"... partial in yourselves ..." This expression "partial in yourselves" has been variously translated. "Partial" would perhaps be best translated "separated" or "divided," while "in yourselves" would be "in your minds." The thought is that their minds divided between love for Christ and love for worldly pomp and wealth. The word "partial" has also been translated "doubt." Their love for pomp and wealth would indicate that they lacked faith in Christ. To show respect of persons is surely inconsistent with faith in Christ. Such could not be called single-hearted believers.

Divided minds today: Are there those today, who profess to love the Lord Jesus, and yet give evidence of loving pomp and wealth? There are those who are in their places every Lord's Day, but during the week they are completely occupied with the task of gaining wealth – seeking to appear well off in this world. These things show a dividing of the mind and heart. Some secretly prefer outward show to inward spirituality; things temporal, to things eternal. The Lord Jesus said, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24).

The world's way and a Christian's: Let us not be like the world. They think it the part of wisdom to look sharply to their own interests. They have no scruples about taking every advantage of others, and think it the wise thing to court the favor or the prominent and the influential. A Christian need not do these things. If he is watching out for the Lord's interests, he can safely leave his own interests in the hands of the Lord. If the Lord has given us riches, let us use them to assist the poor, and to aid the work of the Gospel.

A Christian and his wealth: Some Christians are not guilty in the way they obtained their wealth, but in the way they hoard it. Paul says to Timothy, concerning the rich in this world, "That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate [share with others]" (1 Tim. 6:18). Let us not honor a rich man for what he has, but for what he disburses. We should all thank God for some rich men. They realize they are only stewards of what God has given them. Not all are so. Someone said of another: “The only reason he worships with us, is because we do not hound him for his money.” Christians should never hound a rich man for his money, but if the rich man is right spiritually, he will give without being hounded."

"... judges of evil thoughts?" The Revised Version says, "judges with evil thoughts" rather than "of evil thoughts." James has reference to the evil thoughts within the judges who were showing respect to the rich, and despising the poor. Evil thoughts of greed or pride prompted them to show respect of persons. It is a dangerous thing to judge either the rich or the poor. "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matt. 7:1, 2). Of course, we cannot help but judge what we see with our eyes, but let us make sure it is righteous judgment: "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

"... evil thoughts?" There is much evil in the thoughts of men. Already we read, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5). The flood did not improve man, because we read a very similar thing in Genesis 8:21. The Lord Jesus said, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders ..." (Mark 7:21). If we stop and analyze our own thoughts, we must confess they are often evil. Certainly none of us would care to have them all exposed. We may not be able to stop evil thoughts from striking our minds, but we need not harbor them there. We need not let them affect our hands and feet. If not guarded and subdued, evil thoughts will produce evil words and deeds.

Scripture Reading: James 2:5 (KJV)

"Harken, my beloved brethren ..." James desired to call special attention to the truth of this verse. He says, "Hearken, my beloved brethren." We use the word "listen" in exactly the same way today. Sometimes, when those who preach, feel they have a special truth that they are eager to have the audience hear, they will say, "Now listen to this." This is the 3rd time he uses the expression, "my beloved brethren" (1:16 & 1:19). He has also used the expression, "my brethren" twice (1:2 & 2:1). He does not want to leave the impression of a superior demanding, not even of an equal ordering, but a brother, beloved, exhorting.

"... hath not God chosen the poor ..." It has always been the delight of the Lord to pick up: the obscure, the lowly, and the poor, using them to His glory. We see this throughout the Hebrew Bible. He took Joseph out of prison to sit upon the throne of Egypt, and David from the sheepcote. He called Elijah from following the plow, and Amos was a herdsman from Tekoa. Most of the disciples of the Lord Jesus were fishermen from the Sea of Galilee. Most of the true followers of the Lord Jesus today are from among the poor.

The Lord Jesus was poor: Children born into this world have no choice as to: parentage, circumstances, or nationality. We have no say as to whether our parents are rich or poor, high or low, black or white. Our Lord Jesus did have a choice. If He had desired, He could have chosen a palace for His home, and royalty for His parentage. For His mother, He chose a poor peasant woman, although a descendant of royalty. His foster father was a carpenter, although he too was a descendant from David. A stable was His birthplace – a manger His cradle. For His layette, He had swaddling clothes. He chose despised Nazareth for His residence. While going about in His public ministry, He had very little. He said, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Luke 9:58). When it came to paying taxes, He sent His disciple down to the sea to catch a fish with a coin in its mouth (Matt. 17:27). He always chose to associate with the poor and outcast (Luke 15:2) and preached to them (Luke 4:18). The Lord Jesus was poor, and He sought the fellowship of the poor. He never sought the favor of the rich.

We must choose the poor: We should honor the poor as Christ did. We should choose whom He has chosen. The Christians, in our text, had honored the rich, and despised the poor. The Lord had said one thing, but by their actions they were saying the opposite – like Haman in the book of Ester. He wanted to bring disgrace on the one the king desired to honor (Esth. 6:6 etc.). Respect of persons is very serious. Do not misunderstand; poverty does not in any way merit salvation. Simply put, it is usually the poor because of their lack of earthly things, who find joy in turning to the Lord for eternal possessions. The poor are spared the danger of trusting in uncertain riches.

