²My brothers and sisters, you will face all kinds of trouble. When you do, think of it as pure joy. ³Your faith will be put to the test. You know that when that happens it will produce in you the strength to continue. ⁴The strength to keep going must be allowed to finish its work. Then you will be all you should be. You will have everything you need.

⁵If any of you need wisdom, ask God for it. He will give it to you. God gives freely to everyone. He doesn’t find fault.

⁶But when you ask, you must believe. You must not doubt. People who doubt are like waves of the sea. The wind blows and tosses them around. ⁷A man like that shouldn’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸He can’t make up his mind. He can never decide what to do.

⁹A believer who finds himself in a low position in life should be proud that God has given him a high position. ¹⁰But someone who is rich should take pride in his low position. That’s because he will fade away like a wild flower.

¹¹The sun rises. Its burning heat dries up the plants. Their blossoms fall. Their beauty is destroyed. In the same way, a rich person will fade away even as he goes about his business.

¹²Blessed is the man who keeps on going when times are hard. After he has come through them, he will receive a crown. The crown is life itself. God has promised it to those who love him.

¹³When you are tempted, you shouldn’t say, “God is tempting me.” God can’t be tempted by evil. And he doesn’t tempt anyone.

¹⁴But your own evil longings tempt you. They lead you on and drag you away. ¹⁵When they are allowed to grow, they give birth to sin. When sin has grown up, it gives birth to death.

¹⁶My dear brothers and sisters, don’t let anyone fool you. ¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from God. It comes down from the Father. He created the heavenly lights. He does not change like shadows that move.

¹⁸God chose to give us new birth through the message of truth. He wanted us to be the first and best of everything he created.

Listen to the Word and Do What It Says

¹⁹My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry. ²⁰A man’s anger doesn’t produce the kind of life God wants.

²¹So get rid of everything that is dirty and sinful. Get rid of the evil that is all around us. Don’t be too proud to accept the word that is planted in you. It can save you.

²²Don’t just listen to the word. You fool yourselves if you do that. You must do what it says.

²³Suppose you listen to the word but don’t do what it says. Then you are like a man who looks at his face in a mirror. ²⁴After looking at himself, he leaves. Right away he forgets what he looks like.

²⁵But suppose you take a good look at the perfect law that gives freedom. You keep looking at it. You don’t forget what you’ve heard, but you do what the law says. Then you will be blessed in what you do.

²⁶Suppose you think your beliefs are right because of how you live. But you don’t control what you say. Then you are fooling yourselves. Your beliefs are not worth anything at all.

²⁷Here are the kinds of beliefs that God our Father accepts as pure and without fault. When widows and children who have no parents are in trouble, take care of them. And keep yourselves from being polluted by the world.

Treat Everyone the Same

2My brothers and sisters, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So treat everyone the same.

²Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes. And suppose a poor man in worn-out clothes also comes in. ³Would you show special attention to the one who is wearing fine clothes? Would you say, “Here’s a good seat for you”? Would you say to the poor person, “You stand there”? Or “Sit on the floor by my feet”? ⁴If you would, aren’t you treating some people better than others? Aren’t you like judges who have evil thoughts?

⁵My dear brothers and sisters, listen to me. Hasn’t God chosen those who are poor in the world’s eyes to be rich in faith? Hasn’t he chosen them to receive the kingdom? Hasn’t he promised it to those who love him?

⁶But you have put poor people down. Aren’t rich people taking advantage of you? Aren’t they dragging you into court? ⁷Aren’t they speaking evil things against the worthy name of Jesus? Remember, you belong to him.

⁸The royal law is found in Scripture. It says, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” If you really keep that law, you are doing what is right. ⁹But you sin if you don’t treat everyone the same. The law judges you because you have broken it.

¹⁰Suppose you keep the whole law but trip over just one part of it. Then you are guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹God said, “Do not commit adultery.” He also said, “Do not commit murder.” Suppose you don’t commit adultery but do commit murder. Then you have broken the Law.

¹²Speak and act like people who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. ¹³Those who have not shown mercy will not receive mercy when they are judged. To show mercy is better than to judge.

Show Your Faith by What You Do

¹⁴My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people claim they have faith but don’t act like it? Can that kind of faith save them?

¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister has no clothes or food. ¹⁶Suppose one of you says to them, “Go. I hope everything turns out fine for you. Keep warm. Eat well.” And you do nothing about what they really need. Then what good have you done?

¹⁷It is the same with faith. If it doesn’t cause us to do something, it’s dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith. I do good works.”

Show me your faith that doesn’t do good works. And I will show you my faith by what I do. ¹⁹You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that. And they tremble!

²⁰You foolish man! Do you want proof that faith without good works is useless? ²¹Our father Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar. Wasn’t he considered to be right with God because of what he did? ²²So you see that what he believed and what he did were working together. What he did made his faith complete.

²³That is what Scripture means where it says, “Abraham believed God. God accepted Abraham because he believed. So his faith made him right with God.” And that’s not all. God called Abraham his friend. ²⁴So you see that a person is made right with God by what he does. It doesn’t happen only because of what he believes.

²⁵Didn’t God make even Rahab the prostitute right with him? That’s because of what she did. She gave the spies a place to stay. Then she sent them off in a different direction.

²⁶The body without the spirit is dead. In the same way, faith without good works is dead.

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