The Triumph of Mercy
James 2:1-13
Intro: Our country was founded on principles of equality and justice. The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This statement alone does a pretty good job of leveling the playing field with respect to favoritism based on class, wealth, religious disposition, and even gender and race, although it has taken much more time for change to occur in the last two.
-James makes a case for equality in today’s reading. The issue isn’t as much about rights as it is about having a heart that is right. Class distinction and social hierarchy have been around for a long time. Our world is still segmented based on the amount of wealth a person has. However, James makes it crystal clear that it should not be that way for those who are followers of Jesus – especially when they gather for worship! There is a better way to live that is much more in tune with the heart of God.
-We already touched on the status of the rich and the poor in James 1, but today we want to dig a little deeper and find out what God’s expectations are for His followers as they interact with the rich and the poor. Here’s the main thought I want to look at:
Prop: God wants us to extend His love and mercy to everyone, regardless of their status in life.
TS: Let’s identify some winning ways and some losing ways to manage the mercy God has given us.
I. Mercy Withheld: Slighting the Poor (1-4)
1 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
-Believers were apparently overlooking and devaluing some of the poor people in their church family in favor of others who seemed to have a lot more to offer. James has heard of it and is writing to correct their perspective and behavior.
-The answer, of course, is not to elevate the poor above the rich, but to treat everyone as equals in the sight of God. It is selfish to cater to the rich because it reflects such ulterior motives as hoping for material gain from them or for their approval, or even for the elevation in status or credibility they may appear to bring to you or your group. God is not impressed by wealth, nor is He dependent upon it. He looks on the heart, and if the heart lacks mercy then it lacks the merciful presence of God. So we must not withhold our love or mercy or royal treatment from those who do not seem worthy of it. It is wrong for us to value someone based on what they have that we like or want! It is wrong for us to estimate someone’s value based on what they don’t have as well!
-Instead, let’s look at how God treats those who do not seem to have much to offer.
II. Mercy Modeled: Honoring the Poor (5)
5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
-God’s mercy flows downward. If you ever watched the movement of water that has been released, you can see that it finds its way to the lowest possible places. I discovered this first hand when I was a kid, living in the town of Austin. There was a ditch that ran along the hill above our little town of 18 people. One day I continued the work that a ground squirrel had started and before you knew it I had a nice little current running straight down into the meadow. The water found the lowest place to go, and I found myself in the deepest of trouble with the rancher who owned the surrounding pasture land.
-God’s mercy is not reserved for those on high ground who are living the high life! His mercy flows down to those in the lowest of circumstances, with perhaps the least to show for themselves. Those who have so little are honored by the Lord. Why? Because they can perhaps more easily recognize what is true of all mankind, namely that we are all poverty-stricken and have nothing to show for ourselves. Maybe the simplicity of poverty clears the way for them to embrace the promises of God without all of the attachment to wealth and status.
-James reminds his readers that God watches out for the poor and actually elevates them to an honored position before Him. The argument is obvious: If God values the poor, so should you! But in blunt fashion James goes on to confront their mistreatment of those lacking wealth and their favoritism of the rich.
III. Mercy Rejected: Mistreating the Poor (6-7)
6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
-No love for God, no mercy for fellow man. James draws a parallel between how the worldly rich people treat the poor and how some of these believers are treating the poor.
-There were wealthy people in Scripture who pleased God, but they were also merciful (Job, Abraham, Cornelius, Lydia, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus). Many other wealthy people in Scripture were cruel, cold-hearted, and selfish. It was all about them!
-Now, it is easy for us to slander the wealthy, lumping them all together as essentially evil, but what is God calling His people to do in this passage? “Don’t show favoritism!” Learn to recognize the intrinsic value in each human being, regardless of what they have to offer in the way of wealth, talents, resources, etc. To devalue any human being is to devalue and dishonor God their Maker. Each human bears the image of God and therefore is highly valuable and irreplaceable. God is no less God without them, but they bear His image and are valuable to Him. God created them as an expression of His love and creative genius. He does not want the positive, lasting potential of their life to be lost, which it will, if they choose to do life without God.
-Now, why is it that riches often corrupt those who receive them? I’ve always had a fascination with words and the history of their development. I’m sure there is a reason that wealth is sometimes referred to as “spoil.” To spoil can mean to strip or plunder. The spoils of war often go to the one with the most strength and/or strategic intelligence. What effect do those riches often have on those who gain them? They can spoil them. Those who strip and plunder wealth from others experience the stripping and plundering of their humanity and character. Riches certainly can spoil and corrupt those who acquire them, especially if mercy was sacrificed along the way.
