James 2:8-13 - The perils of showing partiality

Having established the foolishness of showing partiality, James, in verses 8-13, proceeded to show the danger of being partial. Bear in mind that his desire was for the believers’ profession of faith and action to be consistent. The thrust of faith is basically not only in how one relates to God but also in how one relates to others.

The first danger of being partial is that one would break the royal law. The Ten Commandments show us two aspects that God requires of believers. The first four commandments deal with one’s relationship with God and the last six, one’s relationship with fellow men. In Luke 10:27, the Lord Himself summed up the Ten Commandments like this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Here, James referred to the second half of this commandment as the royal law. He called on the readers to live out the royal law. In showing favoritism, a believer would have broken the royal law and would have committed a sin, become a transgressor, and would offend God. In verses 10 and 11, James underscored the seamlessness of the laws. God expects equal reverence and honor to be shown to each of the laws. To break anyone would be as good as breaking the whole law. No matter where one had sinned, one would have offended God. The point James was stressing is this: The one who shows partiality is in danger of breaking the law.

Proceeding to verses 12 and 13, we see that showing partiality puts one liable to the judgment. The Bible tells us that there is a believers’ judgment e.g. 2 Corinthians 5:10. Here, James cautioned us that believers will be judged based on how they have lived out this royal law. Hence, James instructed the believers to live their lives as ones who would be judged by the law of liberty. At the believers’ judgment, those who had been merciless will not be shown mercy. To show favoritism would indicate a merciless spirit. The wonderful part of this judgment is this: those who had a merciful spirit will be able to stand before God and make it.   

It is foolhardy, therefore, to practice partiality. We must learn to view everyone the way God would see them. A key to a person’s well-being is often his or her feeling of acceptance. To make a person feel rejected when we show partiality is failing to keep the law of love – to love our neighbors as ourselves. We ought to help each one feel accepted in the family of God. It would certainly please the Lord!