James' previous reference to hypocritical religiosity (1:26-27) seems to have led him to deal with one form of this problem that existed among Christian Jews of his day. It is still with us today. It is the problem of inconsistent love for other people that manifests itself in how we treat them. He wrote this chapter to exhort his readers to deal with this very basic inconsistency in their lives.
"The connection of this warning against social discrimination with the previous ch. 1 seems fairly obvious. Truckling to the rich and apathy or worse toward the poor are two sides of the same base coin rejected by the touchstone of 1:27 and of 2:8."81
James came right to the point; we know exactly what his concern was. Personal favoritism is hardly a glorious characteristic, and it is inconsistent for a Christian who worships the glorious Lord Jesus Christ to practice it (cf. Matt. 22:16). It was especially appropriate for James to address his readers as "my brethren"here since he proceeded to encourage them to practice brotherly kindness. Such behavior would be glorious, in harmony with their "glorious Lord Jesus Christ."
". . . a Christian is (or should be) the last person to be impressed by the sham glory of social status."82
It may be helpful to distinguish partiality or favoritism (Gr. prosopolepsia; Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; Col. 3:25; cf. Acts 10:34) from some of its synonyms. One definition of prosopolepsiais as follows.
It is "the fault of one who when called on to requite or to give judgment has respect to the outward circumstances of men and not to their intrinsic merits, and so prefers, as the more worthy, one who is rich, high-born, or powerful, to another who is destitute of such gifts."83
Partiality implies an inclination to favor a person or thing because of strong fondness or attachment. We say that an orchestra conductor, for example, has a partiality for the works of Brahms. Treating people with partiality may spring from predilection, or from prejudice, or from bias. Predilection implies a preconceived liking formed as a result of one's background, temperament, etc., that inclines one to a particular preference. We might say a certain person has a predilection for murder mysteries. Prejudice implies a preconceived and unreasonable judgment or opinion, usually an unfavorable one, marked by suspicion, fear, intolerance, or hatred.We might say racial prejudice incited the lynch mob. Bias implies a mental leaning in favor of or against someone or something without passing judgment on the correctness or incorrectness of the preference. One might say someone has a bias toward the color blue. James was dealing primarily with partiality.
The hypothetical84or familiar85situation James constructed in verses 2 and 3 presents what some have called the case of the nearsighted usher.
2:2-3 "Assembly"is literally "synagogue."In the early history of the church Jewish believers met in Jewish synagogues until their unbelieving Jewish brethren forced them out. This reference indicates that James wrote this epistle early in the history of the church.
There is some debate among the commentators about whether a public worship service or a congregational meeting for the purpose of hearing a judicial case is in view.86The term "synagogue"meant a public worship service in early Christian literature, but the following verses may suggest a judicial setting. This issue does not affect the meaning of the passage significantly.
2:4 The form of James' question in the Greek text expects a positive answer: "You have, haven't you?"The usher made two errors. First, he showed favoritism because of what the rich man might do for the church if he received preferential treatment. He should have treated everyone graciously, as God does. This reflects a double-minded attitude, thinking like the world in this case while thinking as God thinks in other respects (1:8).
Second, the usher, who represents all the believers, manifested evil motives in judging where to seat the two visitors. His motive was what the church could obtain from them rather than what it could impart to them. The Christian and the church should seek primarily to serve others rather than getting others to serve them (cf. Mark 10:45).
"Prejudice is an evil that exhibits the character of the one who practices it."87
James' three questions in these verses all expect positive answers, as is clear in the construction of the Greek text.
2:5 Since God has chosen the poor of this world to be the recipients of His blessings it is inconsistent for Christians to withhold blessings from them (cf. Matt. 5:3; Luke 6:20). Really God has chosen more poor people than rich (Luke 1:52; 1 Cor. 1:26). The "kingdom"is probably the messianic millennial kingdom in which Christians will participate with Christ whom they love.88This seems clear from the context. The heirs of this kingdom, those who will receive it, are believers (cf. 1:12; Matt. 5:3, 5; Mark 10:17-22; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5).
2:6 When a Christian dishonors the poor he or she treats them exactly opposite to the way God treats them (cf. 1 Cor. 11:22; 1 Pet. 2:17). Instead of favoring Christians James reminded his readers that the characteristic response of the rich to them had been to oppress them (cf. Acts 4:1-3; 13:50; 16:19; 29:23-41). How inconsistent it is to despise one's friends and honor one's foes! The oppression in view could have been physical and or legal.
