James Shepherd

Don't judge a book by its cover.

This is what my primary school teacher in my class told me time and time again

every time we had a library lesson.

Does anyone remember library lessons back in primary school?

You have like one morning every single week

and we would go to the library to read a book.

Our teacher would read a book to us, a classic children's book,

and she would encourage us to read it together

and tell us how great this book was

and the importance of not judging a book by its cover.

My teacher constantly hammered this idea to us as kids, as children,

because she said that it was important that we realise

that what's important is the content of a book, not its cover.

You can't judge a book or base a book on its cover.

It has to be on its content.

Now this didn't really work for me.

I always judged a book by its cover because I hated reading.

So anything with words in it didn't really work for me.

And so to me, if a book's cover was very exciting and very colourful,

plus if it was very big,

it most likely meant this book had less words and more pictures.

See, I didn't mind books with lots of pictures in them.

It was just the words I didn't like.

And so whilst my primary school teacher is telling me and telling our class

about books and about the importance of reading a book,

not judging it by its cover,

I'm eyeing off the Where's Wally book in the shelf across from her

and looking forward to reading it

because Where's Wally was a fantastic cover,

very exciting, very colourful,

and also it was very big.

So, you know, put the four of them together,

a big book, exciting cover,

most likely not many words.

And in this case, no words in Where's Wally,

and just pictures.

It was fantastic.

And so I would go and borrow the book after class,

after reading with the teacher,

and my teacher would come up to me and go,

oh, again, James, with the Where's Wally.

Far out.

When are you going to learn?

And that's where I told her,

don't judge a book by its cover, okay?

This phrase, don't judge a book by its cover,

is not just one we use in regards to books.

It's a lesson that we learn as children growing up

in regards to many areas of our life.

We're taught to not judge something based off its appearance,

that therefore we should give people a chance

and that we should give jobs a go

and give that sport a try.

We're taught not to make judgments off the appearance,

but to actually see for itself and explore for itself

if it's worth it by the content.

But being taught to think this way is one thing.

The question is,

do we actually live in a world that practices this idea

where we don't judge a book by its cover,

but by its content?

We don't judge something on its appearance,

but by our experience and our exploration into what it is.

I'm not sure if we do.

And I think, and I imagine most of you would agree with me.

You don't need to look very far to see this.

I mean, most glossy magazines have story after story

about how to lose the most weight the fastest,

what celebrity look will look best for you this summer,

how to get that bikini body ready for summer,

how to get those ripped abs in four weeks,

how to grow that perfect beard,

which I am beginning to perfect, as you can see.

You don't see many articles on how to shed greed in 10 weeks

or 10 easy steps,

how to become a man of integrity in four weeks,

the top 10 secret tips celebrities don't want you to know about

to become a more compassionate and patient person.

The world is not interested in the content of a person's character.

What matters to the world is a person's image.

We might exist in the world that teaches children not to judge a book by its cover,

but the reality is our children are growing up in a world that teaches them the exact opposite.

We are in the middle of a series titled The End of Hypocrisy,

a series going through the book of James

as he deals with one of the most prominent issues in Christianity,

hypocrisy.

James writes his letter to believers scattered across the world

because he is convicted that the gospel message impacts us in a profound way,

that when someone is confronted with the resurrected Lord Jesus as he was,

it changes everything and transforms our lives forever.

And here in chapter 2, we once again are confronted with this reality.

It reads in verse 1,

Glorious is the key word here.

Whenever in the New Testament someone speaks of Jesus' glory,

most of the time they are referring to his resurrected state.

When Jesus was on the Emmaus Road,

he meets two people and he walks with them,

and he says to them,

did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?

Talking about his resurrection.

Paul, in Philippians 3,

describes Jesus' resurrection body as literally the body of glory.

And so James is making the point explicitly

that no one who holds faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus,

no one who has been impacted by the resurrection of Jesus,

the glorious Lord Jesus,

shows favoritism

or judges a book by its cover.

James provides us with a corrective

saying those who have been impacted by the resurrection

don't show favoritism.

Those who have been saved by grace

have been enabled by God's Spirit

to live the life God has called them to live.

The whole point of this chapter

is to point towards the fact that

people who have been saved by grace,

people who have been impacted

in a profound way by the gospel,

by the resurrection of Jesus,

do not show favoritism.

So as we look at this,

let's now dive into the text

and see how James unpacks this idea.

