In order to really understand this section, we have to look at James’ bigger picture that he is framing out for his readers.  We looked at James 1:27 and also 4:4 What I want you to see is where this theme is going. James is setting up a picture throughout this letter where he is going to show us the ways of God in contrast with the way of the world.  He’s giving us practical theology here.  What he’s saying is there is a system in this world that runs completely contrary to the ways of God.  And He is going to urge us to stay out of this world’s system, and point us to the faith that God our Father accepts.

And what he does in our passage tonight is give us a picture of how the church had bought into the world’s system with favoritism, and the church was doing exactly what the world did, honoring the rich and neglecting the poor. That’s the way the world works, isn’t it? In the world, it’s expected that you and I would give preferential treatment to those who can benefit us the most, right?  And James says, “You’re doing that in the church.” He gives this illustration of a man coming into the meeting wearing gold ring, fine clothes, and then a poor man, basically the picture of homelessness, shabby clothes coming in, showing special attention to the man with fine clothes, saying, “Here’s a good seat for you.” The poor man in shabby clothes, “Sit by my feet – we’ve got a spot for you on the ground.”  And listen, that’s not the way the church is supposed to function – that’s the world’s system!  So that forces us to internalize this in two ways:

(1) Am I doing this in my life today?  What system do I represent – God’s or the worlds?  And then

(2) corporately we ask, Are we doing the same thing in the student ministry today? 

Let’s look at some of the truths we learn from this passage.
1.  Be captivated with the glory of Christ
As believers in that Christ, think about this, if we are captivated by the glory of Christ, Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord of glory, if He captivates our hearts and our minds then this radically affects the way we view others. You see, the reality is, we cannot have a proper view of man without a proper view of Christ.  When we look at those who are wealthy and successful in the world, and we begin to esteem them or worse become jealous of their wealth.  But James shows us that the wealthy are not deserving of honor, Christ is worthy of honor.  James is saying get your eyes on the glory of Christ. See Him in His majesty and His splendor and then, second, remember His sacrifice for the needy, because it was Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, who came down for poor sinners like you and me. Those who are impoverished in our sin, completely unlike Him, that’s who He came to save. 2 Corinthians 8:9 So when our mindset shifts and we see Christ as supreme and the one who sacrificed Himself for the poor then it radically affects the way we look at others in the world around us. This is a different way to view the world – it’s a new system.  This is where the gospel transforms the way we think, live and act.

2.  Be gripped by the grace of Christ
This is the picture that we see throughout redemptive history: God, in his grace, pursing in particular the poor, not just because they’re poor but because they respond to Him, they see their need for Him, and He is the defender of the poor.  Psalm 68:10 Jesus, Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mountain that James keeps eluding us back to starts with, ”Blessed are the,” what, ”in spirit”? “The poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And what James is saying is when you neglect the poor, you are negating the very grace of God that He has expressed all throughout redemptive history. You’re running contrary to the very plan and purposes of God to reach out to the poor.  And James says to us, stop looking at the people around you according to the standards of this world, according to what car they drive or house they live in or clothes they wear.  Christ should be transforming the way you see other people.  Has He done that in your life?  Is He doing that more and more and more so that you see other people through the eyes of Christ?

3.  Be committed to the commands of Christ
Remember when Jesus was asked about the commandments of God, when He said, “The first and greatest commandment is this, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, all your mind, with all your strength”? And the second is like it, “To love your neighbor as yourself,” the royal law found in scripture. James is encouraging us to be committed to the commands of Christ.  We’ve been brought out from the world’s system so that you might love in the way that is radically different. It’s love that is grounded in Christ, and there’s no room for favoritism in it.  So I want to encourage you at this point to think through if there are any facets of your life where you are showing favoritism, discrimination based on appearance, based on external factors, for this is sin.

4.  Live aware of the judgment of Christ
In verse 12,  he brings in this picture of judgment and reminds us, first, our words will be judged. Matthew 12:36.  Jesus says and you and I will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word we have spoken.  What Jesus is talking about there in Matthew 12 is that our words are the overflow of our hearts, but don’t miss the relationship here in James between faith and words and faith and works. Our words will be judged and also our deeds, or lack thereof, will be judged.  James is going to develop this theme later in his letter.

5.  Be a reflection of the mercy of Christ.

We are a reflection of the mercy of Christ.  He’s poured out his mercy on us, so that when his mercy transforms your heart, it is evident in your life in the way you speak and in the way you act, speak and act with mercy.  What he’s saying there is if you have not been merciful, don’t miss this, if you are not merciful then you are showing the mercy of Christ is not in you.  When it comes to those who are needy, when it comes to what we say, and this is where we come to overall point of this text is that the mercy of God produces mercy in the people of God, which transforms the way we speak and we act, which leads to this reality: the manifestation of true and acceptable religion, faith always expresses itself through love, love for others is not an option for those whose faith his real. 

Three Relational Stretches
1.  Savor your salvation. Taste it again!  Reflect on what you’ve received. Never get over the fact that Jesus picked you out of the slime pit, cleaned you off, and made you his own.  When we rejoice in who we are in light of who we were, we gain a new affection for Christ and all his other followers.

2.  See your responsibility. Others need grace and you’re the agent to get it to them.  King Jesus gave us the royal law of love, and it is by that law that we will be judged.

3.  Stretch to serve. Reach out.  Be open and friendly.  Break the old paradigm and establish a new one.  Accept even the weird and peculiar for the sake of the Gospel