Christianity Amongst Christians (Part B)

There should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes. The word poor is the same word used for beggar when referencing Lazarus the beggar who was covered with sores. So he's making this stark contrast. He's saying, let's look at this. My brethren, if a beggar comes into your assembly, you treat him like a beggar.

And a rich man comes in or you fawn over him because you want something from him. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of James.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now here's Pastor Rick in James Chapter 2 as he continues his message, Christianity Amongst Christians. While the English language does not steal from us any critical doctrine or meanings, to go to the Greek often accentuates it, highlights it, it makes the point even stronger.

And this is one particular case where it is so, the structure of the Greek language. James calls our Lord the glory in this verse. And it should read, actually, the scholars of the Greek.

Many of them hold this opinion. This is a more accurate translation of what James was saying. He says, my brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory. It is significant. You can look in your Bibles, the words that are italicized, they're added in the translation by the translators to help the ease of the language which they're translating the text into.

So they really don't belong there. And they've opted most of them for of glory instead of the glory. So again, James calls the Lord Jesus Christ the glory. This is one of the main points of this morning's message because everything else kind of just flows into place but this stands out. It is consistent with what Luke wrote concerning Simeon's blessing with the baby Jesus in his alms. Luke chapter 2 verse 32, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. 1 Corinthians, Paul makes this point in the second chapter. Speaking about the rulers of this age, he says, for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

We have to open this up. It is significance to our faith. It is why we hold our hands up. We sing love songs to him because he is worthy. Yes, but also because he's merciful in our hearts.

Showing us is an old song. Thank you, God, for sending Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that you came. Holy Spirit, won't you teach us more about his lovely name. The Holy Spirit, God the Holy Spirit, teaches us about Christ, how to worship him. God's glory, it includes, that word glory, it includes his presence, his radiance, his holiness, all the attributes that are exclusive to him are found in the glory of God. And we, we share in some of this, limited, albeit, but he allows us to have much of the very thing. That's why he says, be holy as your father in heaven is.

Be perfect as your father in heaven is. So what is the Old Testament word that captures this? The word amongst the Jews, Shekinah, the presence, the uncreated light, the revelation, the manifestation, the visible presence of God. In the Old Testament, it's known as the Shekinah glory, that pillar of fire over the holy of holies in the temple of the Jews by night and the cloud in the day. The root to that word Shekinah means the dwelling, the presence of God. That is why we call, one reason why this is called the house of God, wherever God's people assemble. In his name, it is the house of God. Zechariah 2, the Old Testament prophet, God speaking through him, your eye, says Yahweh, will be a wall of fire all around her and I will be the glory in her midst. The Shekinah glory, the visible presence of the uncreated light of God. John's Gospel chapter 1 verse 14, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. The glory, as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth have goosebumps.

Well, more like eaglebumps for me. Just thinking about it. James, thus, therefore, terms our Lord Jesus Christ the Shekinah glory of God. That's what he thought of. That's what he spoke of, his half-brother, his brother according to humanity, who died a violent and shameful death for sinners while he was still in his youth. He just gave his life away for us. This is how James sees him. Doubtless, James was devastated at the crucifixion of Christ Jesus. Yes, he was not a believer at the time.

That doesn't mean he wasn't devastated by what took place. And what I think brings it out is when Paul makes this little mention in Corinthians, he says, and after that, he was seen by James. After the resurrection, Jesus made a special trip to James. The glory, straight out rejected by lost souls, and we're not supposed to hate them for that.

We're supposed to love on them with the love of Christ because of that. Other New Testament passages where Jesus is pictured as the glory, the radiating presence, the holiness, the purity of God Almighty. 2 Corinthians 4. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. You see the Spirit dwelling in us. It's a personal Shekinah, a personal presence of God. I will not leave you orphans, Jesus said.

I will not leave you fatherless. You will have the Almighty, God Himself, the Father of all, in your hearts through the Holy Spirit because of the work done on the cross. Hebrews chapter 1, speaking of Jesus, who being the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins and sat down at the right hand of majesty on high.

The brightness of His glory. There's no way to take that away from what the Bible says unless you lie. This adds to the indictment against the Mormons and the Jehovah Witnesses for daring to reject the glory of Jesus Christ equal with the Father by decree of the Father. He mentions here now, based on that, again, that is a significant thing.

Christ the glory. He says, don't let there be any partiality with you. Snobbish favoritism in the church.

Don't let it be there. So we go back again and we just briefly look at verse 1. My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus the glory with partiality.

