The Economy of the Gospel.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open to James. [0:02] Chapter 2, we will be continuing our series through the book of James this morning. [0:08] And the songs that we sang this morning are so interesting. [0:11] In that there is this idea that part of the Christian life, [0:16] part of what we do as we follow Jesus, [0:19] is there is a sending and a going involved.

[0:23] That someone is sending us out and that someone being God. [0:27] And that we are going on this mission. [0:31] But what we often do not do is go, number one. [0:35] And then number two is to stop and ask ourselves the question, [0:40] that as we are going on this mission, [0:43] what is it that we are taking to the world?

[0:49] What is this gospel? [0:51] Because if we were to pull this room this morning, [0:54] and ask you just a simple question, [0:57] what is the gospel? [0:58] I am certain that I would probably get close to a hundred different answers. [1:04] And some of them, the difference would not be that important.

[1:08] In that it would still be the gospel, [1:10] just a different lens cap that we are looking through. [1:14] But some of us, can we really, [1:16] I mean how intimidating would that be right now? [1:19] If I were to just single someone out and pick you up and say, [1:22] hey come on up on stage.

[1:24] Now could you please tell everybody, what is the gospel?

[1:29] I mean I am sure you would sweat even more than I do. [1:32] I mean it is intimidating sometimes to think,

[1:38] because we do not dwell on it that much.

[1:43] Often times life gets very hectic, [1:45] and we have got all these distractions that were supposed to make our lives easier. [1:49] They just gave us more stuff to do actually. [1:51] And we are distracted, and quite often we are so distracted, [1:53] that we cannot even spell out what is the gospel. [1:57] The very thing that most of us in this room, I would guess,

[2:01] since we are in a church, [2:02] most of us would probably claim that we are basing our lives on the gospel. [2:07] But my question this morning, [2:08] how can you base your life on something that you cannot really put into words, [2:14] you cannot really describe?

[2:17] And I am not trying to make you feel guilty,

[2:22] because the gospel is one of the most complex counter-cultural things in this world. [2:29] And this morning what we are going to do is we are actually going to take a look at [2:32] just how opposite of most of our value systems in this culture is the gospel. [2:40] And the thing is, is that some of the very things we base our society on, [2:44] are totally different than what the gospel says it is all about. [2:50] So go ahead to James chapter 2.

[2:53] And we have been going through James chapter 1, [2:55] and what we have seen is this very simple idea, [2:59] that life is meant to be lived with this foundation of the gospel. [3:04] And when you live your life under any other type of foundation, [3:08] the gospel will get kind of muddy, and it won’t be clear. [3:13] Because a lot of us will build our foundation on how righteous and good we believe that we are.

[3:20] And when we do that, that’s not a gospel foundation, [3:23] because the gospel is all summed up and it all just finds its meaning [3:28] in the person and work of Jesus and His worthiness and His goodness. [3:33] And it kind of finds its place in our lives in the fact that we are unworthy, [3:38] that our good is not as good as God’s. [3:40] And so this foundation in which we can just count joy and suffering,

[3:47] is simply because our life is not based on our situation, our life is based on the gospel. [3:52] And so what James is doing in this book, is he’s taking life, [3:58] and he’s taking the foundation of the rest of the New Testament, [4:01] which is the gospel spelled out, especially in the book of Romans. [4:05] And what he’s doing is he’s saying, okay, now that you have that, [4:08] what type of life is going to emerge out of that?

[4:12] If you really believe the gospel, if you truly are a Christian, [4:18] will your life look a certain way, or is that subjective like everything else? [4:26] Is there a specific definition that we can put on gospel living?

[4:35] And so what he does is he takes this collection of situations that we can face, [4:40] and that all of us will certainly face, [4:43] and he binds them together under the foundation of gospel living. [4:48] And in James chapter 2, that becomes even more apparent, [4:51] as he moves into how Christians assemble together in worship. [4:57] Which if you’ve been to any number of churches,

[5:01] you’ll find that it really does look different every single place you go. [5:06] No matter how many consistencies you find, you find many dissimilarities.

[5:15] And so James kind of comes in and he offends us right where we are, [5:19] because let’s be honest, each and every one of you have a definition [5:21] and a certain preference as to how we should worship on Sunday mornings. [5:26] Even unbelievers have preferences where that’s concerned. [5:29] And some of you have probably been sitting there for about 20 minutes now [5:32] just picking out things you would do differently.

[5:35] And what James does is he hones in on one thing that cannot be different. [5:43] But that one thing that we look at and we’re going to think is so simple to follow [5:48] actually goes far past what we’re doing here.

