James 2:1-10
Jas 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
• James is writing to the Believers. He is writing to us, if we are Believers in Jesus/Yeshua.
Brethren come in all shapes and sizes, temperaments, personalities, are
rich, poor or inbetween… have different educations… different backgrounds…
• Brethren claim to have the faith of Jesus/Yeshua.
• He is the Lord of glory.
• He created everyone, He is the maker of Creation.
• Yet we can hate, despise, look down upon, one of His Handiworks.
• Even a person who is born blind, can be used for God’s glory!
• Joh 9:1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
• Joh 9:2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that
he was born blind? Joh 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:
but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Jas 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel,
and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
• Here two men are being compared – a man who is visibly rich, with fine clothing and
with gold rings. Then there is a poor man, in rags and possibly unkempt.
• It is so common to judge people by their clothing. I have seen people observe others
when they come into an assembly of people, by looking them up and down, and
checking out every detail of their dress.

Jas 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit
thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my
footstool:
• This could also happen in our congregations, the obviously rich person is shown the
good seats. The leader makes it a point to talk to them after the service. After all
they would pay more tithes – and this is what the congregation runs on.
• God has been challenging me – do we look to Him for support, or do we look to the
people or do we look at our jobs as means of our support instead of Him as the one
who provides us through the jobs? He is the one that will touch the people He wants
to use, to give to us. But we need to look to Him.

• What would we do if someone who was homeless, walked into our service and sat
down next to us? What would be our reactions? Would we stretch out our hands to
welcome them, or would we get up and move seats?
• Do we even as we enter a congregation, discriminate in our minds as to whom we
want to sit next to?
• Do we purposely go and sit next to the rich, or famous, or talented, or spiritual?
• Do we avoid the overweight, the poor, the needy, the widow, and the jobless?
• How are we affected by others?
• How do we talk about others?
• Do we realize that God is their Maker? He has His eye on them, as well as us.

Jas 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
• God hates partiality. He wants to purify our hearts.
• David was discriminated against. When Samuel called all the sons of Jesse, David was
not called. He was just the youngest son, out tending the sheep. He could not be one
of the ones anointed to be King! Yet he was.
• 1Sa 16:10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto
Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 1Sa 16:11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all
thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the
sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come
hither. 1Sa 16:12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a
beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is
he.
• Even in Jesus’ time people discriminated against Him. They called Him gluttonous, a
winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.
• Luk 7:34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man,
and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
• This verse says “Are you not then partial in yourselves? And are become judges of evil
thoughts?
• To be partial is to judge with evil thoughts!
• May the Lord help us to see others with His Eyes!

Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich
in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
• The poor are chosen by God, especially poor Believers, who are heirs of the kingdom.
• The poor person we do not want to sit next to at church or fellowship, might be the
one who has a mansion next to ours in heaven! 🙂
• In God’s sight every one is equal. He has no favourites. All are loved.
• God uses the poor to give others a chance to change their attitudes. They are chosen
to be a part of God’s School of the Holy Spirit, and the tests that we have to go
through in order to grow in grace.
• God uses the poor to challenge our giving. But for the grace of God, we could be in

the same position that the poor people are.
• God sees the poor of this world as – rich in faith; and heirs to the kingdom; and he
sees them as children who love Him.

Jas 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you
before the judgment seats?
• We have despised the poor.
• People are despised and looked down upon for many reasons. For one maybe they
are poor, they are not educated, they are fat, or thin, or tall or short, or not handsome
or beautiful, they are not talented, come from poor countries, they are not good in the
things we are good at, they have a small car, or they do not have a car, they have a
small house, they rent an apartment, they do not have as much as we have, they are
not witty or good conversationalists, they have no spiritual gifts, they are not good
givers, etc.
• The Lord hates that. We despise people whom He loves!
• James says that rich men oppress people, and judge them. Yet we suck up to the rich!
• We are not to oppress anyone; nor condemn anyone. We can bring correction in love.
• Of course we need to love the rich people as Believers, just as we love the poor who
are Believers. But not to love the rich because of their wealth. Not to love them
because of their riches.
• Not to avoid giving them the truth of the Word of God because they are rich. God
loves the rich. He gave them the power to get wealth! He also loves the poor and
uses them for His glory! Hallelujah!
• People who are wealthy can be very lonely. They do not know who their true friends
are. They do not know who loves them for themselves, or who “loves” them because
of their wealth. We need to be true friends to people. Not to be friendly for what we
can get out of people. We need to seek God who is the Giver of all good things!
• Also rich people can use their riches to manipulate and control. God sees all.
• And God loves us all. We need to revel in His Love.
Jas 2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
• I was meditating on this and wondered how people could blaspheme another person’s
name. I guess it means to ruin their reputation.
• One of the main way is through gossip – outright saying negative about another.
• Another way is dropping hints having negative connotations against another.
• Of course the “accuser of the brethren” is ever ready to use believers to accuse other
people of things behind their backs.
• It is very important to hear both sides (or all sides if there are more than two
parties involved) of the story before one concludes. If you just hear one side, even if
they are leaders, you will never hear the other side and get the true picture of what
actually had transpired.

• It is very unfair not to hear both sides of anything to get a true picture. Satan is given
an upper hand when we write off people just upon hearsay.
• I believe God is not mocked, whatever we sow, that we shall reap. Therefore if we
blaspheme others, we will also reap the same – many times more.
• It is much better when we are able to bless others, and we will reap blessings!
• When someone is saying something negative about someone, let us speak out the
positive about the person. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, including
ourselves, and it is so much better to comment on the strengths.
• If we have to tell someone negatives, we can speak the truth with love. We have
many blind spots, and sometimes an honest answer is a blessing to us.
• Pro 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. Pro 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
• Love your neighbour as yourself. Smile, acts of kindness, a good word, or deed…
• Love from a pure heart – love that has no ulterior motives or intentions.
• Doing loving things for others without taking the glory.
• Let God get the glory!
• It is difficult to love others if we do not love ourselves. Having the revelation of how
much God loves us unconditionally, will help us love ourselves.
• How do we think of ourselves? We need to know the thoughts God has for us.
• Or do we have guilt and shame? Are we filled with anger? Where does this anger
come from? What are some of the roots of spiritual wounds in our lives?
• Are we ready to forgive and release people (to God) who have hurt us?
• Forgiving people, does not mean that we condone their wrong behaviour.
• It means we release our burdens to God, and He who knows their hearts can deal with
them with justice.
• Let us be kind to ourselves. Let us treat ourselves well, and love ourselves.
• Let us confess what the Lord says about us. Not what the devil says.
Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as
transgressors.
• Wow! The Bible is so strong here – if we have partiality – we commit SIN.
• We are convicted by the law as transgressors.
• Jesus dies for our sin. He did not die for our mistakes.
• If we call sin, sin – then we can avail of the Blood of Jesus/Yeshua, and become “white
as snow”. Hallelujah! Isn’t that SO beautiful. From scarlet to snow.
• Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool. Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel,
ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath
spoken it.

Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all.
• We can be doing so well in other areas of our lives.
• But if we offend in one point, we are guilty of it all.
• We cannot be holy through our own strength and effort.
• We cannot be sinless without God helping us.
• Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live. Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God.
• We commit our weakness and our propensity to a particular sin to God and ask for the
Holy Spirit to help us, day by day and minute by minute.
• As someone said “When the devil comes knocking, I send Jesus/Yeshua to the door”.
• Beloved, let us draw close to God during these last days, and hear what the
Holy Spirit is saying to the Churches. Let us be obedient to the conviction of
God’s Spirit and do what God tells us to do!