Be a Welcoming Church (James 2:1-13)

Amen. Amen. You may be seated. Children, we are ready for Children's Church at this time.

You may make your way back there to see Miss Savannah.

We are excited that you're here to worship with us today.

This week during our Wednesday night life groups, the topic that we were discussing was becoming a welcoming church

and making sure that we're intentional about being a welcoming church.

It was part of the series, the Love Your Church series that all of our life groups on Wednesday nights are going through.

And actually some of our Sunday school classes on Sunday morning are going through as well.

But it was a really interesting topic, a great week of discussion as we think through what it means to be a welcoming church.

And in that session, during that chapter, the main passage that was used was James chapter 2 verses 1 through 13.

James 2:1–13

Well, guess what? Today, our main passage is James chapter 2 verses 1 through 13.

James 2:1–13

Now, I wish that I could say six months ago we planned this out and, you know, we just had it in mind all along.

That's not the case.

But I am really thankful that it worked out this way because it does, it's very helpful for us this week in thinking through this passage.

In thinking through what it means to be a welcoming church.

Now, there's a couple of areas that we need to be aware of when we think about becoming welcoming or being a welcoming church.

A few pitfalls that I think are easy to fall into.

And one of those is one that you would typically go to.

I think that everybody would recognize.

And we sometimes find ourselves becoming unwelcoming because we feel that we are being inconvenienced.

Our preferences or our comfortability is being challenged.

And we can find ourselves showing preferences in an unbiblical way.

We can find ourselves not becoming welcoming because all of a sudden these new people, it changes the dynamics.

It changes different things.

And I think we all recognize that we must push back against that.

We must not let that become what is important to us.

That we must be on guard against this.

But there's another way that we need to be on guard as well.

And sometimes we like the idea of being welcoming.

But as long as it is someone else who's doing the welcoming, right?

We like the idea of being a welcoming church.

Nobody wants their church to be known for not being welcoming.

Nobody wants that.

But at the same time, we don't want to actually be the ones who are making people feel comfortable.

We don't want to actually be the ones who are putting ourselves out there.

And when I think about this, I'm reminded of a church that I was serving in at one time.

Not here, but it was a church that I was serving in.

And there was this group of teens that was playing basketball in the parking lot.

And somebody comes in.

They says, somebody really needs to go out there and invite these teens in.

They need to invite them to church.

Because it was obvious by their actions, by the language that they were sharing with one another,

that they weren't typically people who go to church.

And so we had someone come in and he comes right up to me.

And I guess because I was on staff there, say, somebody needs to go invite them to church.

And so I go out there and invite them to church.

But then I began thinking about, you're right, somebody does.

But that's something that we all need to take responsibility for.

That's something that we all need to be a part of.

This is a command that we must all take responsibility for and actively participate in.

And so our passage today addresses the issue of showing partiality and favoritism.

James, a leader in the early church, wants to make sure we know that in the kingdom of God,

there's no place for partiality.

There's no place for favoritism.

And so if you have a copy of God's Word, I want to invite you to open with me to James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

And we're going to read the first 13 verses.

So James chapter 2 verses 1 through 13, this is what the Word of the Lord says.

James 2:1–13

It says this,

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly,

and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,

and you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing,

and you say, you sit here in a good place,

while you say to the poor man, you stand over there, or sit down at my feet,

have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved brothers,

has God not chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom,

which He has promised to those who love Him?

But you have dishonored the poor man,

and are not the rich ones the ones who oppress you,

and not the ones who drag you into court?

Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture,

you shall love your neighbor as yourself,

you are doing well.

But if you show partiality,

you are committing sin and are convicted by the law of transgressors.

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails at one point has become guilty of it all.

For he who said,

do not commit adultery,

also said,

do not murder.

If you do not commit adultery,

but you do murder,

you have become a transgressor of the law.

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.

Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Now there are so many things that we would love to take the time to cover this morning,

and we're not going to be able to hit on every single thing.

But there are a few questions that I want us to ask ourselves

as we think through the problem that James addresses here,

this problem of partiality.

And the first question that I want us to look at today,

this morning,

is this.