[5:55] He uses Sundays, really, even Saturdays for them in the synagogue and the temple, [6:01] and he takes it and he uses it as this example for what value, [6:06] worth, preference, and lifestyle look like each and every day of the week. [6:13] He is not giving us a standard for Sunday morning. [6:18] He’s giving us a standard for what a gospel-centered viewpoint on people, relationships, [6:25] and where we actually find our worth and value,

[6:29] and what our economic system in the gospel for our lifestyle will look like. [6:35] So go to James chapter 2, starting in verse 1. [6:39] My brothers. [6:41] And he starts out very importantly with my brothers. [6:43] He is speaking to believers. [6:45] He says,

[7:25] So it seems kind of a cut-and-dry situation.

[7:30] And we’re all kind of prone to this type of mentality.

[7:34] And no matter how easy we think this is to follow, we all necessarily actually do this. [7:40] I mean, consider someone comes to your front door wearing very nice clothes, [7:46] looking very well-kept, [7:49] looking as if, man, they’ve got it all together and maybe they’ve got something I can get from them. [7:54] And they knock. [7:56] Well, certainly we will answer the door.

[7:58] Now, on the other end of the spectrum, [8:01] imagine someone that looks completely homeless, completely filthy, completely unkept, unshaven. [8:07] As James puts it here in shabby clothes,

[8:13] they come to your door and knock. [8:17] You may do what I do when people knock on my door, turn the TV off. [8:21] I mean, I’ve had times before where I’ve done like the duck and run, [8:25] where it’s just like you get down on your hands and knees, [8:27] and you’re like crawling, hoping they’re not looking through the window. [8:31] You know, especially when you see the bicycles going up and down the street.

[8:35] Some of you will get that. [8:38] Others of you, I’m talking about the Mormons. [8:40] But, um, committed group of folk. [8:45] But, you know, when these situations happen, [8:48] there’s just this thing inside of us that looks at one person and says, [8:54] I want nothing to do with them.

[8:56] It’s like when you’re driving down the street [8:58] and you see a certain type of individual on the side of the road, [9:01] and your wife reaches over and locks the doors. [9:04] And I say wife because that’s what happens in me because I’m the Terminator. [9:07] I have no fear. [9:08] I mean, come on, bro.

[9:09] But she locks the doors. [9:10] Actually, it’s the opposite. I like the doors. [9:12] But, you know, she locks the doors because there’s just this guy walking down the road, [9:16] and he looks like he might be a carjacker, [9:19] which that doesn’t make any sense in Midlothian. [9:22] But it could be going on down the road.

[9:24] But then if you see another type of individual walking down the road, [9:27] oh, they’re fine.

[9:29] And what James is saying is that even translates into what happens inside of the church. [9:36] And be very honest. [9:38] Each and every one of you, if you’ve spent any number of years in a church, [9:43] you are absolutely guilty of showing this type of partiality.

[9:50] Don’t for a second think that you can convince me that you haven’t. [9:56] A lot of you probably did it this morning. [9:59] You just don’t want anybody to know about it because you might be sitting by them now.

[10:05] And what James is saying is that when people come into an assembly of believers, [10:10] because understand, back then it was far different. [10:13] There were not these types of auditoriums where they were meeting. [10:16] They were meeting in people’s homes, in very small groups.

[10:22] So put yourself in the shoes of a group leader, [10:24] and you’ve been trying to proclaim the gospel, [10:27] and people are starting to show up at your house asking about this person, Jesus, [10:30] and the very last person that you want to come shows up.

[10:36] What do you do?

[10:41] When another person you don’t know that looks far better than they do shows up, [10:46] and there are no seats, and that person you don’t want to be there shows up and has a seat.

[10:53] And you may in your heart say, well, I guess I’m not allowed to tell them to sit on the floor.

[11:01] But what goes on inside of your heart in that situation reveals the truth of who you are. [11:06] And it’s no different outside of a church setting.

[11:13] This is not something that any of us can get away from because we’re all guilty. [11:18] But the question is, what does that say about us as people? [11:23] And you say, but Steve, that’s just perfectly logical. [11:28] Absolutely, which is why in the economics of the gospel, [11:31] the gospel does not follow our form of value where people are concerned.

[11:39] Inside of the construct that James is talking about, grace is the great equalizer.

[11:47] Grace finds all of us at different places, and regardless of our stature, [11:53] our social preference, our social reputation, our 401k, [11:59] the type of style that we like to dress or the stuff that we wear because that’s what we can afford, [12:04] or the stuff that we don’t wear because we can’t afford it, [12:07] regardless of where life finds you, grace puts everyone on equal playing ground. [12:15] Grace does not find you in a certain situation because you’ve got a better resume than anyone else.

[12:23] And pick you. [12:25] Grace does not find people with better educations. [12:30] Grace comes to PhDs, and grace comes to high school dropouts. [12:35] And regardless of their level in life, treats them exactly the same.

[12:43] That does not happen in any culture.

[12:48] Not even in a third world country. [12:51] They just do their preferences differently. It’s by tribe. [12:55] The more powerful your tribe, the better your place in society.

[13:00] We’ve just changed it a little bit, and now it’s based on income, dress, car, house, whatever have you.

[13:09] And so the gospel does something completely different than any society on the world, [13:16] and it shows absolutely no preference in race, no preference in creed, no preference in ethnicity. [13:22] It just comes because of who Jesus is.

[13:28] It does not look at you and say, are you valuable? Are you worthy? [13:35] It does not come to you and say, how much have you done? [13:39] Did you memorize all your verses in Awana? [13:42] Do you have a good job? [13:45] What type of Bible do you read? [13:48] What movies have you or have you not seen?

[13:51] Is Passion of the Christ on the list? [13:52] Because that’s the only rated R movie you’re allowed to see.

[13:58] Glad that’s not true.

[14:04] But grace finds us all and just labels each and every one of us with the exact same label. [14:14] Sinner.

[14:18] The gospel of Jesus Christ comes to each and every one of us, [14:22] and it puts us on equal playing ground and says, [14:26] you cannot do enough, you’re not worthy enough, you’re not valuable enough, [14:33] and you’re living your life in absolute rebellion to the fact that no one is as holy as God, [14:40] but He loves us anyway.

[14:45] For the religious, grace says, stop working to earn your keep. [14:52] You can’t do it. [14:54] Jesus has already done it. [14:57] For the rebel, it says stop running, [15:01] because you are just simply running in the same direction as the religious, [15:05] just on the different end, and the end is the same, it’s hell,

[15:09] but God loves you despite your sin. [15:11] And Romans actually says, God loves us in our sins so much that He sent His Son.

[15:19] And so grace takes us, and it’s this great equality,

[15:25] where we can all come together from different backgrounds, different financial standings, [15:29] different types of families, different quirks, different everything, [15:33] and we just come together, and we are good with one another, [15:38] because it’s all about the gospel, and because now in the economics of grace, [15:44] worth can only be found in Jesus.

[15:52] Worth cannot be found in anything else, especially inside of you.

[16:00] Now, let’s talk a little bit more about this sin of partiality. [16:03] Go to James chapter 2 again. [16:05] Let’s start reading in verse 7. [16:06] Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world [16:11] to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love Him? [16:16] But you have dishonored the poor man.

[16:20] Are not the rich the ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court? [16:24] Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name with which you were called?

[16:30] James now goes to this place where he says, [16:32] Don’t you see that in grace, God has found you and you are completely poor? [16:39] It tells you the truth about yourself.

[16:43] That you’re not worthy, you’re not good, you’re not holy. [16:46] God is. And He comes and He dies even though He’s holy. [16:50] Gives Himself in His holiness, takes our sin, gives us His righteousness. [16:56] And he says, in showing partiality, don’t you know that you’re denying that? [17:02] He says, even in logic it doesn’t make sense because the rich are the ones that oppress you.

[17:11] And so what he’s talking about is that sometimes inside of us there is this tendency, [17:17] okay, to find our worth in the economy of this world.

[17:23] Okay. [17:24] And he says, when you show partiality, you reveal the truth of where you’re finding your worth. [17:30] And where you want worth to come from for you. [17:35] I don’t know about you, but I would love to be filthy rich. [17:42] I mean, I’m not going to lie.

[17:45] I mean, could you imagine never needing another paycheck?

[17:49] That’s liberating, right? [17:52] That’s great.

[17:55] But what James is talking about here, he’s saying, [17:59] when you show partiality to this rich person that comes into your assembly, [18:04] what you’re doing is you’re saying that they are more worthy because of what they’ve done. [18:10] And on the flip side of that, you’re saying you’re not as worthy because you’re not where they are. [18:16] And that if you could just have what they have, you would have worth. [18:23] And in the economics of grace, worth is found only in Jesus.

[18:30] Because he alone is worthy. [18:33] He alone is the standard for what good is.

[18:38] If he is sinless, if he is holy, if he is God,

[18:46] and we are sinful, we are unholy, and we are not God, [18:51] then how do we measure up to him?

[18:56] We do not. [18:58] So what James is saying is you are still looking at your value and your worth [19:03] under the same system apart from the gospel.

[19:10] And he’s saying you’re trying to find worth by the standard of human economy.

