james 2.1-13

Our small group looked at James 2.1-13 last night. When we have these discussions I'm amazed at how we can so easily read at a high, almost superficial, level. The Word of God is rich and deep.

"In the divine Scriptures, there are shallows and there are deeps; shallows where the lamb may wade, and deeps where the elephant may swim." ~ John Owen

As I reread the text last night, here is my take ... beyond the traditional caring for the poor ...

• Rich men will come among you. The paradigm is that they are blessed by God for being righteous (Deut 7.6-15). Interestingly I think that in today's society we typically do not look upon the rich in a positive light ... but that's another issue.
• We, who by the Spirit, ought to see into the hearts of man often assess by outward appearances.
• Worse, our motives to do so are 'evil', i.e., personal gain, recognition, etc...
• But God has chosen the poor to be rich. That's ironic right? Well that's because he is speaking in a way that only those who have ears can hear. Before, under the Law of Works, one does good and one is reward physically. Here we are speaking of the Law of Grace. He is not referring to the financially poor, he is speaking to the spiritually bankrupt (which by the way we are all were) and God has made those rich. Clearly the financially poor are not made rich, right? He is reinforcing that when we realize we are dead in sin, only then can we be made alive in Christ and that is by the Spirit, not by works.
• The point the he is not speaking of financial poor and rich is reinforced with 'heirs of the kingdom' and 'promised to those who love him'.
• More irony comes however as James turns his attention back to our treatment of the rich. The rich it seems oppress us and drag us into court. They blaspheme the name of God. What does that mean? Well they forgot by what means they became rich. They confused their efforts with God's grace. They thought, based on the Law of Works, that they really earned wealth. And now they intend to continue to benefit by their own means. How many of us lose sight that we first became bankrupt, then by grace were saved, and now for some reason think we have to be good to earn favor ... forgetting that the way on is the same as the way in, i.e., by grace.
• So they blaspheme God because they fail to recognize Him as their source and they oppress those he loves. They neither honor God in themselves by reflecting His true image nor do they honor God by seeing Him in others.
• We who are spiritual do the same when we interact with mankind based on external measures rather than by the Spirit peering deep into the heart.

Ok ... 'nough of that ...