What are you captivated by?

What are you captivated by?

What are we captivated by?

And we see this from James 2, 1 through 7 here,

but I want us to pay particular attention to James 2, 1.

It says,

My brothers,

show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Lord of glory.

Much of this section,

verses 1 through 13,

can be summed up with this one verse.

Don't show favoritism or partiality to anyone

because Jesus is the Lord of glory,

the only one who is worthy of glory.

You see,

when we ascribe glory to people based on their financial status,

we are being captivated by the things of this world

and not the one who created this world.

If we start showing and ascribing glory to people

and giving preference to those who have means,

then what we're doing is we're putting more glory on the things of this world

than the one who created the world.

And in our passage,

James goes on to give an example of what this would look like.

He says,

Imagine that two people come into your assembly.

One of these people that comes into your assembly

is dressed in really fine clothing.

And in fact,

he's got rings on all of his,

gold rings on all of his fingers.

And we know from history that this was a status symbol

where everybody would look to,

Oh,

that person's a person of means.

And in fact,

there's rumors that are told that,

that there were places where you could go

and rent gold rings to wear

if you were going somewhere to try to impress somebody.

I guess much like people use enterprise

or in a sports car to go to their high school reunion.

And so,

and so you would rent these things

and you would,

you would go and you would show off and say,

look at me.

Look how rich,

look how wealthy I am.

Look at all the things that I have done.

Look at,

look at me.

And so this person,

imagine this person coming in

and everybody wants to welcome him.

They roll out the red carpet for him.

He gets to sit with everyone.

He's invited to every Sunday school class we offer.

He's given his own parking place

and make sure that he gets a guest back.

Everyone wants to invite them to lunch,

to go with them.

Then there's another person that walks in

and this person is dressed in shabby clothes,

that it says.

This person doesn't look as impressive on the outside

as someone who,

who maybe can contribute to life.

This is not a person of means.

It's never going to be a large contributor of finances to the church.

And instead of rolling out the red carpet,

you ask the person to stand over there in the corner.

Why don't you,

if you need to,

you can sit down here at my feet.

But you don't welcome them in.

You have one person who feels incredibly welcomed

and glad that they are there.

And somebody else who,

who really probably will never come back

because they don't feel like they belong.

They don't feel like they are welcomed there.

And so as soon,

and then you have this take place

and soon the worship service begins.

Or does it?

And I say this because

what are we really worshiping at this point?

What are we really worshiping

if we're trying to make these distinctions between,

what are we elevating in our services

if we begin to make these distinctions?

Because it's not Christ that's being elevated.

I believe that God is far more concerned

with our heart as we come to our worship service

than he would ever be about how we are dressed.

Now you may object and say,

well, Brad, this is not a true story.

James is just,

he's speaking in hyperbole here.

No one calls themselves a Christian

would actually act this way.

There's no way that this would actually take place

if only that were true.

It's been a few years since I was in Greek,

but I'm not sure that I would have even picked up on this

because what I had was just the very basics of it.

But numerous commentators this week

noticed the language of verses two and three,

as well as the context that is given here,

indicates an actual happening in the early church.

James probably witnessed this tragic event himself.

And again, I'm not a Greek scholar,

but sadly, I don't find this hard to believe.

There's a real danger that if we are not intentional,

then we can fall prey to showing partiality.

Tony Morita, he notes that this word for partiality

is actually a plural term that is meaning

that it can be used in a number of forms,

saying that the Christian must not show

any act of favoritism regarding clothing,

wealth, skin color, background,

or external aspects of a person.

Now, hopefully not, but some of you may think,

is this really a big deal?

Is this really an issue that we need to spend

a whole week talking about?

And yes, it is.

Why?

Because it is far from being like Christ,

the example that we have,

the example that he's set for us.

Martin Lloyd-Jones, he says,

the Christian is meant to be like God.

He is meant to manifest in his daily life,

in this cruel world,

something of the characteristics of God himself.

He is meant to live as the Lord Jesus Christ lived,

to follow the pattern and to imitate that example.

