James 2:1-13 Jesus Did Not Respect Persons

James gave no ground when it came to how Christians treat others.  In my commentary , I read, “Jesus did not respect persons.  He wasn’t swayed by a person’s status … He saw the potential in the lives of sinners … We are prone to judge people by their past, not their future … Jesus was a friend of sinners, though He disapproved of their sins.  It was not compromise, but compassion that caused Him to welcome them and when they trusted Him, forgive them…   How do we practice the deity of Christ in our human relationships?  Look at everyone through the eyes of Christ.  If the visitor is a Christian, we can accept him because Christ lives in him.  If he is not a Christian, we can receive him because Christ died for him… Grace implies God’s sovereign choice of those who cannot earn and do not deserve His salvation … In His birth and life, Jesus broke down the walls between rich and poor, young and old, educated and uneducated.  It is wrong for us to build those walls again;  we cannot rebuild them if we believe in the grace of God … We must never forget that our lives and ministries are the best defense of the truth of God’s Word … If I disobey one law, I am capable of disobeying all of them; and by rebelling, I have already done so …”

We might naturally tend to think that we cannot love all people – there are certain people that are hard for us to love.  About this, I read, “Christian love does not mean that I must like a person and agree with him on everything.  I may not like his vocabulary or habits, and I may not want him as an intimate friend.  Christian love means treating others the way God has treated me… It is an act of the will, not an emotion that I try to manufacture.  The motive is to glorify God.”

And this gets us – “We only believe as much of the Bible as we practice.”

Finally, James assures us that what Jesus and Paul said is true – “Christian believers will never be judged for their sins, but our works WILL be judged and rewarded…. Our words will be judged … Our deeds will be judged … Our attitudes will be judged … God sees our hearts and knows what we would have done had we been free to do so … God’s Word can change our hearts and give us the desire to do God’s will, so that we obey from inward compulsion and not outward constraint.”

Father, Please help me to be Jesus to those You place in my path.  Give me compassion for their hurting.  Help me to show them Your love.  Don’t let me respect some over others.  Thanks for reminding me that favoritism is sin.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford