“Following Jesus amid Objections: Hypocrisy”

(James 2:1-13)

Immense, Immediate and Directional

“Churches are full of hypocrites.” “Much evil has been done in the name of Christianity.” “A

Christian deeply offended me.” All are objections people offer as to the reason they don’t embrace

Christ.

How do we respond? We really can’t get defensive about these accusations because they hold

an element of truth. Some Christians have offered a “balance scale” argument—“But Christianity hasn’t

done as much evil as other religions and it has done more good than most.” There’s empirical evidence

to support that rationale, but remember our hope is to adorn the Gospel. And, this defense hits

objectors much like a man’s frustration with his wife’s unforgiveness struck me recently. “She should

give me credit for not being as bad as her first husband who cheated on her at least a dozen times—I

only did it three times and I’ve always worked hard providing well for her.”

Perhaps, we should take the “optimist” route and ignore the evil we’ve committed just talking

about all the wonderful good deeds Christianity has achieved. Or, we could assume that the oppressive

tones of Christendom are part of its brutal past thereby distancing ourselves from it. The “de-

converted” I listen to tend, however, feel offended by treatment they received personally and not

because they’ve observed a distant historical event.

We tend to react to the hypocrisy objection in a way noticed by the 19 th century satirist Abrose

Bierce who called hypocrisy “prejudice with a halo.” But “the Faith”, as James calls it, refuses to be used

as a cosmetic. Far from “prettying” up something ugly, “the Faith” aims to change us on the most

radical and internal level.

Three words can be used describe James’ warnings against favoritism (or surface judging)—

immense, immediate and impactful.

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“Favoritism” is a far more immense danger in us than we realize (2:1).

If we don’t embrace Christ because we treasure His glory, we have no other option but

“favoritism.” Put another way, where the supremacy of Christ is not pursued as our highest joy we will

default to a world-view of favoritism. There are two alternatives—either we will embrace the Christian

faith for the sake of Christ’s glory or we will try to hold a religion which is flattering to some and

oppressive to others.

The word James chooses literally means “to fasten to someone’s face.” The “face” was a

euphemism in the Greco-Roman world for a person’s image. Guy Trebay writes for the “Fashion and

Style” page of the New York Times. In 2006 he followed celebrity models and wannabe celebrity models

around for a major fashion event.

His opening paragraph reads, “Spend a week looking into the glass of fashion and you soon
realize that the individual actually is the universal. Almost nobody — not the rich, not the celebrated,
not the occupationally beautiful — has any true sense of how they’re perceived.”

Since we probably don’t know the reality under all the airbrushing either, I thought it might be

good to be reminded of how false image can be. Check out this wonderful video by Dove Soap’s

“Campaign for Real Beauty.”

Trebay entitled his article, “Look at Me, Look at Me, PLEASE, Look at Me!” Under the layers he

discovered the painful reality that the male models don’t think they’re handsome enough, the female

models don’t believe they are too skinny, celebrity models—the stars—pretend to not know what all the

fuss is about. And then he comments, “Our crazy cultural obsession with the perfected surface has

become so absolute that everybody ends up having to work off some obscure psychic debt.”

“Favoritism” externalizes the Faith as a bucket full of “good” works. James is warning—no he is

insisting—that “favoritism” or “judging people for their surface” is our default. There is a Christian

counterpart to our cultural obsession with the perfected surface. It is when we turn the Christian faith

into an external or into a bucket full of “good” works or sound doctrine. Kevin DeYoung says that’s like

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carrying your blood around in a bucket. Most everyone would say, “Gross” because your faith like your

blood belongs inside your body.

The danger of favoritism is always immediate (2:2-3).

“Favoritism” creates its own Christian sub-culture. James’ illustration of two men, one dressed

well and the other poorly, is yanked directly from the religious sub-culture. Jesus counseled His

followers to not sit at the head of a table at a religious feast else they may be humiliated by being

moved down. Where you were seated within a religious event was significant.

“Favoritism” will always erect “class standings.” “Poor” and “rich” are meant as a parable of any

sort of classism. James 1:9-10 tells the person whose community standards consider him “poor” or of

“low degree” to exalt in the glory of Christ’s Gospel. Those estimated to be well off by their culture

should exult in the humbling God brings into their life and heart. In other words, you might be guilty of

favoritism if you judge someone by their “surface” or if you tie your self-esteem, your worth and your

identity to the way your culture values you. Paul told the Galatians to not let themselves be defrauded

by surface judges.

Why you embrace Christianity will put you on a trajectory (2:4, 13).

Favoritism will be extraordinarily impactful on the course your life, your demeanor, your sort of

Christianity takes. It has a dramatic influence on what you’re going to be like when you’re older.

Favoritism will make you into a “judge with evil thoughts” (v.4). If you aren’t intentional about

treasuring the supremacy of Christ you will default into favoritism. And it will turn you into a “judge

with evil thoughts.”

Treasuring Christ’s glory will make you a lover of mercy (v.13). On the other hand, if you choose

to discipline yourself to godliness by treasuring the glory of Christ and His supremacy in all venues of

your life including your self-esteem, your looks, the way others view you and how you view others, then

he’ll mature you into a Jesus follower defined by the maxim, “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

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What does a community of “judges” look like?

Celebrities and spectators (v.4a): James warns that favoritism “makes distinctions among

yourselves.” Or, we might say it turns us into either celebrities or spectators. Think home videos.

There’s always the family “ham” who wants in every shot and the other who hides from the lens. They

volunteer to hold the camera.

Favoritism so externalizes the Christian faith that either we tie our self-worth to how we look in

front of the camera or how well we are able to hide from it.

Self-serving (v.4b): “Evil motives” means “self-focused.” You look for ministry opportunities

because it makes you look better or you shrink from them because of what others might think of you.

Disfigured (v.5-6a): James says that by oppressing the “poor” we are dishonoring the very

manner in which the Gospel works. It comes to people who know they are “poor” in spirit. They don’t

value themselves by the worth their community attends to them but receive freely the gift of

forgiveness.

History and present day experience is full of examples of poor people groups responding in an

overwhelming fashion to the Gospel of Christ. The opposite is the case for those who feel they’ve

reached a level of acceptance and significance by being “wealthy” in the eyes of their community.

The wise man of Proverbs wrote, “He who oppresses the poor taunts His maker” (14:31a).

There is nothing more penetrating, more personal, more internal, and more “soul-centered” than the

Gospel. Everything about it is radically “inside-out.”

Suffers (v.6b-7): On more than one occasion in his letter James attributes the suffering these

believers were enduring to their own sin. God, in essence, is disciplining them. Even though they are

being attacked by those without Christ, the Lord is superintending the process.

Interestingly enough, they were enduring persecution in the two most prominent standards by

which they showed favoritism. Their standing in the community through suits in the court and their

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reputation was slandered with accusations of cannibalism and occult practices. They themselves were

suffering at the hand of favoritism. Sometimes the most judgmental people suffer deeply from the

surface judgment of others.

“Surface judges” are often persecuted by other “surface judges.” The Lord’s hope is to teach

you to not hope in your standing (your abilities, your feeling of irreplacability) and your reputation (what

others think of you). Such discipline is a smelting and forming process. Like iron you are heated in the

furnace and then placed on an anvil to be pounded by God’s hammer. He is shaping you as an expert

blacksmith.

Ridden with guilt (v.8-11): You have to see how God sees favoritism. Repeatedly we’re told

“God is not a respecter of persons.” “God does not look at the outside but at the heart.” Whenever

Scripture deals with “favoritism” it sticks it between great sins such as here with murder and adultery. If

you exalt surface things above Christ then you will find His law to be terribly oppressive. His discipline

will be heavy.

What does a community of mercy lovers look like?

Exalts the royal law as liberating (v.12): Like the Psalmist of old, God’s Word will become our

portion. We will be refreshed and renewed by Him through it. We will “speak” and “act” accordingly

instead of “speaking” without doing—hypocrisy. We won’t try to dress hypocrisy up with a halo but will

adorn the Gospel with heart-felt and loving submission to God’s royal law of liberty—“love your

neighbor as yourself.”

When hurt by a lack of mercy recognizes it as God’s discipline in one’s own life for a lack of

mercy (v.13a): Have you ever wondered why it seems like people keep mistreating you? A “mercy”

trajectory will help you personalize such attacks as God’s discipline to treat others with mercy. You’ll say

to yourself, “I don’t want to make someone else feel this way.” Or it might open your eyes to how

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you’re making someone else feel: “Oh, Lord, forgive me. I’m doing the same thing to someone else that

my offender is doing to me.”

I came across a fantastic example of that in the comment section of a blog entitled “Why do

people leave the church.” Listen to the trajectory “Karen” shared in December of 2006: “I will say that I

have been hurt at least 2-3 times really bad by people in the church. The first one was a shocker and I

had a very hard time getting over it. After that incident I could see why people not as strong as me

would leave the church. I could have left the church being bitter and hateful. Oh, it was hard to stay. I’m

not saying it wasn’t. I cried and cried. But I knew my relationship with God was more important. Gosh, I

hope I never hurt people the way I’ve been hurt. I don’t want to be a stumbling block like that.”

Mercy always wins (v.13b): “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the

LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” (Micah

6:8)? That’s the kind of believer Karen is becoming.

Jesus is Micah 6:8

Jesus was perfectly just. He knew no sin. He loved mercy. He fulfilled the royal law. He did it

so you would not be enslaved to “favoritism.” Jesus always moved towards those who felt oppressed.

That’s what you’ll do as you live out Micah 6:8. If you will treasure His supremacy in all things you’ll

become a cross-centered, Christ-exalting Jesus follower whose heart hurts for both the rich and the

poor.

To a church rife with favoritism Paul describes his heart for the Gospel, “I preach Christ

crucified” who is a “stumbling block to the Jew” (religious judgmentalism) and “folly to the Gentile”

(cultural classism).

Then adds, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame
the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and
the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may
nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ

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Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so
that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).

Christ came to give you Himself to be your boast, your confidence, your hope, your glory, your

esteem, your richness.