From Selfishness to Genuine Mercy

If you have your Bibles, please open up to James. Brethren, my hope is to knock out a fairly large chunk of James 2 this afternoon. I want you to feel the progression here.

Watch what James does. My brothers, James 2, verse 1. My brothers, show no partiality. Okay, he's put out on the table right away what he's dealing with.

Now, I want to deal with these first 13 verses. Really, this whole chapter is going to deal with this. But I think there's a natural separation between 13 and 14, though there's a connection.

But, partiality. No partiality. There's the exhortation.

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, 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, stand over there, sit down at my feet, have you not then made distinctions? Okay, partiality. You pay attention to one.

You're making distinctions among yourselves. You become judges. You see how he's developing? Partiality has to do with paying attention to one.

You're making a distinction. You become a judge with evil thoughts. Listen, verse 5. Listen, my beloved brothers.

Has not God 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? Verse 6, but you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court? Now look, folks. James is dealing with something that was, it was obviously a situation that the people he's writing to, they would have related to this.

I'm not going to focus so much on this. Partiality is still a problem. But are the rich people, I mean, I don't know that this church has so much of a problem of paying peculiar attention to the rich.

Maybe there's some. I don't want to exclude all of this. But this idea about the rich doing all these things to us, I think it was unique to his situation.

Maybe certain situations, not so much to ours. But the principle still is very valid. The issue is, verse 7, are they not the ones, the rich, who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? If you really, now notice where this goes, if you really fulfill the royal law, so partiality, distinctions, judges, dishonoring the poor man, now you see where the flow goes.

He's going to talk about, if you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, which is what? You shall love your neighbor as yourself. So partiality becomes a love issue. It becomes a law issue.

If you do that, you're doing well, verse 9. But if you show partiality, you see, he hasn't disconnected from that. If you do that, you commit sin. And remember, sin is transgression of the law, and he's going to say so.

Are you not convicted by the law as transgressors? They transgress the law. The royal law, loving your neighbor. Verse 10, for whoever keeps the whole law, but fails in one point, so even if that one point is partiality, he's become guilty of all of it.

And that's, you know what? If you think about, what would be one of the major things you could do against your neighbor? Well, kill him! Take his wife! But you see, the issue here is this, even if you pay specific attention to one and you show partiality, you're just, you're destroying the whole. Verse 11, he who said, or let's go to 10, whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point, that one point is partiality, you become guilty of all of it. He said, do not commit adultery.

Also said, do not murder. If you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you become a transgressor of the law. And the point of all of this, and is if you show partiality, you become a transgressor of the law.

Listen to this. So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged under, here he doesn't call it the royal law, but the law of liberty. I'm going to start actually with an emphasis on the end.

Notice what he says. Verse 13, and he's speaking, remember, you go back to the beginning, my brothers. It's like him talking to them is like me talking to you.

It's in the context of the people of God, but he is not assuming that all that he talks to are necessarily going to survive the judgment. And you see that. Watch this.

13, judgment is without mercy. Let me read 12. So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.

For judgment, you see what he's talking about? Those who are to be judged. Judgment is without mercy. When you stand before God, He is going to be looking for mercy.

That's what James teaches us. And if you have shown no mercy, remember what's on the table, partiality. Partiality is a love issue.

It's a law issue. It's a mercy issue. It's a judgment issue.

If you have shown no mercy, you're going to encounter judgment without mercy. And mercy triumphs over judgment. If you are found to be a merciful person, there is going to be triumph on judgment day.

Brethren, this is the way Scripture talks. This is the way James talks. Now, you could say this.

Wow, judgment day. It's like, where's the cross in all of this? I think what's happening is, Brethren, James recognizes a phenomenon that's a result of the power of the cross. I mean, look, I read this and it's like, I think I've said this before, James just is not in the habit of bringing us to the cross and bringing us to all these truths about Christ the way, say, Paul does.

And you read this and it's like, wait, this is judgment? It almost sounds like judgment's based on our mercy. Isn't that works? Where's the cross? James is under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You know what I know is that the Spirit, His intention is to exalt Christ.

We don't want to think that James is presenting this in some kind of Christless, crossless perspective. John Blanchard has a commentary on James. He suggests that verse 1 should read this way, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory.

And you know what? You want to see this? This should be a backdrop. This should be in your minds as we go through this. This is the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory.