Don't be snobs. Verse 2, for if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings in fine apparel and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, verse 3, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, you sit here in a good place and say to the poor man, you stand there or sit here by my, at my footstool. We go back up now and look at verse 2, that word for assembly, for if there should come into your assembly, the word synagogue. Well these were Jewish Christians. These were Christians who became Jews. And where they gathered to meet, they called it the assembly. That's what the word synagogue means.

This was not likely, we're not 100 percent sure, but 99. This was a separate assembly for those who accepted Christ as their Messiah. So he says, and this evidently was a prevalent, a problem in the early church, the snobbery going around. Because he's going to hammer it and he's not going to let it go.

He's already covered it a little bit in chapter 1. He says a man with gold rings and fine apparel. That word fine apparel.

Lampros in the Greek, from where we get our English word lamp. So one comes into your congregation with radiant clothing, shiny clothing. He's well-to-do, he's well-dressed.

You go right to him. He says and there should also come in a poor man and filthy clothes. The word poor is the same word used for beggar when referencing Lazarus the beggar who was covered with sores. And so he's making this stark contrast. He's saying let's look at this, my brethren, if a beggar comes into your assembly, you treat him like a beggar.

And a rich man comes in or you fawn over him because you want something from him. Luke's Gospel chapter 16 verse 20, there was a certain beggar named Lazarus. What does it say about Lazarus? The angels took him home, carried him to Abraham's bosom. What happened to the rich man? He didn't make it to heaven. Not because he was rich, because he was an unbeliever. He rejected God. In verse 2, again, he says you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothing.

Why? Selfish gain, carnality, what's in it for me? If a pastor sees someone that is well-dressed, looks like they have money and he just gushes over them and ignores the common folks, something is drastically wrong. He sees congregants as a sale, not as sheep. If I can get you to stay in the church then you'll tie it to the church. You're going to have to answer to God for that. It is imperative that the pastor and the Christians look at anyone who comes through these doors as sheep or wolves because that's the fact.

I mean, you cannot, you have to still discern, but that is not the case here. The poor here just, they didn't want any part of them. Jude, again, warning the early church. I mention this, I mention it often. He wanted to write about the sweet things of our salvation.

Who doesn't? But unfortunately, does not have that luxury. The Spirit moved him, he said, to address these people coming into the church causing problems and of this group who spoil the love feast of the day, the early church had a lot of problems to deal with. He says these are grumblers, complainers, you know, whiners and critics, walking according to their own lust and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage. Jude, verse 16.

That is the type of person that will run to the rich because they want something and ignore the common or the unfortunate, the poor or the beggar. Jesus was judged for being from Nazareth. Even one of his future disciples said, can anything good come out of Nazareth, that place? His disciples were mocked for being Galileans.

He knew firsthand, James did, growing up in the house of Christ about this stuff. Perhaps now is a good time to give us Webster's definition of the word snob. Point to someone, you, you're it. One who tends to rebuff, avoid or ignore those regarded as inferior. Young, young Christians try not to be a snob, older Christians try not to be a snob. There's no exception here. You're not excused, well I'm young, I didn't know anybody.

Yes you did. You know why you know better? Because you don't want to be treated that way yourself.

But the thing is when you're young you don't know how to fight so many things that come your way. You end up siding with the things you should side against. Be careful, no place for church snobs. Some of us have encountered some within Christianity. God is not impressed by someone's education, by their race, by how often they go to church or how they look or how much money they have or the car they drive or the house they live in. He's really not even impressed by what they do for others, unless what they do for others is out of what they do for Christ. In other words, what impresses God every time is Christ likeness, is pursuing the glory of being like Jesus.

It catches God's attention every time. There's nothing nice to others about being a snob, snobbery is robbery as far as the Christian is concerned. John Owen, a puritan, theologian, preacher from the 17th century, a long time ago, most of you weren't around then.

This is what he says inspired the title for this morning's emphasis. It is in many places a lost labor to seek for Christianity among Christians. Is that not what the epistles are all about? Trying to make Christians like Christ, keeping them from saying I'm a Christian but living like they're devils. It's a labor to seek for Christianity among Christians.

How shameful! It's just what the devil prescribes. Some profess to be Christians but refuse blatantly to obey Christ and they disobey him instead. They refuse him while holding on to his name.

In some places, called churches, you cannot find Christ-like Christians. In verse 4, have you not shown partiality among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Judging the poor is contemptible. Oh, they could justify it. Well, they're poor because God cursed them but he's blessed me.

He loves me. This is a common thought among many religious Jews and Gentiles. Not God's idea of being a blessing when you hold such views, judging people this way. We are supposed to look at people as best we can as Jesus would look at them. We are supposed to remember to do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

He will get to that. Verse 5, he says, listen, my beloved brethren, and there it is again. Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love him to be loved by God and to love God back?