You see, when we set our eyes on Jesus,

when we see him as our greatest treasure,

then all of a sudden,

the things of this world,

they don't seem to be as big of a deal.

When we set our eyes on Jesus,

and we see him as our greatest treasure,

then all the things that the world says are important,

all of a sudden start paling in comparison

to who Jesus is.

We must be more captivated

by Christ and his glory

than anything else in this world.

If you want to put partiality,

if you want to put favoritism,

if you want to put prejudice,

if you want to put discrimination,

or whatever you want to call it to death here,

then keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Ed Welch rightly said,

he says,

when we see people as bigger,

that is more powerful and more significant

than God,

then we give other people the power and right

to tell us what to feel,

what to think,

and what to do.

Once our eyes are fixed on him,

then how we view this world

is brought into the right perspective.

Once we fix our eyes on Jesus,

then all of these other things

are put in their proper place.

But where do we go from here?

What's the next step that we find ourselves?

And the next question I want us to answer is this,

what do we do with our partiality?

What do we do with our partiality?

And we see this is in verses 8 through 11,

but specifically 8 and 9 right here says,

if you really fulfill the royal law,

according to the scripture,

you shall love your neighbor as yourself,

you are doing well.

But if you show partiality,

you are committing sin

and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

So to give a quick answer

to what do we do with our partiality?

We put it to death.

We do what we do with all of our sin.

We put it to death and we repent.

Now, if there's any doubt in our minds at this point,

is this a sin or not?

James removes all that doubt by saying,

but if you show partiality,

you are committing sin.

He tells us that this is a sin

that we must repent from.

Now, repentance is a really interesting thing

because repentance doesn't just mean

stop doing something.

It means turning from it, right?

It's not just that we stop doing something,

but it's we turn

and we start doing something else.

And so it's a stop and it's a start.

It's a turn and going in the opposite direction.

Ephesians 4 gives us one of the clearest examples

of how this plays out in the life of a believer

when it says this in Ephesians 4.

It says,

It's assuming that you have heard about him

and were taught to him as the truth is in Jesus,

to put off your old self,

to stop doing these things,

which belongs to the former manner of life

and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

and to put on the new self,

created after the likeness of God

and true righteousness and holiness.

And so in this passage, Paul's saying

that repentance is twofold.

It's to put off your old self

and to put on the new self.

Put to death all those things

that the world says are important

and to put on what it is that God values.

And then he gives us a beautiful example

of how this plays out

when he goes on to say this.

He says,

Let the thief no longer steal,

but rather let him labor

doing honest work with his own hands

so that he may have something to share

with anyone in need.

This shows not just a changed behavior,

but it shows a new affection.

It's not just a changed behavior

that God is after.

He's after a new affection.

And so the thief,

you know, if you were discipling this man,

this thief,

if you were discipling him

and trying to help him grow

in his relationship with God,

I think if we started that process,

we would all be thrilled to death

if this thief just stopped stealing.

We'd be like,

Wow, you have made incredible progress.

You've stopped stealing.

That's fantastic.

But Paul says that there's more to it

because it's not just the action

that we're after to be changed.

It's after a new heart,

a new kind of obedience

that desires to follow God.

And so here he's saying,

let the thief no longer steal.

But what should he do?

He should do honest work

with his own hands

so that he can have something

that he can do what?

That he can give to others.

And so what you see here

in the example of the thief

is a changed heart.

He's gone from a heart

that is greedy

where he's trying to take

and take and take.

And now he's given a heart

that is generous

so that he can give.

So that he can give

to those in need.

And so what we see in repentance

is stop doing something,

but it's also a move

in the opposite direction.

It's a turning from this.

We must not only show,

not stop showing partiality

and favoritism,

but we must be actively opposed to it.

Actively opposed to these things.

You see, evidence of revival

in the movement of God

is always characterized

by repentance of sin.

One of the things

that we know

from church history

and the different revivals

that have taken place

is one key characteristic

that is evident

in all of these.

And I would say

is probably the main characteristic

of evidence

that revival

and a movement of God

is taking place.

And it is that

the effect of the revival

is this repentance from sin.

One pastor I was reading

said it like this.