First, he sets up a scene in verses 2 and 3.

I'll read it out for us.

Suppose a man comes into your meeting

wearing a gold ring and fine clothes,

and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.

If you show special attention to the man

wearing fine clothes and say,

here's a good seat for you,

but say to the poor man,

you stand there or sit on the floor by my feet,

have you not discriminate among yourselves

and become judges with evil thoughts?

James provides an example of favoritism

that might take place in the local gathering.

Believers here are measuring

people based off their appearance

and social status.

They are judging a book by its cover,

not its content.

They are drawn to those with money,

with social power,

and are indifferent or even repulsed

by those who walk into the meeting

wearing rags and filthy clothes.

What we have here in this example of religion

is a live example of religion

that is totally opposite to that of James 1.27,

which says,

The believers in the example here

have obviously failed at this.

They have neglected the poor,

the widow,

the orphan,

and decided to show favoritism

towards the rich and wealthy

who look like they can contribute

to their church more beneficially.

In so doing,

they've shown and proven

that they are polluted

by the world's influences,

that their church has become worldly

instead of godly,

instead of being impacted

by the resurrection of Jesus.

He, James, describes a church

that has become polluted,

whose religion is worthless

and unacceptable.

It is contradictory to a faith

that is in the Lord Jesus,

the glorious Lord Jesus.

And so he concludes in verse 4,

Have you not discriminated among yourselves

and become judges with evil thoughts?

For James,

you really can't get worse than this.

Being a church that treats the poor

and outcast with disdain

in order to keep the rich

and powerful happy

is considered evil.

To measure someone's wealth

and value

when the church has been bought

with the precious blood of Christ,

which we are told in 1 Peter,

is more precious than gold

or any material thing,

is evil.

It is sickening.

And no doubt,

this problem exists

in the church today.

The moment we see someone among us

who is a bit awkward,

a bit odd,

and we avoid them,

in that moment,

we've become judges

with evil thoughts.

People who have been polluted

by the world.

The moment we see someone

who looks really nice,

maybe quite attractive,

someone who looks competent socially,

whether new or not,

and we make an effort

to serve them

and to meet their needs

over and above

the other person

who's awkward,

in that moment,

we become judges

with evil thoughts.

We've become polluted

by the world.

It's a strong conclusion

to make about us.

Because we might do this

every single time we meet.

And the conclusion James is making out

is that if you do this,

if you're showing discrimination

amongst the poor

and the rich,

then you've become

a judge

with evil thoughts.

James responds to this scene

in two ways.

To help us see

how favoritism

does not belong

in the place of those

who have been impacted

by the resurrection.

He points out,

he does this in two ways.

He firstly points out

the irony

of the whole situation

and then he points out

the hypocrisy

in a much broader way.

So firstly,

the irony.

Verse 5 says this,

Listen,

my dear brothers and sisters,

has not God chosen

those who are poor

in the eyes of the world

to be rich in faith

and to inherit the kingdom

he promised

those who loved him?

But you have dishonored

the poor.

It's not the rich

who are exploiting you.

Are they not the ones

who are dragging you

into court?

Are they not the ones

who are blaspheming

the noble name of him

to whom you belong?

James firstly points out

the way God views the poor

and if he wasn't clear enough

back in chapter 1,

he is very clear here.

God has chosen the poor

in the eyes of the world

to be rich in faith.

He has saved them

so they can enjoy

a relationship with him forever.

And he has chosen them

out of the world

to have that privilege.

We can note

a couple of things here.

Number one,

poor people

becoming Christians

is evidence

of God's big heart

for them.

No one can come

to saving faith

on their own.

And indeed,

in a worldly sense,

if anyone is so unable

to save

or help themselves,

it's the poor.

And so therefore,

God choosing

to save them

shows his profound

care and love

for the poor.

Number two,

he points out

the measure

of one's true wealth.

That it's not

in material things.

But as we saw

back in chapter 1,

when we are impacted

by gospel wisdom,

we see that true value

and true wealth

is found in faith.

it's found

in eternal,

heavenly things,

not material,

temporary things.

And we are told here,

the poor are now

considered to be rich

in these heavenly things.

That is,

rich in faith.

James is pointing out

the ironic

and tragic reality

that believers

of the glorious

Lord Jesus Christ

would show favour

towards the rich

and dishonour

the poor.