He said it's very similar to when we talk about Jesus being the radiance of the glory of God. Brethren, the issue is this, that like Peter, he talks about a very well-known verse that Christ, He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree. So that what? If you want to mix Peter and James, so that we might die to selfishness and live to mercy.

We might die to partiality and live to showing compassion. You see, there is a power of the cross. Brethren, as I'm looking at this, you know what? The word phenomenon was in my brain.

That the Christian is a phenomenon. What's a natural phenomenon? Give me an example. Gravity.

How about the northern lights? Has anybody seen the northern lights? We live in the city. I understand a lot of people have been seeing them. How about hurricanes? That's been in the news.

Those are phenomenon. What are we talking about when we talk about a natural phenomenon? It's an event that occurs without human intervention. It's like lightning.

It's like a tornado. It's like the tides. It's like an earthquake.

But in a general sense, get away from just natural phenomenon. What is a phenomenon? What comes to your mind? Basically, it's the idea of something exceptional. Something unusual.

Something out of the ordinary. It's an abnormal occurrence. And Christianity is a phenomenon.

Brethren, the thing is, in the midst of all of this, what James recognizes is that something happens. That's what the Christianity of Scripture. God acts upon wicked, lost sinners in a way to turn them from these selfish, sinful, lost individuals to a merciful somebody that is actually going to survive judgment.

That's the idea. That fits the definition of what a phenomenon is. It's something exceptional.

It's something unusual. It's not natural. It's supernatural.

Christianity is essentially something... Brethren, brethren, Christianity is not primarily a point of view or a doctrinal position or a teaching. There is teaching. There are doctrinal positions.

But brethren, do you recognize that the phenomenon of Christianity is something that grabs hold of you? It is a phenomenon. It is miraculous. It is a marvel.

It is something that amazes people. It's something that transforms people. It's something that people look back at Paul, Saul.

It's like, wait, something's happened to this guy. Before he was doing this, now he's doing this. Before we were selfish, now we're doing this.

Now we're showing mercy. Not just in a partial way, in an impartial way. That's the idea here.

It's a miracle. Brethren, Christianity confronts us with something. It's not just a point of view.

I'm afraid. I'm afraid. Just like James was, which seems obvious from the way he talks here.

I'm afraid for folks that come into the church and they sit here, but this phenomenon has never happened to them. They are not a phenomenon of God transforming, moving upon. Brethren, the Christianity of Scripture, it's a series of phenomena.

Christianity grabs you. Christianity constrains you. It confronts us.

Brethren, I just ask you this, has Christianity ever done that to you? Has God done that to you? Has God grabbed you and changed you? Not have you got religious. Not did you become a member of GCC. Has God done something in you that is supernatural phenomenon? That's the issue.

Has Christianity ever come to you, shaken you, changed you, opened, in light of this context, opened your hearts to the needs of others? Because you know what happened? If you don't have that, but you somehow are in this place or even in our membership, then what we have is somebody professing Christianity that is still at the root selfish, self-seeking, self-consumed. Have you experienced the phenomenon of mercy replacing selfishness? And brethren, I'm concerned. I was telling some of the guys earlier, the more and more and more these guys coming from the West Coast downplay the supernatural and the miraculous in Christianity, the more I want to pump it.

Because brethren, the truth is this, this book is full of the supernatural. It doesn't argue for it. It doesn't debate about it.

It's just simply a record of showing us the reality. Brethren, if this Gospel is not supernatural, there's no hope for any of us. The Gospel by definition is supernatural.

It's divine. It is a divine phenomenon. Brethren, it's not just a spoonful of morality.

That's not what we're talking about here. Phenomenon, brethren. Lightning is a phenomenon.

A Christian is a phenomenon. There's a powerful demonstration of God in it. And you can touch it right at the point of mercy.

You can touch it at the point of partiality. So much so that I'll guarantee you this, on judgment day as the nations are divided, what He says here is those on the right will have overcome partiality. Those on the left, not so.

Brethren, this is the phenomenon. Changed from a self-centered sinner into someone who shows genuine mercy to others and can approach the day of judgment with confidence because God's coming. And He's going to be looking for this mercy.

And He's going to find it. And that's what James sees. So, I'm going to start here at the end.

Let's read verses 12 and 13 again. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty for judgment is without mercy to the one who is shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

So, what are we talking about here? This section starts like I showed you right back in verse 1. With an exhortation to show no partiality. And it ends with judgment. You say, wow, that's pretty heavy for such a trivial thing like partiality.

