WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.339 Matthew 18, I'm reading from verse 21. 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:06.419 Matthew 18 and verse 21. 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:11.160 I can read down to verse 35, down to the end of the chapter. 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:13.359 Matthew 18 and verse 21. 00:00:15.019 --> 00:00:16.920 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 00:00:17.240 --> 00:00:21.640 Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? 00:00:21.879 --> 00:00:23.080 Up to seven times. 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:29.179 Jesus answered, I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:35.980 Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 00:00:36.700 --> 00:00:42.060 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. 00:00:42.620 --> 00:00:47.359 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children, 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:50.740 and all that he had, be sold to repay the debt. 00:00:51.519 --> 00:00:53.579 The servant fell on his knees before him. 00:00:53.799 --> 00:00:57.480 Be patient with me, he begged, and I will pay back everything. 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:03.279 The servant's master took pity on him, cancelled the debt, and let him go. 00:01:04.219 --> 00:01:05.920 But then that servant went out. 00:01:06.759 --> 00:01:10.439 He found one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii. 00:01:10.759 --> 00:01:12.899 He grabbed him and began to choke him. 00:01:13.179 --> 00:01:15.539 Pay back what you owe me, he demanded. 00:01:15.540 --> 00:01:21.520 His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, be patient with me, and I will pay you back. 00:01:22.440 --> 00:01:23.400 But he refused. 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:28.660 Instead, he went off and he had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:36.940 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 00:01:36.939 --> 00:01:39.739 Then the master called the servant in. 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:41.959 You wicked servant, he said. 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:46.640 I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:52.379 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:59.280 In anger, his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:07.200 This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:11.639 Again, reading from the book of James and from James chapter 2. 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:13.680 James chapter 2. 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:17.300 I'm reading verses 1 down to verse 13. 00:02:18.080 --> 00:02:20.879 James 2 and verses 1 to 13. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:33.659 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 00:02:34.299 --> 00:02:41.900 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 00:02:42.419 --> 00:02:48.400 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, here's a good seat for you, 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:53.939 but say to the poor man, you stand there, or sit on the floor by my feet, 00:02:54.840 --> 00:03:00.180 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 00:03:00.759 --> 00:03:10.219 Listen, my dear brother, has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom? 00:03:10.460 --> 00:03:14.920 He promised those who love him that you have insulted the poor. 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:18.039 Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? 00:03:18.599 --> 00:03:21.039 Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:26.000 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:33.839 If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:41.500 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:48.699 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:54.699 For he who said, do not commit adultery, also said, do not murder. 00:03:55.360 --> 00:04:00.259 If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:05.639 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. 00:04:06.219 --> 00:04:10.539 Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. 00:04:11.239 --> 00:04:13.259 Mercy triumphs over judgment. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:16.980 And I may give praise to God for his word. 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:19.659 Let's again sing this time a sing together. 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:27.159 Of a people of God united together in worship and fellowship with joy. 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:39.600 We turn to James chapter 2 verses 1 to 13 where we explore this basic truth that favoritism is forbidden. 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:47.080 Now I'm sure all of us, we recognize that favoritism is definitely not just an ancient problem. 00:04:47.220 --> 00:04:51.780 It's not something James wrote about and we have no concept of what that looks like. 00:04:52.420 --> 00:04:55.020 Let's begin with a mental exercise. 00:04:55.019 --> 00:05:01.359 Think of a time and a situation in which you were overlooked. 00:05:01.879 --> 00:05:06.019 Or if you're struggling with that, think about a time when you saw someone else be overlooked. 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:15.439 Perhaps your face didn't fit because of how you look, because of your status, your job or your culture. 