It's ironic

that we could have

a faith

in a Lord

and Saviour

who is immeasurably

more valuable

and glorious

than us,

who indeed

is the one

who gives us value

by shedding

his blood

for us.

And yet,

we show favouritism.

How dare we

make ourselves judge

and decide

who is valuable

and who isn't

when the judge

himself

was the one

who died for us

not showing

fairitism

that we would know

our true value,

that we would be saved.

How dare we

decide that we are judges?

And the tragic irony

continues.

It gets worse.

Verses 6-7,

focusing on how

the rich respond.

Is not the rich

who are exploiting you

and the ones

who are dragging you

into court,

are they not the ones

who are blaspheming

in the noble name

of him

to whom you belong?

When we act

in a worldly way,

judging people

by a worldly standard,

we should expect

worldly consequences.

The rich here

in James' time

were worldly.

These aren't

necessarily rich

Christians.

These are rich people

who are not transformed

by the gospel

and the wisdom

of the gospel.

They thought of themselves

very highly

because of their wealth.

They felt entitled.

They did whatever

they wanted,

being motivated

by their wealth.

And the thing is,

the believers here

in the letter of James,

presumably poor believers,

perpetuated this idea

of their importance,

of their entitlement.

by favouring the rich

and powerful,

they treated them

in the same way

the rest of the world

treats them.

They sucked up to them.

They gave them

whatever they wanted.

And therefore,

it invited upon themselves

the same kind

of treatment

the rich

gives to the rest

of the world

and to the poor.

And so,

pointing out

this irony,

James is pretty much

saying,

stop favouring

those who are

making your life

difficult.

Stop treating

people on a

worldly scale.

It's doing you

no good.

Look,

the poor are left

uncared for

and unloved

and the rich

are exploiting you.

They're blaspheming

the very God

that you worship.

it's not working.

It can be tempting

for us as a church

to not see this,

to miss the irony

where we can favour

the rich

and influential people

in very

inconspicuous ways.

Rich people,

being the ones

with money,

are able to fund

all kinds

of different ministries,

ensure the staff

are paid

and contribute

to building projects.

And so it's tempting

to think,

at least I think,

that we might want

to ensure

that these people

who could have

a very significant

influence on our church

to ensure

that they are happy

and they are content

and they are getting

what they want.

But at what cost

do we do this?

Do we neglect those

who don't

have as much influence

or money?

Who are really able

to contribute

in any kind

of significant way

to church life?

To do that

is favouritism.

And as James concluded,

it's evil.

It's evil.

It's hard

being up here

to talk about this stuff.

It's full on.

And I don't want

you guys

to leave here today

thinking that being rich

is evil

or being rich

is sinful.

James is not necessarily

having a go at rich people

at all.

But in showing

the irony

of favouritism,

James challenges us

that we as a church

must perpetuate

a worldview

that is based

on faith

in our glorious

resurrected

Saviour,

Jesus Christ,

that helps both

the poor

and the rich

to see that in Jesus

they are rich

in faith

and enjoy

every blessing

that comes

from Him.

Receiving

every blessing

in Him

which is worth

way more

than the world

could ever offer us.

And when we do that,

the poor

are embraced,

loved,

and cared for.

They receive

dignity

and value

that is theirs

in Christ

which the world

would otherwise

try

and rob them of.

and the rich

when they are impacted

by the wisdom

of the gospel,

when they are impacted

by the resurrection

of Jesus

are able to

humbly serve

and be generous

with what they have.

Not as a measure

of how great

they are

or how important

they are to our church

here,

but as a measure

of how gracious

God has been

to them

to enable them

to live

in such

a generous way.

James'

first response

is to point out

the irony

that showing

fairytism

is not achieving

for them

what they had

wanted

or had hoped.

And his second response

points again

to this scene

pointing out

and highlighting

even further

the hypocrisy

behind showing

fairytism

and again

to show us

that it ought

not to belong

this fairytism

it ought not to belong

as part of our lives

as part of people's lives

who are impacted

by the wisdom

of the gospel

who have been impacted

by the resurrection

of Jesus.

So verse 8

James points the believers

towards the royal law

of scripture

which every single

Jewish

or even non-Jewish

believer

would have known

especially because

it received

its royal status

from Jesus himself

who tied it with

as one of the most

important commandments

that all the law

and the prophets

hang off.

This is a pretty

big commandment.

However

in showing

fairytism

we break

that commandment.

