James 2–3

Warning against Prejudice

2My brothers and sisters, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, you must never treat people in different ways according to their outward appearance. ²Suppose a rich man wearing a gold ring and fine clothes comes to your meeting, and a poor man in ragged clothes also comes. ³If you show more respect to the well-dressed man and say to him, “Have this best seat here,” but say to the poor man, “Stand over there, or sit here on the floor by my feet,” ⁴then you are guilty of creating distinctions among yourselves and of making judgements based on evil motives.

⁵Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! God chose the poor people of this world to be rich in faith and to possess the kingdom which he promised to those who love him. ⁶But you dishonour the poor! Who are the ones who oppress you and drag you before the judges? The rich! ⁷They are the ones who speak evil of that good name which has been given to you.

^8*You will be doing the right thing if you obey the law of the Kingdom, which is found in the scripture, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” ⁹But if you treat people according to their outward appearance, you are guilty of sin, and the Law condemns you as a lawbreaker. ¹⁰Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all. ^11*For the same one who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Even if you do not commit adultery, you have become a lawbreaker if you commit murder. ¹²Speak and act as people who will be judged by the law that sets us free. ¹³For God will not show mercy when he judges the person who has not been merciful; but mercy triumphs over judgement.

Faith and Actions

¹⁴My brothers and sisters, what good is it for people to say that they have faith if their actions do not prove it? Can that faith save them? ¹⁵Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. ¹⁶What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!”—if you don’t give them the necessities of life? ¹⁷So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “One person has faith, another has actions.” My answer is, “Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions.” ¹⁹Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe—and tremble with fear. ²⁰You fool! Do you want to be shown that faith without actions is useless?^{a 21*}How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar. ²²Can’t you see? His faith and his actions worked together; his faith was made perfect through his actions. ^23*And the scripture came true that said, “Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” And so Abraham was called God’s friend. ²⁴You see, then, that it is by people’s actions that they are put right with God, and not by their faith alone.

^25*It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road.

²⁶So then, as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without actions is dead.

The Tongue

3My brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others. ²All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being. ³We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want. ⁴Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. ⁵So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things.

Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame! ⁶And the tongue is like a fire. It is a world of wrong, occupying its place in our bodies and spreading evil through our whole being. It sets on fire the entire course of our existence with the fire that comes to it from hell itself. ⁷Human beings can tame and have tamed all other creatures—wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish. ⁸But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison. ^9*We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God. ¹⁰Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen! ¹¹No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. ¹²A fig tree, my brothers and sisters, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.

The Wisdom from Above

¹³Are there people among you who are wise and understanding? They are to prove it by their good lives, by their good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. ¹⁴But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter, and selfish, don’t sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. ¹⁵Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic. ¹⁶Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also disorder and every kind of evil. ¹⁷But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. ¹⁸And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds the peacemakers plant in peace.