The King's Commandment, Part 1

Always have many ethnicities church in this church. Praise God. The gospel doesn't stamp all the varieties of ethnic diversity church becomes one new race. The church becomes one united priesthood church becomes one holy nation belonging uniquely to God and our mission is to declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into this marvelous light is not uncommon for us humans to think of people in terms of we might even make judgments about others based on their skin color or nationality. God doesn't think in terms of races.

As we often do. God thinks of all the redeemed of every tribe and tongue and nation as one race united under him with Christ as our leader, God commands us to interact and relate with each other in a way that our unity is on display today on wisdom for the hard Stephen David continues through his series. The law of love. Stevens called the lesson you're about to hear the king's commandment. A young Hispanic nurse who attends our church big disciple by one of the women in our church grew up in a town inside the country of Mexico. She came up to me after one of the services we introduce the subject of partiality and prejudice from the second chapter of James and she told me that she had been raised in the small town that was literally built up and around the side of a small mountain even though they were all Mexican. They all spoke the same language that town was divided into sort of an invisible class system and it played out physically in relation to where you live on that mountain.

The people at the bottom of the hill were the poor people in the middle of the middle class. The people at the top. Of course the upper class were the finest homes were.

She told me that all three were growing up years in high school.

Even though all the kids came, who lived all over the mountain to that school. They segregated themselves by virtue of their location on the mountain. Someone from the top of the mountain. She told me would never socialize with those who lived literally below them. She told me that because she lived at the bottom of the mountain.

She never fit in with the kids who lived on the top of the mound could never think that that's a perfect metaphor that he'll for the kind of attitude James is condemning goes on to say is inconsistent with the gospel of Christ, we begin our study with the opening of this chapter and verse one with the paraphrase still ringing in my mind was from the amplified Bible that says stop holding your faith in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ with snobbery. Stop being what remember I regretted stop being 123 snobs you got it right. So stop being snubbed. James is saying get your nose out of the air and get over where you came from and where you live on the mountain.

I thought this was classic. The Chicago bank once asked the Boston investment house for a letter of recommendation they were interested in a young man would apply to work at the bank. He actually worked for this investment house so they sent a Sterling letter recommendation about his his family. They can say enough good things about the young man's pedigree. His father, they wrote to the bank was a cabinet. His mother was a low all even further back in his lineage was a blend of Saltonstall's and Peabody's and other notables from among Boston's finest families. A few days later the Chicago bank sent a brief note back saying the information you supplied is unimportant where we are not contemplating using this young man from breathing. We just want to know if he can work, we would expect the world to be impressed, but I kind of things connections and image are everything, are they not status, education, rank you throw in the right namebrand and attractive face politically correct link to get a man or a woman who knows how to go from the well to the top death, the DNA of our cultural fallen cultural norm of the gospel comes along and topples the norm the Jesus Christ did not come down to us from the top of the mountain. It was actually more than that.

He'll entire than the top of the creative amount he rides the lands above the mountain and in that's how he condescended enjoying the human race and you think though that being God and he could choose it when he came down he would he would choose to come and land on top of the mountain and show us all about their prosperity theology is corrupt, steady comes to the bottom and he shows us all how to come down. He descended the bottom rung in Matthew's gospel account Jesus Christ. He records delivers this unconventional message. The first shall be last. The way to lead is to serve the way to live is to die to self. Wonder he was the bestseller back then she Jesus Christ turn the mountain upside down in James now pastoring one of the Lord's half-brothers leading elder in the church in Jerusalem was watching and he saw very early on the Christianity and partiality were being mixed together.

