have the means to bribe officials to take them to court.
During the lockdowns that we have come through, there were snitches that reported on our church services. We do not know who they were and I am not going to waste my time trying to figure out who they were. They obviously took an interest in our activities, but not for the right reasons. They have ignored the fact that they will answer to God for their wicked hearts. The officer that interfered with our service will also answer to God as well the court system. Our tax dollars are being wasted to oppress godly people while real criminals are pampered. This will all be rectified in the end.
In verse 7 James reminded the saints that they were in fact blaspheming the worthy name of Jesus Christ by their ungodly standards. How could they possibly be a blessing to others when they acted in a similar manner to the ungodly. As we will continue to see in this letter, true Biblical faith behaves in a certain way. This is to be expected and it must be so. Worldly prejudice has no place in God’s family. We can help others when we glorify God in our lives.
Pastor Bartel