James 2:1 - Meaning and Application

The apostle is rebuking a very corrupt practice here. He shows how much harm comes from sinning through respect of persons, that is, treating some people better than others for outward reasons. This evil was already spreading in the churches of Christ in those early days, and in later times it has badly damaged and split Christian nations and groups.

James first gives a general warning against this sin: “My brothers, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with favoritism” (James 2:1). Think about what this says about Christians. They are people who have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, they embrace it, receive it, and live by it. They accept Christ’s teaching, submit to his rule, and treat that faith as both a trust and a treasure.

James also speaks very honorably of Jesus Christ by calling him the Lord of glory. Christ is the brightness of his Father’s glory and the exact image of his person. Since Christ is the Lord of glory, we should value Christians most for their relation to him and their likeness to him, not for outward status.

If you claim to believe in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, a glory the poorest believer will share just as fully as the richest, then worldly rank should not guide your respect. Earthly honor is nothing beside that glory. To profess faith in Christ while favoring people for outward advantage is to dim the honor of our glorious Lord, and that is a serious sin.

James then explains and warns against this sin with an example (James 2:2-3). “If a man with a gold ring and fine clothes comes into your meeting, and a poor man in filthy clothes also comes in, and you pay special attention to the one who looks wealthy...” The word here for assembly points to meetings where church members settled disputes or decided on church discipline. It is like the synagogue gatherings among the Jews, where people met to judge matters fairly.

This seems to refer to a practice among the Jews, where both rich and poor were to be treated the same in court. The point is not about ordinary worship services. In public worship, people may be seated differently because of rank or situation without sin. James is talking about church judgments, church discipline, and matters of conscience, where no such favoritism should exist.

In the example, one man looks impressive because of his clothing and appearance, and another comes in poor and badly dressed. If people then decide wrongly just because one looks better off, they are acting unfairly. From this we learn several things.

God has his people among all kinds of men, both those in soft, fine clothing and those in poor, worn clothing. In religion, rich and poor stand on the same level. No one gets any nearer to God because of wealth, and no one is pushed farther away because of poverty. God shows no favoritism, so neither should we in matters of conscience.

We must especially guard against giving worldly wealth or rank too much honor in Christian gatherings. James is not teaching rudeness or disorder. Civil respect is due, and some differences in how we treat people of different ranks are proper. But that respect must never control the church’s choices, church offices, or church discipline. In spiritual matters, we are to know no one after the flesh.

A citizen of Zion is one who despises the vile and honors those who fear the Lord. If a poor man is a good man, we must not value him less because he is poor. If a rich man is a bad man, even if he has fine clothes and a fine profession, we must not value him more because he is rich.

It also matters greatly what rule we use when judging people. If we get used to judging by outward appearance, that habit will shape our hearts and our actions in religious gatherings. Many wicked people are highly regarded in the world, even though their sin makes them low and shameful. On the other hand, many humble, godly Christians are clothed plainly, but neither they nor their faith should be thought less of because of that.

James then shows how serious this sin is (James 2:4-5). It is shameful partiality, it is injustice, and it puts us against God, who has chosen the poor and will honor them if they are good, no matter who despises them. “Are you not then making distinctions among yourselves, and becoming judges with evil thoughts?” This question is meant to press the conscience of every serious reader. It asks whether we are not setting up false standards and judging by wrong measures.

Appeals to conscience are very useful, especially with people who make a profession of faith, even if they have fallen into deep corruption. James also shows that this respect of persons comes from evil and unfair thinking. The conduct is partial because the heart and thoughts from which it comes are also evil. If we trace partiality back to its source, we find hidden thoughts that are deeply wrong.

You are secretly preferring outward show over inward grace, and visible things over invisible realities. The full ugliness of sin is not really seen until the evil of our thoughts is uncovered. That is what makes the faults of our temper and conduct so serious, because “every thought of the human heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

Respecting people like this is a serious sin because it puts us in direct opposition to God. “Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith?” Yet you have despised them (James 2:5-6). God has made heirs of a kingdom the very people you treat as worthless, and he has given great and glorious promises to those to whom you can hardly give even a kind word or a respectful look. What a terrible wrong this is in people who claim to be God’s children and to be like him. Listen, my beloved brothers, because I urge you with all the love I have for you and all the respect you have shown me: think about this carefully.

Notice that many of the poor of this world are God’s chosen people. Their being chosen does not keep them from being poor, and their poverty does not weaken the evidence that they are chosen. Jesus said, “The poor receive the good news” (Matthew 11:5). God wanted to recommend his holy religion to people by its true worth and beauty, not by outward wealth or splendor. So he chose many poor people of this world. Also notice that many poor people are rich in faith. The poorest person can become truly rich, and that should be the kind of wealth they especially seek. People with wealth and property are expected to be rich in good works, because the more they have, the more they have to give. But poor people are expected to be rich in faith, because the less they have here, the more they should live by hope in better things to come.

Believing Christians are also rich in their title, since they are heirs of a kingdom, even if they have very little now. What is given to them in this life is small, but what is stored up for them is beyond measure. And wherever people are rich in faith, there will also be divine love, because faith works through love. That will be true of all the heirs of glory. Heaven is a kingdom, and it is a kingdom promised to those who love God. In the previous chapter we read of the crown promised to those who love God (James 1:12). Here we learn there is also a kingdom. And just as the crown is a crown of life, so this kingdom will last forever.

When all these things are put together, it becomes clear how honored the poor in this world are if they are rich in faith, and how greatly God will raise them up hereafter. That makes it all the more sinful to despise them. After such reasons, the charge is sharp indeed: “But you have despised the poor” (James 2:6).

Showing partiality because of riches or outward appearance is also a very great sin because of the harm often done by worldly wealth and rank, and because Christians are foolish to give special honor to people who have shown so little honor to God or to them. “Are not the rich the ones who oppress you and drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the noble name by which you are called?” (James 2:7). Think how often riches become the cause of evil, blasphemy, and persecution. Think how many troubles you suffer, and how much shame is brought on your religion and your God by people of wealth, power, and worldly standing. Then you will see how sinful and foolish it is to honor what tends to bring you down, ruin what you are building up, and dishonor the noble name you bear.

The name of Christ is a worthy name. It brings honor, and it gives worth to those who bear it.