Favoritism and Royal Law Part 1
James 2:8-13 · Bob Eckel · Apr 30, 2023
James, No. 15
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926193181965

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

All right. So I have the task of covering this topic over the next two weeks, favoritism, royal law and law of liberty. And this is part one. OK, so I think we're going to read from James 2.1 down through 13 today. And what we're going to be covering today is kind of a foretaste of what's going to follow next week. Next week's a little more challenging, actually. So not that this week wasn't, but nevertheless. Verse one, my brethren, do not hold the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. And we'll return to this term, partiality, later this morning.

For 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. 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. Have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

And this is what Roy covered last week. 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? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? And do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? So this begins today.

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, that you shall love your neighbors yourself, you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 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. So speak, and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty, for judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. And I think if we can look just ahead a little bit, look at verse 12. So speak, and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. And I think we'll deal with that in more detail next week.

Who's James writing to? Jews. Yeah, right. Jews who have come to the Lord. And obviously, they're having a little bit of a problem in terms of how to interpret the new information that's given to them. Okay, let me get over here. All right. So, let's begin with a series of questions, which I always like to do. How should we interpret if Here, followed by the verb fulfill. Well, let's look at the options.

Reminding you, the first conditional interpretation is an indicative mood, typically related to an indicative mood, which means sense. Or the third conditional, by the way, there's a second and a fourth, which don't relate to this here today, but the third is more likely to be in the seductive mood, which really questions whether or not it's going to occur or not. Is this first or third class conditional here, if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture? What's your thought?

Does that mean, is it since? Well, that's my question. Is it since or if? Are you likely to keep it or since you're going to fulfill the royal law, if you really fulfill the royal law? Remember what I just read in context. Which is the most likely interpretation here? I think it's the third. No, sorry.

This is first-class conditional, meaning since you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, in fact, they're doomed. I mean, it sets the stage that you think you can do this, but in fact, You can't. So, since you really can fulfill the royal law according to the scriptures, almost an in-your-face kind of exclamation point. Again, notice the indicative mood. Really suggests that this is, since you really fulfill the royal law according to the scriptures. Well, he's going to come back and say you're really not fulfilling the law. So, but they think they can do this. That they're in fact living under the law. This is not the law of liberty. This is the Jewish mosaic law. All right.

So the verb fulfill here is present, active, indicative, which helps, I think, us interpret this. Again, the first class conditional more typically utilizing the indicative mood, whereas the subjunctive is really more indicating if it may or may not occur. By the way, the commentators agree on this one. So just not my interpretation. All right. Fulfill is kind of interesting, and this is a Greek term that's much stronger than the most common used term that means to observe or to keep, which appears later in this second chapter.

So James 2.10 says, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. So what do you make of that? The fact that fulfill is a stronger term. than keeping the whole law? Well, it fulfills smaller than keep. It really suggests that they've done it to the last I being dotted and the T being crossed, where keeping it may be something they're trying to do. But it just influences the reader to indicate that nobody's going to be able to keep the law.

So I think that's perhaps why James used that particular Greek term. So what do you think of when you see the term royal? You don't think of anything? Yeah, we have those footnotes on that. Kingly, I think you know, law of the kings. Yeah, in general, I'll bet you, but my first thought's a king.

You know, some royal position of some sort. But in fact, in John 46, we see this kind of representation of the use of the same Basilikos, the Greek term for royal. And it says Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where he had made the water wine and there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. So the nobleman is the use of the same Greek term. Royal here looks like a descriptor whereas there this individual is described as someone of nobility.

And then in Acts 12.21, so on a set day Herod arrayed in his royal apparel and sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.

So another example of the way this term is used. But interestingly enough here, this is not the way this Greek term is interpreted. It's interpreted as principal or chief. So if you really fulfill the royal laws, not implying kingship, but it's applying a principle or a chief doctrine to which the Jew historically was to respond to. Any thoughts about that? So wouldn't you think that then what he's trying to say is this is not just law in general, but this is the law, right? This is the law. The law, they've been given by Moses. I mean, this is the law. The royal chief principle law? It's the main law. I mean, this is not just any old rule.

And the idea of fulfilling it, keeping it, in a sense it's a strength of terms, but you could say they mean the same thing. But why would then James use a stronger term here than just keeping it like he does in verse 10? I don't know. I mean, it's just something to speculate about. All right. So we need to think to whom James is writing, and we mentioned this up front. These are newborn Jews who are schooled in the law.

And Romans 2.17 says, but you are called a Jew and rest on the law and make your boast in God. So, I mean, this is a kind of an attitude of these believers in terms of their historic upbringing and the legacy of that effect that's impacting their lives as new believers. Okay.

Yet, they like we have a new form of royalty, don't they? 1 Peter 2, 9, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. So that term priesthood relates to royalty, that's the same Greek term. So they have a new royal declaration. They're a chosen generation, a new royal priesthood. So kind of neat to think that it seems that they're kind of missing the bow here a little bit. According to the scripture, what scripture? Well, I think we've seen this before, haven't we? What does the verse say in terms of what scripture do they need to abide by?

Love your neighbor as yourself, right? So if we look closer at the verse, right? Right. So you said love your neighbor as yourself. So let's drill down on that a little bit. Do not interpret this that James meant that Christians should ignore the rich. I mean, back to the theme of where this chapter is going.

You know, the idea of loving your neighbor as yourself doesn't mean that they necessarily don't acknowledge the rich for him or her in terms of their background or their riches or their clothing or their education. But in fact, ultimately loving everyone as yourself is your neighbor. Everybody's our neighbor, right? We're having a little trouble loving one of our neighbors right now.

The thing is, it's not about our love, it's liking. You know, we don't have to like them, we just have to love them. That's a little bit different task, isn't it? But we don't have to interact with them. Anyway, let's just leave that for the time being. And I'm sure they're not listening here this morning. However, we're called... You have a dog. What? What's that? You have a dog. Because then you have to interact. No, they have five dogs. Five dogs on a wire fence that extends onto the road. Anyway, that's another story. Let's just leave that where it's at right now.

However, we're called to love our neighbor, and because this is preceded by in the scripture, that really implies that the Old Testament is the source of that. So let's go back to the Old Testament, and that's Leviticus chapter 19, 18. You shall not take vengeance nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I am the Lord." Let me challenge the class. Is that written anywhere else in the Old Testament? Jim says no. Not that you know. Well, Jim's correct, so you go to the head of the class, Jim. No, but we see it six times in the New Testament, and I'm not going to go turning to those verses, but there they are. Matthew, twice, Mark, Luke, Romans, and Galatians. So this concept of, I mean, if you look at the Matthew and most of the, you know, synoptic Gospels, I think you see it as maybe more legally applied in terms of the interpretation. But Romans and Galatians deal with us, the body of Christ.

Hey Bob, it's interesting that it's qualified as nor bear any grudge against the children of your people. Is he talking about the Jews of Israel or is he talking about the whole world? It's interesting. Yeah, I don't know. I'd have to go back and look at that in context. Well Bob, you know, I think there's a whole question that we, 1 John addresses it too. Who's your neighbor? And many times in scripture it's, you know, for the Jewish nation, that's their neighbor. If it's a non-Jew, that's a whole other class. And then the question comes over, what does that mean?

Do we distinguish? When we look at that, is that talking about our brothers and sisters in Christ? And that's the first, like in 1 John, that's the first focus. So is James going down the same path? Is the first focus to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and not necessarily addressing the neighbor that are not that, or it's this universal including all men. This may be beyond the scope of this verse. Yeah, I'm not prepared to go there.

You know, Scripture does indicate that we need to love everyone, right? It does love the entire world if it's crucified on behalf of everyone. And I must admit, I look at unsaved believers as my neighbor because ultimately they need the gospel as much as I did. And when you look at somebody on the street passing by and you make some conclusions, you're kind of judging them the way they look and the way they're carrying themselves. Ultimately, God calls me to love them, not to like the way they look, but to love them in the love that the Lord Jesus Christ showed each one and every one of us. But for the believer, that's his love through her. Yeah, it's got to be.