[19:18] That if you’re better, if you’re good looking, if you weigh a certain amount, [19:24] if you’re good at certain things, then you’d be more worthy than you are right now. [19:29] So when somebody comes in and they’re better than you, [19:33] you better show partiality towards them.

[19:39] And James is saying the gospel denies that entire viewpoint. [19:44] The gospel finds us unworthy and makes us worthy because of Jesus, [19:50] not because of someone else. [19:53] So when you show them partiality, what are you doing? [19:56] You’re denying the gospel.

[20:00] They do not need to be made to feel worthy.

[20:06] They need to be shown that they’re on the same level as everyone else.

[20:12] But why is that? [20:14] And how do you do that without being absolutely offensive and running all the rich people off?

[20:21] In Matthew chapter 20, we find this interesting parable. [20:24] Jesus is speaking and it’s a parable that we seldom reference in our church services. [20:31] And I think it’s because it’s probably, and I’ll be very honest with you, [20:34] the first time I read this parable it was infuriating to me. [20:37] And that’s because I’m a sinner, but it’s because you are too, [20:41] that you don’t look at this parable very much.

[20:43] And when you do read it, you just kind of pass over it and say, [20:45] well, that’s good, Jesus. I don’t really get what you’re talking about, but that’s good. [20:48] Because what Jesus describes in this parable is against everything that I believe as a worker. [20:54] All right. And you’ll see what I’m talking about in a second. [20:56] It’ll be up on the screen. [20:58] Matthew chapter 20, starting reading in verse 1.

[21:01] For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, [21:03] who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

[21:10] After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, [21:14] he sent them into his vineyard. [21:16] And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. [21:21] And to them he said, you go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you. [21:24] So they went, going out again about the sixth hour, and the ninth hour, he did the same. [21:29] And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing.

[21:32] And he said to them, why do you stand here idle all day? [21:34] They said, because no one has hired us. [21:37] He said to them, you go into the vineyard too. [21:39] And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, [21:42] call the laborers and pay them their wages. [21:45] Beginning with the last, up to the first.

[21:48] And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. [21:52] Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, [21:57] but each of them also received a denarius. [22:00] And on receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, [22:04] these last worked only an hour. [22:06] You have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day, and the scorching heat.

[22:13] But he replied to them, excuse me, he replied to one of them, [22:16] friend, I’m doing you no wrong, did you not agree with me for a denarius? [22:21] Take what belongs to you and go. [22:24] I choose to give to the last worker as I give to you. [22:28] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with the one who belongs to me? [22:34] Or do you begrudge my generosity, so the last will be first and the first last?

[22:39] I love the fact that the very last verse is the one that we quote all the time [22:42] without the actual parable, we’re just like, look, the last will be first and the first will be last. [22:46] Praise God, because I’m so unworthy.

[22:50] I’m just the last.

[22:52] I think sometimes we say that because we want to be first so bad. [22:56] They were like, now we have a contest on who can be the last the most. [23:01] Because you’re going to be first.

[23:06] We really show our true colors when we talk about the Bible. [23:09] It’s funny, it’s like on this coffee cup. [23:12] I’m just so last. [23:14] Just relishing in my lastness.

[23:20] Got off track.

[23:23] Look at that parable. [23:24] Think about what we just read through.

[23:27] Now, imagine you’re one of those field workers.

[23:34] You have been working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. [23:38] You have been laboring in the hot sun for 12 long hours. [23:45] And then a couple of guys show up at 5 p.m. [23:51] It’s actually starting to cool down.

[23:55] And they just kind of, you know, oh, see, man, you’ve been doing some good work. [23:57] I’ll see what I can do in an hour. [23:58] And they do a little bit of work in an hour and then they, oh, 6 p.m. [24:01] Whew, that was a long hour. [24:03] All right, we’re done. [24:04] Now everybody go get paid.

[24:06] And the guys that had been there one hour get exactly the same amount of wage [24:11] with barely any of the work as the guys that had been there for 12 long hours.

[24:21] How angry would you be? [24:27] You’d be furious. [24:29] I would too. [24:31] I’d be like, that’s not fair. [24:33] I deserve more. [24:35] I’ve earned more.

[24:37] I’m worth more. [24:39] Look at the work that I have done. [24:43] How dare you?

[24:46] And so what’s tempting is to look at this and be like, see, Jesus believes in collective bargaining. [24:53] Those were union workers.

[24:58] You see? [24:59] See how it works? [25:00] It’s really good. [25:00] You do less of the work. [25:01] You get the same pay. [25:02] It’s great.

