Is Baptism for Repentance—Matt. 3:11?

Matt. 3:11 is a difficult passage to understand as translated in most English versions.  John the Baptist is speaking and I will quote here only that part of the verse that gives problems and makes for difficult understanding.  I will use several translations for comparison and will add they are grouped the way they are for a reason:

Group A

ASV—"I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance."

KJV—"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance."

NKJV—"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance."

MLV (Modern Literal Version)—"I indeed immerse* you* in water toward repentance."

CEV—"I baptize you with water so that you will give up your sins."

LITV—"I indeed baptize you in water to repentance."

Group B

LONT (Living Oracles New Testament)—"I, indeed, immerse you in water, into reformation."

YLT—"I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation."

Group C

GNB (also known as the TEV)—"I baptize you with water to show that you have repented."

ISV—"I am baptizing you with water as a token of repentance."

NLT—"I baptize with water those who repent of their sins."

Group D

NAS—"I baptize you in water for repentance."

ESV-- "I baptize you with water for repentance."

HCSB—"I baptize you with water for repentance."

CSB—"I baptize you with water for repentance."

NET—"I baptize you with water, for repentance."

NRSV—"I baptize you with water for repentance."

NIV—"I baptize you with water for repentance."

Here is the problem:  repentance is a change of mind toward God and sin.  It is a determination of the mind and will to turn away from sin, cease willfully committing sin, and turn to God in faithful obedience.  It is preceded by godly sorrow.  "For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation." (2 Cor. 7:10 NKJV)  It is godly sorrow over sin that leads to repentance.

But there is another kind of sorrow, the kind that does not lead one to God.  We refer to it, because the Bible does, as "the sorrow of the world" (2 Cor. 7:10 NKJV) and Paul says it leads to death.  A man steals some money; he gets caught and is imprisoned.  He is sorry but why?  Is it because of his sin against God or because he was caught and imprisoned?  Without a turning to God all sorrow is worldly sorrow.  Sorrow motivated by a worldly reason where God is not taken into account and that does not lead one to God is "the sorrow of the world" and leads to death.

So here is the question as regards Matt. 3:11—how does water, being baptized, lead a man to repentance?  How can it be a stimulus to repentance, a catalyst to bring it about?  Repentance occurs in the mind and heart of a man.  Baptism is a material physical act of being immersed in water, not an act of the mind, heart, or will save only in an indirect way.  The mind, the heart, and the will lead to baptism but are not baptism.  The passage as translated seems to be saying that by being immersed in water that act alone will lead one to repentance. 

Now take a second look at the various translations as I have grouped them.  Group A seems to be saying exactly what I said in the prior paragraph—that water alone will lead one to repent.  Can that be?  Isn't it always true that faith and repentance lead to baptism and not the reverse?  Does not faith and repentance precede baptism and act as the catalyst for baptism?  Did Peter on the day of Pentecost call for baptism first and then preach faith and repentance afterwards?  Does baptism, without any prior faith and repentance, lead men to say, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37 NKJV)  One does not repent without first having developed faith.  If repentance comes after baptism so does faith.

So, I think all can see the problem we have with the Group A series of translations that imply that baptism will lead you to repentance.

The Group B translations translate the Greek word "metanoia" as reformation rather than repentance.  Alexander Campbell was behind the Living Oracles New Testament, that is the putting of it together, but the actual translators were, from what I have read, George Campbell, James MacKnight, and Philip Doddridge.  The YLT translation is Young's Literal Translation.

All of my word study sources tell me the Greek word "metanoia" is best translated as repentance but if I did not have any word study sources available to me at all I could simply look at how the vast majority of Bible versions have translated the word and come to the conclusion that Greek scholars are in agreement that the word that best fits the meaning of the Greek word, when translated into English, is "repentance."

It is true that all genuine repentance results in reformation but the word reformation seems to be a commentary on the meaning of the Greek, as these translators saw it, rather than a translation of it.  Evidently, the translators of these two versions felt this was what the text meant.  There is always reformation of life after a genuine scriptural baptism, a baptism that is preceded by faith and repentance, and so the text becomes understandable but the question is whether this translation is reliable.  There are serious doubts about that based on the number of Bible scholars who could have translated it the same way these two translations did but chose not to.