So I think that's to what James is interpreting. I'm sorry then, Jimmy, I can't go back and really put this one in context. It was just a verse that James chose to use in the Old Testament. It's only plus in the Old Testament where this is used. But I think Roger is kind of correct that it's likely the Jewish community that the Lord is turning to in terms of this verse in Leviticus. All right. James tells us if we apply this royal law that we do well. What do you make of that? I agree. Really what he's saying is there's no other way because we can't do it. All right. Let's first address this. How are we doing here?

And this love is agapeo. That's what our conversation in the last few minutes is really related to. The love of the Lord Jesus Christ isn't our love in the flesh for anybody else. This is a love that we can't define. It's so strong and unconditional. So we're not doing well here in the flesh, are we? Wayne, good point. I mean, this is the new life we live in Christ Jesus. Question? Yeah, go ahead.

One of the things that this verse specifically says is, love one another as you love yourself. That's a reflexive program. It's looking at ourselves. If we love ourselves, that's the standard that's put before us here. Just to keep this within the text, okay? And that is not the same as what Christ taught. He taught that we are to love one another as I have loved you.

Right. And that's something we turn to all the time when we think about how this love is exemplified in our own lives. Well, I think that that's what James is laying a foundation for here. Yeah, that's good. But that's not as good as the price. I think that's the direction he's going.

And on that point, what does self mean? I mean, I don't really like myself too much. We certainly don't like the old man. Does that mean you don't like everybody else the same way? Again, I think that relates to the exemplary nature of God's love for us. Isn't this the only kind of love that comes from the Godhead? I mean, this love isn't sourced by my love of myself.

So in a sense, while you put this in a perspective in terms of the law, and, you know, Jimmy doesn't like himself, we can have another conversation about that. And this is the exchange life, is it not the love that we have for our neighbor or even ourselves? You know, I think Jimmy's right.

As you look down deep in your own soul and your own Fleshly ways of doing things. There's not much love for that but we've been given a new life in Christ Jesus heavenly and ultimately What this 121 says it well for me to live as Christ, right? Amen And of course the other side of that verse is to guide to die a scheme, right? Either way you win. We're not working. So I So, you know, I think this loving yourself really is not really anything we can do in the human spirit to the extent that what's being applied here by James to the church, the Jewish church to whom he's writing.

And back to the question, what's it mean to do well? Well, here's some options. Does it mean to be free of illness or abundantly endowed with riches or regarded as important? I mean, Is that what we're talking about here? It's an accomplishment. Well, if you look at the Greek and you go to the original language and try to best interpret this use of the term in context, to do well is best interpreted as being honest and upright. That's Greek interpretation without necessarily going beyond it and making it appeal to the scripture we're studying today. So, how are we honest enough, right?

We apply the law. Whoa. Well, we know that the law is going to fail. We're going to be getting there. But I think he's saying to them, this is what you think. You think that if you apply the royal law, you're doing well. That's what I think he's saying. But he's going to say that's not right. I'm going to say, isn't this identification?

We are honest and upright in the new life we have in Christ Jesus. The spirit-led life we live in the Lord Jesus is doing well. And to support that scripturally, John 13, 13, you can call me Master and Lord And you all say, well, for so am I. So that appeals to the relationship that Christ has with his heavenly father of being called well, honest and upright. And the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. So Christ's relationship with his father is doing well. In fact, that's the same thing we embody with the spirit led life.

And James, back to chapter one, but he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Lord, this one will be blessed in what he does. So I mean, same kind of information that the new life we have in Christ Jesus gives us wellness. It's honest and upright and really of a different nature.

Other thoughts about doing well? So doing well is certainly not being free of illness or abundantly endowed with riches or in fact, you know, regarded as important. That's not doing well. It truly was a situation in which we find ourselves at peace and in comfort. Somebody's not unneeded out there.

Yeah, please mute your mic if we're hearing Okay. Other thoughts about, is that cold? Maybe? It's rolling. Anyways, please mute your lines if you could, please. Other thoughts about doing well? What's doing well? I mean, it's not the way the world thinks is doing well, is it? It can't be.

Less prepared when you walk in the spirit Okay, that battle is always going on there. You're doing well when you walk in the Spirit, sure. That's why I said the Spirit itself bears witness unto our spirit that we are children of God, right? So that's doing well. I tried to, you know, summarize this in a series of verses that may be all not directly related to doing well, but I thought it really represented what doing well is all about.

