Social Restoration - Phase 1: Social Distinction, Part 1

Social restoration. We would all agree we need it. The division, the rancor, the judging of one another.

It's ugly and it's destructive. How do we come together? Where do we begin?

That's today. Stay with me. This is the Bible teaching of Chip Ingram.

I'm Dave Druey. And in this program, we begin a brand new series called Social Restoration. You know, playing favorites gets us into all kinds of trouble, doesn't it? So the question is, why do we do it?

What is it about playing favorites that seems like a good idea? Well, we're going to talk about that and why God says it's important to stop it. From time to time, Chip invites his son Ryan to do the teaching, so Ryan's with us today.

But Chip will be here later to bring some extra insight, so be sure to stay with us for that. Well, let's get going, shall we? Here's Ryan Ingram with his message, Social Distinction, from James Chapter 2. We're kicking off a brand new series called Social Restoration. We want to take this opportunity to press the reset button and go, okay, this is what it looks like to be a Christ-centered gospel community. And so how do we experience social restoration?

And as you already recognize, that question has so much more weight today. And the question is, how do we have experienced social restoration in a country that's experiencing social unrest? Well, James, the brother of Jesus, he was pastoring, in fact, an incredibly unjust death had happened to the church.

It was the stoning of Stephen, where he was stoned to death and a persecution broke out on the church. So this church in Jerusalem, these people were scattered from their homes, and then they're trying to figure out how to do life, how to engage back into, like, what does it look like to be a follower of Jesus when your world's turned upside down and you're dispersed and displaced from your norms and your society and your relationships and your family? And so he begins in chapter 2 talking about this social restoration. And we're actually going to look at four phases, four phases for social restoration, social distinction.

That's what we're talking about today. See, James is going to say, if you want to experience social restoration, there needs to be a social distinction that marks the community of Jesus. There needs to be a clear distinction that set aside, set apart the community and the followers of Jesus. And so we're going to pick up what James says in his letter, James chapter 2, verse 1.

If you got your Bibles, would you open up to them? He begins this way. My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. My brothers and sisters, believers, followers of Jesus, people who have committed their life to Jesus who say, your way, Jesus, not my way.

Your calling to lay down your life, take up your cross and follow him. Believers, you must not show favoritism. First thing James is going to tell us is there is a social distinction for followers of Jesus.

Like the social distinction of Christian is there is to be no social distinction. Now, I love how James opens this up. He says it this way, brothers and sisters.

And if you're reading the book of James, you'll note that he uses that many times. In fact, 14 times, it's like brothers and sisters. And in this context, I just can see James like trying to remind his people that your brothers, your sisters, your family, you love each other.

Reminds me of when my boys especially are in the backyard and most of the time it's great. But every once in a while, you know, they're wrestling and something happens and all of a sudden it gets really, really heated or, you know, I have to go back there every once in a while and just go, hey, guys, cool it, your brothers, you love each other. Come on, we're family and family sticks together and family takes care of one another. This is what James is saying. He says believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, like that's what's most important about us, distinguishing us. And then he says this must not show favoritism. In fact, the construction in the Greek there is it's assumed that this is already happening, that this is going on right now. In fact, it's a command that's saying stop what you're doing.

There is an activity going on and you need to halt it right now. And so the command is simply this, stop playing favorites. The church in Jerusalem, the spread out, all of a sudden they're beginning to show favoritism or partiality or preference to certain people, which means you're not showing favor, not showing partiality, not showing kindness to other type of people. The social distinction of a Christ centered community is that there is to be no social distinction. I'm not going to play favorites for you.

I'm not going to make you higher than anyone else. In fact, it's interesting, William Barclay theologian writes this, the church was the only place in the ancient world where social distinction did not exist. It was a society built on classes, a society built on your social dignity and distinction. And you've got to imagine how incredibly weird this must have been as a new community formed and you'd have a master and a slave sitting next to each other as equals. Or better yet, what often happened because early Christianity was a religion of the poor, not of the elites. It was a religion that spread among those who didn't have much and who were mistreated and who were misfits and you would have a slave leading the church gathering and you have a master sitting under his leadership.

And you had this incredible new reality of how we are to relate to one another. And he says, stop playing favorites. Well, what is favoritism? The Greek and English lexicon of the New Testament, so if you wanted to go look this up, you could define favoritism this way. To make unjust distinctions between people by treating one person better than another.

To make an unjust distinction between people by treating one person better than the other. And the underbelly of favoritism is prejudice. I make a prejudgment about who you are. And favoritism, I'm going to play favorites because you're wealthy. I'm going to, you know, because I can get something from you. I'm going to play favoritism because you're influential.

Maybe you're an influencer on Instagram or something like that and you're like, man, I want to rub up and get next to those type of people. I'm going to play favoritism because you have some sort of power or influence or maybe you have a position that you hold, which then means that those who don't hold that or who become in any way less than that, we treat less than. And he says, stop playing favorites.

