Community Group Discussion Guide

James 2:1-13 – Weekend of September 22 & 23, 2018

I. Starter Question:

Easy question: For what event would you want “the best seats in the house”?Another easy question: Where have you seen poverty, the poorest of the poor?Vulnerable question: How do you show favoritism? What grade would you give yourself in the class of “loving my neighbor as myself”? Are we rich at HHBC? Who are the poor in our community?

II. Discussion of Scripture:

Context: The book of James is considered to have been written by James, brother of Jesus. James is writing this letter to a group of Jewish Christian house churches in Palestine who are in conflict. His intent in writing the letter is to encourage the believers to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only”. This book is practical, dealing with the day-to-day issues of life and faith, instead of some of the deeper theological issues in other books of the Bible. This week’s theme of impartiality is an attribute of God that flows throughout scripture. God is absolutely impartial in His dealings people, something we cannot fully grasp.

A. James 2:1-14 (ESV) The Sin of Partiality - 2 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

For Discussion:

1. In verse 1, James shares that having a genuine faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ while showing personal favoritism is contradictory and incompatible. How do we show favoritism in our personal lives? In our family? In our church? Do we view this as a “respectable sin”? Does partiality reflect the nature and glory of God? Partiality is defined in the Greek with the idea of judging by appearance, lifting up someone’s face and judging on a purely superficial level, without looking in their heart. Is favoritism accepted in our society as OK?

2. Recall people who Jesus Christ personally ministered to in His time on Earth. (a wealthy Jewish leader, a beggar, a prostitute, a Roman official, the religious, the tax collector, the educated, the ignorant, the criminal and the law abider). Do we reflect the image of our Lord and Savior by the diversity in our ministry? (I John 3:2; Matt 22:9-10)

3. Being rich or poor is not the sin or the issue, partiality is the issue of the example in verses 2-4. A rich man comes into our church driving his nice car and wearing the finest Chuck Taylors, while a poor man wanders in off the street wearing filthy clothes in his beat-up clunker. Where is the sin? Is a rich man in sin for being rich? No! Is a poor man in sin for being poor? No! Both rich and poor are equal in God’s sight. They both need a Savior to set them free from their depravity. Partiality must not be shown to either. What does “judges with evil thoughts” mean in verse 4? (It is the strongest Greek word for evil carrying the idea of vicious intentions leading to a destructive effect.)

4. In verses 5-7 James asks three questions:

1. Has God not chosen the poor in this world to be rich spiritually and heirs of His kingdom?

2. Are not the rich ones the ones who oppress you, dragging you into court?

3. Are the rich ones not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which we were called?

What is James trying to convey to these believers by these questions?

5. In verses 8-9 James brings up the royal law. What is the royal law? (Leviticus 19:18 in the OT and Matt 22:39 in the NT). Decreed by the King of kings, Love is right. Partiality is wrong. Nonpreferential love is the answer to obedience of God’s law,

instead of prejudice. (Romans 13:10)

6. This may seem trivial. Is it such a big deal to be prejudiced, or show partiality based on superficiality, or to treat someone with favoritism because it will help a business deal down the road? This is not that big a sin, right? Verses 10-13 do not seem to say so. James uses the extremes of adultery and murder to show the absurdity of inconsistent obedience. Is one little sin a big deal to God? What does it cost mankind? What does the Bible say about these little sins? (Romans 6:23, Romans 3:23, Matt 5:19).

7. Just as love triumphs over prejudice, mercy triumphs over judgment. How can we ask the Holy Spirit to give us mercy? Do we live lives us mercy, or of judgment? Does this show itself in the grocery store, at a restaurant, driving down the road, in our church? Judgment will be merciless to those who show no mercy. (Matt 5:7) What mercy has God Almighty shown you? Complete and consistent obedience is required, demanded for spiritual maturity to be attained.

III. Responding in Prayer:

1. Pray for our church that we would be led by the Spirit to practice impartiality, reflecting the image of Jesus Christ in our world.

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to convict us of prejudice and of a judgmental spirit. May the Lord cleanse of this unrighteousness and make us whole.

3. Let’s pray the Gospel over ourselves, our CG and our church. It is by God’s grace we are not consumed. His mercy saves us from eternal damnation. Let’s praise the Lord for the gift of salvation and beg for His mercy. Let’s pray that He plants in us His heart of mercy for the least, the lost and the hurting.

Mission / Vision / Valuesof Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Our Mission:Love God. Love People. Make Disciples. Our Vision:Our vision is to become a diverse family of surrendered and transformed people who passionately love God and others. We endeavor to be a body that is overcome by the reality that this life is not about us, but all about the glory of God. We want to be transfixed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and compelled by His heart for our world. We strive to be seed-throwers and fire-starters, hope-announcers and grace-givers, risk-takers and constant-reformers, lifelong-learners and sold-out doers. We desire to be a people who gladly give our lives to free the captive, strengthen the weak, embrace the outcast, and seek out the lost. Because Scripture is our authority, we strive to be a family that serves together, studies the Word together, plays together, worships together, and lives life together. By God's grace our world will be changed because we are here. Our Values:

1. Glorifying God:

We value the passionate pursuit of knowing God and walking with Him.

2. Submitting to the Authority of Scripture:

We value the sufficiency of Scripture in every aspect of our lives.

3. Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

We value sharing the Gospel and making disciples.

4. Serving with a Kingdom Perspective:

We value living our lives focused upon what will matter most for eternity.

5. Cherishing the Local Church:

We value the essential role of the church in the sanctification of the believer and salvation of the nations.

6. Doing Life Together in a Christ-Centered Community:

We value that God uniquely uses personal relationships to sanctify and sharpen believers.