James 2:1-26.
James 2.1-26
Warning against Having Favorites
"My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you
won't treat some people better than others. Suppose a rich person
wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings.
And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes. You
must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the
one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. That is the
same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would
be acting like a crooked judge. My dear friends, pay attention. God
has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world. He has also
promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give to everyone who
loves him. You mistreat the poor. But isn't it the rich who boss you
around and drag you off to court? Aren't they the ones who make fun
of your Lord? You will do all right, if you obey the most important
law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others
as much as we love ourselves. But if you treat some people better
than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you
have sinned. If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of
breaking them all. The same God who told us to be faithful in
marriage also told us not to murder. So even if you are faithful in
marriage, but murder someone, you still have broken God's Law.
Speak and act like people who will be judged by the law that sets us
free. Do this, because on the day of judgment there will be no pity
for those who have not had pity on others. But even in judgment, God
is merciful!
Faith and Works
My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do
anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith
save you? If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food,
you shouldn't just say, "I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will
be warm and have plenty to eat." What good is it to say this, unless
you do something to help? Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds
is all alone and dead! Suppose someone disagrees and says, "It is
possible to have faith without doing kind deeds." I would answer,
"Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove
that I have faith by doing them." You surely believe there is only
one God. That's fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them
shake with fear. Does some stupid person want proof that faith without
deeds is useless? Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting
his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. Now you see how
Abraham's faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith
was real by what he did. This is what the Scriptures mean by saying,
"Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him." That's how
Abraham became God's friend. You can now see that we please God by
what we do and not only by what we believe. For example, Rahab had
been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and
sent them home by another way. Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and
faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead!"
God bless you.
Warning against Having Favorites
"My friends, if you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you
won't treat some people better than others. Suppose a rich person
wearing fancy clothes and a gold ring comes to one of your meetings.
And suppose a poor person dressed in worn-out clothes also comes. You
must not give the best seat to the one in fancy clothes and tell the
one who is poor to stand at the side or sit on the floor. That is the
same as saying that some people are better than others, and you would
be acting like a crooked judge. My dear friends, pay attention. God
has given a lot of faith to the poor people in this world. He has also
promised them a share in his kingdom that he will give to everyone who
loves him. You mistreat the poor. But isn't it the rich who boss you
around and drag you off to court? Aren't they the ones who make fun
of your Lord? You will do all right, if you obey the most important
law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others
as much as we love ourselves. But if you treat some people better
than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you
have sinned. If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of
breaking them all. The same God who told us to be faithful in
marriage also told us not to murder. So even if you are faithful in
marriage, but murder someone, you still have broken God's Law.
Speak and act like people who will be judged by the law that sets us
free. Do this, because on the day of judgment there will be no pity
for those who have not had pity on others. But even in judgment, God
is merciful!
Faith and Works
My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do
anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith
save you? If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food,
you shouldn't just say, "I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will
be warm and have plenty to eat." What good is it to say this, unless
you do something to help? Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds
is all alone and dead! Suppose someone disagrees and says, "It is
possible to have faith without doing kind deeds." I would answer,
"Prove that you have faith without doing kind deeds, and I will prove
that I have faith by doing them." You surely believe there is only
one God. That's fine. Even demons believe this, and it makes them
shake with fear. Does some stupid person want proof that faith without
deeds is useless? Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting
his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. Now you see how
Abraham's faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith
was real by what he did. This is what the Scriptures mean by saying,
"Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him." That's how
Abraham became God's friend. You can now see that we please God by
what we do and not only by what we believe. For example, Rahab had
been a prostitute. But she pleased God when she welcomed the spies and
sent them home by another way. Anyone who doesn't breathe is dead, and
faith that doesn't do anything is just as dead!"
God bless you.
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