February 2 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 33—James 2:1

¹ My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

Devotional:

Notice again how this verse begins, "My brothers." We could say "brethren" or "brothers and sisters" because the point is not gender-specific. This verse appeals to believers—whether male or female—as redeemed children of God, those who "hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory." When you belong to Jesus, you belong to everyone else who belongs to him, and they belong to you. You are siblings in the Lord. For that reason, "show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ."

Theodore Roosevelt once warned against "hyphenated Americanism," that is, dividing your loyalties between your country and an ancestral country (e.g., "German-American," "Irish-American"). But divided loyalties in the church can do even more serious damage. A New Horizons article once warned against:

"... a sometimes humorous, sometimes disturbing phenomenon in today's conservative church circles: the resurgence of the hyphenated church. A hyphenated church is one which, whether officially or unofficially, judges the orthodoxy or at least the 'real maturity' of people on the basis of their adherence to a preference that has been elevated to the status of an essential precept. It becomes a litmus test within the congregation.

"I speak of a hyphenated church because the 'insiders' in it think of their preference as if it were actually appended to their name: 'Trinity Church–KJV Only,' 'Grace Reformed Church–A Politically Active Church,' 'New Life Community Church–A Homeschooling Fellowship,' etc.

"Ecclesiastes informs us that 'there is nothing new under the sun' (1:9). Therefore, we should expect to see such sectarianism periodically. Scripture tells us that there were factions in Corinth that were evidently hyphenated (1 Cor. 3:4), and there were the Judaizers in Galatia. They had added an extrabiblical standard for evaluating spirituality.

"Hyphenation has resurfaced again, even as we are seeing a resurgence in churches teaching the doctrines of grace. This is not surprising, for as the church grows, the devil groans.

"As numerous children of God have experienced the Spirit's revitalization of their faith, the hyphens have arisen to muddy the waters. Again, hyphens are preferences that have been anointed as precepts, deviation from which leads to disfavor or even discipline. This hyphenation has become a new legalism."^†

Examine yourself. Whether it is schooling choices, or political choices, or dress-style choices, or whatever, do you elevate your preferences to the level of precepts? Do people have to measure up to certain qualifications before you will accept them?

What did God require before he accepted you?

"Just as I am without one plea
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd'st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come" (Charlotte Elliot).*

"Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God" (Rom 15:7). "My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory." (James 2:1).

^†Ventrella, "When Preference Becomes Precept."

*Click here for the full hymn and tune.

Click here for background on the author of Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James for Secret or Family Worship.