The Group C translations have a problem similar to those in Group B in that they make a translation that makes perfect sense, sounds reasonable as you read it the way they have translated it, but again is it reliable?  One could read this verse in any of the translations listed in Group B or Group C and if he did not know there were other translations out there that differed he or she would never miss a beat or question a thing for both make perfectly good sense.

I might add the translations in this group are based on the dynamic equivalent theory of translation (called functional equivalence today) which means they attempt to give you the meaning of the original as they see it.  They try and say the message found in the Greek as we would say it today in modern English, versus a literal word-for-word translation from Greek into English.  Of course, the problem with that theory of translation is that it is sometimes difficult to know with certainty what the exact meaning of the original is for even the scholars differ. 

The Group D series of translations revolve around what the meaning of the word "for" is, as in "for repentance."  The Greek word is "eis."  It is translated in the Group A series of translations (the KJV, the NKJV, and the original ASV) by the word "unto."  It is the same Greek word behind the word "for" in Acts 2:38 where the text says to repent and be baptized "for the remission of sins" (NKJV) with the word "for" meaning the purpose of.

When understood this way the Group A series of translations and the Group D series essentially are saying the same thing—that John the Baptist is saying he is baptizing them to get them to repent, for the purpose of getting them to repent.  Yet, we know this cannot be the case.  Repentance is initiated by faith, not by baptism.  Furthermore, where does the desire for baptism come from unless there is first repentance?  If it is said faith then I ask the question what kind of faith is it that goes directly to baptism without first repenting?  Faith that does not repent does not desire nor seek baptism. 

John's baptism was in water, he says as much (Matt. 3:11).  It is described in Mark as "a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." (Mark 1:4 NKJV)  It is said of those who came to John's baptism that they confessed their sins (Matt. 3:6, Mark 1:5).  His message prior to baptizing was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matt. 3:2 NKJV)

With this background information, one must conclude that John's audience (1) heard his preaching which goes without saying, (2) believed it—the kingdom is coming and you need to repent, (3) repented and confessed their sins, and (4) were baptized for the remission of those sins.  The motivation for baptism was faith in the message preached and the desire to have their sins remitted, just another way of saying they repented at the hearing of the message having had faith in that message.  This led to a baptism for the remission of sins.  It is either that way or you had a bunch of unrepentant people who did not repent until after they were baptized, people who had no motivation for a baptism that was for the remission of sins seeing as how they had not yet repented.  Who can believe that or see any logic in it?

J. W. McGarvey saw the difficulty in this verse, Matt. 3:11, with the way it is worded and the various options as regards translation and used most of a full page of commentary on it in his Commentary on Matthew – Mark, pages 36-37.  He would agree that those baptized by John repented prior to their baptism and that such repentance was a prerequisite.  But, here is his idea in his own words on the passage.

"The inestimable blessing of remission of sins being attached to baptism (see Mark i. 4; Luke iii. 3), the desire to obtain this blessing would prompt those yet unbaptized to repent, so that they might be baptized.  The words declare simply that the general purpose of John's baptism was to bring the people to repentance."  Earlier he had said, "The baptism was not in order to the repentance of the party baptized."

He is saying that when one individual sees the blessings being enjoyed by another individual, in this case the remission of sins by repentance and baptism, and no doubt the joy that would accompany that (did you ever see a person just baptized who was not joyful?) then this prompts within the heart of the other person a desire for the same thing leading to their own repentance.  I think we can all see the sense in that.

In any case, I will have to leave the reader to make up his own mind on a difficult passage the way it is worded.  While it is difficult we can rest assured it need not overly trouble us as the scriptures are too plainly worded elsewhere as to leave any doubt about how salvation comes to the one who would come to Christ today.  Christ's law overrides not only the Law of Moses but also anything John taught as well.  Neither Moses nor John taught error but when Jesus came, died, and ascended back to heaven the new covenant of God came into effect leaving all else behind.  Today we are to hear Christ.

