James 2

A Warning against Favoritism

¹ My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.

² Suppose a man comes into your meeting ¹ wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.

³ If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”

⁴ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

⁷ Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called?²

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”³ you are doing well.

⁹ But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

¹⁰ Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

¹¹ For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,”⁴ also said, “Do not murder.”⁵ If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom.

¹³ For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

(Galatians 3:1–9)

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.

¹⁶ If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?

¹⁷ So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action,⁶ is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

¹⁹ You believe that God is one.⁷ Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰ O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?⁸

²¹ Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

²² You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.

²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”⁹ and he was called a friend of God.¹⁰

²⁴ As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies ¹¹ and sent them off on another route?

²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.