Heart of the Professor Being Christian in an Anti Christian World

8/14/2019 Heart of the Professor Being Christian in an Anti Christian World

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Heart of the Professor

Being Christian in an Anti-Christian World:The Godly Grace of Impartiality

Introduction

Today is September 11. We could focus our attention upon the

horror that our nation endured six years ago. Or, we could focus our

attention upon the tragedy that struck very close to home on August

1, 2007, when the I-35 W bridge collapsed. We could benefit greatly

by meditating upon what the Word of God has to say about such

horrors and tragedies.

Yet, what weighs on my heart is another kind of evil, an evil that

humans do to one another every day, all around the world. I want

to address what I am calling, Being Christian in an Anti-

Christian World: The Godly Grace of Impartiality.

Three weeks ago my wife and I returned from India and Nepal where

we took part in a few weeks of mission work. In July, before I left for

India and Nepal, Dean Paulson asked me to speak in chapel on this

day. It was while I was in India and Nepal that I decided to addresswhat weighs heavily upon my heart. India and Nepal, like America,

are filled with ungodliness in the form of prejudice and partiality.

I want to introduce you to my friend, P. J. Mathai. He is founder and

president of Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Banglore, India. He

invited us to hold a pastors conference for village church pastors at

the College. Afterward, P. J. Mathai joined our team to fly to

Kathmandu, Nepal, for a three-day pastors conference for Nepalese

village church pastors, about 350 church leaders.

One should not visit Nepal without making an effort to see Mount

Everest. Since we had a free day before returning home, the five of

us decided to take an excursion flight to see the Himalayan Mountain


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Range. We learned that Buddha Air is the air service of choice

because they guarantee that every passenger will have a window

seat.

Since P. J. Mathai was our guest, we decided to pay for his ticket.The ticket agent for Buddha Air informed us that because P. J.

Mathai is an Indian his ticket would cost 26% less than ours. Buddha

Air functions like many others in Nepal. When they see Americans

and Europeans they see money.

The next day, when we waited at the airport early in the morning,

we learned that our flight was canceled because of weather. As we

were about to leave, a Buddha Air agent hurriedly came to us with

news that they had five vacant seats on a plane that was about todepart. We decided to take them. As we left the bus on the tarmac

to walk to the plane, the agent gave us new boarding passes for the

plane, but he gave none to P. J. Not until we took our seats did we

realize why our friend, P. J. Mathai, had not received a boarding

pass. He was on the plane, but his seat, contrary to Buddha Airs

guarantee, had no window. Imagine taking an airplane excursion to

view the Himalayas but your seat has no window. So, during the

flight, we made sure that we corrected the wrong done to him by

trading seats with him so that he had an opportunity to have awindow seat.

We were all deeply offended by what Buddha Air had done to our

friend simply because he was an Indian. Consider the fickleness of

partiality. One day, Buddha Air personnel gave P. J. Mathai

preferential treatment, because he was viewed as an Indian who

could not afford to pay the higher price that we Americans were

expected to pay because they judged us to be wealthy. The next

day, Buddha Air personnel discriminatedagainst him. Because hewas an Indian, whose ticket cost less, he was given a seat with no

window, an obvious violation of Buddha Airs written guarantee of a

window seat for every passenger.


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Listen, my friends, partiality is fickle, and it is always sinful. It is

always sinful whether we give a person special treatment because of

ethnic appearance or whether we discriminate against that person

because of ethnic appearance. If we behave favorably or unfavorably

toward fellow humans based upon appearances, we sin against themand against God.

James 2:1-13 plainly identifies this behavior as sinful.

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 intoyour assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if youpay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here ina good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit

down at my feet," have you not then made distinctions among yourselves andbecome judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not Godchosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of thekingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you havedishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and theones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme thehonorable name by which you were called?

If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love yourneighbor as yourself," you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you arecommitting sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoeverkeeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If youdo not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of thelaw.

So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. Forjudgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphsover judgment.

Lets consider this portion of Gods Word under three

headings:1. James Condemns Showing Partiality as Sin.

