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James 2

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Warning Against Favoritism and Partiality 1–13

1
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. ​
2
For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3
And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? ​
5
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? ​
6
But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7
Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: ​
9
But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. ​
10
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. ​
11
For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
12
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. ​
13
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. ​

Faith Without Works Is Dead 14–26

14
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? ​
15
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16
And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. ​
18
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. ​
19
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. ​
20
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? ​
22
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. ​
24
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. ​
25
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? ​
26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for James 2

Verse 1

respect of persons — Prosopolepsia, literally the taking of a face, occurs in Rom 2:11, Eph 6:9, Col 3:25 and here. The law is Lev 19:15, ‘thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty’. ‘The Lord of glory’ is the title of 1 Cor 2:8, ‘they would not have crucified the Lord of glory’.

Verse 4

partial in yourselves — Diakrino, to make a distinction, is ‘wavering’ in 1:6 and ‘put no difference’ in Acts 15:9. ‘Evil thoughts’ (dialogismos) are the reasonings of the heart, as in Matt 15:19. The corrective is John 7:24, ‘Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.’

Verse 5

Hath not God chosen the poor — ‘Chosen’ (eklegomai) is the verb of 1 Cor 1:27, ‘God hath chosen the foolish things of the world’. ‘Heirs of the kingdom’ is joined to the promise of 1:12, ‘the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him’. Christ said ‘Blessed be ye poor’ (Luke 6:20).

Verse 8

the royal law — Basilikos means belonging to a king; the law is the King’s and goes with the ‘kingdom’ of v.5. It is quoted from Lev 19:18, ranked second by Christ (Matt 22:39), and summed up by Paul, ‘all the law is fulfilled in one word’ (Gal 5:14).

Verse 9

have respect to persons — The verb prosopolepteo occurs only here; the noun is in v.1. ‘Convinced’ (elencho) is ‘convicted’ in John 8:9. ‘Transgressors’ (parabates), those who step across a line, is used again in v.11. The law is Lev 19:15, which forbids honouring the person of the mighty.

Verse 10

offend in one point — ‘Offend’ (ptaio), to stumble, is the verb of 3:2, ‘in many things we offend all’. ‘Guilty of all’ (enochos) is held under the whole law, as with the curse of Deut 27:26 on whoever ‘confirmeth not all the words of this law’ (cf. Gal 3:10). Verse 11 gives the reason, one Lawgiver.

Verse 12

the law of liberty — This is the ‘perfect law of liberty’ of 1:25, joined to the royal law of v.8. ‘Liberty’ (eleutheria) is not licence: ‘use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another’ (Gal 5:13). ‘Shall be judged’ looks ahead to the judgment of v.13.

Verse 13

mercy rejoiceth against judgment — ‘Without mercy’ is one word, anileos, found only here. ‘Rejoiceth against’ (katakauchaomai) is ‘boast’ in Rom 11:18, ‘boast not against the branches’. The principle is that of Matt 5:7, ‘Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy’, and of the unforgiving servant (Matt 18:33).

Verse 14

What doth it profit — Ophelos, profit, occurs here, in v.16 and in 1 Cor 15:32. The case is of a man who ‘say he hath faith’ without works, as 1:22 distinguishes doers from hearers only. Christ’s own test is ‘he that doeth the will of my Father’ (Matt 7:21).

Verse 17

is dead, being alone — ‘Dead’ (nekros) is said of faith three times, in vv.17, 20 and 26. ‘Being alone’ is literally ‘by itself’, faith taken apart from works. The faith in view is the one claimed in v.14, and the figure in v.26 is the body without the spirit.

Verse 18

shew me thy faith — ‘Shew’ (deiknymi) is the verb of 3:13, ‘let him shew out of a good conversation his works’. The speaker offers to show faith ‘by my works’, out of them, since it cannot be displayed without them. Christ gives the same rule for fruit: ‘by their fruits ye shall know them’ (Matt 7:20).

Verse 19

the devils also believe, and tremble — Phrisso, to shudder, occurs only here. ‘One God’ is the creed of Deut 6:4, ‘The LORD our God is one LORD’. The evil spirits confess more: ‘I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God’ (Mark 1:24), and ‘Jesus, thou Son of God’ (Matt 8:29).

Verse 21

justified by works — The event is Gen 22, where the LORD says ‘now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son’ (22:12). Heb 11:17 calls it faith: ‘By faith Abraham… offered up Isaac’. It came after the belief recorded in Gen 15:6, which James cites in v.23.

Verse 23

the Friend of God — The title is in 2 Chr 20:7, ‘Abraham thy friend for ever’, and Isa 41:8. ‘Imputed’ (logizomai), counted, is the verb of Gen 15:6 and of Rom 4:3. The Scripture ‘was fulfilled’ in the sense that the offering of v.21 showed what kind of belief it was.

Verse 24

not by faith only — The ‘faith only’ denied is the idle faith of v.14. V.22 says ‘faith wrought with his works’, and Gal 5:6 has ‘faith which worketh by love’. Paul’s ‘justified by faith without the deeds of the law’ (Rom 3:28) concerns works of the law, and the same Abraham stands in both (Rom 4:3; v.23).

Verse 25

Rahab the harlot — The ‘messengers’ (angelos, usually ‘angels’) are the two spies of Josh 2. She let them down by a cord and sent them to the mountain (Josh 2:15–16), which James calls ‘another way’. Heb 11:31 names it faith. ‘Rachab’ stands in the line of Christ (Matt 1:5), and Josh 6:25 records that she was saved alive.

Verse 26

the body without the spirit — ‘Without’ (choris) is the same word in both halves of the comparison, as in v.20. ‘Spirit’ (pneuma) is the breath of life that God gave (Gen 2:7) and to which it returns (Eccl 12:7). The verse is the third statement of faith that is ‘dead’ (vv.17, 20, 26).