James 2

The Sin of Favoritism

2My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. ^j2For example, a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. ³If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor man, “Stand over there,” or, “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,” ⁴haven’t you discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Listen, my dear brothers: Didn’t God choose the poor in this world ^kto be rich in faith ^land heirs ^mof the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him? ⁶Yet you dishonored that poor man. ⁿDon’t the rich oppress you and drag ^oyou into the courts? ⁷Don’t they blaspheme the noble name that was pronounced over you at your baptism? ^p

⁸Indeed, if you keep the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, ^qryou are doing well. ⁹But if you show favoritism, ^syou commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all. ^t11For He who said, Do not commit adultery, ^ualso said, Do not murder. ^vwSo if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you are a lawbreaker.

¹²Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. ^x13For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. ^yMercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can his faith ^zsave him?

¹⁵If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food ¹⁶and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? ^a17In the same way faith, if it doesn’t have works, is dead by itself.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” ^bShow me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works. ^cd19You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder. ^e

²⁰Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? ²¹Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²²You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. ^f23So the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, ^ghand he was called God’s friend. ⁱ²⁴You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And in the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different route? ^j26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.