-Those who reject mercy may accumulate wealth and status in this lifetime. However, the debt they incur will never be paid in full. They will face eternal insolvency, experiencing the ultimate poverty of being separated from God and all that is good!
-James paints a picture of people who are rich, cruel, and selfish – people who have rejected God and His mercy. His implied message to his readers is, “Don’t be like them! Don’t go there!”
IV. Mercy Extended: Loving the Poor (8)
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.
-This Scripture is found in Leviticus 19:18. That must have been where James was in His Bible reading that day. Just a few verses before that here is what you find: Leviticus 19:15 “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” Then, “love your neighbor as yourself.” If you do this, you are doing what is right.
-James calls this the royal law because it came from the King of Kings! God’s laws were always greater than what man tried to legislate. So the royal law from God calls us to give royal treatment to those around us – love them like you love yourself, or possibly, love them because they are just like you – made in the image of God! This kind of love is not only to be shown to the materially poor, but to all neighbors. Jesus described who a neighbor was in the story of the Good Samaritan. A neighbor can be of another race or ethnicity, another religion, a different class, social status, etc. The point is, we must love them the way God loves them.
V. Mercy Squandered: Demeaning the Poor (9-11)
9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
-Playing favorites with the rich actually makes a person guilty of disobedience before God. Regardless of how many things you do right, if you persist in any sinful activity, you stand convicted and guilty before God.
-James gives an example of a person being pleased with themselves because they are too religious to commit adultery; however, they justify committing murder. This may seem like an extreme example, but one of the issues James may have been dealing with (as we already saw in James 1) was the issue of anger and violence being stirred up by Jewish Zealots. Some of these Zealots thought they were doing God a favor by taking matters into their own hands. History reveals that some of these Zealots became assassins who would actually slip into the temple and stab wealthy Jewish aristocrats to death. This may be what James has in mind when he uses murder and adultery as examples. Regardless of the offense, anytime we disobey God we become a lawbreaker, guilty before God. Where can a guilty person turn? To the cross in repentance, finding forgiveness and power to change.
-James’s readers were guilty of favoritism and injustice, judging the poor as less valuable than the rich. They needed God’s mercy. To avoid God’s judgment they needed to relinquish their own harsh judgment against the poor. To receive God’s mercy they needed to show mercy. This brings up our final point.
VI. Mercy Rewarded: Valuing the Poor (12-13)
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
-Mercy is its own reward! Mercy given becomes mercy received. None of us deserves God’s mercy or grace. We all deserve judgment.
• Judgment is getting what we deserve.
• Mercy is not getting what we deserve.
• Grace is getting what we do not deserve.
-Mercy triumphs over judgment in at least two ways. First, those who show mercy will receive mercy, rather than strict, code-based judgment. This rewards love and kindness - relationship. Second, mercy beats judgment in the sense that the more we allow God’s mercy to flow through us, the less judgmental we will tend to be. Mercy in our hearts will defeat the tendency to act selfishly and play favorites, judging some people as less valuable than others. Mercy will compel us to consider the image of God in man, rather than turning the image of man into God!
-All men stand in poverty before God! There is nothing we have that has not been given to us! When we recognize our poverty and receive His mercy and grace, something changes! The tattered rags that once defined us are removed and we are clothed with the wealth of God’s mercy and goodness! And that is what should come out in our actions and in the way we treat others. Love without hypocrisy! Don’t play favorites with those who offer to improve your status! Show love and mercy every chance you get to those who seem to add nothing to your life! Mercy wins the day! Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Conclusion: As we close, how is your judge-o-meter? Do you find yourself despising or even ignoring certain people because they seem to have nothing you want or could add nothing to your life? Do you treat certain people better simply because they have something valuable to offer you? How about your mercy-o-meter? Is mercy flowing out of your heart to others?
-I’d like to close with words from Jesus. Luke 6:32-37 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Mercy wins in the end! If you need mercy, show mercy. Mercy is yours for the asking today. God would much rather send mercy your way than judgment. But you need to humble yourself enough to ask Him for mercy. He will forgive you for your sins and failures, and He will help you be merciful to others. If you need His help today, would you ask Him? From your heart to His, just let Him know you want to do things His way.
