PARTIALITY VIOLATES GOD'S LAW: JAMES 2:9-13

 Verses 9-13: But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

In no uncertain terms, James clearly states that to show partiality you are committing sin. This word ‘committing’ has the meaning not just of doing, but of continually working or producing sin. The distinction is made because the believer’s life is not to be characterized by the production of sin, but by the production of divine righteousness. The production of divine righteousness is what is meant by the phrase at the end of verse 8, doing well, in contrast to the production of sin.

James, inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this epistle, could have found them guilty of sin, but instead, he points to the ultimate authority of Scripture. They are transgressors because the law of God states:

You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. (Leviticus 19:15)

The violation of this law is the disobedience of the ‘royal law’ which was stated in verse 8: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 Now James sets up a principle of doctrine concerning the keeping of the ‘whole law.’ By the ‘whole law’ he is not referring to the ‘royal law’ as was mentioned in verse 8. The royal law is an extraction of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Within the context of this passage, verse 11 illustrates that the ‘whole law’ is referring to the Decalogue, as we will note in the next verse.

Each of the Ten Commandments contains detailed points of what the overall command requires. For instance, the Second Commandment as stated in Exodus 20:3: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” The detailed points are in the following verses: making idols (v. 4), worshiping/serving them (v. 5), and seeking out mediums or spiritists (Leviticus 19:31). What James is trying to convey is that if you keep all Ten Commandments, including all of their detailed points, except that you make a false idol, a violation of one of the detailed points of the Second Commandment, then you are guilty of the whole law. Not that you have violated every commandment and every detailed point, but you are guilty of disobedience to the One who instituted the law.

God doesn’t grade on a curve. Just because you’ve been obedient in the majority of instances doesn’t mean that He will overlook your single failure. It must be remembered, the benchmark set for the Christian is to be holy and perfect:

But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)

Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

Now in verse 11, James expands the principle set forth in the previous verse. He prefaces this with “He who said” referring to God when He was giving the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1). This establishes the authoritative premise for what follows.

James states that anyone who violates even one of the commandments, they ‘have become a transgressor of the law.’ The reason for this is that the Ten Commandments are a single unit in the eyes of God and the infraction of even one point indicates defiance to the will of God by the believer.

It is curious to note the two commandments that James cites – adultery and murder. The reason these two are mentioned may well be that they are sins that can be committed mentally or overtly. Observe what our Lord had to say about the mental sins of murder and adultery:

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries...” (Matthew 15:19)

Specifically of murder:

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

And specifically of adultery:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

Divine Directive

 In verse 12, James reaches back to chapter one verses 19 and 26 in order to highlight two previous points: be slow to speak and bridle the tongue. He contrasts this with the present instructions "so speak." So far James has not specified the exact problem of what they have been saying, but in their show of partiality there must have been much discussion amongst themselves.

He also instructs them to "so act." This word 'act' means to be doing, to do. Our words and actions should reflect the character of Christ to all around us. By not showing partiality we 'are doing well' (2:8) and demonstrating our adherence to God's standards. The Apostle Paul likewise advised how our speech and actions coincide:

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)

James reminds us that we will be judged by the law of liberty. In 1:25 he explained that if we abide by the law of liberty—that is, continuing to employ our attention and energy to the application of what we learn—then we will be blessed and not suffer the disciplinary judgment he outlines in the next verse.

But first, James states that the judgment will be ‘merciless.’ Which means that divine discipline will be meted out to all who fail to obey God’s commands; no one will be excluded or ‘let off the hook’ from the consequences of disobedience.

Notice that this judgment is for those who have shown no mercy. This word ‘shown’ is the same word in the Greek translated ‘act’ in the previous verse. Again, this is an assertion that our lives have a specific meaning and purpose in the plan of God. We are to be producers of divine good, divine righteousness—from our thoughts, words and actions. This is the ultimate will of God for our lives: to demonstrate that our lives are centered in Christ and that His supreme law of liberty is the pattern for our lives in order to reflect His glory to a lost culture.

He adds a final fitting remark: Mercy triumphs over judgment. The word for triumph is used only 4 times in the New Testament. It has the distinct meaning of exultation, as in a victorious circumstance. Dr. Marvin Vincent makes a logical point:

While judgment threatens condemnation, mercy interposes [intervenes] and prevails over judgment.1

What James is telling us, is that demonstrating mercy is a win-win proposition, for us and God—He is glorified and we are not disciplined.

