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James 1:1-27
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting…

Job 34:19
How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they allare the work of his hands.

Malachi 2:9
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.

Job 21:27
Behold, I know your thoughts, and the deviceswhich ye wrongfully imagine against me.

Psalm 58:1
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?

Psalm 82:2
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

and become judges with evil thoughts?
This part of the verse highlights the moral and spiritual implications of favoritism. By showing partiality, believers are assuming the role of judges, which is reserved for God alone (James 4:12). The "evil thoughts" refer to the corrupt motivations behind such judgments, often rooted in selfishness or societal values rather than God's standards. This echoes Jesus' teachings inMatthew 7:1-5 about the dangers of judging others. The term "evil" underscores the seriousness of the sin, aligning with the biblical understanding that thoughts and intentions are as significant as actions (Matthew 5:28). The call is to align one's heart and mind with God's righteousness, avoiding the worldly mindset that values wealth and status over character and faith.

James has just pictured believers ushering a finely dressed man to the best seat while shuffling a poor brother to the floor (James 2:2–3). By asking this sharp question, he exposes what is really happening.

• Discrimination—literally “making distinctions”—fractures the unity of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:24–25).

• Treating people by externals directly contradicts God’s command: “You shall not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich” (Leviticus 19:15).

• Peter learned the lesson when Cornelius came to faith: “God does not show favoritism” (Acts 10:34).

Whenever we rank people by wealth, appearance, education, or ethnicity, we carve up the fellowship Christ died to create (Ephesians 2:14).

By playing favorites, believers step into a role reserved for God alone.

• Jesus warned, “Do not judge, or you will be judged” (Matthew 7:1–2). The measure we use boomerangs back on us.

• Paul confronts the self-righteous: “You who pass judgment on someone else are without excuse” (Romans 2:1).

• God reminded Samuel, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Setting ourselves up as judges contradicts our calling to be servants (Mark 10:44) and makes us forget that every seat in the church is level at the foot of the cross (Galatians 3:28).

The heart motive behind favoritism is unmasked.

• “From within the hearts of men come evil thoughts…greed, malice, deceit” (Mark 7:21–22).

• Jeremiah pinpoints the problem: “The heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9).

• James later links the same word “evil” to selfish ambition (James 3:14–16).

Partiality springs from desires for gain, approval, or comfort—sinful impulses that stand opposed to the royal law: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8).

James 2:4 shows that favoritism is no small social faux pas; it is a spiritual fault line. When we favor one person over another, we divide Christ’s body, usurp God’s throne of judgment, and reveal hearts driven by selfish, evil thoughts. The remedy is simple and radical: look at every brother and sister through the lens of the cross, where grace levels us all and love calls us to honor everyone without distinction.

(1) "Are ye not divided in your own mind?" so the Syriac and R.V., which would imply that this respect of persons showed that they were halting between God and the world - in fact, double-minded.

(2) "Do ye not make distinctions among yourselves?" R.V. margin; this gives an excellent sense, but is wanting in authority, as there appears to be no other instance forthcoming of the passive with this meaning.

(3) "Did you not doubt among yourselves?" this (doubt) is the almost invariable meaning ofδιακρίναομαι in the New Testament, and the word has already been used in this sense by St. James (James 1:6). Hence this rendering is to be preferred. So Huther, Plumptre, and Farrar, the latter of whom explains the passage as follows: "It showsdoubt to act as though Christ had never promised his kingdom to the poor, rich in faith; andwicked reasonings to argue mentally that the poormust be less worthy of honor than the rich." Judges of evil thoughts (κριταὶ διαλογισμῶν πονηρῶν);sc. their own (thoughts), which caused them to respect persons. Thus the phrase is equivalent to "evil-thinking judges." (On the genitive, see Winer, 'Gram. of N. T. Greek,' p. 233; and cf.James 1:25,ἀκροάτης ἐπιλησμονής.)

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