[25:04] I think Jesus is talking about something far bigger than that here, okay? [25:10] Because we’d love it to just hit the surface and try to turn this into just some kind of social gospel [25:15] that Jesus is saying, you know, the poverty stricken need to get some money. [25:19] It’s far more reaching than that. [25:23] It goes way past our wages to our very hearts. [25:29] Jesus is using this example, and I love the way Jesus does this,

[25:33] is he uses these awesome examples that go to the very heart of what we can understand in our lives. [25:40] Because all of us can understand this wage thing. [25:43] Even kids. [25:44] One kid cleans two bathrooms. [25:46] The other one cleans one. [25:47] The one that cleans two thinks he’s going to get more money.

[25:52] Jesus is speaking about where we find our worth and who gets to define what worth actually looks like. [26:02] Because the heart of the guys that had worked all day is the way that we often come to our life in Christ.

[26:12] We struggle to not be partial or think that we deserve partiality. [26:17] Because the other side of this partiality thing is first the person that shows partiality. [26:22] Secondly, the one that gets the partiality. [26:24] And thirdly, those of you that think everybody should be partial to you. [26:28] Which is 75% of the room.

[26:32] You come into the gospel with this idea that I’m good, I’m a great worker, I’ve done more than everybody else. [26:43] Everybody needs to do for me or at least look at me and give me some type of preference, some type of congratulations. [26:52] Because of what I’ve done. [26:54] And in the gospel, obviously I am more valuable to God than other people. [27:00] Because look at what I do.

[27:05] And what this parable is saying is you will be vastly disappointed when you meet God.

[27:14] Because he is not handing out trophies.

[27:20] Because you’ve earned anything with him.

[27:26] How can you look at a completely holy, sinless, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent. [27:34] I mean he’s God. [27:36] How can you look at him and say, haven’t I earned something in your eyes? [27:40] He’s like, well I’m kind of God. [27:43] And other people aren’t really the line. [27:47] They’re not the standard.

[27:49] I am. [27:50] So no, you haven’t earned anything with me. [27:54] Because what took you 12 hours would have taken me a breath.

[27:59] And so when we look at this parable of the field workers, understand he is turning our very value system on its head. [28:06] And saying, you do not earn your value with God by what you have done or what you have not done. [28:14] You earn your worth with God through and alone with the work of Jesus Christ. [28:20] Because he has done a work that you cannot do. [28:25] He did a work that you wouldn’t want to do. [28:28] He took the sins of all of us onto himself and then gave us a righteousness we did nothing for.

[28:36] Because on our best, most obedient and religious day, we are still at our core sinful people. [28:44] And in the economics of the Gospel, we’re bankrupt.

[28:51] And we’re not even the people that showed up and worked one hour. [28:57] We’re the people that called in sick.

[29:02] And God says, it’s not based on you. [29:09] It’s based on my son. [29:12] Here, Jesus did your work for you. [29:17] Here. [29:18] And he gives, and he gives, and he gives, and he gives, and he gives, and he gives.

[29:26] And so James says, [29:29] when a rich man comes and a poor man comes, you better treat them the same.

[29:37] Because Jesus died for both of them. [29:41] And they both need the Gospel.

[29:43] And when you treat one better than the other, you deny the Gospel. [29:49] You deny the economics of grace.

[29:54] But there’s a flip side to this.

[29:57] James is not saying, show partiality to the shabby dude.

[30:05] He’s not saying, ignore the rich, show partiality to the poor. [30:11] That’s kind of how we work. We want it to be one extreme or the other. [30:14] Either it’s all about the money or we just throw it all away.

[30:19] No. [30:21] He says, don’t show partiality at all. [30:23] So there is this temptation inside of us when we say, find your worth only in Jesus. [30:32] Do not show partiality to anyone based on how you think they are more worthy. [30:38] There’s this temptation inside of us to say, okay, so that means I’ve got nothing to earn? [30:47] Okay.

[30:48] I’m just worthy because of Jesus? [30:51] Sounds good. [30:53] I get the whole benefits package because of what Jesus has done. [30:57] Sounds really good. [30:59] I mean, the whole me doing nothing part of this is very nice sounding. [31:05] Because I’m from Generation X and we don’t do much.

[31:09] We just like sitting at home and watching 90’s movies. [31:13] So the idea of not having to do much, if I can just have a reality bites marathon and Jesus still loves me, I’m happy. [31:20] Half of you are too young to know what that movie is and half of you are too old to know what that movie is. [31:24] And there’s like this little line in the middle where you’re around 30 years old and you’re like, well, no, no.

[31:33] Alright. [31:35] That was a really niche market there. [31:38] But let’s keep going because that is where we find our worth. [31:44] There’s nothing you can do and there’s nothing you ever will do to earn anything with God. [31:52] Jesus did it all. [31:55] He did every bit of it.