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:23.019 As we think about that time, think to how did you feel in that situation? 00:05:23.019 --> 00:05:33.279 I imagine, feel pretty small, devalued, feel a loss of dignity and worth. 00:05:34.459 --> 00:05:41.019 We recognize, I think, by instinct that there is something wrong and ugly about favoritism. 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:47.539 And maybe we think, well surely that's not going to be a problem in a church. 00:05:48.099 --> 00:05:50.279 Well it clearly was in James' day. 00:05:50.279 --> 00:06:05.119 I was thinking back to a story of a friend of ours in Glasgow who found himself being chased out of a bookshop as a supposed shoplifter because he was dressed a little bit scruffy. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:07.620 It was a Christian bookshop. 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:12.500 He went in to get some good theology, got chased out for having the wrong face. 00:06:12.560 --> 00:06:13.759 And there's something funny about that. 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:16.500 But then there's also something profoundly sad about that, isn't there? 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:20.500 I don't think you look very Christian, therefore get out of my shop. 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:26.879 I've been in a church that really struggled to know what to do when a homeless man came. 00:06:27.100 --> 00:06:29.120 Maybe you've been there to see the awkwardness. 00:06:29.180 --> 00:06:29.939 What do we do? 00:06:29.939 --> 00:06:33.240 How do we show a welcome or otherwise? 00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:46.100 And it's one of the things I'm really thankful for in the clue that we have that reputation for being welcoming, for being open, for being the kind of place where people do feel valued and want to come and stick around. 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:46.939 It's so important. 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:47.560 It's biblical. 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:56.699 But when James writes about it here and we find it in the New Testament, we understand favoritism must be for the church a constant danger. 00:06:56.699 --> 00:07:03.240 So what we're going to see in this section is James tackling it head on with an example from his own day. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:08.639 And then he's going to give us strong gospel reasons for saying favoritism is forbidden. 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:15.740 Again, this is ethical teaching that I guess most people in our society would say favoritism discrimination is bad. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:23.759 But James is going to give us gospel reasons for us as Christians to say favoritism has no place. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:25.599 So let's look. 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:30.120 First four verses, we see both the principle and the problem. 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:34.779 As always with James' teaching, the principle is crystal clear. 00:07:35.500 --> 00:07:41.599 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 00:07:42.219 --> 00:07:48.180 In God's church, as God's people, we do not play favorites. 00:07:48.659 --> 00:07:49.860 And James does more than that. 00:07:49.860 --> 00:07:57.199 He sharpens the focus more and he says, because we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is to be no favoritism. 00:07:57.780 --> 00:08:03.120 And notice he talks about Jesus as glorious, the Lord of glory. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:08.060 Where is the glory of Jesus most clearly revealed? 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:08.939 On earth. 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:11.199 It's seen in his weakness. 00:08:11.720 --> 00:08:13.300 It's seen in his death. 00:08:13.520 --> 00:08:14.720 On the cross. 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:17.860 When he is lifted up in glory. 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:18.379 Glory. 00:08:19.400 --> 00:08:23.220 So because of that, we shouldn't dismiss those who are poor and weak. 00:08:24.460 --> 00:08:27.800 But then we also think of the Lord Jesus in glory. 00:08:28.980 --> 00:08:38.759 And since Jesus is now seated in absolute glory in heaven, we should not overvalue the rich and the powerful of the world. 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:44.960 And think that we need to gain approval from them because we want to live to honor Jesus. 00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:50.820 So the principle, as those who want to follow Jesus, we shouldn't show favoritism. 00:08:50.820 --> 00:09:01.460 And then he moves from principle to example, showing how the gospel confronted in their day a cultural norm. 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:04.040 It was a very divided society. 00:09:04.500 --> 00:09:09.940 So it would not be atypical for the rich to disregard the poor. 00:09:09.940 --> 00:09:15.220 And so James is saying, in the church, we are to have a different kind of culture. 00:09:16.660 --> 00:09:19.100 So the example is there in verses 2 and 3. 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:21.560 Again, it's not difficult for us to see. 00:09:22.180 --> 00:09:28.280 One group is given the red carpet treatment when they come into church because they are rich and powerful. 