He says,

some so-called revivals

have been characterized

by exotic experiences

without much emphasis

on repentance.

People go like tourists

to such places

to see what is happening.

I wonder whether

we could call that revival,

he says.

After the revival

of Asbury College and Seminary

in 1971,

many students

came to the bookstore

to return things

that they had taken

without paying.

He says,

that is a powerful sign

that they have become

right with God.

Can you imagine

being in the bookstore

and all of a sudden

all of these students

start coming in,

yeah, I took this from you

but I want to give it

back to you now.

You know, I want to pay

for this.

I took this, used it,

now I want to pay for it.

It is my hope and prayer

that as a church

we want to see God

move in a mighty way.

That we want to see

revival take place.

That we want to see God

move throughout

our community.

But one of the ways

that that must,

that one of the things

that must be in place

for that to happen

is this repentance.

Is this turning from sin

and following God.

One thing that is clear

is that,

that is clear evidence

to God working

is repentance.

And so as a church

we must see others

in light of the royal law

that is talked about

in this passage.

To love your neighbor

as yourself.

We must be a church

that welcomes others.

If you had a chance

to read chapter 2

this past week

of Love Your Church,

there is a quote in here

from Pastor Ray Ortlund

that just really spoke volumes

and I think it was

one of the favorite places

at least for our men's group

that we landed

and was as we thought

about this chapter.

And this is what Ray Ortlund,

he is a pastor in Nashville,

he gave the following welcome

to his church

one Sunday morning.

He said this.

He says,

Welcome to church.

Now here is the one thing

I invite you to understand.

You may have noticed

when you walked in

that the doors out there

are painted red.

That is an old church tradition,

Christian tradition,

because we enter into the church

through the blood of Christ.

Out in the world

where we live

the rest of the week,

we never measure up.

Our lives are never complete.

We never fully belong.

And then we come into the church

through the finished work

of Christ on the cross.

And what makes the difference here?

The reason why we belong

is that we're walking

into completeness

already prepared.

Therefore, we can be weak.

We can be honest with ourselves,

with one another,

and with the Lord.

And he says,

We belong.

Welcome.

So to all who are weary

and need rest,

to all who mourn

and long for comfort,

to all who fail

and desire strength,

to all who sin

and need a Savior,

the church opens wide

her red doors

in the name of Jesus,

the friend of sinners.

Welcome.

I'm glad you're here.

I'm going to be honest with you.

It really makes me think

about painting

our church doors red.

I mean,

this is just an incredible opportunity,

incredible witness

of saying,

what is most important?

This should be our heart,

that we do away

with all partiality

and open wide

our doors

and say,

because of Jesus,

we're glad

that you are here.

But we must understand

what causes this change

and it's this repentance,

this new affection,

and it is the gospel

that does this.

It's the gospel

that changes us.

So the final question

that I want us to answer

this morning is this.

How does

the gospel

change us?

How does it change us?

How does the gospel

change us in our lives?

Verses 12 and 13

says this,

So speak

and so act

as those

who are to be judged

under the law

of liberty.

For judgment

is without mercy

to one

who has shown

no mercy.

Mercy

triumphs

over judgment.

Now,

at first glance

right here,

it appears

that James is saying

show mercy

so that you can

receive mercy.

After all,

he says,

for judgment

is without mercy

to one

who has shown

no mercy.

However,

James is saying

the exact opposite

of this.

He's not saying

that you have to

show mercy

in order to receive

mercy,

but rather,

if you have

received mercy,

then you're going

to show mercy.

Sam Alberry,

he notes that

by showing mercy,

we will expose

the kinds of lives

we have led

and whether

or not

we have been

impacted

and shaped

by a real

faith in Christ.

Obedience

to Christ,

Christ's ways,

is the sign

that we have

been saved

by him.

That his death

and resurrection

have truly gripped us.

That we have truly

come to a saving

knowledge of who

Jesus is.

It will be evident

in the way

that we act.

James is about

to show us

in this next section

that we'll look

at next week

that true faith

changes us.

He's not saying

that you must

do acts of righteousness

in order to gain

righteousness.

He's saying

the exact opposite.