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Never Give Up

When we learn the truth of the gospel message, come to believe it, and then sincerely obey it we sometimes expect more of ourselves than is humanly possible to deliver. When we first come out of the water of our baptism we are determined that we will not sin, we will live sin-free. This attitude is to be highly commended and is the attitude we ought to have but is also unrealistic.

Many who obey the gospel do so when young and thus their expectations about life are not in accord with reality. They have little idea of what it will be like to live as an adult in the real world with the pressures that people face daily. When they are confronted with them, when they are no longer sheltered but must face them head-on, they begin to stumble here and there on occasion. Discouragement settles in for the one who was sincere in his or her gospel obedience.

The thinking becomes, I have sinned, and then I did it again either in the same way or another way, and then again, and the first thing you know it seems like you are trapped in a body that not only insists on sinning but has power over one's own will. We become discouraged and cease feeling good about ourselves. We think I am not good enough; I cannot live the Christian life; I am just not a strong enough person.

The truth is that almost all of us at one point in time or another have felt that way. What do we do when that happens? Too many just gradually give in to those kinds of feelings and give up. But, is the situation hopeless? Does it have to be that way? I would like to take a look into the lives of some of God's people who seemingly had the same problems I speak of here and see what they did that was sinful, what led them to do it, and how they handled it, in the hope that it will help all of us.

There is no doubt that Moses was a great man of God. He spoke with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration before Christ's suffering, thus we know he was a saved man. The Hebrew writer says of Moses, "And Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant." (Heb. 3:5 NKJV) Yet, we know God would not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land because of his sin. What was that sin?

While the children of Israel were traveling through the wilderness, after having come out of the land of Egypt, they came to a place later called Massah and Meribah, a place where there was no water and a place in which the people grew thirsty and began to complain to Moses. Moses went to God concerning the matter and God directed him to go to the rock there and speak to the rock and strike it with his rod and water would come forth. Moses did this but failed to give God the glory instead saying before striking the rock, "Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" (Num. 20:10 NKJV) We infer from this that he was speaking of himself and his brother Aaron who was with him. God was left out of the picture and not given the glory. For this Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. (See the accounts of this in Exodus 17:1-7, Numbers 20:2-13, Numbers 20:24, Numbers 27:12-14, and Deut. 32:48-52.)

Moses was such a great man of God that God spoke to him face to face. "So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11 NKJV - see also Num. 12:8 and Deut. 34:10). Please note that this is said of Moses 16 chapters after the events concerning the water at the rock, after Moses' sin. So, what was it that would cause such a great man of God to sin the way he earlier had?

The answer is the very same thing that gets to us as Christians today--pressure on the job, stress in our lives. Moses in Exodus 17:2 says to the people who were complaining, "Why do you contend with me?" (NKJV) The very next verse, verse 3, says, "the people complained against Moses," and it gets so bad that in verse 4 Moses says to God, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!" (NKJV) That is pressure on the job. When Moses says they are almost ready to stone me we should not think that he is speaking figuratively but stoning was a real possibility if things did not soon get better.

The Psalmist says with regards to this event, (Psalms 106:32-33 ESV), "They angered him (God--DS) at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter, and he spoke rashly with his lips." Moses grew angry and bitter at the people and spoke rashly out of passion rather than calmly with forethought and failed to give God the glory. When we speak in the heat of passion there is seldom any good that can come out of it.

I have used Moses as an example for us today for how often it is that Christians find themselves in very high-stress situations, under all kinds of pressure, and the result is that we too end up like Moses and sin under duress. What kinds of sin? A whole host of sins could be mentioned, here are a few. We begin to put God on the back burner and give him second place in our lives feeling that there is not enough time to do everything. Attendance at worship services begins to lag, Bible reading ceases, prayer time diminishes, there is no time for good works, and we begin doing whatever it is that is required of us to stay in good standing in our job even if it means sacrificing our Christian life. It is easy to eventually end up as a Christian dropout.

This can happen and it does happen all of the time--the more professional your job, the more responsibility you have, the more of an executive position you hold the tougher it becomes. Expectations are so great and the kinds of people we often work with are far from having Christian character, just the opposite, and it makes it very difficult to survive as a Christian. With all the attempts to get the most out of the least, it seems everyone is under pressure on the job no matter what position they hold--blue collar or white collar.