So under the inspiring movement of the Holy Spirit exhorts the believer live out the gospel to bring his faith that are worth in chapter 2 challenges the believer look past the face to not mix Christianity with classicism or racism or cultural is him we will always have many ethnicities in the church in this church. Praise God. The gospel doesn't stamp all the varieties of ethnic diversity church. However, becomes one new race. The church becomes one United priesthood. The church becomes one holy nation belonging uniquely to God and our mission is to declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into this marvelous light where the demonstration of the gospel of Christ, who came all the way down all the way down to the bottom of the hill you remember if you're with us. Our last study, the believers are having a problem with this. They're having the same problem in the first century that we have in the 21st. So James illustrates the problem of prejudice and partiality by taking us inside a church service is already underway rich man comes in.

You remember Mr. bling bling, don't you just want to use that word one more time to get the red carpet all the way down to the front seats.

The chief seats which lets us know this was in the Baptist Church. After all, the poor man comes in late, he still listed on the Florida state over there by the wall to stay out of the way.

James tells us several reasons why this response, though small, was actually a huge indicator that how the world was acting on the outside had gotten on the inside. James neither pities the poor man or condemns the rich man, nor does God money is not the root of all evil, the love of money is the root of all evil for 7610. You can be poor and extremely greedy. You can be in the middle class and and live and love live forever love money that is in James issue he's interested in the congregation is responding and any watches as he illustrates how the out of congregation fonds over this rich man.

The word for look after her pay attention to. We studied means to look with covetousness they're saying in our heart will be this guy would love to have his life and was left behind is the gospel implication is in Greek scholars believe it to be true, and I would throw my head and within the rich man and the poor mentor. Both unbelievers and they come to church to find out what's going on in the inside and they're going to leave believing the church is in any different inside the world is outside see in the church chasing each other up the mountain to I can't help but think of my study this past week, Jesus Christ would have been exactly the kind of young man they would've asked to sit on the floor to stand by the end.

To this day, isn't it interesting that Jesus Christ still uniquely calls and chooses those who are connected, they aren't wealthy they are noble which then demonstrates the gospel of grace as I study the structure could help her think of Spurgeon on reading his autobiography right now to volume some in the beginning chapters of volume 2, he was what we would call a country bumpkin. He was raised in a poor pastor's home effect.

At one point so poor is deadening by by vocationally recall that today meeting had another job, because church could afford to pay him enough to live off of one point so poor they sent Charles to live with his grandfather and grandmother so he could eat Charles grandfather was a pastor also little more successful little more well-paid but they couldn't afford much.

However, his grandmother did pay him a penny for each him. He memorized and to this day.

If you reply to any of Spurgeon sermons number seven goes by without the quoting of him or to he began preaching at the age of 17 he preached in a makeshift barn to about 40 people.

They asked him to be their pastor accepted within two years. There were 450 people causing that little barn. The bulge many an invitation to come. The London city and preach the Famous New Park St., Chapel in pastor by Dr. Gill. His body of divinity is still in print today. This was the uppercrust of society. He thought they made a mistake in inviting them. They had made a mistake they've heard of this young preacher boy preaching a barn with passion, so they invited him to calm his dad told it was a mistake to go.

He did go he arrived, the priest less than 100 people, even though that auditorium set thousand was dying past the future. It seemed a teenage girl in that congregation that Sunday were called Spurgeon did not fit in at all.

It was obvious he was from the other side of the tracks. In fact, she said.

His appearance was distracting if not comical.

She wrote and I quote this teenage girl she said is his hair was long and badly trimmed it and I see the picture.

It is stuck at a Catholic I don't have a problem just really. He was wearing an oversized black coat honestly borrowed in his mismatched blue handkerchief with large white spots which he graphically described as an illustration in his sermon calling all the more attention to it, which awakened in me feelings of amusement. She would later become his wife and pick out a thank you for accepted the call that little dying church and it grew within two years they needed to build the seat 1800 people and then later the tabernacle was built Metropolitan Tabernacle, which seated 5000 and Spurgeon would preach there for little more than 35 years in the great the we got many noble many wise according to the flesh that is chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise Eugene Peterson says it this way he's chosen nobody's to confound the somebodies of the world to God has turned the mountain upside down and this time we get it right. So what's the solution James how do you get this right will in verses 8 to 13 which is the final paragraph of this discussion, sort of, part two here he delivers the answer he's going to deliver and I'll paraphrase what he says in three statements I had as many as five and we need to condense it down.