00:09:28.400 --> 00:09:29.880 They seem to be people of influence. 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:39.299 Whereas another group of people are told to go stand in the corner and be quiet because they are the poor and the weak. 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:43.620 And James in verse 4 gets the problem. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:46.700 When we do that, it says, 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:52.000 Have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:57.820 A discrimination where one type of person is valued more than another. 00:09:57.820 --> 00:10:06.379 A discrimination where the world's values are applied to how we look at someone rather than God's values. 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:10.520 And James says when that happens, we become judges with evil thoughts. 00:10:11.740 --> 00:10:17.580 If we think in terms of first class and second class, worthy of my attention and not, 00:10:19.060 --> 00:10:23.160 James says we're being evil and it has no place in God's family. 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:31.199 Secondly, we're studying the story of Joseph in the Old Testament and we see it in Joseph's sort of messed up family where he's treated as the favourite. 00:10:31.379 --> 00:10:32.419 It's bad news. 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:33.939 It does not go well. 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:35.919 It is wrong. 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:41.639 So the example that James gives, the problem in the church in his day was of rich and poor. 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:43.459 And so maybe we can be tempted to say, 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:45.459 Well, I don't have a problem with rich or poor. 00:10:45.460 --> 00:10:48.000 I value people equally based on their finances. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:53.820 But before we let ourselves off the hook too quickly, we maybe need to ask ourselves the question, 00:10:53.940 --> 00:11:00.060 Where am I tempted to roll the red carpet out for one type of person and tell another type, 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:01.360 Go stand in the corner. 00:11:02.400 --> 00:11:07.160 We respond differently to people based on their personality. 00:11:08.160 --> 00:11:14.340 Some of us, we perhaps like to make a fuss of people who are loud and funny and generous in the centre of the party. 00:11:14.340 --> 00:11:20.620 Maybe others of us perhaps would avoid that kind of person and we like to spend time with those who are quiet. 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:23.700 Can we show welcome to both? 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:29.980 Perhaps a person's culture will determine how well they are treated. 00:11:30.800 --> 00:11:33.399 Do we know them and do we know their people? 00:11:33.560 --> 00:11:39.480 Or some of us like to avoid anything to do with our own culture and we value those who have different cultures from us. 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.800 Can we treat people of different cultures the same? 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:54.879 Perhaps we choose to base our opinions of people on the gifts or resources we imagine they might bring. 00:11:55.060 --> 00:11:56.600 Perhaps in a church setting. 00:11:56.600 --> 00:12:05.700 It's not uncommon to pay attention at certain times of the year to when people come into church and to think, 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:07.620 There's a family. 00:12:07.920 --> 00:12:09.159 We like families in church. 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:10.600 Let's make a fuss of the family. 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:14.500 Or perhaps we think, well there's somebody who could serve in a particular capacity, 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:19.600 so let's really roll the red carpet out for them because they can meet our needs. 00:12:20.340 --> 00:12:23.420 Other people, we're not concerned about them, so we'll just ignore them. 00:12:23.419 --> 00:12:29.539 Perhaps for us it's whether somebody is seen to be useful or whether someone is seen to be a burden. 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:35.019 There's lots of different ways in which we can be tempted towards favoritism. 00:12:35.819 --> 00:12:42.240 And again, one of the things that we need to do is to know ourselves so that we can allow the gospel to challenge us 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:45.759 so that the gospel might change us. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:48.860 So there's the principle and there's the problem. 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:57.899 Now for the rest of our time, we're going to look at why favoritism is forbidden in the church of God. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:03.680 First of all, verses 5 to 7, because of God's choice. 00:13:04.180 --> 00:13:08.000 Now look at the logic of verses 5 to 7 with me. 00:13:08.120 --> 00:13:11.779 Listen, my dear brothers, still talking to the people of God. 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:27.459 So James is making that point that we see through history, we see in the ministry of Jesus. 