I want to say there are no easy answers to these kinds of situations that we find ourselves in. I heard one preacher say words to the effect that we can quit our job. Yes, and then what? Will the next job be any better? This is America in the twenty-first century. If there are any stress-free jobs in our country today I do not know where or what they are. We cannot herd sheep. What can we do then?

We can hang in there. We can fight the battle as best we can. We can pray to God for help. We can do our best. We can trust God's grace. We can follow Moses' example and not give up. When God told him of his sin and told him he would not be allowed into the Promised Land he could have given up. He could have said I have the toughest job in the world leading these people that are continually giving me a hard time and they are bringing me down with them and I quit, I give up. Despite my best efforts, I cannot live faithfully and please God.

Had Moses done this what then? Where would he be today? Would he have met with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration? Would he have been called a faithful man in the book of Hebrews as is the case? What did Moses do?

He did not quit. He accepted his sin for what it was and went on with life. He continued to trust in God as his hope and salvation. This is exactly what we need to do today. Remember Moses when things get tough in your life and follow his example.

Another man I would like to deal with is David. You know the story of David, a man the Bible says was a man after God's own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). And yet, as great a man of God as David was, his sin with Bathsheba is perhaps the best-known case of adultery that ever occurred. And one can add murder to his list of sins for having Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, killed. The account of this affair can be found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.

David was a man who had always done God's will. If he had lived in the Christian era we would say there was a man who was so strong in the faith that it is impossible to live up to the example he set. We might well say of him, if he lived near us in our own time, that he is the best Christian man I have ever met. Of course, David was not a Christian as he lived under the Law of Moses but I say this to emphasize what a man of God he truly was, a super role model in so many ways.

Yet, he fell mightily. He lusted with his eyes and heart after Bathsheba, committed adultery with her, and then had her husband Uriah killed to cover his tracks and hide his sin when he discovered Bathsheba was with child, his child. All this sin began when, because of outside stimulus, his heart ceased to be pure.

Yet, despite his sin, as horrible as it was, the Bible speaks highly of him. Here is what it says in comments that are being made about Abijam, a king who came later down the road after David. "His heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. Nevertheless, for David's sake, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem; because David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." (1 Kings 15:3-5 NKJV)

When David's life on earth ended he was found in God's favor. The words just quoted above came, obviously, after David's death.

What can we learn from what happened to David? I start with this. Don't be deceived, there is no one no matter how spiritual they may appear and may be who is not capable of sin, even grievous sin. We sometimes tend to think others are strong and not tempted like me. Don't be overly sure of that. No one is struggling like me. Don't be sure of that. No one has to fight temptation like me. Don't be sure of that. It is said that David was around 50 years old at the time of this sin. It is not just the young who struggle to be faithful.

Secondly, David's sin came about as a result of factors external to himself. He saw, he was tempted, and he lusted. How many of our sins begin with factors external to us? We see this or that, we hear this or that, it creates desire within our hearts, and we give in to temptation. We may not see a naked lady bathing but every day we are exposed to things from the outside that cause lust in our hearts whether it be sexual lust, as was the case with David, or the desire for possessions, or the desire to have position and authority and be praised and honored as we see other men and women being praised and honored, or maybe just the desire to fit in and be accepted as one of the guys. What we see and hear affects us.

It is a battle all of us fight. Paul said in 1 Cor. 10:13 "no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man" (NKJV) which tells us not to kid ourselves. We are not alone in being tempted by the things of this world. But Paul goes on and says, "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (1 Cor. 10:13 NKJV)

But you may be saying to yourself as you examine your life that I failed. I did not take the way of escape. Well, you have joined vast multitudes of God's people that have had to confess the same thing at various times in their lives including David, the great man of God. The point is that it is not hopeless.

We all believe we are going to see David in heaven. Why? The answer is he repented and he did not give up. It would be easy for a man who has committed adultery and murder to go into the depths of despair so deep as to never come out again. Imagine the shame, the self-loathing, and the inability to look at one's self in the mirror--the never-ending regret and sorrow.

What is the lesson? Never give up; there is always good reason for hope. God will forgive you no matter how atrocious your sins may be. The Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus did not come to earth to die on the cross just so men could die in sin. I remind the reader that both Moses and David were men of God at the time of their sins. God forgave them. He will forgive you and me if we repent and do not give up. Nothing most people have done will compare with what David did. You have never murdered, have you? God forgave him. God will forgive you.

The 51st Psalm was written by David as a result of this sin he had committed and after Nathan had confronted him and David had repented. First, he asks for forgiveness and acknowledges his transgressions but then he says in verse 10, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (NKJV) Do you think God was capable of doing that with David? Do you think he is capable of doing that with you or me when we get caught up in sin? Remember David is speaking or writing but doing so by inspiration of the Holy Spirit who led him to utter these words. God is able and willing if we like David will repent.

Then note verses 16 and 17 where David says, "For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart - These, O God, You will not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17 NKJV) When a man or woman truly from the depths of their heart repents God will forgive them and we are talking here about the children of God. Remember how the father received back the prodigal son in the New Testament? The message is God wants us back.

In closing, I want to touch on a few passages in the New Testament. The church at Corinth was full of sinning Christians. The book of First Corinthians was written with a view of getting the brethren to repent. Just about every sin you can think of was going on in the church there. This included even a man who had his father's wife sexually.

Paul wrote the brethren back sometime later giving us the book of Second Corinthians. In that book, he makes it clear that even this man was forgiven as he had repented. He says to the brethren, "You ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him." (2 Cor. 2:7-8 NKJV)

In 2 Cor. 2:10-11 Paul says concerning this man and this situation, "Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." (NKJV)

Barnes in his commentary on this passage says, "And the idea is, that they should at once re-admit the penitent offender to their communion, lest if they did not do it, Satan would take advantage of it to do injury to him and them. It is a reason given by Paul why they should lose no time in restoring him to the church."

Concerning the sins of the brethren at Corinth besides this man's sin Paul says in 2 Cor. 7:9-10, "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." (NKJV)

Remember we are talking to and about Christians here. Their repentance led to their salvation. They suffered loss in nothing for they repented and God received them again.

Still, there were some at Corinth that had not repented in contrast to those who had. Paul writes in 2 Cor. 12:21 that he fears when he comes to them again that there will be some that "have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced." (NKJV) Yes, Christians can become involved in anything, as did David, but if we will repent God will forgive. Paul's lament here is that he fears some have not repented.

The very last passage I want to touch on is found in Hebrews 10:35-36. It seems the brethren were growing weary and about to give up and drift away. They are admonished, "Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise." (NKJV)

The message--don't give up. No matter how weak you may be at times, no matter how many sins you may commit as a Christian, no matter how bad they may be, don't give up. It is never hopeless until we give up. We are all in the same boat together. John says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8 NKJV) Sin hits us all even as Christians. The other guy may just do a better job hiding his. Quitters never win and never can. Only when we quit is it over. Jesus came into the world to save us, not condemn us. Let us do as David did, repent, and then get up and get going again. You have the road of salvation to travel so get up and get going again.

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Who Gets To Define Love

In 1 Cor. 13 Paul talks about and defines love. If we believe he was an inspired apostle of God then his words were the words of God. He claims as much when he said earlier in the book, "These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Cor. 2:13 NKJV)

All of us seem to have our own dictionary when it comes to defining terms. We want words defined the way we desire they be defined even if it means we write our own dictionary. Even the word "is," as small as it is, came into question as to its meaning if you remember the days of Bill Clinton. The word "love" is a word we all seem to want defined the way we want it defined.

American society today has defined the word love in a way that is contrary to the way the Bible defines it. Love for the adulterer, for the one engaged in fornication, for the active homosexual in America today means you tacitly embrace them in the very acts which the Bible calls sin. And, we are afraid not to do it as the ones involved are often family members or friends whose love and friendship we do not want to risk by upsetting them. The end result is we never rebuke the sinner and he or she goes on their merry way as if all is well with their spiritual being.