"... rich in faith ..." The poor in this world are much more likely to be "rich in faith" than the rich in this world. "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called" (1 Cor. 1:26). It is possible to be rich in this world, and also rich in faith, but there are few. When we are rich in faith, we can draw on the bank of heaven. "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you" (John 16:23). In 1:6, James emphasizes that all asking must be done in faith. In other words, "Faith is the current coin of the kingdom."

True riches: True riches are not those that are laid up in an earthly bank, but those laid up in heaven (Matt. 6:20). Following are some things that add to our heavenly bank account. Any service done to Christians, generally; any attempt to win souls for Christ; any time spent in prayer; any good deeds done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We may have little in this world, but if we have a large account in heaven, He will say, "I know thy poverty, but thou art rich" (Rev. 2:9). If we are desperately poor, we can say with Paul, "As having nothing, and yet possessing all things" (2 Cor. 6:10).

Riches man in all the dale: The story is told of a poor Christian farmer who lived in a valley with a very rich man. One day, this poor Christian came to the rich man and said, “I had an awful dream last night. One came to me and said, 'The richest man in all the dale will die at 12 o'clock tonight.'” This very visibly affected the rich man, and as the day wore away, he became more and more restless. At night, he had some of his friends come in to sit up with him until the dread hour should pass. At last the midnight hour came. The clock on his mantle struck one, two, three, and on to twelve. As the last gong died away the rich man gave a sigh of relief; nothing happened. “That ole farmer scared me half to death with his silly dream.” So, his friends soon went home and the rich man to bed. Early the next morning there was a knock on the door. “Did you hear what happened? That farmer died last night at 12 o'clock.” The richest man in all the dale died after all.

Rich man leaves it all: A certain rich man died. People were going around telling folks about it. Someone asked, “How much did he leave?” The reply: “He left it all.” How true this is. The rich man in Luke 12 boasted of his goods, etc. The Lord said to him, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" Then He adds, "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:20, 21). A man rich in this world leaves his millions when he dies, but a man poor in this world, rich in faith, receives riches untold when he leaves this scene.

The source of our riches: Christ's poverty is the source of a Christian's riches. "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9). How poor He became in order that He might make others rich. Paul might have been a rich man in this world, but he gave up all earthly ambition to serve Christ. He could say of himself, "As poor, yet making many rich" (2 Cor. 6:10). Are you ready to become poor that you may make others rich? We read of Moses, "Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt" (Heb. 11:26).

Honor the spiritual: Knowing all this, let us not care too much for earthly riches, and certainly, let us not exalt a man because he possesses them. Let us highly esteem those like Stephen, who are "of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom" (Acts 6:3); such are the ones who should have the first place among the Lord's people, whether rich or poor.

Unsearchable riches: When Spain was at its height of glory and riches, one of its representatives was in India. He was introduced to one of the fabulously rich princes and was shown the prince's large chest of precious stones. The Spaniard rolled up his sleeve and thrust his hand into the jewels, and worked it down to the bottom of the box. He said, "Your riches seem to have a bottom. The riches of my king have no bottom." He was wrong, however; not long after, the bottom dropped out, and Spain is now a poor nation. There is no bottom to the riches we have in Christ. His riches are unsearchable (Eph. 3:8).

"... heirs of the kingdom ..." The expression "heirs of the kingdom" gives us a little idea of the extent of the riches we have in Christ. All humans love to be heirs; to be left a nice home or a nice amount of money. How much more wonderful to be an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17)? The heirs of God inherit far more than a home or a large sum of money; they inherit a kingdom. Solomon had riches, and honor, and glory, and a kingdom. The kingdom that we shall inherit will be greater than his kingdom, as the light of the sun is greater than the light of distant stars. "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). In James 1:12, we are told that if we endure trial we "shall receive the crown of life." It is nice to know that this inheritance is being reserved for us (1 Pet. 1:4), and also, that we are being preserved for that inheritance (1 Pet. 1:5).

Our responsibility: We should never forget that we are heirs of the kingdom. The dignity of our position should affect our every step. We should be fearful lest our conduct bring reproach on the name of the King. The heirs of the kingdom are very closely observed by the world, and we must leave a good report of that land which we are to inherit.

"... which He hath promised ..." The promises of man are often valueless – not meant to be kept. A young Christian helped a preacher advertise a tent meeting. He went one way to invite the people, the preacher went another. Later, they met. He said, "Sir, our tent will not be big enough. Hundreds promised me they would come." The preacher replied, "Hundreds promised me, too," and in my heart I thought, "I think the tent will be big enough. After tomorrow night you will know how much you can depend on promises." More came than expected, but the young man was deeply disappointed.

God's promises are yea and amen: "For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God" (2 Cor. 1:20). We can absolutely trust in the promises of the Lord. "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Num. 23:19). Has God promised to give us a kingdom? It is as good as ours.

"... to them that love Him?" The promise of the kingdom is "to them that love him." Certainly, this includes all the true children of God. Every real Christian loves the Father, and also the son. "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema (accursed) Maranatha (our Lord cometh)" (1 Cor. 16:22). We all love Him, but we could love Him more, and love those more who love Him.

Other promises to them who love Him: James uses the same expression, "to them that love him" in 1:12. There the promise is "the crown of life." Back in Exodus 20:6, we read in the law, "And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me" (Prov. 8:17). "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Cor. 2:9).

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