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.

Control What You Say

3My brothers and sisters, most of you shouldn’t want to be teachers. You know that those of us who teach will be held more accountable.

²All of us get tripped up in many ways. Suppose someone is never wrong in what he says. Then he is a perfect man. He is able to keep his whole body under control.

³We put a bit in the mouth of a horse to make it obey us. We can control the whole animal with it. ⁴And how about ships? They are very big. They are driven along by strong winds. But they are steered by a very small rudder. It makes them go where the captain wants to go.

⁵In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body. But it brags a lot. Think about how a small spark can set a big forest on fire.

⁶The tongue also is a fire. The tongue is the most evil part of the body. It pollutes the whole person. It sets a person’s whole way of life on fire. And the tongue is set on fire by hell.

⁷People have controlled all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea. They still control them. ⁸But no one can control the tongue. It is an evil thing that never rests. It is full of deadly poison.

⁹With our tongues we praise our Lord and Father. With our tongues we call down curses on people. We do it even though they have been created to be like God. ¹⁰Praise and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, it shouldn’t be that way.

¹¹Can fresh water and salt water flow out of the same spring? ¹²My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives? Can a grapevine bear figs? Of course not. And a saltwater spring can’t produce fresh water either.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

¹³Are any of you wise and understanding? You should show it by living a good life. Wise people aren’t proud when they do good works.

¹⁴But suppose your hearts are jealous and bitter. Suppose you are concerned only about getting ahead. Don’t brag about it. Don’t say no to the truth. ¹⁵Wisdom like that doesn’t come down from heaven. It belongs to the earth. It doesn’t come from the Holy Spirit. It comes from the devil.

¹⁶Are you jealous? Are you concerned only about getting ahead? Then your life will be a mess. You will be doing all kinds of evil things.

¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is pure. That’s the most important thing about it. And that’s not all. It also loves peace. It thinks about others. It obeys. It is full of mercy and good fruit. It is fair. It doesn’t pretend to be what it is not.

¹⁸Those who make peace should plant peace like a seed. If they do, it will produce a crop of right living.

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