Three.

The first thing let's get reacquainted with the heart of God can reacquainted with the heart of the father. Verse eight.

If however you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You are doing well and a lot of ink has been spilled on defining what exactly James is referring to here the phrase the royal law is never used as an expression anywhere else in the New Testament, but James gives us a rather obvious clue is repeating the words of Jesus Christ from Matthew chapter 22 is a first section, the James leaves all not because it's unimportant because it doesn't fit the context of what is stressing the first part is the love the Lord your God, right, with all your heart, soul and mind, and he says this is the foremost commandment. The second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. And then Jesus says that on these two commandments depend pay all the law and the prophets knows that the heart of it, Jesus will broaden the definition of neighbor to anybody you need your help. This is the king's commandments and reflects the nature and the heart of the king. It's the law of the sovereign. It flows out of his nature and flows out of his character, and it is a law by the way, which means it's binding.

There is no higher Court of Appeal, we believe it were no active word to all beds follow it because it is from the king is supreme.

Perhaps that's the idea of the word Royal supreme in that it having come from our supreme sovereign.

It also demonstrates the supremacy of the gospel of grace and mercy. So all the law, then the words of Christ and what James is focusing on here can be can be broken down into two relationships.

A relationship with God and relationship with with each other. Jesus Christ summarized all the ingredients of the Lord. Matthew Internet summary and any set at all. Is love God, love people. This is the vertical relationship you love God is the horizontal relationship. We love people. If we love God we will love people, we will care for them as God brings them in our lives.

We can't say we love God for not loving and we we can just say well I love people, but I don't love God, they hang together see in the early church in James generation, the Jewish scholars believe that the law was a series of detached command. They're all separated and if you can envision it, the 10 Commandments they viewed as as if you went bowling and there are those 10 pins I and you roll your ball down there and you're supposed and maximum over and avoid the two things along the edge which Bible I think there's some well anyhow but you not to over and there's eight left but there still eat standing. That's the Jewish comprehension during the days of James with with the law to keep one law is to gain credit to break a law is, is that goes in the other side of the calamine and so the end of the day you might have enough of these that outweigh this in your all right, which of course developed into something of the human heart pampers after it makes us feel good and there are a lot of people who think you're going to get to heaven because of that, and they envision God out there somewhere sitting by a scale with your name on it in the good things you do get added to the side of the bad things get out of this side and if you can be a long and you can outweigh the bad with the good and God will say, you did fairly well.

The laws of that role is in separated bowling pins in his deeds that we can categorize the chain that look at verse 10 whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point has become guilty of all. See, that is, we are all considered lawbreakers because we have broken anyone law, and that gives us the verdict you are lawbreakers or transgressors. If you break one only of the law you break the chain and become a lawbreaker. I know if you're hanging on this over the side of a cliff and hear her hold onto it.

A chain with 10 links which link is really important to you and of the third when the matter of the ninth talk, connect, there's another way to understand the unity of the law which James is describing by which we all find ourselves to be lawbreaker is that they are all directly or indirectly related. So I did this little exercise.

If you take the sin of partiality or prejudice and connected to the 10 Commandments, you discover that in some way, either directly or indirectly you have violated all 10 here we go.

The first and second Commandments are broken simply because God commands us to not show partiality and to do so is to deny his will and place our will, above kids, thus idolizing our own opinion and not God alone.