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:33.279 God chooses many who are poor to be part of his kingdom. 00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:38.779 Therefore, the challenge is, why are you, church, rejecting them? 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:47.939 James says, God delights to honor the poor, giving them a place in the kingdom of heaven. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:52.179 Therefore, why, church, are you insulting them? 00:13:53.500 --> 00:14:02.339 And then in verse 6 and 7, there's the issue of the, is it not the rich who are exploiting you? 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:05.860 Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:16.620 And what James is saying is that God's name is being slandered by the rich who are mistreating others who are seen as less valuable. 00:14:17.960 --> 00:14:28.399 Church, why do you positively favor them when they're bringing God's name into disrepute by failing to love others well? 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:36.379 And so for this church that James is writing to, the heart of the problem seems to be that they've bought into the world's way of looking at people. 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:44.679 They've bought into the world's assessment system and they've forgotten God's way of working. 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:53.779 So they've ended up with actions and attitudes that are actually going against the grain of how God often, most often, chooses to work. 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:57.839 Rich, rich, being favored over the poor. 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:04.220 Whereas God chooses the poor, positively chooses the poor. 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:09.039 When you look at the global church, think about where the church is growing fastest. 00:15:09.899 --> 00:15:12.720 It's growing in places that are overwhelmingly poor. 00:15:13.459 --> 00:15:15.799 God chooses to show mercy to the poor. 00:15:15.799 --> 00:15:23.679 When we look at Jesus' ministry, why did so many of the religious leaders despise Jesus and fail to understand him? 00:15:23.699 --> 00:15:27.579 Because he was showing mercy to the poor and to the outsiders. 00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:32.419 And James says, look at God's choice. 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:38.039 In fact, we can look at chapter 1 and verse 27, where we read there, 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:41.799 the religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this, 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:47.099 to look after those who are poor and who need mercy. 00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:54.659 So the emphasis from God, from God's character, is to show care for the poor, 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:59.740 to be glad to extend mercy to those who need it most. 00:16:00.219 --> 00:16:02.240 But this church is doing the opposite. 00:16:03.379 --> 00:16:06.939 So they've lost sight of God's choice and God's values. 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:13.599 Remember, this is written to believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:16.419 Think about his ministry. 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:20.939 Jesus, when he came into Nazareth, beginning his ministry, 00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:25.519 announced that he had come to bring good news to the poor. 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:27.219 Quoting from Isaiah. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:31.299 Those who are materially poor and, of course, spiritually poor. 00:16:32.179 --> 00:16:35.240 When Paul writes about the gospel, 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:38.379 he can talk about Jesus who was rich becoming poor. 00:16:39.659 --> 00:16:43.379 So that those who are poor, both materially and spiritually, 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:47.360 in Christ become spiritually and eternally rich. 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:53.279 So the whole thread of the gospel is towards favoring and showing mercy to the poor. 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:57.419 Because God's choosing of the poor illustrates how the gospel works. 00:16:57.419 --> 00:17:01.860 It's not to those who can earn their way into the kingdom, 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:05.159 because nobody can earn their way into the kingdom. 00:17:05.539 --> 00:17:08.559 So the gospel humbles us in the first place. 00:17:09.579 --> 00:17:12.000 We have to say, along with the hymn writer, 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:16.420 nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling. 00:17:16.420 --> 00:17:23.480 So we must, in the first instance, be aware of our spiritual poverty. 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:30.700 We must recognize that we cannot contribute through our resources 00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:34.140 or through our merit towards our own salvation. 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:36.800 Rather, we sing and we say, 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:38.740 Jesus paid it all. 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:42.420 So all to him I owe. 