It contradicts

that very law

that these people

and we

might so

very passionately

and zealously

hold to.

And so James

points out

the blatant hypocrisy

with this

one law.

You cannot say

that you love

your neighbor

as yourself

and then show

fairytism.

That is hypocritical.

To do so

is to break it.

And therefore

in doing so

we become

a lawbreaker.

And as James

shows

by breaking

this one

law

we become

accountable

to all of it.

Verse 10

whoever keeps

the whole law

but fails

in one point

has become

accountable

for all of it.

If we

defy God

in one point

of the law

then we've

broken

the whole law.

Saying that

it's just

one law

how much

harm can be

done

breaking

just one law

is to

totally

disregard

the God

that we serve

who is behind

the law.

You see the law

is not just a list

of rules

or it's a way

of life

given by the grace

of God

when the people

of God

came out of Egypt

he gave them

the law

that they might

dwell with him

and he with them

in the land

to live

in prosperity

and to live

faithfully

serving him.

And so to break

one part of it

is to compromise

that entire life

that God

has given them

to enjoy.

It's to reject

that life

that God wants

for them.

That is the purpose

behind

the law

given.

It's not just

a list

of rules.

And so

if this is the case

always

with the law

how much more

does this apply

to the royal law

of scripture?

If we show

favoritism

we are not only

breaking

just one command

but all

of the law

and indeed

if we are breaking

not just

any particular

law

but the very

royal law

of scripture

that the whole

law

of prophets

hang off

in short

what James

is then saying

is that if we say

we love our

neighbor as

ourselves

but in our

actions

don't show it

in our actions

show favoritism

then we've missed

the entire

point

of scripture.

we've missed

the very work

that Jesus

did for us

on the cross

where he chose

not to show

favoritism

and died

for all people

that we all

might come

to know him.

This calls

a serious

reflection

on our part

as a church.

James says

showing

favoritism

is

evil.

It's a tough

message to hear.

When we show

favoritism

towards one

another

we stink

of hypocrisy

as we engage

in a worldly

and unbiblical

and unlawful

act.

It's totally

opposite

to being

impacted

by the divine

and heavenly

gospel

by the resurrection

of Jesus.

It just

doesn't belong

in those

people's lives.

James responds

to the issue

of favoritism

by showing

its irony

and its

hypocrisy.

He does

this

again

as I'll

keep repeating

to show

us that

it has

no place

in the lives

of those

who have

been impacted

by Jesus'

resurrection.

That is something

we're going to

keep drumming

in this series.

It's the

resurrection

of Jesus

that impacts

the way we

live in a

profound way

and that's

the reason

why hypocrisy

ought to

not be

existent

in people's

lives.

In verses

12 to 13

he informs us

how we should

live

in light

of this

issue.

How we

should

begin to

live

in regards

to responding

to our

hypocrisy.

He says

in verse

12

Verse 12

is a

humbling

reminder

pointing us

forward to

the end

time coming

when we

will all

be judged

our actions

weighed

and measured.

The point

is to be

careful

as we

speak

and act

that we

should

do so

knowing

that we

are

under

the

law

of

liberty

lest

we

should

speak

and act

like

judges

with

evil

thoughts

showing

favoritism.

Now

this isn't to say

that our

salvation is in the

balance depending

on our

actions.

As we

looked at

in the

very first

week

chapter 1

new birth

in Christ

salvation

that is found

in Jesus

is the most

perfect

gift that has

come from

above.

It's been

given to us

freely by

God

and so

our

salvation

is not

dependent

upon

our

works

and what

we

can

do

but

it's

dependent

upon

God's

gracious

gift

to us.

And the

thing is

that's exactly

what James

wants us to

have in mind

when we read

this phrase

the law

of liberty.

You see

it's the

law of

God

as it is

reinterpreted

by Christ.

It's not

the same

law that we

see in the

Old Testament

the one that

Moses gave

in the

Mosaic

law.

We are

not under

that law.

We're under

none of it.

We are under

the law of

liberty

which in

practice might

look very

similar to

the Mosaic

law, to the

Old Testament

law, but in

reality it's a

completely

different law,

a new

covenant

but with one

major difference.

Whilst the

Mosaic law was

a standard by

which we

had to

live by, we

had to

meet, otherwise

we'd be

condemned, the

law of

liberty has

already had

its standard

met in

Christ.

And it's in

him we now

enjoy the

ability by

God's spirit

to serve and

to love those

around us no

matter who

they are.

