James 2

The Sin of Partiality

11My brothers and sisters, 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 is dressed in 6bright clothes, and a poor man in 7dirty clothes also comes in, 3and you 8pay special attention to the one who is wearing the 9bright 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 10with evil 11motives? 5Listen, 12my beloved brothers and sisters: did 13God not choose the poor 14of this world to be 15rich in faith and 16heirs of the kingdom which He 17promised to those who love Him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and 18personally 19drag you into 20court? 721Do they not blaspheme the good name 22by which you have been called?

8If, however, you 23are fulfilling the 24royal law according to the Scripture, “25You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you 26show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators. 10For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet 27stumbles in one point, has become 28guilty of all. 11For He who said, “29Do not commit adultery,” also said, “30Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do murder, you have become a violator of the Law. 12So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by 31the law of freedom. 13For 32judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy 33triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

1434What use is it, 35my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can 36that faith save him? 1537If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “38Go in peace, 39be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17In the same way, 40faith also, if it has no works, is 41dead, being by itself.

1842But someone 43may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your 44faith without the works, and I will 45show you my faith 46by my works.” 19You believe that 4748God is one. 49You do well; 50the demons also believe, and shudder. 20But are you willing to acknowledge, 51you foolish person, that 52faith without works is useless? 2153Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that 54faith was working with his works, and 55as a result of the 56works, faith was 57perfected; 23and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “58And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a 59friend of God. 24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25In the same way, was 60Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also 61when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also 62faith without works is dead.