I mean, come on! Isn't everybody a little partial? But as I said, what James is going to do is he's going to take this partiality and he's going to open it up. He's going to look at it through the lens of law, through the lens of love, through the lens of mercy, through the lens of judgment. That's the kind of thing that he's developing here.

I mean, in these last two verses, the climax. Partiality is a mercy issue. Mercy is a judgment issue.

It's no small thing. We sang that song. Christ is going to come riding on those clouds.

And I'll tell you, brethren, when that sky breaks open, nobody will be paying attention to anything else. There will be such a glory. The most glorious, majestic appearance.

Graves opening, rocks splitting open. Christ's unimaginable glory. He said it's going to be like a flash of lightning across the sky.

There it is. There He is riding on the clouds in flames of fire with great shout. The blare of the archangel's trumpet.

And He's there. And He is going to summon all of us. And we will go.

And we will go before that royal throne to Christ's judgment. He will be high. He will be lifted up.

He will be holy. He will be pure. Eyes like a flame of fire.

And here's what Paul says, He'll render to each one according to his works. And this strikes right at it. For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, there will be wrath and fury.

And we can't run. We can't get away from it. Every one of us are going to be there.

Every one of us. And every one of us are going to have a turn. The thing is, remember when He was here in His humiliation.

And as He walked this earth, He said, I desire mercy and not sacrifice. Don't take that as just an offhanded statement. Because that statement is going to come back and be the measure by which we are going to be judged according to what James says here.

And now, imagine it. Judgment Day. The awakened, wailing nations are brought before Him.

And He, James, is focusing on He is going to be looking for mercy. That is exactly Matthew 25. He looks for mercy.

He looks for compassion. You say, wait. Wait a second.

I thought we were saved by faith. By faith in Jesus Christ. Oh.

But that's the next message. You see where He goes exactly after this? Look at verses 14, 15, and 16. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? What kind of works is he talking about? Love? Mercy? That's exactly the context.

Can that faith save him? There's a good rhetorical. What's the obvious answer? It cannot. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed, lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

You see, the final judgment is a look at your life. If favoritism is seen to be a pattern of your life, you're going to be judged by that. That's plain.

Now hold on. What I recognize is a lot of people are going to think, have I been merciful to somebody? Be very careful right here. Listen, we've all been nice to somebody.

There's a tendency to excuse ourselves because we can all think about a time that we showed some kind of kindness, something, where we feel like we've done some sort of good to somebody. But brethren, do you not see? That's the very issue at hand. That is the very issue.

Favoritism and partiality is exactly that. The guy who is guilty of favoritism can always think of somebody he's been nice to. That's right here in the text.

Brethren, it's precisely that. It's being nice to somebody, not everybody. It's discrimination.

It's being a respecter of persons. It's prejudice. And brethren, this will... I wish I could drive the reality of judgment home.

It is going to be fearful and awesome when that day comes and we are there. Your unbelief about this is not going to make this go away. We are all headed on the path to where Christ is going to have separated everybody and it's going to be you.

And your life is going to be measured. It is going to be placed in the balance right here where you are a respecter. This is going to separate us.

And brethren, those in this room, that it can be said, yes, they fought against this. They were striving to not be a respecter of persons. They looked to me in faith.

If their faith was real, it had works. The obedience of faith was real. They are going to be on the right.

And the rest are going to be on the left. That's the picture here. This is a very serious thing.

But do you see it there in verses 2 and 3? Look at it, brethren. Kindness and mercy are shown. The problem is, as much as we don't like to admit it, brethren, I've watched.

You can see it. You know what happens in this world? People who look good get priority. People who have money, they get priority.

I'm always baffled by why I sit in the back of airplanes. I can't figure out why it is that other people sit ahead and get to board early. And I've always got, you know, if there's seven groups, I'm seven.

If there's five groups, I'm five. It's like, how does that happen? But you know what, one time I'm in India and I'm traveling with a doctor and we got put in first class. That's never happened to me unless I'm with a doctor.

You see, the truth is, people, because of fame, because of the car they own or the wardrobe they have, or the wealth or the intelligence or the degrees behind their name, achievements, a lot of times it's because of skin color, the country you're from, the language you speak. And you see it in v. 2. Somebody in the story has been shown mercy. But who is it? I mean, there's a guy here who it says, if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, poor men in shabby clothing, if you pay attention, you see, somebody is being paid attention to.

