In chapter two of the Epistle of James (2:1-4), the brother of our Lord confronts the awful presence of pride and worldliness in the Church. You will remember the scene. Two visitors come into worship. One is a rich man, stunningly appointed with the finest apparel and glittering jewelry. The other is a poor man, dressed in tattered clothing. The wealthy man is excitedly ushered to the best seat in the house, while the poor man is simply ignored, except for hearing the blunt order to stay in his place. Such an attitude (and in worship of all places!) manifests the undeniable presence of rank worldliness. It betrays pride and the worship of men and things. It is antithetical to the Gospel and disgraceful to God the Father.

But how is such a terrible sin among God’s people cured?

The answer is discovered in 2:5—

“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?”

The inspired remedy for what plagues the Church is a healing dose of the doctrine of election! Nothing eradicates human pride, prompts Gospel-humility, enflames worship, motivates holiness, and promotes the love of God more than this beloved (but frequently maligned!) truth. God has “chosen”! Plain and simple! We have not chosen Him. He chose us, and He did so in eternity past. And the Father has taken special delight in choosing the “poor in the world” as trophies of His sovereign grace. It’s not that He has only chosen from the “poor,” but that His true people have largely been elected from among those whom the world ignores—the weak, the marginalized, and the neglected (like the poor man who wandered into the worship service).

This is also Paul’s bold and pride-destroying message to the Corinthians:

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord”–1 Corinthians 1:26-31.

This Lord’s Day we will also “consider” our “calling” as we explore James 2:5-7 where the blessed truth of God’s elective mercies is presented as the antidote to all such worldliness and prideful thinking. And we will indeed come away boasting, but our boasting will be in Him!