All right, now that we've conquered verse 8. You got to get one verse. Good job, Bob. I don't know. All right, verse 9 then says, but if you show partiality, remember that's kind of the theme of James 2 here. You commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. You know, one of the struggles with James is he's so ingrained with the Jewish community that sometimes we have a little trouble dissecting that and how that relates to the body of Christ we are here today as Gentiles. But nevertheless, you know, remember there's no longer a Jew or a Gentile. We're all one in Christ. No man or woman or anything else. There's nothing else other than being one in Christ.

Back to if you show partiality, and this is a complex term that's probably right for this sector better than I could, but it means the respect of persons. And the respect of persons, here it's used negatively, but if you show partiality, that doesn't mean that you don't respect the person for being God-given who enters your life. Respect for a person ultimately no matter what their condition or who they are and what their background is Another first-class conditional which presumably implies no respect Okay, since you're not showing, you know showing respect impartiality, if you will, or not really considering the rich as you do the poor, or the poor as you do the rich, then in fact that partiality is being shown to be a negative aspect of the body of believers that Paul, or to whom James is writing. It reminds us of verse 1, and it's really an antithesis of the way God works in our lives. So James 2, we read this today, Do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, with partiality. This is something we're called not to do.

In fact, first class conditional means they're repeatedly doing this. Since you're showing partiality, this is really the issue for you to seriously consider. So another use of this term is so in Acts 10, 34, that then Peter opened his mouth and said, in truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality. So again, that's the new life we have in Christ Jesus. There's no partiality.

So if you go on then, you commit, meaning, you know, you're present middle indicative, meaning you're doing this and you're involved in it. And by the way, an interesting thing about committing sin is working sin. It's not like you're committed a transgression, which you are, but in fact, in your life, you're working this concept out. And I think that's kind of an interesting way to think about that, and that's often what the interpretation of this word means. Really, it's a life filled with that type of activity.

So, the class, how do we define sin? Well, sin separates us from God, right? From His holiness and Yep. And we're convicted. And by the way, convicted can also be interpreted, we're being convinced. We're not only convicted in terms of falling short, but in fact, we're being convinced by the law as transgressors. And what law is this? The Royal Law? By what law? The Royal Law. The Royal Law.

Good, Roger. You're into the industry. Well, I think Burdick kind of summarizes this is kind of neat. Burdick says anyone who, and this is in Constable, by the way, I pulled this out of there. Andrew? Well, I think that Bill, I think we may have gotten it. Yeah. I don't hear it anymore. Yeah. Thank you. So anyone who shows favoritism breaks the supreme law of love for his neighbor, the law that comprehends all laws governing one's relationship to one's fellow men. So that's the way he puts it. So would you interpret that that these are only believers to whom this applies?

Well, I guess the question is, who are our fellow men? According to Burdick, we think our fellow men would be the body of Christ, would it not? I don't know. I think our neighbor is the whole world system. I think, as we mentioned earlier, that's to whom the gospel leads to reach.

All mankind. Yeah. All right. Transgressors means those who step across, interesting, and hear from the truth of the Word of God expressed only to hear us express the new to the believer. So I think the transgressor in this setting is one, in fact, who is, you know, violating the truth of what God has offered in terms of scriptural validity. So.

Bob, just a thought here. One of the things that the law does is reveals to us we can't keep it. If we're talking about the Ten Commandments in particular, one of the things that focuses here on me and the word, the wording here is you're stepping over the line, you're a transgressor. That line is you're not really loving whoever you're looking at like you love yourself.

And it's all focused. And it's revealing the corruption that self brings up to the surface every time. One person is better than another person. What's the divine, from God's perspective, not royal, not somebody ruling here on earth, but what's God's perspective as the supreme ruler? He loves everybody the same. And that love only comes when, instead of looking at self, We're loving the way he does. His nature is what he loved from. Our new nature is what we should be loving from. His very nature.

I remember the theme of this particular chapter is partiality. And in fact, when we show partiality, no matter how it's exemplified ultimately, we're transgressing. We're transgressing the law of liberty. I mean, the Jewish law for sure, but we don't live under the law anymore. We're going to build on that theme in a second here.