Somebody does get a good place to sit. And you know what, brethren? Sometimes it comes down to nothing more than this. I'm related to them.

Sometimes it comes down to just simply family. If you love those who love you, somebody said this, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors? And the idea here is lost tax collectors. Don't they do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles? Again, the lost.

The tax collectors and the Gentiles, they do the same. You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. And I just ask this, how is our heavenly Father perfect? Well, Jesus says right there in the Sermon on the Mount, He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good.

Sends rain on the just and the unjust. No partiality. You know what we find? God is not impressed with the kinds of things that impress us.

I'll guarantee you this. Movie stars, people with fame, people whose face is widely recognized, they get attention. People who are exceptionally beautiful or handsome, they get attention.

People can be really ugly and not very coordinated, but you give them a lot of money, they get attention. You get certain degrees behind their name, like you're an American doctor, you get attention. God is not impressed with that stuff.

That's the reality. Not whatsoever. Our true worth before God is not found on that level.

That's just a reality. God judges and evaluates everything purely on the basis of the inner person. And you know what was said.

You remember what the Lord said to Samuel. Don't look on his appearance. Samuel was looking on David's older brothers, especially the oldest one.

And you know what? He said, oh, this is it. This has got to be the Lord's anointed. And God jumps in there and says, Samuel, stop.

Samuel, you're looking at it wrong. You're not looking at it the way I look at it. The Lord said to Samuel, don't look on the appearance or on the height of his stature, because I've rejected him.

You see, Saul was so much the emblem of what the world loves. David, he comes along. God says the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. And you know what the beauty of this is? God's not disinterested in you or put off by you because you don't look so good or because you're poor or because you have a lowly job or you just don't have a certain social standing. But remember this, God also is not interested in you because you've got all the stuff that the world pants after.

Brethren, as I was thinking about this, I start to let my mind running back and forth through the Scripture. It's like when we think of God's attributes, God is holy. God is unchanging.

God is eternal. He's sovereign. He's omniscient.

He's almighty. But how often do we think about the impartiality of God? And yet, brethren, I think if you actually think and are honest with Scripture, it shows up all over the place. Scripture repeatedly says God is not partial.

Over and over and over. Just a handful. 2 Chronicles 19.7 Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you.

Be careful what you do, for there's no injustice with the Lord, our God, or partiality. Deuteronomy 10.17 For the Lord, our God, is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who is not partial. Acts 10.34 Peter, truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears Him and does what's right is acceptable to Him.

Colossians 3.25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Romans 10.12 For there is no distinction between Dru and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. He doesn't have greater affection for people or love for people or show blessing for certain people who the world applauds.

In the matter of salvation, God is no respecter of persons. That's what Scripture says. And I'll tell you this, in the matter of judgment, do you remember what Romans 2 says? He is not going to show partiality.

Not on judgment day. No respecter of persons. Social status, employment, wealth, looks.

He has no respect. And then the thing is, that Christ comes. The Son of God.

The very express image of God's glory. He declares Him. And He steps into this world and you watch Him.

His lineage. There's a harlot in it. And I recognize, He didn't make that decision.

Not as a man. He was simply born into it. Kind of the same as Nazareth.

His parents took Him there. Obviously God was involved in all of that. But you know when Jesus walked the land, what happened? The rich invited Him.

You get somebody like Nicodemus, He talks to him. You get an adulteress, He talks to her. He would touch a leper.

He wasn't afraid to go to the centurion's house. Or you had somebody that's a leader in the synagogue. You know what? Rich or poor, there He was.

Even His enemies recognized this. Teacher, we know you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality. But truly teach the way of God.

Brethren, I just say this. There is a gospel phenomenon. And what is that? It's God comes upon a man and makes him like Christ.

Makes him like God Himself. Brethren, by nature, we are a partiality ridden people. You know, we were just down in Monterey.

And Alberto took us to a neighborhood that is surrounded by wealth in Monterey. The city bypassed this area and just grew out from it. It's where Alberto grew up.

Where Rocio grew up. It is poor. I told you about it.

People are being murdered there all the time. It's a really rough place. And you would think that all the people within there would kind of bond together.

But you know what He told us? He said, actually the neighborhood has a high side and a low side. And they hate each other. And they fight each other.