2. James Illustrates How Partiality is Sinful.

3. James Teaches Us to Discern Properly between Acting

out of Partiality and Acting out of Mercy.


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1. James Condemns Showing Partiality as Sin.

James 2:9 plainly condemns showing partiality toward others as

sinful behavior. If you really fulfill the royal law according to the

Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doingwell. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are

convicted by the law as transgressors.

Before he makes this plain statement, James begins by admonishing

us, My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord

Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

Our modern English versions admonish us not to show partiality.

The KJV translates the expression more literally: have respect ofpersons. The Greek word James uses occurs only in Christian

writings. It is built upon two words that the Greek Old Testament

uses to translate a Hebrew expression that literally means to be

moved to act by receiving the face of another person. The Hebrew

expression means to prejudice our actions toward other individuals

on the basis of who they appear to be.

For example, the Greek Old Testament in Leviticus 19:15 uses the

two Greek words in combination to capture the HebrewexpressionYou shall do no unrighteousness in judgment nor shall

you show partiality to the poor, nor shall you defer to the

powerful, but you shall judge your neighbor with righteousness.

In other words, judgment, whether in the court of law or in daily life

is to be righteous, not turned one way or the other by superficial

appearances that tend to incite prejudice or partiality.

In the New Testament the verb, to show partiality, occurs only inJames 2:9. The noun form occurs in James 2:1 and in three other

passagesRomans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9, and Colossians 3:25. These

three passages assert that there is no partiality with God when he

judges. A similar form of the noun occurs in Acts 10:34. After seeing


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that God gave the Holy Spirit to Corneliuss Gentile family just as he

had done with Jewish believers on Pentecost, Peter declares, I see

clearly, now, that God is not one to show partiality.

2. James Illustrates How Partiality is Sinful.

To make his admonition unmistakably clear, James provides an

imaginary situation for us to ponder. He fashions an episode that

includes a man who appears to be wealthy, a man who appears to

be poor, and a prejudiced usher who seats them in church. 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 if you pay

attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit

here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You standover there," or, "Sit down at my feet," have you not then made

distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil

thoughts?

James could have offered many different illustrations of partiality.

But his illustration is fitting in that it follows immediately after his

statement of 1:27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God,

the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and

to keep oneself unstained from the world. He wants us to projectourselves into his imaginary situation that entails relationships

among people along economic or social lines.

So, he offers his illustration of the prejudiced usher who seats the

rich man in a choice seat simply because the man has wealth, and

he seats the poor man in the least comfortable and lowliest of seats

simply because the man is poor. Why would we make these

judgments? Is it not for what we might receive in return? Because

the wealthy man almost surely is influential, the usher seats him inthe best seat with the hope that he will take notice and return the

favor, perhaps even some money. Because the poor man almost

surely lacks influence, the usher seats him in the poorest seat.


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James asks, in verse 4, if you behave this way have you not

discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil

thoughts?

How should we correct this imaginary situation that James presentsto us? Should we reverse the prejudiced ushers behavior? Should

we require the usher to give the poor man the best seat because he

is poor and to give the wealthy man the worst seat, way up in the

balcony behind a column, because he is wealthy?

No! This would simply be to reverse the ushers prejudice by

targeting the wealthy man and favoring the poor man with the best

seat. The Word of God and the gospel teach us never to take part in

reverse discrimination. Instead, the Word of God and the gospelinstruct us never to behave toward others on the basis of superficial

or outward circumstances such as birth, station in life, wealth or

poverty, race, ethnicity, skin color, sex, or any other non-essential

aspect of human nature.

James essentially makes the same point that Paul does in

1 Corinthians 1:27-29.

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wiseaccording to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God haschosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God haschosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which arestrong, and the base things of the world and the despised God haschosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things thatare, so that no man may boast before God.

Pauls concern is worldly wisdom. James particularizes the same

point Paul makes by focusing upon the matter ofworldly wealth.