[31:57] I mean, that’s astounding. [32:00] I don’t grasp that. [32:02] Why is the gospel so hard to put into words? [32:05] Because it goes against everything I build my vision on.

[32:10] What vision do we have for our kids when they’re born? [32:13] That they’ll grow up, get a good job, have a nice family, not be failures, and not live in my basement.

[32:23] I mean, I don’t know of anyone that has another vision than that. [32:28] And some of you are like, I had that vision.

[32:31] Didn’t work out. [32:34] Fred lives down there.

[32:37] But the gospel says, no.

[32:43] Success is Jesus and nothing else. [32:48] I’m like, wow, that’s so liberating and frustrating.

[32:55] And it’s liberating because I can finally have peace. [33:00] It’s liberating because I finally know what worth looks like. [33:06] And it’s liberating because I can find an identity outside of myself because the identity of me is not pretty.

[33:15] Because I know when I look in the mirror the sinner I see.

[33:19] And you do too. [33:21] Even if you’ll never admit it to another person. [33:27] You know who you are. [33:30] And Jesus liberates me from that.

[33:34] When I look in the mirror and I see that ugly sinner, I have to preach the gospel to myself. [33:39] And say, praise God I don’t have to find worth in that guy.

[33:44] Praise God, Jesus paid it all. [33:48] But here’s where it goes.

[33:52] The gospel equalizes. [33:56] It liberates. [33:57] It gives us a worth that’s not based on my failures or my successes. [34:01] It just is Jesus. [34:03] But the gospel transforms me into a person of mission.

[34:11] My worth can only be found in Jesus. [34:14] But my value can only be placed on the gospel of Jesus. [34:19] You see, when we come to the gospel and we find the gospel, Jesus describes it this way in Matthew chapter 13.

[34:32] He says, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. [34:39] Then in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

[34:44] That’s another one of those weird ones. [34:46] I was like, why didn’t that ding dong just take the treasure?

[34:51] What’s wrong with that guy? [34:52] Jesus has some weird parables.

[34:56] I’ll tell you where that attitude is coming from. [34:59] That man finds this treasure and he finds the most valuable thing that he has ever found in his life. [35:06] And he says, nothing I have compares to this. [35:09] I want it and everything that is connected to it at all. [35:13] I want to base my life on this treasure. [35:16] So he goes and he says, everything else like Paul.

[35:20] We talked about Philippians chapter 3 last week in verses 7 and 8. [35:23] Where Paul says, I count everything else in my life as rubbish or a pile of dung compared to the everlasting beauty of knowing and being known by Jesus. [35:36] When we place our value on the gospel, what we do is we look at that great equalizer. [35:42] We look at that worth. [35:44] We look at that thing that takes partiality and throws it away.

[35:52] And we say, I want my life to be about that because it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. [35:56] It gives me more joy than I’ve ever had. [35:58] God is great.

[36:01] And then what we end up doing is we live our lives around that thing.

[36:14] But what those values tend to first and foremost emerge from in the gospel, where they begin to be seen, is first in our relationships. [36:28] And that’s why James is talking about partiality here. [36:34] Because what he knows about each and every one of us is that the gospel will impact our relationships before it will impact anything else. [36:42] Either to the absolute denial of the gospel or the absolute glory of the gospel. [36:48] And James says, when you show that partiality, you’re denying the gospel. [36:53] And when people come in, regardless of where they come from, when they’re loved by you and seen as worthy by you because of the gospel,

[37:04] God is glorified and the gospel will go further. [37:06] And you’ll see this right here starting in verse 8.

[37:14] If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. [37:22] You’re doing well. [37:24] But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

[37:34] Why? [37:36] Because Jesus said this thing, the whole law is summed up in two things. [37:40] Love the Lord your God, love your heart, love your soul and all your mind. [37:42] The second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. [37:45] In this, all the law and the prophets are summed up.

[37:49] And so we say, okay, I love God and love other people. [37:52] But how do you love other people? Does the gospel place definition to that? [37:56] It absolutely does. [37:58] In John chapter 15, Jesus tells us what love looks like. [38:03] Starting in verse 13, he says, greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

[38:12] That’s another one of those coffee cup verses that we’re like, hmm, that feels good. [38:17] Jesus did that. And he did.

[38:22] Jesus literally showed the love of God to us by laying down his very life. [38:28] And eternal life.

[38:31] He laid it down, he experienced death. [38:35] He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf. [38:38] And he died.

[38:41] And that’s what love is. [38:43] He did it. [38:46] But here’s what happens to us when that love comes into our hearts. [38:51] Because we must find peace and rest in the gospel. [38:53] But it does not let us just sit there.