Except when it's market day, where Alberto wants to go and set up a table. On market day, they all come together in the middle and they buy their stuff and they don't fight and feud and kill each other. But you know what? Even when you get a neighborhood like this, it's like you're growing up.

What if the kid is from the other block? We hate him. Or the guy that's on the other team. We hate him.

Oh, you talk about divided. Democrats and Republicans. Brethren, we love to hate somebody else.

We are so partial that even you get a little neighborhood in Monterey, it's like they hate each other. But it's everywhere. We're just riddled with that.

The phenomenon is this, that God steps in and He does this amazing thing. What does He do? He replaces our selfish ways. Mercy.

Oh, I remember this smite. I remember Rebecca Hamilton saying, the opposite of love is not hate. It's apathy.

Man, apathy. God replaces apathy with feeling. Where we feel such things that we never felt before.

Brethren, has that phenomenon grabbed you? Where God stepped into your life. You beheld the cross. You came face to face.

You called upon the Lord. And God took that selfishness out and replaced it with a heart. It doesn't mean there's not a fight.

It doesn't mean you don't need exhortations like these people. But as a rule, God has given you to feel for the needs of others. We feel such things as we've never felt.

Other people's misery moves us. We feel. We respond.

Brethren, that is a phenomenon. What do we read? The new man created after the likeness of God. Isn't that what we read? In true righteousness and holiness.

Or do you get what Peter says? We've become partakers of the divine nature. You know what? They used to speak about deification. We don't like that terminology.

Deification. But Scripture talks about the divine nature. We're like God.

God makes us like God. Mercy without prejudice. Without partiality.

The question right now is that part of your life. If not, it's evident the life of God is not phenomenally at work in your soul. So James says, for judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. Show me a person whose compassion is biased. Full of the flavor of favoritism and partiality.

They disregard some. And I will show you a person who is not going to receive mercy when they are facing judgment. And brethren, judgment without mercy means eternal hell.

You can't come to any other conclusion. Every sin gets its just punishment in you. You're not merciful if you're only kind to a certain group.

What do we more than others? Everyone does that. Brethren, this truth, it's there in the Beatitudes. Blessed are the merciful.

And the thing is, this is very emphatic. This is very pointed. Blessed are the merciful.

And the idea is that nobody else is going to be blessed. They shall receive mercy. And the idea is they alone are going to receive mercy.

You've got the proverb that says, whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. I just think of the damned crying out. I think of that man who showed no mercy to the poor man that was at his gate.

Now he's crying out for help and he can't even get a drop of water. Brethren, that is not just some fiction. This is reality.

And we want to deal with that. So James closes verse 13 with this, mercy triumphs over justice. Is your life characterized by unbiased mercy? That's the thing.

You'll triumph over this judgment. That's the idea. You'll escape wrath.

That's the correlation that James wants us to see here. We can't escape that no matter who you are. You give evidence of being this phenomenon of God and you're ready for the day of judgment.

And you'll triumph in that day. Okay, now I want to back up. Notice what he says in v. 12.

There's a motive here. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. And I want to focus in here on the law of liberty.

That's the Christian standard of judgment. Or as it was called back in v. 8, the royal law. If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, and that royal law, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

You're doing well. And you've got to love that. Because brethren, when the person who has shown mercy, unbiased, when that person comes to stand before God, the law, this law, did you love your neighbor? It's a law of liberty.

That is exactly the same way. Did you see Paul and James are not at odds with each other. That is exactly the way Paul speaks.

You were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. But through love, serve one another.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Brethren, to the Christian, it's a law of liberty.

It's a law of freedom. To others, it's a law of slavery and death. But to us, I mean, I recognize to some people the law is a hard yoke.

But that's not the way James presents it. We are freed from. We're freed from being condemned by.

We're freed from the curse of that law. Freed from the slavery. We are under this law of liberty.

We're under the law of love. If you treat all those as you... Remember, love your neighbor as you love yourself. If I'm loving others the way I love me, then they're all going to be on the same plane.

I'm not going to be biased. Brethren, love your neighbor as yourself. And if you treat all as you treat yourself, you're going to treat them equally.

That's the royal law. That's the king's law. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Brethren, there is a great deal of freedom purchased for us in Christ. Just think, you were called to freedom, brothers. Don't use the freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.

We're forgiven. We're forgiven. We're free.

I can stumble, I can fall, but I can get back up again and go back to doing this. Because the blood of Christ, that's the glory in all of this. But that doesn't cause us to opt out.

