August 23-24, 2003     LIVING LIKE YOU MEAN IT!    James 2:1-13

LOVING PEOPLE LIKE JESUS DID!

! IT’S NOT JUST WHAT YOU BELIEVE BUT ALSO

HOW YOU BEHAVE THAT MATTERS TO GOD!

HOW WE CAN LOVE PEOPLE LIKE JESUS DID!

1. BY AVOIDING THE TRAP OF FAVORITISM!

*** James 2:1 “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.” [New International Version]

*** James 2:1 “ …never think some people are more important than others.”

[New Century Version]

AREAS OF DISCRIMINATION

A. APPEARANCE!

*** John 7:24 (NIV) “Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."

*** 2 Cor. 10:7 “The trouble with you is that you make your decisions on the basis of appearance.” [New Living Translation]

B. ANCESTRY!

*** Genesis 5:1-2 (NLT) “This is the history of the descendants of Adam. When God created people, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them "human."

*** Proverbs 8:31 (NLT) “And how happy I was with what he created—his wide world and all the human family!”

C. AGE!

*** Leviticus 19:32 (NIV) " 'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God.”

*** Proverbs 16:31 (NCV) “Gray hair is like a crown of honor…”

*** 1 Tim. 4:12 “And don't let anyone put you down because you're young.”

[The Message]

D. ACHIEVEMENT!

*** 2 Cor. 10:12 “Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't dare say that I am as wonderful as these other men who tell you how good they are! Their trouble is that they are only comparing themselves with each other and measuring themselves against their own little ideas. What stupidity!” [Living Bible]

E. AFFLUENCE!

*** James 2:2-4 (NIV) “Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 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," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

*** Galatians 5:26 (Msg) “That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.”

2. BY SEEING THE FAILURES OF FAVORITISM!

A. IT’S NOT HOW GOD DEALS WITH PEOPLE!

*** James 2:5 (NIV) “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 DOESN’T SEE NET WORTH, HE SEES SOUL WORTH!

*** Proverbs 22:2 (NLT) “The rich and the poor have this in common: The Lord made them both.”

! GOD LOOKS AT OUR CHARACTER, NOT OUR CASH!

*** Acts 10:34 (NIV) “Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism….”

*** Romans 2:11 (NIV) “For God does not show favoritism.”

*** 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV) “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

B. IT IS ILLOGICAL!

*** James 2:6-7 (NIV) “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? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?”

! IN CHRIST WE ARE CALLED TO BE COMPASSIONATE BUT NOT CRAZY!

! WE HOPE TO GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT!

*** Job 32:21 (NIV) “I will show partiality to no one, nor will I flatter any man….”

C. IT IGNORES ONE OF THE GREAT COMMANDMENTS!

*** James 2:8 (NIV) “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.”

! IT’S CALLED THE ROYAL LAW BECAUSE IF WE KEEP IT,

WE WON’T NEED ALL THE OTHERS!

*** Galatians 5:14 (NIV) “The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

D. IT IS ONE SIN THAT MAKES US GUILTY OF ALL!

*** James 2:9-11 (NIV) “But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 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.”

3. LOVE PEOPLE LIKE JESUS DID!

*** James 2:12-13 (NIV) “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!”

A. BY ACCEPTING ONE ANOTHER UNCONDITIONALLY!

*** Romans 15:7 (NLT) “So accept each other just as Christ has accepted you…”

B. BY FORGIVING OTHERS FREELY!

*** Ephes. 4:32 (NCV) “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

C. BY SERVING OTHER WILLINGLY!

*** Mark 10:45 (NLT) “For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."

D. BY HELPING THE HURTING!

*** Matthew 9:36 (NIV) “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

E. BY SEEING A POTENTIAL MASTERPIECE, NOT PAST MISTAKES!

*** Ephes. 2:10 (NLT) “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

ALL IS LEVEL AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS!