James
2
English
Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)
2
My brothers,[a] show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing
comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3
and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You
sit here in a good place”, while you say to the poor man, “You stand over
there”, or, “Sit down at my feet”, 4 have you not then made distinctions among
yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers,
has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and
heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you
have dishonoured the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and
the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the
honourable name by which you were called?
8
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love
your neighbour as yourself”, you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality,
you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For
whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for
all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery”, also said, “Do not
murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a
transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged
under the law of liberty. 13 For judgement is without mercy to one who has
shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement.
Faith
Without Works Is Dead
14 What
good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and
lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed
and filled”, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[b]
is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But
someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart
from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that
God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to
be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was
not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on
the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was
completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham
believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a
friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith
alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by
works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For
as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is
dead.
The
IVP New Testament Commentary Series
Rhetorical
Questions About Faith Without Deeds (2:14)
The
two rhetorical questions about faith without deeds are (1) "What good is
it?" (answer: none) and (2) "Can it save?" (answer: no). The
first question implies a general lack of any usefulness for a faith without
actions. The second question specifies a particular use that is
lacking—salvation itself. The combined impact is to declare a thorough
uselessness of faith without deeds and, to make it absolutely clear, also to
declare its particular uselessness in regard to salvation, which would be the
primary point of having faith in the first place. "In a Christian context
such as this, . . . the `use' takes on serious consequences, for it is
salvation which is at stake" (Davids 1982:120). In the subsequent example
in 2:15-16, there is no "good" for the needy person who receives no
help. Here in 2:14, however, it is explicit that the good lacking is for the
person who claims to have faith. James asks not if such faith can save
"anyone else" but if such faith can save him.
This
biblical truth needs to be forcefully preached and taught for the social
conscience of the modern church. It must become unthinkable for us, too, that
our faith would leave us content to ignore needy people. Our churches are
failing to supply the channels of ministry for a life of faith if they are not
providing ways for Christians to minister to needy people. As churches plan
their priorities, it does not matter whether church growth can occur through
outreach to the poor; it is a question of whether we have genuine, saving
faith. This point is a message to convict and to motivate those who would be
people of "faith."
What does James mean by faith? A life of faith
(pistis) is the unifying theme of James's letter. He strongly emphasizes that
faith is a stance of belief and trust toward God—for example, trusting God even
in the face of trials. But with equal strength James emphasizes that genuine
faith is "working faith" (Moo 1985:107). It is the stance of belief
toward God by which one endures trials, asks for wisdom, resists temptation,
controls one's tongue, looks after orphans and widows in their distress, keeps
oneself unpolluted by the world, avoids favoritism, loves one's neighbor as
oneself, gives physical necessities to the poor and, in short, lives as a doer
of the word.
We
can affirm all of this with James's passionate earnestness but without
distorting his view into an unrealistic expectation of sinless perfection. Of
course Christians fail to live up to this perfectly; that is why James bothers
to write about it. But the meaning of real faith is still to be embraced and
practiced. If the works of faith are not present, the authenticity of one's
faith is in serious question. Genuine faith, faith that does result in
salvation, must acknowledge the lordship of Christ and so respond to Christ's
word with actions of obedience. Thus 2:14 recalls the emphasis on that
"which can save you" in 1:21. Christ is both Savior and Lord; he
cannot be separated into two persons. Genuine, saving faith necessarily
includes both a trusting of Christ as Savior and a following of Christ as Lord.
IVP
New Testament Commentaries are made available by the generosity of InterVarsity
Press.
Dictionary
of Bible Themes
8021
faith, nature of
Confidence
in and commitment to God and Jesus Christ. These attitudes remain sure even
though the objects of faith are unseen. True faith is seen in obedient action,
love and continuing good works.
The
object of faith
God
as the object of faith Heb 11:6 See also Ps 25:1-2; Ps 26:1; Pr 29:25; 1Pe 1:21
Jesus
Christ as the object of faith Jn 14:1 See also Jn 3:16,18,36; Jn 6:68-69
False
objects of faith Human resources: Ps 20:7; Hos 10:13
Ps
118:9 other people; Pr 28:26 self; Isa 42:17 idols
Faith
is personal trust in God
2Sa
22:31 See also Ps 18:2-6; Ps 27:13-14; 1Pe 2:23
True
faith cannot be second-hand 2Ti 1:5 See also Jn 4:42
Faith
and assurance
Assurance
accompanies faith Heb 11:1 See also Ro 4:19-21; 1Ti 3:13; Heb 10:22
Faith
may be mixed with doubt Mt 14:31 Simon Peter; Mk 9:24 the father of the boy
with an evil spirit; Jn 20:24-28 Thomas
Faith
and sight
2Co
5:7
Faith
as trust in what is unseen Jn 20:29 See also 2Co 4:18; Heb 11:1-3,7,27
Faith
looks towards an unseen future Heb 11:13-14 See also Heb 11:8-10 Abraham; Heb
11:20-22 Isaac, Jacob and Joseph; Heb 11:24-26 Moses
Faith
and obedience
True
faith is demonstrated in obedience Ro 1:5; Heb 4:2 See also Ro 16:26; 2Co 9:13;
1Pe 1:2
Examples
of obedient faith Noah builds the ark: Ge 6:22; Heb 11:7 Abraham leaves Haran:
Ge 12:4; Heb 11:8 Abraham offers Isaac: Ge 22:1-10; Heb 11:17
Ex
14:15-16 Moses parts the sea. Caleb and Joshua: Nu 13:30; Nu 14:8-9
Jos
3:5-13 Joshua at the river Jordan Joshua at Jericho; Jos 6:2-5; Heb 11:30
Jn
21:4-6 Jesus Christ’s disciples, fishing; Ac 26:19 Paul
Faith
and works
True
faith is demonstrated in good deeds Jas 2:14-26 See also Php 2:17; 1Th 1:3; Tit
1:1; 2Pe 1:5
True
faith issues in love Gal 5:6 See also Eph 1:15; Eph 6:23; 1Th 3:6; 1Th 5:8; 1Ti
1:5,14; 1Ti 4:12
True
faith is constantly productive Lk 8:15 pp Mt 13:23 pp Mk 4:20 See also Jn
15:1-5
Yours
in His Grace
Blair
Humphreys
Southport,
Merseyside
24th
April 2014.
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