James 2, Playing Favorites

 

James 2 Playing Favorites

James warned the believers against showing prejudice. They were not to favor a rich person while ignoring a poor one. People often want to be associated with those who are successful, popular, and powerful. God demands impartiality, for all people are equally valuable in His eyes. Favoritism goes against God’s command to love one’s neighbor as oneself. He wants us to respect all people and treat them equally, regardless of their background or economic status. Each person is God’s creation. James said that if you show partiality, you have committed a sin and will be considered a lawbreaker. God who set forth the laws tells us if we commit one sin, we are guilty of all as all sins are equal in God’s eyes. Therefore, in order to receive mercy for the sins we commit we must be willing to be merciful to others.

James talks about the faith that leads you to do good works. Satan will tell you that yes, there is a God, there is a Jesus Christ, and that believing Him saves, but all you have to do is profess faith in Christ and then go on living in sin as you used to. We cannot be saved by imperfect obedience because God will not accept it. When we profess our faith and the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we will produce the fruit of the spirit in our life. A Christian doesn’t do as he pleases but does as Christ pleases. Some of those fruits include feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, taking care of widows and orphans. These are not the works of the Law but are works of our faith. The fruits of the spirit are Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Found in Galatians 5::22. If we abide in Christ, we will bring forth much fruit. Faith without works is dead, so we should examine our faith and discern whether it is just idle talk or are we walking the walk Christ laid out for us.

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Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible. Through the Bible by J. Vernon McGee.