If you treat everyone else the same way you treat yourself, there's equality. Who's my neighbor? You know what? One time somebody asked Jesus that. Who's my neighbor? And do you know by the time he's done telling them about the Good Samaritan, he says this, which one proved to be the neighbor? The big question isn't who's your neighbor.

The question is are you acting as a neighbor? And if we're acting as the neighbor to all people, brethren, the real issue in all of this is does love, does this freedom produce lawlessness? Both Paul and James say no way. No way. Brethren, it doesn't produce that.

We're set free from our sins. We're forgiven. We're freed from the condemnation, from the dominion of sin.

And now we're free. We're free to live in this freedom. It doesn't produce lawlessness.

It produces love. Faith. What really matters in all of this? Faith working through love.

That's what he told the Galatians. Brethren, since you love yourself so much, and you do, you dressed you today, you combed your hair today, you fed yourself today, you got coffee for you today, you're concerned about your future, you're concerned about your income, you're concerned about... I mean, brethren, what occupies your mind? You. You do.

Whose needs? Whose appetites? Who do you try to make happy? Brethren, it's you. And so if you treat everyone else the same way you treat yourself, there's going to be equality. And brethren, the thing is, you see, the thing about partiality is when I'm partial to certain people, the real motive isn't mercy.

The real motive is what advantages that for me. It's very selfish. Because you're always seeing that somehow, you know, of course, when it's the rich guy, you understand.

You're going to show favor. You hope maybe you'll get something out of that. Brethren, love in a biblical sense, as James goes on to explain in 14-16, is always related to meeting needs.

Look at it. Look at it. You've got a brother.

You've got a sister. And they're in need. That's the thing about love.

Love addresses need. God so loved that He gave. It's not simply having warm feelings or shedding a tear.

You can get people that shed a tear when they see somebody else's hard situation. But mercy isn't just the feeling. It's the action.

It meets needs. When Scripture says, love your neighbor as yourself, it simply means based on your neighbor's need. Not on their wants.

On their needs. Not on what they think they need. Brethren, I'll tell you, there's a lot of people in this city, they don't think they need Christ.

But that is their greatest need of all. So, look at verses 9-11. If you show partiality, you're committing sin.

You're convicted by the law as transgressors. Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. Brethren, we're so programmed to regard the law kind of as a series of detached commands.

I'll tell you this, any time you get a works righteousness system, it thinks this way. You know, how many times somebody has said to me, I've never killed anyone. You see, the problem is, have you ever shown any partiality? You see, the thing is, the whole royal law is love.

I may not murder you. Yes, if I murdered you, I would transgress. If I took your wife, I'd transgress.

But the thing is, He says right here, you show partiality, you transgress. The whole thing stands or falls together. This isn't a piecemeal kind of thing with a bunch of detached commandments.

We're kind of like, we add up the ones we've kept and we subtract the ones we broke and we hope in the end that it's going to... It's so typical of this works-based mindset. Somebody says, I haven't raped anybody. Kill his wife, kill him, take his wife.

I've equally transgressed against God's law. Partiality breaks the royal law as much as any other violation. Now brethren, I know in that day and at that time, there was an obvious... You had people that were dispersed.

You can imagine people were in a difficult place. Some of them were buttering up to the rich. I don't see that.

I don't think that's a big problem here. I think if a really wealthy guy comes in here, sometimes maybe that intimidates people more than anything. You don't necessarily give them the best seat.

We bring people for Haven of Hope in here and we've gone out of the way to feed them. Probably if a rich guy came in here, we wouldn't feed him. Brethren, in fact, I think this has possibly been inverted.

You know, when Ruby and I were on our way to Manchester a few weeks back, we were listening to Andrew Murray, Absolute Surrender. And he said something. And it has remained with me.

I thank God for all the interest. God's awakening in us for the heathen and in support of foreign missions. But I'm afraid something is neglected.

What is that? I thank God for all the interest in the darkest cities, in the poor neglected people, in the drunkards and those in danger of becoming drunkards, and the poor outcasts. But your middle class, your richer and higher classes, is there power in your Christianity to boldly take the Gospel to them? I suspect that if we are out of balance today, it might be that we have really not so much had a concerted effort to try to reach the rich. They may be the neglected ones.

Let's not show impartiality. I've been thinking about a place. Ruby and I both saw it.

We got it separately. This little thumbnail came up about the most dangerous areas in San Antonio. We were looking at it.