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:47.900 So the gospel relies on the mercy and grace of God, 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:52.500 not on our merit and not on our wealth. 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:58.480 And so the gospel says no to favoritism. 00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:04.840 The next reason that favoritism is wrong 00:18:04.840 --> 00:18:08.340 is because of God's law. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.940 Look at verses 8 to 11. 00:18:10.940 --> 00:18:14.840 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:17.660 love your neighbor as yourself, 00:18:18.340 --> 00:18:21.059 you are doing right. 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:24.799 Now, for those of us who are from the UK 00:18:24.799 --> 00:18:28.600 and who were born after 1973, 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:35.519 this is our first taste of life outside of the European Union. 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:38.279 Wonderfully exciting, or not? 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:43.639 But one of the things that is inevitable in this new situation 00:18:43.639 --> 00:18:47.940 is that we can expect lots of new regulations, laws, and policies 00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:52.059 that will come alongside this new political reality. 00:18:53.059 --> 00:18:56.740 Now that the UK is sort of totally sovereign, 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:01.180 there will be a whole bunch of laws that will have to be instituted 00:19:01.180 --> 00:19:03.440 in order to govern us. 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:07.340 Now for us as Christians, 00:19:07.860 --> 00:19:11.480 we are those who have gained a new citizenship. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:16.299 We are citizens of God's kingdom of heaven. 00:19:17.600 --> 00:19:20.960 And we now have a royal law, 00:19:21.460 --> 00:19:23.840 to use James' language, 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:25.240 to govern us. 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:27.460 What is that royal law? 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:29.539 Well, let's listen to the king. 00:19:29.900 --> 00:19:33.519 How did the king sum up the royal law? 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:37.400 Jesus said there are two basic commandments. 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:39.720 We can summarize the commandments under these two heads. 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:43.120 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, 00:19:43.360 --> 00:19:46.920 and love your neighbor as yourself. 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:52.259 Now compared to the complexity of all the legislation of nation states, 00:19:53.300 --> 00:19:57.380 the Bible's ethics, the Bible's laws are actually really simple to understand. 00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:59.140 They're deeply challenging to live out, 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:01.519 but simple to understand. 00:20:02.120 --> 00:20:04.580 And here James focuses on that second one, 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:08.560 love your neighbor as yourself. 00:20:09.900 --> 00:20:12.220 That's the bottom line. 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:18.380 And then he goes on to show in verses 9 to 11, 00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:20.279 another point about the law, 00:20:20.620 --> 00:20:21.299 and it's this. 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:23.640 It's that we cannot be selective 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:26.400 when it comes to the royal law. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:27.600 We cannot decide, 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:28.620 well, I like that part, 00:20:29.420 --> 00:20:31.059 but I'm not so bothered about that part. 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:34.019 I feel okay and in line with that, 00:20:34.100 --> 00:20:34.980 my natural thinking, 00:20:35.059 --> 00:20:35.380 what is this, 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:36.779 seems to impinge on my freedom, 00:20:36.940 --> 00:20:38.279 so I'm going to ignore that one. 00:20:39.220 --> 00:20:40.680 If we break it at one point, 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:43.880 James says the whole law is broken. 00:20:44.980 --> 00:20:47.500 So he talks about if you don't commit adultery, 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:48.640 but you do commit murder, 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:50.440 you've become a lawbreaker. 00:20:50.660 --> 00:20:52.860 You know, you wouldn't have a criminal, 00:20:53.140 --> 00:20:54.759 what it was in court, 00:20:54.840 --> 00:20:56.940 and they were accused of murder. 00:20:57.100 --> 00:20:58.820 And as they stood in the dock, 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:00.600 the evidence was clear. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:03.660 There was DNA, fingerprint evidence at the scene. 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:06.560 There was eyewitnesses that they had committed the crime. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.720 And if the only defense that the convict had was, 00:21:10.919 --> 00:21:13.099 well, I've never cheated on my wife, 00:21:14.539 --> 00:21:18.639 both jury and judge are still going to find that person to be guilty. 