1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Master Y'shua the Messiah, the
Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your
assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a
poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that wearing the fancy
clothing, and say unto him, Sit here in a good place; and say to the poor,
Stand there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 Are ye not then partial in
yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved
brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs
of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have
despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the
judgment seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are
called? 8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
If you have faith in Y'shua and became part of
His body, you should not have a respect for one person and not another who is
part of the assembly as well. The one you elevate and acknowledge but the other
you despise based on their appearance, talents, money, etc.
James further emphasized the importance to love
your neighbour because it is part of the Royal Low. The word “Royal” simply
means “King” and that means it is a decree that comes from the King with His
authority and that law cannot be changed by man.
The
word neighbour is the Hebrew word “reyah” that means: friend and
companion, lover, brother, husband, fellow citizen.
James taught that we should respect all men and
women alike and not elevate some to a higher status, treating them different to
common people.
Love
is the Hebrew word “Ahab” that means affection or love.
Love or “Ahab" is first found in Scripture
in 1 Kings 16:28-33. Ahab was one of Israel’s rulers who married Jezebel and under
her influence introduced Baal worship to Israel. He committed more sin than his
predecessors and revoked YHVH to anger more than those before him.
Jezebel is mentioned in Revelation 2:20 where
YHVH speak to the seven Churches. The church of Thyatira was rebuked for the
spirit of Jezebel among them who manifested as a teacher and prophet who taught
the people of YHVH to fornicate by eating thing sacrificed to idols.
Looking at the context and backdrop of the
story of Ahab and Jezebel teaching people to worship idols and James talking
about loving your neighbour and not elevating some above others, brings to mind
the idea that we can “love” certain people above others and that love is similar
to Ahab introducing idolatry to the congregation. Idolising, elevation and promoting some above
others is teaching people to figuratively bowing to “idols” and stepping on
others within the assembly. This false “love” is generated from the spirit of
Jezebel who brings false teaching and elevation of man into the church.
Revelation also speaks about eating things
sacrificed to idols and that means to partake in things that do not come from
YHVH but from the other religions and traditions of men. Are there any
traditions from man or from cultures or religions in your church that is not
found and backed up in the Bible? If so, repent and do not take part of those
things so that YHVH can find you blameless.
The best way to stay safe is to test everything
according to the Word and if it is not found in the Word or Commanded by YHVH,
then do not partake in it.
How do we extend love to our neighbour in these
situations? You need to abstain from worshipping and idolising people and not
partake in any man made or false religion based traditions, setting the right example
and when people ask why, you have the right to speak into their lives. The
choice is then up to them to decide what they are going to do, obey YHVH or
Jezebel?
The key is not to judge or bad mouth people but
to only shine your light and those who seek the truth will come to you and ask
you about your light.