He's saying

the exact opposite

of this

because that is

the exact opposite

of the gospel.

What he is saying

is that once you

have received

God's grace,

once you've received

his mercy,

then you will

show mercy.

And this goes

right along

with the theme

of James

that we have

been saying

over and over

again thus far.

Faith in Christ

produces faithfulness

to Christ.

Faith in Christ

is going to

produce in us

faithfulness

to Christ.

This idea

is not unique

to James.

In fact,

we find it all

throughout Scripture.

We find it all

throughout the Bible

that once we truly

understand who God is,

then it changes

our actions.

You can't enter

into a life-changing

experience with

Christ

and it not

change your life.

But this is also

one of the most

notable places

that we see it

is in the teaching

of Jesus.

Jesus in Matthew 18

told the parable

of an unforgiving

servant.

Now in this parable,

Jesus begins

by sharing

a pretty bleak

scenario

in Matthew 18

starting in verse 23

where he says this.

He says,

Therefore,

the kingdom of heaven

may be compared

to a king

who wished

to settle accounts

with his servant.

When he began

to settle,

one was brought

to him

who owed him

10,000 talents.

Now,

I realize

10,000 talents

may not mean

very much

to us today.

We have no

frame of reference

for what a talent

is,

but a talent

was actually

an incredibly

large amount

of money.

One talent

would be equivalent

to 20 years

of work

for an average

laborer.

And so,

if somebody

worked 20 years

and they never

spent a dime

of the money

that they earned,

then in 20 years

they would have

saved up

a talent.

And he's saying

that imagine

this servant

has been given

10,000 talents,

now he has to

repay this back.

And so,

in other words,

this is the equivalent

of 200,000 years

of working

for someone.

This is an incredibly

large amount

of money,

something that we

can't even really

begin to comprehend.

Well,

it came time

to collect

on this loan

and the servant

didn't have the money.

And so,

the king ordered

him and his wife

and his kids

to be sold

into slavery

until the loan

could be repaid.

Now,

think if you

were this man.

If you owe

this money

and then the king

just tells you

that you,

your wife,

your kids,

everything you own

is about to be sold,

what would you do?

You begin to beg

and plead

for more time,

right?

You say,

just give me

a little bit more.

Please don't sell

my whole family

into slavery.

Please don't put

me into slavery.

Please don't take

everything that I own

and sell it.

Give me more time.

Give me a little bit

more time

to come up

with this.

And in the moment

that would have

astonished everyone

listening,

Jesus says this.

He says,

and out of pity

for him,

the master

of the servant

released him

and forgave him

the debt.

What?

That's crazy,

right?

You mean to tell me

this king just

forgave a debt

that is so large

that we can't even

begin to imagine

that kind of money.

Everybody would have

just been confused

by this.

Obviously,

the man would be

relieved,

and so he just

had a debt

that he had no

chance of repaying

forgiven.

And so he goes out

and he runs into

a man that owes him

100 denarii.

Now,

that would be

equivalent to

100 days

of labor

for a worker,

which is a far

cry from 200,000

years,

right?

In fact,

if you were

wondering,

I did the math,

it's 0.00014%

of the loan

that he had just

been forgiven.

You would think

that if someone

had just been

forgiven 10,000 talents,

he would forgive

100 denarii.

But he doesn't.

He begins to

choke the man

and demand

that he be

repaid.

Now,

when his fellow

servants hear this,

what are they

going to do?

Oh,

they immediately

run back to the

king.

They immediately

run back to the

master and told

the master,

and Jesus says,

then his master

summoned him

and said to him,

you wicked servant,

I forgave you

all that debt

because you pleaded

with me,

and should not you

have had mercy

on your fellow

servant as I

had mercy on

you.

And in anger,

his master

delivered him

to the jailers

until he should

pay all his debt.

So also,

my heavenly father

will do to

every one of you

if you do not

forgive your brother

from your heart.

Just like the servant

didn't understand

mercy of what

had been given

to him,

James is telling

us very plainly,

if we show

partiality,

if we judge

people on their

appearances,

turn up our noses,

and not show

mercy to them,

then we truly

don't understand

what has been

done for us.