So Galatians 2.19, for I through the law died to the law that I might live unto God. Okay, so the concept that nobody keeps the law. So we die to that. What does Paul in Galatians call the law? Remember when he calls the law in Galatians chapter 4? It's a schoolmaster, right? It's a schoolmaster that teaches us that we can't keep the law in the human condition.

That for I thought, I threw the law, died to the law because he can't keep it. And Paul threw the law better than anybody. and that I might live to God, and that life to God is really a whole new nature that he gives us. Therefore, how do we respond to this?

Well, James 1.22 kind of gives us a hint, but be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. So, you know, in a sense, back to loving yourself, We're, in fact, deceiving our new nature by, in fact, not being doers of the Word.

We're going to get more into the whole theme of James being works versus faith. Faith is mentioned numerous times in James, but all that aside, we're going to be dealing with that topic more going forward. James calls us to be doers of the Word. What's being doers of the Word? For us, it would be letting Christ live through us. You know, in a sense, it begins with what? Where does it begin? We tried to raise our children with this principle. In fact, I need to remind myself all the time about this.

But if you know who you are, then what you do is evidence of who you are. Right? So we see ourselves positioned, made fully righteous. and that's who we are. We're new creatures in Christ Jesus. Then ultimately what follows is based on the enactment by faith in who we are, right? It's a new life. So being doers of the Word is in fact knowing who we are positionally so that our condition could be impacted by faith.

We have to know who's doing the doing I think if you were in the emergency room and you're sharing your new nature with them, they'd call the psychiatrist thinking you're schizophrenic. In a sense, I think sometimes we overly analyze ourselves. The Lord sees us as perfectly righteous, so that walk that we have, we go, gee, was that of the flesh? The Spirit reminds us constantly, it's the flesh, we confess it, we move on, we get back in fellowship. But I think sometimes, you know, gee, where did that come from? Is that the old man or is that the new life?

You can get bogged down with that. And Margaret, you remember somebody who was bogged down by that, left and right, by always overly analyzing every thought and every deed. You can get paralyzed doing that. The new life is lived by faith. And that begins with positional truth. And that ultimately allows that identification that you have with the Lord Jesus. You have to reckon that. You have to reckon that that is your position.

I mean, because so many people, even though they have a position, because they're believers, they don't understand that at all. And they're still going back and forth. And what was that? And, you know, I'm a terrible person. And so I had that thought or I mean, they don't. They literally don't understand the position at all. Identification, I think, is so important. Yeah. Roy, you had something?

I was just sharing with you that God is in us as individuals. Right now, as you and I are talking, and as we are sharing these, quote, facts, end of quote, Facts don't save us. The relationship that we have with Him, that intimacy is something, if it is forefront, we're looking at Him, not ourselves then. It's from that vision of Him that we speak, because we get out of the way then, okay? That's a process of transformation in which we're all about day in and day out, being transformed to the image and conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, let's move on. We're going to finish up here in five minutes. Verse 10.

For whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble at one point is guilty of all. We know that well, don't we? It's obvious that James had to remind the Jew about this. We as Gentiles were never under the law. Except as we've been teaching in Romans 2, we make a law to ourselves in terms of what the correct lifestyle looks like to please God. Well, I don't know about you, how are you doing in the flesh pleasing God? But here, if we believe that the whole law for the Jew is really related to all of us beyond the Jewish community, we're really out to lunch.

So I ask the question, is this possible? We're told scripturally, no, it's not possible. And let's look at, you know, and the Jew may have tried to do this. Actually, I think I mentioned this once before, but we were on a flight from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Sydney.

And I had a guy who was a, you know, a really conformed Jew to living every aspect of the law. And he was sharing with me about the fact he's keeping everything as part of the law. And he was just a Jewish place in New York, I think. Sheevan University. Anyway, all that aside, this guy really thought he was keeping the whole law. I didn't drill down with him. Let's go back and take a look at this.

But anyway, and you know, you stumble on one point, Galatians 5.3, and I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. So historically, the Jewish community looked at circumcision as a factor that was really important to them in terms of keeping the whole law. But circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law, but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. We've taught that in Romans. I'm not sure whether Roger or Mike taught that.