The third commitment is broken because the favor someone over another is to misrepresent the name and nature of God. The fourth commandment is broken as we show favoritism in church must filing our sacred worship. The fifth commandment dishonors the poor and we should dishonor no one, especially those whom we should give our care and concern, prejudice and favoritism effectively kills the spirit in the hopes of the poor by demeaning them and thus violates the sixth the seventh commandment is violated as we favor the rich and powerful, and in so doing show infidelity and unfaithfulness to our Lord and to the bonds of this Christian family. The eighth commandment is broken as we steal from the poor, the dignity that is theirs as unique creations of God. The ninth commandment bears false witness because prejudice implies they have less worth than others and that is a lie in the 10th commandment is broken because favoring the rich is a form of covetousness which values possessions over and above the value of a human being.

All 10 of the people in this assembly might try to say, well, okay, we broke this little thing law, but we we did show we did show some love me. We didn't kick the guy out. We let the poor guy stand by the wall and sit we we get the same one we had to get to hear the same message we heard. We love him to which showed a little differently than we showed it to the rich can know love doesn't avoid the law. It is the highest law and it must be dispensed equally because the law supreme in the law of love is over and above all other laws infecting royal law is the law of love. Just because you love doesn't mean you're not accountable to all the other laws you can excuse this guy.

But I do all these things that matter. Now you can't say that look like a pipe if I get pulled over by state trooper on the way home today after church I got use your imagination on this but I can pull over because on Penny Road. It is 45 miles an hour and I'm doing 47 and told her I hate it when they do that only doing 47 get pulled over, but I do okay so I did and I policeman comes up to my parties is Mr. Davey my pickup truck and he says I'm in have to write you a ticket. What if I said but I love you, officer, I mean I really love what you can look down in the window units. Excuse me sir, and I would say I I I just want you know I love all the policeman of the world would have me get out of the truck and breathe in this little plastic thing listen if I promise to love all of the state troopers. Can I speed maybe. I mean I mean not true love does not satisfy the will to make us want to keep saying you really want to love keep the loss of classism and racism and cultural favoritism, and in James mind are not just little misdemeanors. By the way, they violate the greatest, most supreme greatest soup law is that we love the Lord with all of our hearts, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves. There are some people in your life that you likely find quite easy to love and perhaps some that you find difficult.

We hope this lesson and this series will help you. Stephen called this series the law of love.

And today's lesson is entitled the king's commandment. There is more to this lesson, but what we don't have more of a lease for today is time were stopping here and working to conclude this lesson on our next broadcast. This is wisdom for the heart with Stephen, Davey, Stephen is the pastor of the shepherd's church in Cary, North Carolina. In addition, Stephen is also the president of shepherd's theological seminary shepherd's seminary is equipping and training pastors and Christian leaders for a lifetime of service, but even if you don't feel called to full-time Christian ministry, shepherd's theological seminary can equip you to better understand God's word. You can study online right where you live. There's also a very unique one year program where you can relocate to this area for a year. During that time you would study God's word experience authentic community growing discipleship take a trip to Israel and do some study there and earn your Masters degree in theological studies. You can do all of that in one year we had college students, participate right after college, but before entering the workforce we had retired people come and do this program something like this sounds interesting to you, we'd like you to learn more.

If you navigate to our website and then scroll to the bottom of the page there is a link to shepherd's theological seminary where you can learn more. You'll find us online@wisdomonline.org that's wisdom online.org. Another great way to learn more about us is by signing up to be on our email list.

We send ministry updates and special offers to those who sign up if you don't receive email from us. We would like to add you to thank you for signing up organist send you the next three issues of our monthly magazine heart to heart.

The articles each month. Focus on a particular theme and explore various topics related to the Christian life. Stephen son Seth writes a daily devotional guide using that guide each day will help you remain grounded in God's word, the magazine is called heart to heart.

We send heart-to-heart magazine to all of our wisdom partners but we be happy to send you the next three issues. If you'd like to see it for yourself. All you need to do is visit wisdom online.org when you get there you'll find a link that says magazine go there and fill out that form and working to add you to our email list again to show our appreciation organist send you a gift of the next three issues of our magazine. We can also help you over the phone if you call 86 648 Bible.

I hope the rest of your day is filled with God's blessing and that she'll be back with us next time here on wisdom for the hearts