1. James Class Schedule
4/7/2013 James 2:1-4 R. Henderson

2. James 2:1-4 Condemnation of favoritism
1  My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2  For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3  and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool," 4  have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

3. Temptations in the book of James (part 1) *
Temptation to be quick / swift with a negative response and quick
to be irritable and angry (having a hair trigger) Jas 1:19-20
2. Temptation to be only hearers of the word and
not doers of the word Jas 1:22-25
Temptation to criticize others Jas 1:26,27
4. Temptation to show partiality and favoritism Jas 2:1-13
Temptation to boast of our faith without works Jas 2:14-26
Temptation to misuse & not restrain the tongue Jas 3:1-12
7. Temptation to walk in human vs. divine wisdom Jas 3:13-18
* HAL MOLLOY 21 MAR 2004

4. 1  My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
KJV confusing translation:
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
Subject: My brethren
Verb: do not hold (present, imperative, active)
lit: do not continue holding or stop holding
Direct Object: your faith

5. with an attitude of personal favoritism
1  My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
with an attitude of personal favoritism
personal favoritism - prosōpolēmpsia - a respecting
of persons, partiality, favoritism
compound word - prosopon, which means “face”, and lambano, which means “to receive”
see Rom 2:11 & Eph 6:9
The statue of justice is a woman blindfolded.
She is not to consider the status or appearance
of the one who stands before her. (Mc Calley)

6. 2  For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
if – a third class conditional sentence - introducing a
hypothetical case
a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes
assembly – synagōgē - a bringing together, a gathering
(syn, "together”, agō, "to bring") - see Acts 9:2
gold ring – lit: gold rings on his fingers – see Luke 15:22
fine clothes – lit: splendid (shining) clothes
– see Luke 23:11

7. 2  For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes
poor – ptōchos – from the word, to crouch or cower
like a beggar - see Luke 21:3
dirty clothes – rhyparos - filthy, foul – see Zech. 3:3-4
This is the temptation when greeting visitors in verses 2-3 !

8. 3  and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,"
Two different greetings:
and you pay special attention to the one who is
wearing the fine clothes
you pay special attention - lit: to look on with favor
see Luke 9:38
you sit here in a good place – lit: be sitting down here
in this well situated
place

9. 3  and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place," and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,"
you say to the poor man
note: no special courtesy
You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool
lit: as for you, stand in that place or be sitting down beside my footstool (Wuest)
note: no seat offered only floor beside the footstool

10. have you not made distinctions among yourselves
4  have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
have you not made distinctions among yourselves
made distinctions - diakrinō - to make a distinction or
to be divided in one’s mind
(aorist, indicative, passive)
Has the bait been taken in this illustration ?
note: In the temptation process in James 1:14 “is tempted”, “is carried away” and “(is) enticed” are in the passive voice
see Act 15:9 (positive example)

11. and become judges with evil motives
4  have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
and become judges with evil motives
(you) become judges – lit: you have come into a new state
of being as a judge
Who is the only true judge ? – see Heb. 12:23, James 4:12
with evil motives
motives - dialogismos - an inward reasoning, an
opinion; see Luke 5:22

12. James 2:1- 4 (WuestNT) My brethren, stop holding your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of the glory, in connection with an act showing partiality. For if there comes into your synagogue a man whose hand is conspicuously loaded with gold rings in brightly shining clothing, and there comes in also a poor man in dirty clothing who is dependent upon others for support, and you look upon the one wearing the clothing which is brightly shining with respectful consideration, and say, as for you, be sitting down here in this place of honor, and say to the poor man, as for you, stand in that place or be sitting down beside my footstool, are you not divided in your own mind, and have become judges with pernicious thoughts?