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The Epistle of James Chapter 2:1–26 Without Prejudice 2.1. My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. In addressing them as brethren he sets the basis of the point he is about to make that being brethren in Christ all believers are equal. As they have been saved by faith through grace in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, they should not dishonour Him by showing favoritism. 2.2. For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, They were guilty of this for when people came into the church dressed in rich clothing with gold rings on their fingers, evidence of being rich, they fell over themselves in welcoming them. However, if someone came in poorly dressed, obviously poor, they ignored them. They were in fact judging by appearance something that God told Samuel not to do (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus had something to say about this too concerning the Pharisees (Matthew 23:27). 2.3. do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, "You sit here in a good place," and to the poor person, "You stand over there," or "Sit on the floor"? James questions them as to whether they show this partially by giving excessive attention to a rich man by guiding him to the best seats in the church while the poor man is told to stand wherever he can find a place or to sit on the floor without knowing whether they are a Christian or heathen. The hypercritical Pharisees loved to sit in the best seats (Matthew 23:6). 2.4. If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? By doing this they were judging a man by his wealth and outward appearance and were allowing themselves to be influence and guiding by evil motives (2 Cor. 10:7). 2.5. Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?
Give attention to this beloved the rich have no special claim upon the church for the fact is that God has chosen the poor in the eyes of this world to be rich in faith (1 Cor. 1:26 - 28). In their position as believers they are heirs to the kingdom of God (Math. 5:3) and are spiritual rich in Christ (2 Cor. 8:9). This is the promise to all those who love God. 2.6. But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts? In contrast to the nature of God they have shamefully dishonoured and despised the poor in their attitude and behaviour to them. It is usually the rich who exercise the power given them by their wealth that oppress and drag people into court. 2.7. Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to? It is the rich heathen that James chiefly refers too here as the ones that blaspheme the precious Name of Jesus Christ. 2.8. But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. They will be doing the right thing if they obey the royal Law of God “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev. 19: 18) and confirmed by Jesus Christ (Math. 19:19). This indeed is a law of equality for it means that as Jesus Christ loves all men no matter who they are or what they are or what they have or have not so believers should follow His example (Luke 6:27). 2.9. But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators. If anyone shows prejudice, favoritism to any person because of their station in life is guilty of a sin and will be convicted by the Law as a lawbreaker (Exodus 23:23).
Guilty of All 2.10. For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. James enforces this point he has made concerning any kind of prejudice that if anyone should keep all the Law and yet fail in one point then they are guilty of breaking the whole law (Galatians 3:10). 2.11. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law. James uses the Law of God that says “do not commit adultery” and “do not murder” to illustrate this. If a person doesn’t commit adultery but murders someone then they are transgressors of the whole law. 2.12. Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom. So let your speech and actions be controlled as those who are going to be judged by the Law of Liberty, that is by the Gospel of Christ, “the law of universal love” J. Wesley (Gal. 5:1, 13 - 14). 2.13. For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.
Judgement will be given without mercy to those who show no mercy (Math. 5:7, 7:1). “While judgment threatens condemnation, mercy interposes and prevails over judgment” (Vincent). Therefore, God’s mercy triumphs over judgement.
Faith brings forth Fruits 2.14. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? It is no good a man saying he has faith if there is no proof of it by doing good deeds (Eph. 2:10). A profession of faith without there being any evidence of a walk of faith in a person's life is nothing but a boast (2 Cor. 5:7). It isn’t the saying that we have faith that can save us it is applying faith. E.g. Many say they believe in Christ but they never by faith except Him as their Saviour and that He died for their sins. 2.15 - 16. If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm and eat well," If a brother or sister is in desperate need of food and clothing what good will saying “I will pray for, God Bless, do keep warm and eat well” if when you are able to provide food and clothing for him you do not so. 2.17. So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself. Faith is not inanimate i.e. a dead thing, as Paul says it is the vital part (gives life to) of the things hoped for (Heb. 1: 11). Therefore, faith has to produce fruit otherwise it is not in existence. 2.18. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works. A person may argue that one has faith and another has good works thus divorcing the two. This is an impossibility because where there is genuine faith good works will accompany it. It is by God’s grace we are saved through faith and this results in a changed life that brings with it works of faith (Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:7, 14, Titus 3:8). 2.19. You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that — and tremble with fear. The self-deceiving claimant to faith without works believes in God they do well to do so but demons also do and they tremble in terror that there is God they will answer to (Jude 1:6). 2.20. But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless? James doesn’t mince his words he calls the person who argues that there is faith without works a fool and he will demonstrate that faith without works is useless. 2.21 - 22. Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation according to God’s promise, so James uses him as an example of faith and works. When God asked Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice by faith
he obeyed believing that God was able to raise him from the dead (Gen. 22). His faith was in operation with his works and therefore his faith was made perfect Hebrews 11:17 - 19). When the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what he had to do to be saved they replied "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31). The jailer believed and obeyed and was saved by the sovereign grace of God. 2.23. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness," and he was called God's friend. Abraham’s faithful act of obedience showed that his faith was genuine and so the scripture was fulfilled that says "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." (Gen. 15:6), and so Abraham was called God’s friend. 2.24. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. So it is seen how by works a person is shown to be justified (Strong) and not by “a cold, abstract, inoperative faith. It must be by a faith that shall produce good works and whose existence will be shown to men by good works. As justification takes place in the sight of God, it is by faith, for he sees that the faith is genuine, and that it will produce good works if the individual who exercises faith shall live; and he justifies men in view of that faith, and of no other. If he sees that the faith is merely speculative, that it is cold and dead, and would not produce good works, the man is not justified in his sight.” (Barnes). (Rom. 4:1-3). 2.25. And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? In the same way Rahab the prostitute was shown to be justified by her act of faith in believing that God would give Jericho into the hands of the Israelites and so welcomed the spies saved their lives by hiding them and sending them away by a different route. Then in obedience to their instructions hung a scarlet cord from her window and thus secured the salvation of herself and all her family who came to her place. 2.26. For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. As the body has no life in it without the soul so faith without the obedience of works is also dead (Gen. 2:7). © Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2015 Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges. Sign up today for our FREE monthly Bible study magazine “Living Word” Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org