That is the name of the game. It is not enough to say I love God. Are you loved back by God? It is not enough to say God loves me.

Do you love him back? In other words, there's a mutual thing going on. Just because you say it doesn't make it so.

According to what rule? According to the rule of scripture, that's what. Anyone can say God is love and not accept Jesus Christ as Savior.

There are people that do this. How can a loving God don't judge me because God is love. They abuse what the scripture says and its meanings and we are to be careful and gently, if possible, correct them. Luke's Gospel, chapter 12, verse 20, speaking of the rich fool who invested himself in the riches of this world because James is hammering the arrogant rich, not the righteous ones. He says, but God said to him, fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be you have provided? He goes on and he says, so is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. If you're going to be rich with money, you better be rich with God. If you want to get to heaven, if you want to be his child, you want to be in the faith. It's interesting, again, he says this night your soul will be required. Then all your stuff, who gets it because it won't be yours, you won't have it anymore.

You are going to have another concern. Now he is not saying that the rich are never chosen or never saved. He certainly is not saying that and he certainly isn't saying all the poor people are saved.

Not at all. He is saying, don't you play favoritism when people come into the house of God or anywhere else. Now that does not, well, I'll get that in a moment. Verse 6, but you have dishonored the poor man.

Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Again, he's tireless, tireless in his assault. That doesn't mean he doesn't have tires.

Well, he probably doesn't. But it means that he's not letting this go. This favoritism in the church. It was a big problem prevalent in that church and he's not, again, going to let it go. No doubt there were those squirming in the pews.

It was such a widespread problem. He's not talking about, well, cliques. They're not supposed to be cliques in the church. Now that doesn't mean if there are those that simply have things in common in the church, of course they're going to just more easily get along with each other. So long as they don't block others out, it's not a clique. If you say, well, I go to a church, I love the word, but I don't connect with the people.

Well, don't start criticizing them for that if you don't connect. But you will. You will if you start making friends because love covers so many things.

You have Christ in common. But don't feel like, you know, you have a group of men, maybe they like to hunt or fish and you don't. No, don't attack them because of their, you know, they have these interests. So we're not talking about just those things that make people get along more easily, one with another, because they have common interests in this regard.

We're talking about full-out snobbery. We don't want you. You're not part of us. You're not good enough to be in this group.

That kind of a thing. Concerning the poor, Jesus said, the poor you have with you always. They're not there, though, simply because you will always have poor.

They're not there for you to abuse them, to harass them, to belittle them. What Christian would do that? Granted, there are those in religion who have gone out of their way to be kind to the poor while they disagree with what the scripture says about God.

That won't benefit them. What does it profit a man if he gains the world, if he treats everyone in the world morally kind, but loses his soul nonetheless because he rejects the revelation of God? In verse 7, he says, do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? Again, he's talking about his brother according to humanity, according to the flesh, that noble name, Jesus Christ. These are the unsaved rich ones who tend to vilify Christ.

Christians, some of them, or us, I should say, some of us have a problem separating ourselves from those hostile to Christ, and therefore we then at some point become a problem to Christ. This is a story with King Jehoshaphat, was it not? He kissed buddy, buddy with the northern kingdoms who were all idolaters and wicked and murderous, but yet he was chummy with them instead of rebuking them and drawing a line. And then the prophet came out to confront the king one day. We read about it in 2 Chronicles 19. He said, should you help the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh? Therefore the wrath of Yahweh is upon you. Pretty serious stuff. Jehoshaphat, being the righteous king that he was, scrambled to make things right and stirred up yet another revival for the Lord on the words of this prophet. How forceful are right words, as Job said. They can be very forceful. Verse 8, if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well.

Very basic. No human being can wiggle out of that one. If you're being cruel to another, all that person has to ask themselves is, would I want to be treated this way? Scripture is our authority for behavior and that's why he brings it up. If you really fulfill the royal law, the law that comes from the king of kings, and it is law, and it is scripture. Jesus said, if you keep my commandments, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.

It means your heart is in total agreement with what Christ says about everything. Thanks for joining us today as we took a deeper look into the book of James here on Cross Reference Radio. Cross Reference Radio is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. We're blessed to bring you God's word with each broadcast. If you'd like more information or want to listen to additional teachings from Pastor Rick, please visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com. If you've been blessed by this program, we'd love to hear from you. When you visit the website, simply click on the contact us link at the top of the page and leave us a message. That website again is crossreferenceradio.com. Please join us again next time as we continue our study through the book of James right here on Cross Reference Radio.