James says, Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen thosewho are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit

the kingdom he promised those who love him? (James 2:5). Is

James suggesting that God shows preferentialism to the poor?

Hardly. James reiterates Jesus teaching: Blessed are the poor in


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spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). Both

Jesus and James make the point that only those who come to

acknowledge that they have no influence or power to move God to

favor them shall become rich in what truly matters (cf. James 1:10-

11). The rich can have no trust in their wealth, but the poor canplace no hope in their need as though need favorably moves God to

be partial to them. God is not one to show partiality. God is not

moved to act favorably toward us based on outward appearances.



Whenever we are prompted to act with prejudice, we can be

confident that we are acting contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ.The way of the gospel is to imitate God by showing mercy not

partiality (James 2:13), for there is no partiality with God.

Do not be deceived. Partiality is prejudice dressed up as Christian

virtue. Many in the church today are deceived to think that it is

virtuous to show partiality toward the poor and toward other groups

to correct discrimination against them. People who think this way fail

to recognize that showing partiality is always sinful, even if it seems

right to them.

To be prejudiced in favor of the poor is as sinful as being prejudiced

against them. Whether our prejudice results in preferential

treatment or in discrimination, prejudice is always sinful. It always

dehumanizes individuals by treating them as members of either an

approved group or members of an unapproved group rather than as

individual humans made in the image and likeness of God.

We must never make the mistake to think that showing partiality tothe poor is an act of mercy. To show partiality to anyone, whether

rich or poor, is a sinful act. It is not an act of mercy.

Acts of mercy are selfless. When we show partiality to the poor, as


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many do in our day, we are patronizing, paternalistic,

condescending, and dehumanizing. We are motivated by what we

might be able to receive in return for our deeds born out of partiality

and often out of intimidation, but always out of selfish motives. To

show partiality, whether to the rich or to the poor, is an attempt tolook righteous in the eyes of others and to receive the praise and

commendation of humans. This is the way of the world. It is anti-

Christian.

Many politicians are adept at this. It is easy for them to appear

liberal and generous and righteous with other peoples money by

campaigning to raise taxes on the wealthy with a promise to assist

the poor. Acts born out of partiality are acts of greed because they

always look to receive something in return, even if it is nothing morethan to receive votes for campaign promises that seduce the poor to

think that politicians who understand and exploit the power of

rhetoric actually care for them.

Deeds of mercy do not look to receive something in return nor are

they done to be viewed by others. James calls upon us to show

mercy. He says, 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 (James 2:12-13). James mirrors Micah 6:8He has told you, O man, what is

good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and

to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? God obligates

us to imitate himself.

Conclusion

In James 2:1-13 we have seen that:

1. James Condemns Showing Partiality as Sin.2. James Illustrates How Partiality is Sinful.




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Let us never borrow from the worldly belief system. Instead, let the

gospel of Jesus Christ shape how we conduct ourselves whether in

the courtroom or along lifes everyday pathways. The worlds way is

the way of Buddha Air. They appeared virtuous by reducing the

ticket price for my friend, P. J. Mathai. The act was not virtuous.They were not genuinely concerned about P. J. Mathai, the man.

Rightly understood, their act was an patronizing insult to him

because they looked upon him and judged him on outward

appearances, just as they judged him the very next day when they

gave him a seat without a window. They did not treat him as an

individual human being who is made in Gods likeness. Their

treatment of P. J. Mathai was demeaning. They did not treat him

with dignity, as a man made in the image of God. They judged him

on the basis of outward appearance to be simply a member of aclass, a class of people they appeared to favor with partiality one day

with a ticket price discount but they discriminated against him the

next day by placing him in a seat with no window in a full plane.

It does not matter whether our partiality results in showing favor or

in showing disfavor to another human. Both are acts of selfishness.

We must always refuse the temptation to do either because both are

sinful. Let us imitate God who shows no partiality toward anyone. Let

us put on the godly grace of impartiality and behave toward oneanother in godliness, refusing to be moved favorably or unfavorably

by appearances.

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Heart of the Professor Being Christian in an Anti Christian World