They are not to be rebuked for sin, in today's society, but are to be treated as if they were righteous. You seemingly are to rejoice that they have been made free to sin without stigma. If a couple has a child outside of marriage you are to think how wonderful it is that they have a child. This reaction to sin is now called "love."

Of course, that means our society would have condemned John the Baptist who refused to hold his tongue with Herod and Herodias but rather told Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have her." (Matt. 14:4 NKJV) Today we want to do what Herod did and persecute the one who speaks out against sin. We would say John the Baptist was a hater and intolerant, the only true sinner among the three, and that beheading was too good for him.

But how does God define love? In 1 Cor. 13:6 Paul says of love, "It does not rejoice at wrongdoing." (ESV) The Bible has declared adultery, fornication, and homosexuality to be sin or wrongdoing (1 Cor. 6:9-10) yet how many Americans rejoiced with the coming of no-fault divorce freeing up the adulterer from blame? How many rejoiced with the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage? That was seen as being merciful, tolerant, and a loving act, and it was about time they received equal rights and ceased to be discriminated against. There was no point in discussing it with God for if he was to disagree he would be wrong and besides, we define love nowadays, not God.

So we now have two definitions of what constitutes love, one God's, one man's. The only question is whose definition will prove to hold up in the end. Most of the world seems to be staking their claim on man's definition, not God's. However, the question God asked in Jer. 5:31 is still relevant today, "What will you do in the end?" (NKJV) People live and act today as though when that day comes they are going to tell God to his face how right they were and how wrong he was. We shall see; we shall see.

Our society has had a desire to redefine sin for we as a people have been unhappy with God's declarations on it. Sin is no longer sin because of anything God has said in the Bible but sin is now what man declares it to be. It is no longer what the Bible declares but what man declares. It is what seems wrong in man's eyes, not in the eyes of the God of the Bible.

"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isa. 5:20 NKJV)

Woe, woe, woe to man

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Judges With Evil Thoughts

The expression "looking down your nose" was and is an American idiom used with reference to looking upon someone with condescension, dishonorably, with a degree of contempt. It is felt that the other person is beneath you, undeserving of your status and dignity. That is the subject of this article, a subject James addressed.

James says:

"My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, 'You sit here in a good place,' and say to the poor man, 'You stand there,' or, 'Sit here at my footstool,' have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, 'Do not commit adultery,' also said, 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." (James 2:1-13 NKJV)

This sin of looking down on others and exalting one's self is a common sin that begins early in life. I have been around secondary public schools for a long time and this is a sin that often runs rampant there, not always but often. Kids have their cliques and often mistreat those who do not fit in. They embarrass them, ostracize them, and often call them names. One must learn where he/she fits in lest they become a victim. Safety is in knowing your place and staying in it. 

However, this is not confined to just adolescents. The janitors and cooks, the aides, the secretaries, the support staff, as they call it, are not considered as honorable as the teachers, often by the teachers. Not by all, of course, but it is common. Then the administrators often seem to feel a lot the same way toward the teachers.

I suspect that just about every organization has much the same pecking order, usually determined by position, the amount of money being earned, and that sort of thing. The attitude conveyed is that if only these guys and gals below me had half my drive and natural ability, they would have done as well as I have. They are not as smart, lack my drive, and really are not worthy of what I receive. Anyone can do their work, but it takes a special type of person to do mine, one who is worthy.

It is said by those who study such things that during our Civil War many southerners were dirt poor and had no slaves. Why then did they side with the slave owners and support the Confederacy in the war?

The answer was that every man needs a sense of self-worth, no matter how big a failure he may have been in this world, as the world measures such. The slaves were the one group that poverty-stricken white southerners could look at and feel a sense of betterment. Without the slaves, their sense of self-worth was nonexistent. Being at the bottom of the pile is pretty destructive to a human being, to what one thinks of himself and about himself. The slaves gave them worth, as they saw it. They were at least better than them, so the thinking went.

