James 2:6

Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats?'

James then makes a further point. He is not necessarily saying that this is true of that particular rich man. But his point is that that rich man belongs to a class who, while they might be given honour by some in the church, are in fact, as a class, those who oppress Christians and even have them hauled before the courts on one pretext or another, often with the aim of them being severely punished and even put to death. He is not, of course, calling for discrimination against rich men. He is simply pointing out that as a class they are not to be especially honoured when they enter the assembly of God's people, for their qualities are not necessarily such as God honours. All must be treated alike. If they are truly His all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

For examples of the rich persecuting God's people see Acts 4:1 (the Chief Priests and most Sadducees were rich), Acts 13:50; Acts 16:19; Acts 19:23.

Judgment seats.' This could refer to synagogue courts as well as Greek and Roman courts. As we see from Acts it was not difficult to get strange people like the Christians before the courts, often with differing verdicts (Acts 8:3; Acts 12:3; Acts 13:50; Acts 16:19; Acts 18:12)..