We do this in the church spiritually. We play favorites with who's our favorite pastor. Stop playing favorites with what's our favorite church denomination. Stop playing favorites. We do this socially, whether it's rich, poor, black, white, whatever it is, stop playing favorites. We do this politically. Stop playing favorites. And we're going to talk about this in a minute, but you can disagree with someone and still honor and love them. And politically, what we do is we take our partisan side and anchor that and play favorites and push down and malign those who are on the opposite side.

So stop playing favorites. Well, what does favoritism or partiality look like? James is then going to go and share an illustration and it's out of their own context. He's just ripping it out. He says, suppose, you know, a rich person shows up to your gathering and and he says, suppose someone pulled up in a Ferrari and they're like, you know, pull up, they step out. And, you know, obviously this red Ferrari, because that's the kind of Ferrari you have to get if you're going to get a Ferrari. And he pulls up and eye catching. Everyone's like, whoa, look at this guy steps out.

It's got designer jeans, the coolest, you know, shirt. He's wearing the gold rimmed glasses, perfect hair, perfect smile. And you're just like, wow, look at him. And everybody's kind of looking at like, oh, I want to get around him. I mean, he's got money.

He's got a plan. Maybe he's an important person. And then he says, suppose a poor person comes in. In our context, maybe it's a homeless person. And he says, if you take that wealthy person and you put them in a seat of honor and then you say to the poor person, you know what? You can stand in the back. The homeless guy, you know, you can sit over here. We don't really have a seat over here. How about how about you stand outside?

You're kind of smelly. He makes this interesting comment. Notice what James says about when we do that. He says, have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges? Remember that pre judging prejudice and become judges with evil thoughts. See, favoritism is so prevalent in our culture and we all are guilty of it that we've become blind to it. It happens in the church is what James is saying. And he says it should not happen. The distinctive mark of a follower of Jesus, of the church and the bride of Christ is that there is to be no social distinction.

So let's unpack this. What is, you know, favoritism, partiality really look like? First, it looks like exactly what James is saying, treating certain people as more valuable than other people. It looks like treating someone else that they're more valuable, more worth your time, worth your energy, worth your thoughts than other people. And the inverse then is true as well, that if you treat other people as more valuable, then you're going to treat certain people as less valuable than you.

It's interesting. I love this quote. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says this. The supreme religious challenge is to see God's image and one who is not in our image. See, how I treat you is a reflection of me and how valuable I believe you to be. And God's going like, wait a second, every single person on the planet, rich or poor, black or white, Republican or Democrat, is an image bearer of the God most high and valuable. See, favoritism plays out when I treat certain people as more valuable than other people. When I treat wealthy people as more valuable, when I treat beautiful people, when I treat influencers, when I treat those important position as more valuable than other people. It looks like when I look down on those with whom I disagree, when I'm looking down and what happens when we look down, we often put down people. When we look down on people, we often lash out at them. See, prejudice or favoritism or partiality, it's treating people as more valuable than others. It's also looking down on those with whom you disagree. And finally, it's overlooking those who make you feel uncomfortable. It's when we overlook the people around us that make us feel uncomfortable.

The people that come to my mind is the homeless population, frankly. I remember my kids and I were picking up Chipotle to go. And so we get Chipotle and as we're pulling out and pulling onto the road, there's a homeless, a young homeless man. And I got to be honest, let me just tell you my heart, I looked at him and I was like, I'm pretty sure he's a meth addict. I don't agree with why he's there. What did I do?

Prejudged him. And my son says, Dad, can we give him some of our food? And I got to be honest, I'm a little bit germaphobic and it's like, well, we have tacos and you can't really give tacos one taco and then we'd have to touch them.

And I didn't explain all this. This is what I'm thinking. And I'm like, no, I don't think so. And he's like, Dad, can I just give him one of my tacos?

Well, you see, tacos don't transport well and this is not how it goes. And then the light turns green and he's still asking, Dad, why can't we give him? And I realized my son gets it and I don't. And I said, son, let's turn around and let's go buy him a big old burrito and let's drop it off. He's like, thanks, Dad. I'm like, no, thank you.

Because you led the way, not me. See, favoritism or partiality is overlooking those who make you feel uncomfortable. And it's such that I find in my heart that it's not just an act, but how do I make this a habit? It's like the person that comes over that is a little awkward maybe or that you go, they're an EGR. That's extra grace required person where you're like, oh, my gosh. And you go, no, no. How can I love them?

How can I engage and not just go? It would be easier. You're right. It would be easier.

And are there times where you just hang with your friends? Absolutely. I'm not saying that you don't do that, but but where we wouldn't be a click oriented, but we would lean to the fringes and we say, no, every single person is valuable and we're not going to look down upon those.

We disagree. We're going to learn how to lovingly disagree and treat one another with honor and respect. And we're going to engage in those uncomfortable places to love those that Jesus loves. And so James then shifts the conversation from talking about, well, what is favoritism?

What does it look like? And he wants us to get this. Why? Why he starts with like this is this is a big deal. And he says, well, why is this such a big deal? He's going to give us three reasons.

Reason number one. First, it is an affront to the very heart of God. It's an affront to the character of God. He begins it this way. He says, listen, pay attention.

Don't miss us. And again, my dear brothers, we're family. The family of God.

So especially in the family of God, this shouldn't be happening. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and Ryan Ingram's teaching is from his series Social Restoration. Ryan will be back with part two of his message in our next program. But Chip's here now with some thoughts about what you heard today.

Now, before he gets to that, I hope you'll take a second to go online or tap share and encourage others to join us for this series, too. Social restoration is complicated, even with the best of intentions. Well-meaning people get themselves into trouble. So how do we make a difference and bring light, not heat? Well, these messages from Ryan Ingram bring a lot of clarity to that question. He looks at our current circumstances with a gospel vision of community and provides biblical solutions. For a limited time, resources for social restoration are discounted and the MP3s are always free. To order your copy or to send it to a friend, visit us online at livingontheedge.org.

For additional information, just give us a call at 888-333-6003. Well, Chip, I'm really looking forward to this series with Ryan. What can you tell us about maybe the impact that it's had or that you hope it will have for us going forward? Well, what was exciting for me was how parallel this series and its teaching is with the early church. I mean, the early church was dealing with racism between Jew and Gentile instead of black and white, with tremendous prejudice between the slaves and those that were free, Roman citizens, non-Roman citizens. A lot of divides in a very multi-ethnic world, political divides at the time, and government that was very, very oppressive. And so there's a number of things that are happening in this passage in James chapter 2 and then later James chapter 3.

The issues are specifically different but very parallel with some of the things that we're facing. And I thought it was really interesting. I've had a chance to team up with my son and do some teaching at Awakening. Of course, he teaches there regularly, but it's multinational, it's multicultural, and a great majority of them have come to Christ just in the last few years. And so he's culturally speaking about what does God say to these very pertinent issues, not somewhere where it's not a big issue, not where it's not really divisive, but in a place where it's a hotbed. And I think birthed out of that is a series that will really help us learn how social restoration can happen. And it's not because it's my son teaching, it's because what James is teaching in chapters 2 and chapter 3 apply not just in the Bay Area, not just in the United States, but across the world.

And there is a huge need for social restoration and God has a plan for it. So I'm excited for the Living on the Edge family to hear this series and more importantly to apply it. Well, whether you're a radio, podcast, or app listener, we've got you covered. I hope you'll set a reminder to be with us for this entire series. And let me encourage you, message notes are available for this series too.

So if you'd like to jot notes while you listen and get all the extra details, the message notes are a quick download at livingontheedge.org or just tap fill in notes on the app. Well, now here's Chip with a final thought. As we wrap up today's program, I'm going to do a very brief review on sort of the three ways that we show favoritism or distinction. Number one, it's when we treat certain people as more valuable than others. Number two, it's looking down on those with whom we disagree. And then number three, it's overlooking those or shying away from those people who make us feel uncomfortable. Now, I don't know about you, but I can't think of a single person that doesn't do some of those things on a very regular basis.

And I mean, unconsciously. I mean, when we really disagree with someone, we just tend to think we're superior, we're right and they're wrong. And then there's this issue of people that make us feel uncomfortable. And I'd like to just pause for a moment because the desire of this series isn't that we just learn more about the Bible or we learn more about what it says in terms of prejudice or favoritism.

The real point is that we apply it. And that only happens when I get honest, you get honest. So let me ask you, who do you treat as more valuable than some other people? Maybe even in your family? Or what about in your neighborhood or where you work? Or is there an ethnic group or a kind of person or people that are from a different political party that you would treat or you look down on because they're different than you? And maybe a little bit closer to home, what about people that make you feel uncomfortable?

Maybe a marginalized person or a person from a really different background or maybe someone who just is the opposite polar end of you in terms of your political views and what really needs to happen in America. And you know, as a believer in Christ, we have those distinctions, we can disagree, we live in an amazing, amazing country that's had such a rich history. But we in the church, especially now, have to be the people that bring healing and light and unity. And that means that we do something that's very, very counterintuitive. It means that we treat people the way Jesus treats people. And that means that we don't treat anyone more valuable than anyone else.

It means that we treat everyone with dignity and value because they're made in the image of God. And so I want to give you two small assignments. This week, I'd like you to think of someone that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Could be a homeless person, could be a person of a different color, a different political party. And here's your assignment, proximity. All I want you to do is get near them physically and ask some questions. Don't try to convince them, don't argue, don't do anything. All I want you to do is get to know them as a person. What I've learned is when we stop seeing groups of people as them and they meet individuals and hear their story and ask them questions without judgment, a lot of positive things happen. The second thing I'd like you to do is watch your words this week. Words of them and they and blaming. And pause for just a minute and say, Lord Jesus, will you help me see other people the way that you see them?

Man looks on the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. I'm going to ask you to pray that and watch God work in you and then through you. You know, a great way to stay engaged and connected to Chip and Living on the Edge is with the Chip Ingram app. You'll get free access to all of Chip's recent messages, his message notes, and much more. Not only that, but it couldn't be easier to call or email directly from the app. We'll be with us again next time when we continue our series, Social Restoration. Until then, this is Dave Drouy saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.