00:21:19.480 --> 00:21:22.980 To break the law at one point is to break the whole. 00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:27.639 Now, how does that connect to what James is saying about favoritism? 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:28.559 Look at verse nine. 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:31.240 If you show favoritism, 00:21:31.639 --> 00:21:36.559 you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 00:21:37.419 --> 00:21:43.319 So to be guilty of favoritism is to be guilty of breaking the royal law. 00:21:44.240 --> 00:21:44.839 And we might think, 00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:51.679 I don't remember a law saying we shouldn't be committing favoritism. 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:53.500 Where do we see that? 00:21:53.500 --> 00:21:57.220 Well, remember our mental exercise at the beginning. 00:21:58.579 --> 00:22:00.160 When we were overlooked, 00:22:00.819 --> 00:22:02.799 when we were snubbed, 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:08.420 did we feel loved and valued in that moment? 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:11.420 And of course we didn't. 00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:18.559 Therefore, favoritism is denying someone else the love that they are owed. 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:22.940 Therefore, favoritism is a breaking of the royal law. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:25.420 Therefore, it is forbidden. 00:22:26.100 --> 00:22:27.580 And to extend that further, 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:28.759 it wouldn't be enough to say, 00:22:28.860 --> 00:22:31.900 well, I'm loving and kind and welcoming to some people. 00:22:33.059 --> 00:22:35.519 You know, there's some types of people I find it hard to get on with, 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:36.860 so I ignore them. 00:22:37.860 --> 00:22:41.279 The royal law means all is our standard. 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:45.000 Kindness, welcome, love, mercy to all. 00:22:46.460 --> 00:22:48.160 Selective obedience, James is saying, 00:22:48.200 --> 00:22:49.480 is actually disobedient. 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:58.339 Again, this is one of those moments where James' teaching is deeply convicting 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:04.339 as we allow God's word to work into our hearts and into our conscience. 00:23:04.339 --> 00:23:14.099 James is talking, remember, to believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:19.819 How do we see Jesus in relation to this royal law? 00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:26.379 How does Jesus succeed in keeping this royal law where we fail? 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:32.319 I was reading this week about Jesus calling the twelve, 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:38.099 and it never ceases to amaze me that for those three years of Jesus' public ministry, 00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:43.079 while he's spending every day with the twelve disciples just about, 00:23:43.939 --> 00:23:48.859 there is never a hint that he treats Judas Iscariot any different to the others. 00:23:48.859 --> 00:23:52.740 Even to the point where Judas goes out to betray Jesus, 00:23:52.879 --> 00:23:57.059 there's no sense that he's treated any different. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.419 When we think about Jesus' public ministry, 00:24:00.579 --> 00:24:03.059 he touches the untouchables. 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:06.379 He welcomes the rejected. 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:09.779 He honors the despised. 00:24:09.779 --> 00:24:13.160 Jesus, as he is on the cross, 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:13.599 he says, 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:15.819 Father, forgive them. 00:24:15.899 --> 00:24:18.240 They do not know what they are doing. 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:23.940 He is loving his enemies as they brutally killed him. 00:24:24.940 --> 00:24:29.899 Jesus is the only one who has perfectly kept the royal law. 00:24:31.500 --> 00:24:33.420 What's the message of the cross? 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:38.299 God demonstrates his love for us in this. 00:24:38.299 --> 00:24:41.059 While we were still sinners, 00:24:41.899 --> 00:24:43.539 while we were God's enemies, 00:24:44.159 --> 00:24:45.879 while we were rebelling against God, 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:49.879 while we were idolaters creating other things to worship, 00:24:50.399 --> 00:24:51.720 in that state, 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:54.180 Christ died for us. 00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:57.779 That's the royal law. 00:24:58.940 --> 00:25:00.639 Jesus leaving the glory of heaven 00:25:00.639 --> 00:25:02.359 to come and rescue us, 00:25:02.539 --> 00:25:04.980 to die in our place for our sin. 00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:08.680 Jesus kept the law of love. 00:25:09.299 --> 00:25:14.380 He shows us glorious, undeserved love at the cross. 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:17.559 And because of that, 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:22.099 favoritism has no place in the family of God. 