As one

particular

commentator put

it,

no longer is

God's law a

threatening and

confining burden

for the will

of God now

confronts us as

a law of

liberty, an

obligation we

discharge from

the joyful

knowledge that

God has both

liberated us from

the penalty of

sin and given

us in his

spirit the power

to obey his

will.

Again, as we

keep coming back

in this series,

James' purpose is

to implore us to

live in response

to the resurrection

of Jesus, to

live lives that

are genuine with

our speech and

our actions.

As he points

out the hypocrisy

he sees in this

church, indeed in

our own church, he

is not doing it to

condemn us, to

drum fear into

us.

And that's not

why I'm here

preaching tonight,

to drum fear

into us.

James writes

his letter and

we preach this

message that we

might truly live

lives that reflect

the glory of

Christ whom we

hold faith to,

that we wouldn't

cheapen our

faith by

showing

favoritism towards

those who are

rich and

neglecting those

who are poor.

That we wouldn't

cheapen our

salvation and the

life that we

have, but that we

would live it to

the fullest,

enjoying what God

has given us by

honoring him and

serving those who

come into our

meeting together.

favoritism.

And this means

rooting out

favoritism.

This means

realizing that

some of us here

need to learn to

love those around

us who are pretty

hard to love, who

aren't really cool,

who are a bit

awkward, who may

be of no advantage

to you, but the

reality is we need

to learn to love

these people.

people.

And this can be

really hard to do.

Which is why what

is central to this

is an understanding

of what is at the

heart of this law

of liberty, what is

at the heart of our

new life in Christ

as we are impacted

by the resurrection

of Jesus.

At the heart of it

is mercy.

mercy triumphs over

judgment.

At the center of

our life as

believers is mercy.

Life under the law

of liberty is one

of mercy.

James here is

reflecting on what

Jesus says in the

Sermon on the Mount

where he says,

blessed are the

merciful for they

will be shown

mercy.

And here he's

turning it around

making it into a

warning by saying

that those who

don't show mercy

to one another

will be shown

no mercy

from God.

This is what

makes the issue

of favoritism

such an issue.

The fact that

it's merciless.

It's totally

contradictive

to the life

lived under the

law.

A life which

has mercy

at the very

center of it.

Favoritism

gets rid of

that idea.

When we show

favoritism towards

one another,

we are stripping

away the mercy

that rightly

belongs to each

of us in

Christ.

We cast judgment

over the person

instead of embracing

them as our

brother and

sister.

And so here

James warns us

to be merciful

in all our

actions and

speech lest we

end up like a

judge with evil

thoughts.

For mercy

always triumphs,

always boasts

over judgment.

It's a bit of a

strange phrase.

It's hard to know

what it exactly

can mean.

I think it's

trying to say

that those who

show mercy in

this life

show that they

are true

recipients of

God's grace.

Mercy, as we

begin to show

it in our

speech and

our actions,

is the evidence

that we are

God's people,

that we are

different to the

rest of the

world.

And it's the

antidote to the

hypocrisy of

favoritism that

we might otherwise

show instead.

When we show

mercy to each

other, judgment

loses its

power.

Our church ought

not to be known

as a church of

favoritism,

whether rich and

influential,

whether socially

competent and

beautiful people are

welcomed over and

above those who

are a bit awkward,

not very socially

competent, who

are poor and

otherwise can't

contribute anything

to our church.

No, we want to be

a church who

shows mercy and

mercy to all

people, to rich

and to poor.

No matter who

walks into this

building, we want

to show them

mercy and show

the mercy that

God has shown

us in His

Son.

We want to put

on display a

faith that has

been deeply

impacted by the

resurrection of

Jesus where we

display the true

wisdom of the

gospel, which

shows both the

rich and the

poor that being

rich in faith is

of far greater

value.

We want to be so

unlike the world

who shows

patriotism, who

rejects people and

accepts them off

their image and

what they can

contribute.

We want to

accept all

people, knowing

that we

ourselves have

fallen short of

God's standard,

that none of us

can contribute in

any meaningful way,

no matter how

rich we might

think we are, or

how important we

might think we

are, that we

all need to

experience the

wonderful mercy of

God.

That is the

church we want

to be.

That is a

church that

shows that it

has been impacted

by the

resurrection of

Jesus.

The question

is, are we

that church?

And what

needs to be

done to

become that

church?