James 2:1-4

TEMPTATION IN THE CHURCH

Text 2:1-4

1.

My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

2.

For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing;

3.

and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool;

4.

do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Queries

87.

What contrast is implied in the title of Jesus: Lord of glory?

88.

Is not the greatest of God's creation man himself? Then what is wrong with holding respect of persons?

89.

There is some dispute as to whether the Greek text intends this first verse to be imperative or interrogative. In our quoted text, it is imperative. How would it be expressed as interrogative?

90.

To whom is this specific instruction addressed?

91.

What is a synagogue? (We might note that the same word can also be translated assembly or meeting.)

92.

A gold ring and fine clothing is descriptive of what?

93.

What is vile clothing?

94.

Should we have any regard for the rich man, or should we completely disdain him because of his riches? (Think carefully before you answer.)

95.

Just who, in James 2:3, is saying Sit thou here. ?

96.

Would it be more proper to ask the poor man to sit, and the rich man to stand or sit under a footstool?

97.

What would be a proper solution to the problem in James 2:3?

98.

What is the significance of sitting under a footstool?

99.

What does the R.V. margin say instead of do ye not make distinctions?

100.

Is this distinction between yourselves a disagreement between people within the church, or a generally divided mind the group as a whole holds?

101.

What is evil about these thoughts of distinctions?

Paraphrases

A. James 2:1

My brothers, do not make a class distinction to the rich in matters pertaining to the faith of Jesus, who Himself should have the first glory of everyone.

2.

For if a man, obviously wealthy because of his dress and trappings, should come into your assembly; and another man, obviously poor because of his shabby clothing, should also come;

3.

And you show prejudice by saying to the rich man, Here, sir, take this good seat, and you say to the poor man, Hey you, stand over there; or You can sit on the edge of the platform;

4. Do you not have a prejudiced judgment that comes from an evil money-desire within yourself?

B.*James 2:1

Dear brothers, how can you claim that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, if you show favoritism to rich people and look down on poor people?

2.

If a man comes into your church dressed in expensive clothes and with valuable gold rings on his fingers, and at the same moment another man comes in who is poor and dressed in threadbare clothes,

3.

And you make a lot of fuss over the rich man and give him the best seat in the house and say to the poor man, You can stand over there if you like, or else sit on the floorwell,

4.

This kind of action casts a question mark across your faith(are you really a Christian at all?)and shows that you are guided by evil motives.

Summary

Class distinction between the rich and the poor because of the Christian's over-emphasis of the importance of money is caused by evil intentions.

Comment

Because of the particular grammatical construction in the original language, it is impossible to determine whether or not the first sentence is intended to be a question or a command. The context however, gives us more of a clue. The imperative form, Hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons, reads more smoothly with the beginning of the second sentence.. For if there come, etc. It also seems quite evident that James knows of instances where such undue prejudiced views are actually held so that the simple asking of a question does not have the force the explanation which follows, demands.
The faith of our Lord Jesus Christ is an expression that here encompasses all Christianity. Hence, in Christian matters show no favoritism because of wealth. That we should give special honor and glory to an individual because he has been blessed with wealth, is incompatible with all Christian teaching. The special title given to the Christ is an indirect but powerful argument for this very point. Christ is the Lord of glory, the one in whom all saints should glory. How careful must we be lest we substitute glory in material possessions for His glory, and so by example and honor worship the golden calf, or at best worship God through the golden calf.

The incompatibility of receiving wealth with special favor in the church with Christianity, is in harmony with many other incompatible circumstances. For instance, one cannot love God and hate his fellow man, 1 John 4:20. Likewise, one cannot lift up the face of wealth at the same time that we glory in the Lord Jesus. In so doing we should be combining faith in Jesus with the wrong attitude toward the poor. Since poverty is often the means God uses to open a person's eyes to his special need of Jesus, we should be especially careful not to disdain or humiliate a person in poverty-stricken circumstances. The Old Testament admonished, Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. (Leviticus 19:15).

Neither must we humiliate the rich by ignoring him, nor humiliate the poor by disdaining him. We can respect God's noblest creation, man, without showing undue regard for something of such minor consequence as money.
The illustration used of the Holy Spirit seems to have included irony for the sake of emphasis. One might even say that the look of admiration and the offering of a particular kind of seat in James 2:3 is a sarcastic note, so obviously illustrated as to point out the humorous absurdity of the situation. Yet, when we realize the illustration is true to form in many instances, the seriousness of the matter overrides the humor; i.e., it would be funny if it were not so serious. When we see it in print, it appears absurd. When it happens to us, it is unjust. When we are the authors of the situation, then it seems a real temptation and problem. God sees the matter from all viewpoints.

The person speaking is not identified in James 2:3. It could be anyone who is showing special regard to the extent of snobbery of the more unfortunate. It could be the usher who is the church-appointed representative to politely greet all visitors with equal and just respect. It could be one of the church officers who by virtue of his position may represent the attitude of the entire congregation. Thus, the shoe has many sizes and fits many congregations.

The discourteous attitude of ignoring the poor man, or asking him to stand while offering a fine seat to the wealthy, or asking him to sit under my footstool is especially humiliating since the man cannot help the circumstances that apparently cause the discourtesy. To make a man suffer humiliation because of circumstances beyond his control is so completely unjust that the Christian, of all people, should recognize the inconsistency with Christianity. We might add that the illustration encompasses enough to cover many other current situations. In one particular congregation, the minister was putting on a special money-raising drive. He had prepared a large blackboard that covered a huge section of the front of the auditorium. At the top of the board in large letters was printed: $1,000.00 or over. Beneath this in slightly smaller letters with more space were the words: $500.00 TO $1,000.00. Then beneath this, with at least a dozen spaces, were the letters: $100.00 to $500.00, Finally, at the very bottom, in very small letters, were the words: $10 and under. Under this space was room for at least a hundred names in very small print. One young man was so impressed with the campaign that thirty-five years later he still remembered how the one millionaire's name was printed at the top of the board in large, black, bold letters. The name of the young man's father, together with a hundred others, was printed in small letters at the bottom of the board. The young man's father was a poor carpenter, and his $10 gift was a real sacrifice!

The do ye not make distinctions of James 2:4 might also be translated: Are ye not divided in your own mind. (A.S.V. margin). Some might argue that the church was divided in this practice, some wanting to honor the rich and others seeing the impropriety of it. They might say, such a practice would divide the church, causing contention. More likely, the division-thought is within the mind of the church as a whole, i.e., there is a sharp distinction between that which the Christians think and profess at one time and what they practice at another time. Thus, the division is the inconsistency between what the Christian knows to be right and what he does when the rich and poor are present. It is a form of wavering like the waves of the sea, or doubting with a lack of faith, or hesitating between two desires.

The Saints who so conduct themselves are said to be judges with evil thoughts. The evil thought is descriptive of the judge, hence they are evil-thinking judges. Jesus said, For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts. Matthew 15:19. Wherein, you may ask, is the evil? For one thing, God is the judge and He judges according to the inner man and the heart. Man cannot know the heart; and even in the case of inappropriate action, man can only determine the heart by the action. God knows the heart. Second, the basis of judgment is completely unjust, that on the basis of possessions and dress and wealth we should show partiality. Third, it may be that the motives of this judgment are completely evil. Money-worship, adoration of things that perish, and subtle planning to obtain gifts and favors for honor bestowed would be particularly obnoxious to God.