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:26.880 The last reason why favoritism is forbidden, 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:29.000 we find in verses 12 and 13. 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:33.160 And it's because of God's mercy. 00:25:34.980 --> 00:25:35.519 Verse 12, 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:41.240 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:47.440 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. 00:25:48.539 --> 00:25:52.640 Mercy triumphs over judgment. 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:57.040 So back in chapter 1, verse 25, 00:25:57.600 --> 00:26:00.920 James talked about the law that gives freedom, 00:26:01.020 --> 00:26:03.400 the perfect law that gives freedom. 00:26:03.460 --> 00:26:03.820 And he said, 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:05.259 when a person keeps that law, 00:26:05.380 --> 00:26:06.920 they will be blessed. 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:09.920 So he's set up for us this reality 00:26:09.920 --> 00:26:13.520 that keeping God's law is for our best. 00:26:13.620 --> 00:26:15.620 It's always for our good. 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:20.619 When we live within the proper limits that God sets for human life, 00:26:20.919 --> 00:26:22.619 it leads to human flourishing. 00:26:23.299 --> 00:26:25.339 So he has said that about the law, 00:26:25.419 --> 00:26:28.739 but here he has something different to say about the law. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:29.979 And in verse 12, 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:36.500 he is reminding us that believers in Jesus will be judged by this perfect law. 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:39.619 We will be judged against the perfect law. 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:41.539 What does he mean? 00:26:41.539 --> 00:26:46.680 What does the Bible mean when it talks about believers being judged? 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:50.940 So Jesus has come once, 00:26:51.480 --> 00:27:00.359 and he has won that decisive victory over sin and the devil and death there through the cross and the resurrection. 00:27:00.519 --> 00:27:02.059 Now he's returned to glory, 00:27:02.159 --> 00:27:03.759 and he now rules and reigns over all, 00:27:03.819 --> 00:27:05.259 but one day he will come back. 00:27:05.879 --> 00:27:06.779 The second coming, 00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:10.839 Jesus will come back both as king and as judge. 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:12.839 And at that point, 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:14.159 we're told every knee will bow, 00:27:14.259 --> 00:27:17.299 every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 00:27:17.399 --> 00:27:24.759 and everyone will stand before Jesus the judge to receive the just sentence. 00:27:25.299 --> 00:27:31.440 Now for believers who have already received grace and mercy, 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:36.059 Jesus the judge having been judged in our place at the cross, 00:27:36.059 --> 00:27:37.839 we will not be condemned, 00:27:38.399 --> 00:27:41.500 we will not be sent to hell on that day, 00:27:41.539 --> 00:27:43.519 we are secure in Christ, 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:45.859 but we will be judged. 00:27:47.379 --> 00:27:50.920 Do our lives match up to the royal law? 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:56.559 Do our lives match up to this perfect law that gives freedom? 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:05.859 Have we in our lives been conformed more and more under this law that brings freedom, 00:28:05.859 --> 00:28:10.299 which is to look more and more like the Lord Jesus? 00:28:12.919 --> 00:28:15.639 Donald read for us from Matthew chapter 18. 00:28:15.640 --> 00:28:19.100 The teaching of James is the teaching of Jesus. 00:28:19.100 --> 00:28:23.100 The parable of the unmerciful servant. 00:28:24.860 --> 00:28:32.220 The king who calls in debtors and the one man with a huge debt and he begs for mercy and he receives mercy and his debt is cancelled, 00:28:32.220 --> 00:28:41.819 but that man knowing freedom from his debt refuses to pay that mercy forward instead is harsh and throws someone else into prison. 00:28:43.100 --> 00:28:46.400 He finds himself under the judgment of his king. 00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:55.440 Jesus is saying that mercy needs to transform our heart and it needs to be paid forward. 00:28:58.320 --> 00:29:02.060 Obedience is a mark of Christian faith. 00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:11.539 One basis, the Bible says, for our assurance that we are God's people is that we obey God's law. 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:16.759 That we would show mercy and kindness. 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:18.960 That we wouldn't show favoritism. 00:29:19.099 --> 00:29:24.240 That we would welcome everyone, see them as valuable as people made in the image of God. 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:34.319 Again, he is speaking to believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 00:29:34.819 --> 00:29:40.220 And he is reminding us of the mercy that we have received. 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:43.920 A mercy that triumphs over judgment. 00:29:45.059 --> 00:29:47.380 Why is mercy so important in God's church? 