[38:58] Because sometimes we show partiality to ourselves by doing nothing.

[39:06] And we want to base our lives on our ability or on our inability.

[39:13] And say things like, well, if I could, I would, but I can’t. [39:18] I wish I was as talented as some of those guys out there. [39:22] But I’m just, you know, old me. [39:24] Can’t do anything. I’m too old or I’m too young. [39:28] Or I can’t talk in public or I can’t sing. [39:30] I can’t do a number of things.

[39:32] But God has promised each and every one of us that he’s given us gifts of the Spirit to build the body. [39:39] Read 1 Corinthians 12 and then read Ephesians chapters 2 through 4. [39:44] He says, he’s done inside of us this amazing work through this love so that we can grow the body. [39:51] So what does that look like? When Jesus says this, when he says, greater love has no man, then he laid down his life for his friends. [39:58] He’s literally saying, I have greater love than you do. [40:04] Because I go and lay my life down for you.

[40:07] But, he’s then through that love replacing our corrupt system of how we view ourselves and how we view others. [40:16] So that we can then show the exact same type of love to other people.

[40:23] So we don’t have to die physically to lay down our lives for our friends.

[40:33] We just have to begin to live lives of sacrifice. [40:37] Where we stop showing partiality in our friendships. [40:40] Where we stop showing partiality with who we’ll hang out with. [40:43] Where we stop showing partiality with who we’ll go to community group with. [40:47] When we stop showing partiality with what we will do and who we will do it with. [40:51] And we start basing our relationships on the truth of the gospel and nothing else.

[40:57] What other type of value system could have a 65 year old in a community group with a 20 year old. [41:04] Where they have nothing in common at all except the gospel of Jesus Christ. [41:10] Which Jesus is saying and James is saying is more important than anything else. [41:15] Because it is that love by which you were bought by God for himself through the work of Jesus Christ. [41:23] And how dare we say, I’m just not comfortable there.

[41:29] Or with them.

[41:32] I don’t want to pour into that person. It just won’t be worth it. [41:37] I don’t see any good coming out of that guy. [41:41] Let’s go find somebody with some abilities. [41:45] God says it’s the foolish things of this world that I use to dumbfound the wise.

[41:51] Your ability and inability is not based on what you think you’re good at. [41:56] Your ability and inability in the gospel is based on who Jesus is.

[42:01] And whether you think you’re good at nothing or great at everything. [42:05] God wants you to use that for the gospel and he will show you what type of foolishness he’ll use for his kingdom.

[42:17] It gives definition to Luke chapter 9 when we couple. [42:21] Greater love has no man than he lay down his life for his friends with Luke 9. [42:24] Where Jesus says, if you want to come after me, take up your cross, follow me, deny yourself. [42:34] So when we read verses like that we think we just need to deny ourselves television one night a week or something.

[42:42] How much more profound would that be if you began to use that in your relationships?

[42:48] How much more profound would that be if you began to deny yourself in the area of forgiveness? [42:54] Where even though based on the systems of this world that person does not deserve forgiveness, you give it anyway.

[43:02] And when people say, why the gospel?

[43:11] You see the economy of the church is the gospel.

[43:18] Quite frankly I look at a crowd right now and I could care less what you can and can’t do.

[43:26] That’s not that important to me. [43:27] I’m hoping somebody might be able to play the guitar, but quite frankly I don’t care. [43:33] You see why? Because that’s not what the gospel is filled with. [43:39] I just invented a word that doesn’t exist. Filled with.

[43:45] That is not a word. This is harder than it looks guys, I swear.

[43:54] Here’s what John Piper says.

[43:59] He says when he was growing up his father had this plaque on the wall.

[44:04] And on that plaque it said, only one life, till soon be passed, only what’s done for Christ will last.

[44:17] And what I want you to do is I want you to take that and I want you to put it into your life. [44:25] Where are you finding your worth? Right now. [44:30] What defines your worth in your marriage?

[44:35] What defines your worth in your life or in school?

[44:41] What defines your worth in your relationships?

[44:47] Is it how good you are, how smart you are, how good looking you are, how fat you are, how thin you are, or any number of things?

[44:56] Or is it the gospel?

[44:59] Let me ask you this question. [45:02] What defines other people’s worth to you?

[45:08] Because you see we spend a lot of time saying, where do I find my worth? Me, me, me, me.

[45:17] But when you stop looking in the mirror, sometimes you have to look at other people.

[45:23] And say what defines their worth to me? [45:26] Is it how good they are at things? Is it how smart they are? Is it how rich they are? [45:32] Is it how fat they are, how thin they are?