2:7 The rich not only typically oppose Christians, they also typically speak against Christ. This was true in James' world as it is in ours. It is inconsistent to give special honor to those who despise the Lord whom believers love and serve. To blaspheme or slander (Gr. blasphemeo) means to mock deliberately or to speak contemptuously of God. Perhaps those who were blaspheming Christ's name were unbelieving Jews (cf. Acts 13:45).89
2:8 James did not mean Christians should avoid honoring the rich but that we should love everyone and treat every individual as we would treat ourselves (Matt. 7:12; cf. Lev. 19:18). The "royal"(Gr. basilikos) law is royal in that it is the law of the King who heads the kingdom (Gr. basilikon) that believers will inherit (v. 5).90It is also royal in that it is primary; it governs all other laws dealing with human relationships (Matt. 22:39; cf. Lev. 19:18). Moreover it is "conduct of a high order that is worthy of a king."91
2:9 In this verse James used the verb form of the same Greek word he used in verse 1, namely, prosopolepteo. The type of preferential treatment James dealt with in this pericope (2:1-13) violates the royal law because it treats some as inferior and others as sources of special favor (cf. Acts 10:34). It also violates specific commands found in God's Word that reveal God's will in interpersonal dealings (Matt. 7:12; cf. Lev. 19:15).
"The passage calls us to consistent love, not just polite ushering. People of low income are to be fully welcomed into the life of the church. The passage calls us to be blind to economic differences in how we offer our ministries. The poor person is as worthy of our discipling and pastoral care and love as the person who has the means to rescue our church from its budget crisis."92
"Anyone who shows favoritism breaks the supreme law of love for his neighbor, the law that comprehends all laws governing one's relationships to one's fellowmen."93
2:10 James anticipated that some of his readers might feel that preferential treatment was not very important. Consequently he pointed out that the practice of preferring certain individuals makes one a violator of God's law. We become guilty of all in the sense that we have violated God's law, not that we have violated every commandment in that law. One can never claim to behave righteously because he or she keeps only part of God's laws.
"Our obedience to God's will cannot be on a selective basis; we cannot choose that part that is to our liking and disregard the rest. God's will is not fragmentary; the entire law is the expression of His will for His people; it constitutes a grand unity. To break out one corner of a window pane is to become guilty of breaking the whole pane. He who crosses a forbidden boundary at one point or another is guilty of having crossed the boundary."94
2:11 James illustrated this point with a hypothetical case involving two very severe violations of the law. All sins are not equally serious in that the consequences of some sins are greater than others, but all sins are equally serious in that any sin is a violation of God's will.
2:12 The law of liberty (1:25) is the law of God that liberates us now. It is the same as the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2) in contrast to the Mosaic Law. As free as we are under the law of Christ, we need to remember that God will judge us (Rom. 14:10-13; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:10). We need to speak and act accordingly, namely, without prejudice toward others.
"Since he is speaking to believers, the judgment to which he refers must be the judgment of believers at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10)."95
2:13 God will not judge us with partiality. He will punish the unmerciful unmercifully. We need to understand this statement in the light of other revelations concerning how God will judge believers. We are in no danger of losing our salvation or even experiencing God's wrath. However, we will suffer a loss of reward if we sin by practicing unmerciful favoritism (2 Cor. 5:10; cf. Matt. 5:7; 6:15; 7:1; 18:23-25).
On the other hand, if we are merciful in dealing with our fellowmen God will be merciful in dealing with us when we stand before Him (cf. Matt. 25:34-40). Mercy triumphs over judgment just as love triumphs over partiality.
In modern life, partiality sometimes arises because of differences in economic levels, race, religious preferences, political views, education backgrounds, and personal opinions, to name a few causes.96For Christians it is sometimes harder to be impartial toward sinners who flaunt their sin than it is those who acknowledge that they have sinned. However because Christ died for all we should reach out to all as He did rather than being unfriendly and cliquish. This is true whether the sinners are homosexuals, AIDS patients, the murderers of unborn children, liars, adulterers, thieves, or gossips. This reaching out will be an accurate indicator of the extent to which Christ's love controls us (cf. 1:27).
This section of verses may raise a question in some minds concerning how James viewed the Christian's relationship to the Mosaic Law. Was he implying that we are responsible to keep the whole Mosaic Code? His own words at the Jerusalem Council show that this was not his view (cf. Acts 15:13-21). God gave the Mosaic Law both to regulate the life of the Israelites and to reveal the character and purposes of God to the Israelites and to all other people. Its regulatory function ceased when Jesus died on the cross (Rom. 10:4; Heb. 7:12). Its revelatory value remains forever; it is part of Scripture that is still profitable (2 Tim. 3:16). The moral revelation James referred to here is as applicable now as it was before the Cross. God still expects people to live in its light. Whereas God has terminated the Mosaic Law as a codified body of law, some individual commands within this covenant continue in force under the "law of liberty."These are the laws affecting all human conduct in contrast with those affecting only the life of the Israelites. Christians live under a new set of rules, the law of liberty. Israelites lived under a different set of rules, the law of Moses. The fact that the "golden rule"was part of the Mosaic Law as well as the law of Christ does not mean that we are still under the Mosaic Law.97