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:52.120 It's so important because mercy is so critical to the gospel. 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:55.619 When we think about the storyline of the Bible, 00:29:56.879 --> 00:30:01.399 we discover a God who before the world was ever made, 00:30:02.239 --> 00:30:07.239 knew that his creation, his image bearers would fall into sin. 00:30:08.979 --> 00:30:13.639 And God knew the misery that that fall into sin would bring. 00:30:14.379 --> 00:30:18.399 And in mercy, before the world was ever made, 00:30:18.399 --> 00:30:21.259 he prepared the solution. 00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:24.739 To the human problem, the problem of sin. 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:29.519 In the sending of his own son, Jesus, to become one of us. 00:30:29.879 --> 00:30:31.259 To pay the ransom price. 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:34.919 Before the world was ever made, 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:37.799 before anybody could ever even think about earning it, 00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:39.239 it's all of mercy. 00:30:39.699 --> 00:30:41.279 All of grace. 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:46.279 So because our faith is built on mercy, 00:30:47.399 --> 00:30:52.359 favoritism and a lack of mercy has no place. 00:30:55.039 --> 00:31:02.519 So James had a lot to say to us about why favoritism should have no place in a church. 00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:11.139 And positively, we see him beginning to establish a wonderful vision for what God's church would look like. 00:31:11.139 --> 00:31:16.839 Imagine a church where the people of God were hearers and doers of the word in this, 00:31:17.639 --> 00:31:20.059 in that we refuse to show favoritism. 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:26.559 Where anyone who came in the doors would be welcomed and valued. 00:31:27.819 --> 00:31:29.740 Regardless of whether they were Christian or not, 00:31:29.899 --> 00:31:31.859 regardless of which part of the world they were from, 00:31:32.019 --> 00:31:34.460 regardless of rich or poor or old or young. 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:41.000 Imagine a church where nobody was assessed from the world's standards. 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:45.599 But rather we put on the gospel glasses. 00:31:46.220 --> 00:31:49.339 And we would see people as made in the image of God. 00:31:49.740 --> 00:31:55.460 We would see believers as our brothers and sisters in Christ to be welcomed and loved. 00:31:56.839 --> 00:32:00.160 Imagine a church where no one would need to show off, as it were, 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:04.900 their CV or their talent or their status or their background 00:32:04.900 --> 00:32:07.420 in order to find a place where they could belong. 00:32:07.420 --> 00:32:14.720 Imagine a Christian community without double standards or selective welcome. 00:32:16.820 --> 00:32:20.240 Imagine how different to the communities that we live in, 00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:22.300 to the workplaces that we find ourselves in, 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:25.120 if there was no division into tribes. 00:32:26.560 --> 00:32:29.420 Or we wouldn't pull up the drawbridges. 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:33.779 Where we'd insulate ourselves from others. 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:38.619 It would be a wonderful counter-cultural community 00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:43.079 and a testimony to God's grace in our lives. 00:32:44.480 --> 00:32:46.500 A church without favoritism. 00:32:47.619 --> 00:32:51.879 A church spending itself to show mercy and to fulfill the royal law. 00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:54.839 It's how Jesus lived. 00:32:56.680 --> 00:32:58.680 It's how the gospel comes to us. 00:32:58.680 --> 00:33:06.480 And it's part of our mission as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:08.380 to show there is another way. 00:33:09.019 --> 00:33:10.340 There is a better way. 00:33:10.980 --> 00:33:13.019 Because there is a God of mercy. 00:33:13.519 --> 00:33:19.740 A God who, by grace, welcomes any who will come to him in faith. 00:33:19.740 --> 00:33:21.400 Blessed are there. 00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:21.539 Let's avoid a usually whereitaria. 00:33:21.539 --> 00:33:22.839 And everything is as00s. 00:33:22.859 --> 00:33:23.519 And everything works. 00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:25.500 And I'll serve as a survivor. 00:33:25.500 --> 00:33:28.700 And unfortunately for a cis speaking... 00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:29.539 So the churchesarri... 00:33:29.940 --> 00:33:32.059 and that is one day with the clergy След for her own reason. 00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:34.039 But as an example, 00:33:34.259 --> 00:33:36.759 it's only one day with scripture for a true meaning 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:38.599 around the world. 00:33:38.660 --> 00:33:39.799 So that we don't want to recognize ... 00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:41.000 how our cholesterol is unserem heart and bone exactly 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:45.120 DAMMASH 00:33:45.180 --> 00:33:45.900 and what's happening inHamỗ팎.