And then Galatians 3.10, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the law cursed, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do all things which are written in the book of the law. to do that. So they've got to measure up.

And of course, Romans 3.23, Mike talked about this last week, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, which, if you will, was exemplified in the Jewish faith by the law. So he becomes guilty of all.

Macaulay, I'm going to quote him here. The law issues only two grades, pass or fail. James is attacking the kind of thinking that believes that obedience in one area will somehow compensate for disobedience in another. The law is like a pane of glass. When any part is broken, it's entirely broken. That's kind of a neat metaphor. In Galatians 5, I think it sums this up incredibly well.

Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed, I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit in nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole lot.

So I think, of course, was James really aware of what Paul was writing at this time? Presumably, I think maybe not. So these texts that the Lord has given us and declared to be part of the written word and God's truth, we have to put in context and understand them to whom it's written and under the circumstances by which it's written.

But now in God's atmosphere of grace, Because of their partiality, they have broken the law of liberty or of love. So, you know, let's assume this Jewish community was saved. They're just ignorant about the fact that the law was there to convict them of sin.

But when we fall short, when we use partiality, what have we done? We've, in fact, fallen short of the law of liberty. And basically, if the Lord reminds us of that, you know, think about how many things we do or think of that we don't even really recognize the source, which is not of God. Again, don't get schizophrenic. You know, we violated the law of liberty.

I mean, that's what we're living under, the law of liberty. And we'll cover that a bit more next week. So, in summary, God grants liberty only to those who love it. and are always ready to guard and defend it. So that's the life we have in Christ Jesus.

Thoughts? Comments? I think James was really taking on the Jewish believers. And I think he did understand exchange life, obviously, and liberty. I just think that this was his task. And I don't feel like he's talking to me so much. Tangentially, yes, but He's really taken on that legalism and trying to prove his point that you're not good.

Christ is your answer. That's how I see it when I read James. Yeah, Jimmy, some have said that all of scripture is for us, but some is not about us. It's all for us because we need to see from Genesis to Revelation that it all relates to the Lord Jesus Christ, directly or indirectly. But all that aside, how do you interpret this? Is this for us or about us? I think it may be about us when we become legal in our own lives, sometimes in ourselves, but I think it's both for us and about us, but I think it's more about approaching Christianity the wrong way, through legalism.

Okay, good. I like that interpretation. Andrew, any thoughts today? I was just thinking that this partiality, I was trying to think back, is partiality in the Old Testament. even a sin issue, right? There's no commandment not to be partial or show respect towards persons. But here it comes up in James all of a sudden. And so it's a higher law, right? So it says that you're given more responsibility when you're in Christ because you're beyond the law and there's things that he didn't demand in the Old Testament, but now he demands because we're complete in Christ.

So these little things like partiality that you've never... But I don't think that partiality was ever commanded against him in the Old Testament. I was just thinking that he's dealing with a higher level, you know, really hard, very fine line between sin and not, just really internal stuff. Partiality is really loving your brother, right? I mean, in a sense, loving your neighbor. Because partiality, it says, I'm going to, you know, we're to love him as Christ loves him. So, it is neat.

The law, you couldn't do that at all. The Jewish believers, I mean, not Jewish believers, but the Jews, They didn't have that ability because there was no way outside of them. Everything was them. Yeah, well they had do this and don't do that and do this. But when Christ was on the scene at the sermon, he was talking about your internal think this way and that's sin too. So it's getting kind of interesting. And Roy, I'm just wondering, to go down to the Old Testament, I think you could probably find examples of partiality. I just didn't go there. Yeah, I don't know.

One of the things that we need to keep in mind is that when God gave the Israelites a relationship to himself, they were to be examples of his love to the nations around them. They were to lead men to know God. What did they do? Instead, they considered themselves better than the nations around them. They were doing the very thing that James is pointing out here.

That's good. All right, good. Well, let's close. Andrew, would you close us in prayer, please? Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that we could study your Word here this morning with James and all the wonderful things you have for us in your Word. Ultimately, we're saved by grace and we can live that way and you've given us a new life and be with us this week in Jesus' name. Amen.