[45:36] Or is it the gospel?

[45:40] Does what Jesus has done for you affect what you do for other people? [45:45] Or what you do with other people? Or who you will spend time with or who you won’t spend time with?

[45:52] Because in a gospel mindset, our relationships do not exist as little affinity groups. [45:57] As little groups of people that we’re the same age as or that we like the same things, [46:02] or we just want to enjoy the same stuff, or we all like dirty hairy movies, or whatever have you. [46:07] If you do, we can start an affinity group, because that’s pretty cool stuff.

[46:11] But our worth in everything is defined by the gospel. [46:16] It’s not defined by anything but what takes this beautiful love that God has given us [46:23] and takes it as far as possible to as many people as possible from different backgrounds, different cultures, [46:30] different whatever have you, where they’re good, they’re bad, they’re ugly, they’re pretty, they’re fat, they’re skinny, whatever.

[46:39] It’s not about me. It’s not about you. [46:43] It’s about Jesus and what he wants to do with you, through you, for you, to others.

[46:53] God may want to do something with your life for people that you hate.

[46:59] And that’s how he’s going to receive glory. [47:02] Because when people ask, why would you do that? I thought you hated those people.

[47:07] Because the gospel is bigger than me. That’s why I did it. [47:12] You see, because the value system inside of the church is like that man who sells all of his possessions to buy that property. [47:21] Just so that he can love that for the rest of his life. [47:25] The value system in the church is all about the gospel.

[47:29] It’s all about the fact that the gospel reconciles us with God and it reconciles us with each other. [47:33] And when we come together and people say why, we say because of Jesus. [47:36] And then when they say, well, what do you do? [47:39] Well, we do everything for Jesus so that we can take him to as many people as possible in my lifetime.

[47:49] That is not partial.

[47:55] Verse 10.

[47:58] I love how he equalizes us all here. [48:00] For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. [48:07] For he who said, do not commit adultery, also said, do not murder. [48:11] If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you’ve become a transgressor of the law.

[48:18] So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. [48:23] For judgment is without mercy to the one who shows no mercy.

[48:31] Mercy triumphs over judgment.

[48:36] See, I love how he sums it all up there.

[48:41] Because we’ve all disobeyed God’s law.

[48:45] I mean, it’s silly to think that we haven’t. [48:48] Have you lied? Sure. [48:51] What he says there is, is if you’ve lied, it’s as if you’ve murdered, adulterated, coveted, everything else. [48:57] And you’re like, ugh.

[49:01] So he says, yeah, you’re all sinners in the hands of an angry God. [49:04] And Jesus takes you out of that hand and gives you love. [49:07] But then notice what he says.

[49:11] He says, so speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. [49:18] And we’re like, oh, there’s more judgment. [49:20] No, look. Look at what he says. [49:22] He says, you’re going to be judged by the gospel.

[49:27] He says, speak and act as those who are going to be judged under the law of what? [49:30] Liberty. Freedom. [49:32] In other words, Jesus has freed us from the condemnation of the law so that we can live freely, ruthlessly, as if we actually trust the gospel. [49:44] We can actually live for the gospel.

[49:52] He says, live like you’re free.

[49:58] Because when we live our relationships basing value on the same thing as everyone else, we’re not living as free men. [50:09] We’re living as people who have something to gain, something to earn, worth to find.

[50:19] We’re denying the gospel and showing we don’t really believe it.

[50:28] And then he says, for judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy.

[50:34] But mercy triumphs over judgment.

[50:42] What emerges from all this is not a community that expects nothing from anyone and just excuses everyone’s faults and misdoings. [50:50] It’s a community based on the worth of Jesus for the purpose of the gospel in which we disciple one another to reveal how God has gifted us to further his mission of redemption.

[51:04] We don’t show partiality because our standards go so much higher. [51:10] Our standards go to the mission of Jesus. [51:14] And God wants to free each and every one of you to live his mission.

[51:24] Father, we love you.

[51:31] We thank you and we praise you for the gospel. [51:34] Would you have done for us in Christ what we cannot do for ourselves, what we would not do for ourselves?

[51:42] Father, right now as we proclaim your death through communion, I pray for the one in here that does not know, does not trust, does not believe, living a life wracked with sin.

[52:03] I pray that you would free them today. [52:07] I pray that you would bring them to yourself through your son so that they can have the freedom to dream for the gospel, they can have the freedom to live for the gospel, they can have the freedom to belong in the gospel.

[52:21] If that’s you this morning, there’s people that you can talk to up here, back in the back. [52:28] I’ll be right here. [52:30] If you’re a believer, come proclaim the Lord’s death.