James 2

The Sin of Partiality

11My brethren, 2do not hold your faith in our 3glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of 4personal favoritism. 2For if a man comes into your 5assembly with a gold ring and dressed in 67fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in 8dirty clothes, 3and you 9pay special attention to the one who is wearing the 10fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” 4have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges 11with evil 12motives? 5Listen, 13my beloved brethren: did not 14God choose the poor 15of this world to be 16rich in faith and 17heirs of the kingdom which He 18promised to those who love Him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and 19personally 20drag you into 21court? 722Do they not blaspheme the fair name 23by which you have been called?

8If, however, you 24are fulfilling the 25royal law according to the Scripture, “26You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you 27show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the 28law as transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole 29law and yet 30stumbles in one point, he has become 31guilty of all. 11For He who said, “32Do not commit adultery,” also said, “33Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the 34law. 12So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by 35the law of liberty. 13For 36judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy 37triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

1438What use is it, 39my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can 40that faith save him? 1541If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “42Go in peace, 43be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17Even so 44faith, if it has no works, is 45dead, being by itself.

1846But someone 47may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your 48faith without the works, and I will 49show you my faith 50by my works.” 19You believe that 5152God is one. 53You do well; 54the demons also believe, and shudder. 20But are you willing to recognize, 55you foolish fellow, that 56faith without works is useless? 2157Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22You see that 58faith was working with his works, and 59as a result of the 60works, faith was 61perfected; 23and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “62And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called 63the friend of God. 24You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25In the same way, was not 64Rahab the harlot also justified by works 65when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also 66faith without works is dead.