 

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[1] Vincent, M. R. (2002). Word Studies in the New Testament (1:743). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

 

© 2023 David M. Rossi

THE CUP OF BLESSING

“Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16 NASB)

The context of 1 Corinthians 10 deals with Paul's appeal to believers to avoid the tendency of neglecting their relationship with the Lord. He brings to their remembrance the failure of the Jewish people during their wilderness journey after their exodus from Egypt, that even though the Lord provided for them during this trying time, they still rebelled, grumbled and indulged in idolatry. He assures them in verse 13 that God has been faithful and provides ‘the way of escape’ from any temptation which they may encounter. And in verse 14 he commands them to ‘flee’ from idolatry, which appears to be at the core of his argument.

In verse 16 he mentions the celebration of the Eucharist[1] because it ties together with what preceded—an exposition of God’s faithfulness and His grace provision to believers. It follows that if we do not consistently focus upon our relationship with God then anything which diverts us is a form of idolatry.

However, we should not assume that the phrase ‘cup of blessing’ is merely a passing mention of the Eucharist celebration. For the phrase ‘cup of blessing’ has profound meaning. Paul’s use of the word cup itself is not meant to be understood as a literal, physical cup—it is obviously figurative, spiritual. Note the following examples of how Scripture often employed this word:

• Cup of His anger, Revelation 14:10 
• Cup of His wrath, Revelation 16:19
• Cup full of abominations/unclean things, Revelation 17:4; 18:6
• Cup of suffering, Matthew 20:22, 23; 26:27, 39, 42; Mark 10:38, 39; 14:23, 36; Luke 22:17, 20, 42; John 18:11; 1 Corinthians 11:25-28

Further, the imagery set forth of the cup is designed to focus on the contents of the cup. Our Lord used a cup metaphor to refer to the Pharisees internal spiritual condition, indicating how they cleaned the outside while leaving the inside “full of robbery and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25-26).  Here, Paul’s mention of the cup is also meant to emphasize its contents—blessing. The Scripture uses this word blessing in a number of ways: “ascribing praise, implying also thanksgiving, speaking well of and glorifying our God...favor conferred, gift, benefit, bounty.”[2] Given that Paul states that “we bless” this cup, it stands to reason that we are expressing thanksgiving and praise for this cup of blessing. So the meaning of the cup’s content can be understood as something imparted to us, i.e. God’s grace provision to us of eternal life which was attained by the blood of Christ—His suffering and death on the cross on our behalf for the forgiveness of sins (1 Peter 2:21-24).

Further, this cup of blessing, which we continue to remember in our communion services, is not intended to emphasize the physical fluid of the grape juice or of Christ’s physical blood (which was never in a cup). Paul was looking back to the Last Supper when Our Lord took the cup of wine and after giving thanks said to the disciples “this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27-28). By this He meant to symbolize His death on the cross which would secure eternal life “for many”.

But furthermore, Our Lords command to “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:35) implies that His blessing of eternal life is not limited to the future, but is effective in the present—providing strategically for all of our needs while we are here on His earth. These blessings He provides us are not limited to the physical (i.e. food, shelter, clothing) but, and maybe more importantly, to the spiritual—the Biblical principles designed to sustain us during every event of life, whether it be enjoyable moments or evil confrontations.

Now let us answer Paul’s question, “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ?” By the rules of Greek grammar, this question presumes an affirmative answer: yes, we do share in the blood of Christ. But how exactly do we share in His blood?

We understand sharing in the English to mean giving something to another person, either a portion or all of what we possess. The Biblical meaning of the word share[3] is to partake of something in common with another. Here Paul rightly states that we share in common that which the blood of Christ procured: our salvation. By our redemption from the curse of sin, we are restored to the proper relationship with our Creator, as He intended from the beginning when He created man. We are able to live the God ordained lifestyle that is ‘normal’, ‘natural’ with Christ at the center of our lives as Lord and Savior. All other lifestyles are the real ‘alternative’ lifestyles.

What is the means by which this sharing is accomplished?

By being baptized with water? No.

By joining a church? No.

Only by the simple decision of faith in Christ and His finished work on our behalf can one share, partake of this great salvation.

Sometime in the middle of the 1^st Century A.D., a panicked Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They answered: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:30-31).

If the reader has never taken a moment and expressed faith in Christ, then they do not share in this salvation which the cup of blessing represents. Not because I say so, but because of what the Word of God states:

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)

“But these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31)

 

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[1] Known to most Christians as the Communion Service or the Commemoration of the Lord’s Supper.

[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G2129.

[3] Gk. koinōnía [κοινωνία] association, communion, fellowship, close relationship. In Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1979). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 438.

 

© 2022 David M. Rossi