In the country of India, they used to have the caste system, and to an extent, it is still in existence there in a few places. The caste system was the way society was organized so that your birth determined what social/economic group you would be in for life. If you were born into a low-caste family it meant you would remain there all your life doing menial labor for low wages. You did not marry or socialize outside your caste. This is the way it was for the slaves in the pre-Civil War South, at least for the vast majority of the slaves. The irony was even the slaves were not free from this sin of showing partiality for household slaves were generally seen as superior to field hands. 

The thought comes to me that we are still a lot like that here in America, in some respects, even today. It is not likely you will see a janitor or clerk, for example, visiting and socializing with an executive in their home. Teachers and school cooks do not get together and visit in each other's homes, but it is that way pretty much all across our society.

James, by inspiration, tells us this is not the way the Christian is supposed to be. We are to treat each other honorably and show no respect of persons. 

I would like to go back now and take a look at parts of the text quoted from James. Verse 1 teaches us clearly that there is to be no partiality among us. It is a command. The ESV says, "show no partiality," and that sums up the command. However, I ask the question whether this is a one-way street?

Some years back, my wife and I were invited to go home for dinner after Sunday A.M. church services with a very wealthy couple (wealthy by our standards). I found an excuse not to go, but the truth is, I really did not want to go. This family did not know me well enough to realize the great economic gulf that separated our two families, but I knew, and I knew where they lived, and thus the kind of money they had to have. 

Did I, the poorer party, show partiality? Looking back on it, yes, I did. Showing partiality is a two-way street. In rare circumstances, it may be the poorer one who proves to be guilty.

But, while the text from James is using economic well-being as an example, do you believe the command is limited to monetary matters? Have people never shown partiality by race, sex, age, looks, social skills, or the lack thereof?

Kids are often embarrassed by their parents and sometimes would like to hide them. Why? Maybe they are older and out of touch, maybe they lack the social skills the new age demands, or they are poor, maybe they are ashamed of their parents for the kind of work they do, whatever. Is this sin? Is this showing partiality? So, there is more to partiality than first meets the eye. 

Then there is verse 4, where James says of us, if we show partiality, have we not "become judges with evil thoughts?" Who made me or you a judge? How is it that I think so highly of myself as to consider myself worthy of being a judge of others? Is there not some arrogance tied up in that? 

Paul tells us, "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you glory as if you had not received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7 NKJV) Most questions that are asked seek an answer, and we try to answer if directed at us. These questions bring us to silence. What can we say in response?

What do you have that you did not receive from God? Was it your looks, your intelligence, your ability, your good health? What was it you have that you did not receive, that you got on your own, that sets you apart from other men? If you have made great achievements, could you have done it without these natural gifts from God?

Some have great natural intelligence, go through the finest colleges, and make lots of money. Who gave them their intelligence? How does a gift from God merit superiority in one's thinking? 

Who gives great natural athletic ability or musical or singing ability that leads one to fame and fortune? Who gives beauty? Who gives the health that allows one to work and achieve? Without God on your side and giving you gifts, you, nor I, nor any other is able to achieve anything.

Did you ever think that even if you were right in thinking that you had some superior gifts from God, that is all the more reason for showing grace in your life toward others? It is all the more reason for you to be their servant in the sense that you are able to help them, the stronger helping the weaker. When we have the attitude that every man is my brother and every woman my sister, and I am going to help all I can, then we cease to judge and begin to love. 

God says to the rich, "Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share." (1 Tim. 6:18 NKJV) In the verse just before this, the Holy Spirit, through Paul, speaks much like James in the passage we are studying, for he says "command those who are rich … not to be haughty." (1 Tim. 6:17 NKJV)

I also want to look at the second part of verse 4 from our text, where James says that if we show partiality, we become judges with evil thoughts. What kind of "evil thoughts?" First, the Bible teaches that evil thoughts themselves are sin.

Hear Jesus, "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man." (Matt. 15:18-20 NKJV)

We are not told exactly what the evil thoughts of James 2:4 are, but we all pretty much know. It is I am better than this guy, what a loser. It is the attitude of the Pharisee who went up to pray and was thanking God that he was not like the other man there, the tax collector. But, Jesus says, "I tell you, this man (the tax collector--DS) went down to his house justified rather than the other (the Pharisee--DS); for everyone who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14 NKJV)

When I begin to judge the other guy, I am automatically exalting myself above him. In Jesus' eyes, we are all sinners. How is it we think one sinner, worthy of death, is better than another sinner, worthy of death?