We truly don't

understand what

has been paid

for us.

Now,

this doesn't mean

that we'll never

mess up,

that if we do,

then maybe it means

that we're not saved.

No,

that's not what

this is saying.

This is going to be

something that we

struggle with.

In fact,

Peter,

one of the early

church leaders,

he struggled

with this at

times.

He began to

show partiality,

and Paul called

him out on it,

and then shortly

after Paul called

him out on it,

we ended up having

the Jerusalem

Council,

where everybody

comes together

to try to

discuss this

matter,

and James,

the author of

this book,

is the one

who's presiding

over this

Jerusalem Council.

So,

no,

this is a

struggle that

many people

have with

even Peter,

one of the

leaders of the

early church,

struggled with

this.

But what

James is making

very clear to us

is if you

have received

mercy,

if you have

come to faith

in Christ,

then there is

no room

for partiality.

There's no room

for favoritism.

There's no room

for racism.

It is simply

incompatible

with a true

follower of

Jesus.

And so,

as you have

received mercy,

you extend

mercy.

But the

opposite of this

is also true

and tough for

us to hear.

David Platt,

he put it this

way,

he says,

if we do

not extend

mercy,

we demonstrate

that we have

not received

mercy.

You can't

earn mercy.

It's mercy

because it

can't be

earned.

This text

is saying

you can

tell who

has received

mercy from

God by the

way they

show mercy

to others.

Now,

if this is

a foreign

concept to

you,

then I've

got wonderful

news.

You can

receive God's

grace and

his mercy

today by

placing your

faith and

your trust

in him.

You can

be forgiven

of far

more than

10,000

talents.

You can

be forgiven

of a debt

that is

impossible to

pay back.

And one of

the evidences

of that

forgiveness

is the way

that you

begin to

look at

others.

The way

that you

begin to

treat

others.

The way

that you

begin to

see them

in light

of who

God

is.

Church,

I hope

that we

can walk

away from

this

passage

with not

only an

understanding

that we

are called

to be a

welcoming

church,

but that in

order to

do this,

we must

take

responsibility

and we

must do

this

individually.

We must,

it's not,

it's one

thing to

desire to

have a

welcoming

church,

it's a

whole

other thing

to desire

to be

a welcoming

church.

And that's

what I hope

is our

desire.

That it's

not just

this idea

that's out

there,

but it's

something that

we take

to heart

and we

want to

be a

part of

that.

Heavenly

Father,

I thank

you so

very much

for the

many ways

in which

you bless

us each

and every

day.

Lord,

I thank

you for

this

passage

and as

difficult

as it

is to

hear

at times,

Lord,

it's

something

that's

necessary

for us.

And Lord,

I pray

that you

give us

a desire

not only

that we

have a

welcoming

church,

but that

we are

a welcoming

church,

that we

are a

part of

that,

that we

seek as

individuals,

followers of

you,

to be a

part of

something that

is far

greater than

ourselves.

And so,

Lord,

be with us.

Help us to

understand this

in a greater

way.

Help us to

keep our

eyes fixed

on you

because that's

what makes

the difference.

When we see

you as our

greatest treasure,

then the

things of

this world

get put in

their proper

place.

And Lord,

I pray

that there's

somebody here

that has

never experienced

your grace

and mercy,

that's never

experienced that

life-changing

relationship with

you,

then today would

be the day

that they go

from death

to life.

And so,

Lord,

thank you so

very much

for the

book of

James,

the book

that your

brother wrote.

Lord,

I thank you

for what it

teaches us

about how

we should

live our

lives.

And so,

Lord,

I pray today

that it

wouldn't just

be something

that we hear,

that wouldn't

just be

knowledge

that we

have,

but it

would be

knowledge

that gets

applied,

that changes

how we

view our

actions and

how we

view those

around us.

So,

Lord,

thank you

so very

much for

all that

you do.

In Jesus'

name we

pray.

Amen.

I'm going

to invite you

to stand.

We're going

to sing a

song of

invitation.

If God

is speaking

to you

this morning,

won't you

respond as

we stand

together and

sing?