We saw one of them. And I thought, I want to reach that place. But then in light of what's said right here, I also have an idea in my mind about another neighborhood where rich people live.

And I thought, I want to reach that place. A word about the poor. Where are we at with time? Just a word about the poor.

Look at verse 5. Listen, my beloved brothers. Has not God 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? Brethren, you know what Paul says. Consider your calling, brothers.

Not many of us are wise. Not by worldly standards. Not many powerful.

Not many of noble birth. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

What is low and despised, even things that are not. Brethren, we know this. That generally speaking, throughout God's redemptive history, God chooses those who in the eyes of the world are very insignificant.

Brethren, look where we meet. Look at the part of the city. Look at the building we meet in.

If the mayor drove by right now, he'd probably, or she, I don't know which it is now, but they might not like all the traffic. We need an ordinance against all that. But they wouldn't care about us.

They're not going to come in here. Generally speaking, that's the way. God chooses those poor in the eyes of the world.

The down and outs. The ones who are not. Oh, you've got to love that.

The ones who are not. Are not what? Just are not. Fill in the blank.

We're the are nots. That's a general principle. It doesn't mean that some, you know, we heard about Joseph of Arimathea, but the elect are dominated by those the world would not pick and not have regard for.

You remember at that time, Jesus, He declared, you remember coming out of that whole situation there in Matthew 11, and He thanks His Father that God has revealed, His Father has revealed these things to babes and hidden them from the wise and the prudent. God shows the glory of His power by using weak means. Why? Because when He does that, then no people glory and boast and God gets all the glory.

But brethren, you can't miss this. God chooses. Listen, my beloved brothers.

Has not God chosen? I want you to just think on that word. Listen. This jumps out at me.

Do you see how James argues his case against partiality? He doesn't argue that God never chooses anybody. Do you see that? Actually, James points out that God does in fact choose some and pass over others. You say, wait, what? I mean, that's amazing.

James is basing his argument against you and me being partial on the very truth that runs through Scripture everywhere. It's amazing to me. As much as all through the Scriptures it says that God is impartial, all through the Scriptures it says that God chooses.

God's sovereign right to choose whoever He wishes and do with the whole of His creation whatever He wants. Has not God chosen? That's what James says. There can be only one answer to that question.

Brethren, it runs from Genesis to Revelation. Listen to this. You're people holy to the Lord your God.

The Lord God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession. And it says, not because you were more in number than any other people. Do you know why He chose them? Because He determined to set His love on them.

That's the argument of Scripture. Isaiah 41 You Israel, My servant Jacob, whom I have chosen. You are My servant.

I have chosen you and not cast you off. John 15 You did not choose Me, but I chose you. 2 Thessalonians 2.13 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God chose you.

1 Peter 2.9 You are a chosen race. Revelation 17.14 He is the Lord of lords, King of kings. Those who are with Him are called and chosen and faithful.

This is the very argument, the rock, on which James builds his case. God has chosen. Doesn't that contradict James' whole argument? Just the contrary.

The irresistible logic of all of this is that people who we most tend to not choose are the very ones God does choose. That's the point of the argument. Lack of ability, lack of importance, lack of influence, lack of wealth, or lack of some advantage.

They're the usual ones found to be rich in faith. Heirs of the kingdom, who will stand before Him on the last day, and He chooses to bestow His riches on those who have nothing to lend themselves to being chosen. He sets His love on them just because He does.

Brethren, you can choose. I mean, look, in much the same way, guys, you can be partial when it comes to picking a wife. You'll pick all the single girls.

As much as there's a place for being a respecter of persons when it comes to people of authority. We should respect our parents. We should respect people in high positions.

Kings. There's a place for that kind. But brethren, not that impartiality that speaks to some selfishness.

This is a judgment day issue. Brethren, I hope you'll think. You really want to think.

You want to be swayed by this. This is an exhortation to brethren. James wants the people to recognize it's a judgment day issue.

It's a law issue. It's a love issue. It's a real serious issue.

You may not rape them. You may not kill them. You may not take their wife.

But brethren, when you show partiality, that is really rotten in the sight of God. So rotten that those people whose lives are characterized by that, they're not going to be shown mercy on that day. Brethren, if there's anything, Christ desires mercy, not sacrifice.

Brethren, I say this. Let Grace Community Church be characterized by mercy. Lord, help us.

We ask in Christ's name. Amen.