Loving Others

Jesus says there is a way that others will know unmistakably that we are Christians. He says in John’s Gospel, “By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another (John 13:35).” And that love for one another is a love that extends to all persons without exception; our neighbors, our friends, and even our enemies. He says, “Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…for if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have, or what good is that (Matthew 5:43-47)?”

Love is the distinguishing mark of all true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. If a person truly has the love of Christ within, then that love will manifest itself outwardly through loving actions.

If a man is physically sick, for example, he has something wrong on the inside. He has a bad heart, a virus, or a disease of some kind. What is wrong on the inside shows on the outside: his breathing is erratic, his color is terrible, and his body is weak. And others look at him and say, “You don’t look so good.” But then he gets what is wrong on the inside fixed. He has surgery or receives treatment. The procedure is completed, and he is better on the inside, so it shows on the outside. His breathing is normal, his body is strong, and his color is good. Others say, “You look good!” When we are healthy on the inside, it shows on the outside.

Spiritually, we enter this world dead in trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1). You might say we have a spiritual “heart condition.” Our hearts are evil. They are hard and stony. We need to get what’s wrong on the inside fixed. For Christians, God has performed a procedure, a “heart surgery.” The Bible says in Ezekiel 36 that God takes out our heart of stone and replaces it with a new heart, a heart of flesh, a heart that is not hardened and calloused, but a heart that is soft and responsive to the will and way of God.  

And once we are fixed on the inside, it shows on the outside. Things are different now. There is a change, a change that affects the way we live and the way we love.   

Here’s how James puts it in our ongoing study of the Book Of James:

8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 
9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:8-9)

Love Others without Partiality

James warns the church against favoritism or “showing partiality” in these verses (2:1, 9).” You’ll recall from Chapter 8 that we wrongly show partiality when we favor those who are dressed well over those who are not.  

We show partiality when we favor those who are popular over those who are unpopular. And we show it when we favor those who are educated over those who are uneducated, those who have over those who have not, and those who are rich over those who are poor. We show partiality if we favor those who live on the “right” side of town, drive a certain kind of vehicle, go to a certain kind of school, talk a certain kind of way, or have a certain kind of skin color we believe to be the “right” color. Partiality, or favoritism, takes many forms.

Building upon this teaching, James writes that we “do well” if we truly fulfill what he calls “the royal law” in Scripture, namely: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The word “royal” means that which “belongs to the king,” or the law of the kingdom (cf. verse 5).  

We serve our Lord, our King, Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus Himself taught us to love, teaching us to love our neighbor as ourselves. And James is quoting from the Old Testament, specifically Leviticus 19:18: “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” 

Jesus was once asked about the greatest commandment. Matthew’s Gospel describes a certain Pharisee who approached Jesus and asked Him a question, testing Him. He said: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus replied:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:34-40).

Another Pharisee wanted to “justify himself,” so he asked Jesus to expand upon His teaching, namely this matter of loving one’s neighbors. He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” And Jesus answered his question by telling the parable of the Good Samaritan teaching, in essence, that our neighbor is anyone with whom we may come in contact (Luke 10:25-37).  

Jesus also taught us to love those especially difficult to love. Hear His commands again:

Bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…for if you love [only] those who love you, what reward do you have, or what good is that (Matthew 5:43-47)?

If you are a Christian, you have been changed on the inside, and that change will appear on the outside. You will love others. And by God’s grace, you will even love your enemies. James focuses primarily on loving those who are easily overlooked, like the “poor man in filthy clothes (James 2:2).” James minces no words here. He warns: “but if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.”

Make no mistake: showing partiality or favoritism is a sin. We are to love all people, treat all equally, showing favoritism to no one. Love others without partiality. There’s something else here that James says Christians must do, but we’ll look at that next time!

**Excerpt from You’re Either Walking The Walk Or Just Running Your Mouth (Preaching Truth: 2020), pages 69-72, available on Amazon.