I recently read a sermon that was well worth my time. The thesis of the sermon was that God looks at world history and/or national history differently than man does. Our history books are full of famous men's names. They are famous because of their exploits in politics, business, war, etc. We say they have been great successes in life.

We suspect God's view of history is vastly different based on his word. Most of the names of people in our history books were not Christians. Their names are not going to be found in God's book of life, his history book, so to speak. God's great men and women of history will be, at least for the most part, people who were not well known in this life, simple God-fearing people who went about serving God and others in ordinary daily life. I had never thought about it that way. I am convinced the man who wrote the sermon had it right.

God's word is too plain to deny that with him, the greatest person is not the one lording it over the other but the one who is serving. Remember when James and John came to Jesus desiring to sit one on his right hand and the other on his left hand in his glory?

Jesus said in part, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all." (Mark 10:42-43 NKJV)

We are not really being a servant when we desire the lordship and that is what we do in heart when we show partiality over others as though we are better. James says it is sin; "If you show partiality, you commit sin." (James 2:9 NKJV)

Do we realize that when we show respect of persons in a way that the person becomes aware of it, we have also become a thief? James says in chapter 2, verse 6, "You have dishonored the poor man." (NKJV) When we dishonor a man or woman, we are robbing them of their self-respect and dignity, and this makes us one of the worst thieves of all. You can take a man's money, but when you take his self-respect, what does he have left?

In verses 8 and 9, James contrasts loving a person with showing partiality. When we show partiality, it shows that we do not love the one whom we are mistreating. James quotes scripture saying, "'You shall love your neighbor as yourself,'" (James 2:8 NKJV) and says this is the "royal law according to the Scripture." (James 2:8 NKJV) How can you love a man whom you judge to be of lesser worth or value? Sin is a transgression of the law (1 John 3:4 KJV). When we show partiality, we transgress the royal law. We fail to love. We sin.

Verse 13 then logically follows, "For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." (James 2:13 NKJV) A merciful man is the man who loves his neighbor as himself. His desire is to help. If indeed there is one less fortunate than oneself, the attitude needs to be I want to help, how can I help? 

It would be good if we could all burn into our memories and, more importantly, into our hearts, the scripture, "judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy." (James 2:13 NKJV) A merciful man is not a man who has an attitude of partiality. As he is merciful, not judgmental, he will be shown mercy. 

I want to make one final point before closing. There is no partiality with God. Peter spoke of this in Acts 10:34 when he said, "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality." (NKJV) This he spoke concerning God's willingness to save all men of whatever race or background.

But as God is not partial in who he will save neither is he partial in whom he will condemn for Paul says in Rom. 2:11-12, "For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law." (NKJV)

Again in Col. 3:25, "But he who does wrong will be repaid for the wrong which he has done, and there is no partiality." (NKJV)

Peter says to us, "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in fear." (1 Peter 1:17 NKJV)

I suspect way too many of us think that God is going to treat us a little differently than others; my character and circumstances are such as to merit special consideration. I wonder if we think in the back of our minds that I am a little more deserving than some others, and so I will be treated differently. If so, we are delusional.

With me, one of the most frightening passages in the Bible is this one from Paul in 2 Thess. 1:7-9, "And to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." (NKJV)

God is no respecter of persons. One has either believed and obeyed the gospel, or he has not. God is either a liar or he is not. The only hope so many have is that God is a liar, that it is all a lie. But there is no partiality with God, nor can God lie. Is there no fear of God within us? I can find plenty of Old Testament examples of people who did not fear or obey God. Do we want to be like them?

So, in this study, we have looked at showing partiality from man's side and shown it to be sin. But we have also looked at the subject from God's side and seen that there is no partiality with him. He will gladly save us no matter who we are if we will believe and obey, but without showing partiality, he will condemn us if we do not believe and obey. The way we live in our treatment of others is our choice and God also allows us to choose how we will treat him. The choice is ours, and that goes as much for the writer as for the reader of this article.

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