James 2:1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.
“In the world favoritism is often shown because of wealth, position, education or race. It cannot be so among God’s people.” (Charles Box) God certainly is "no respecter of persons", as far as favoritism in salvation is concerned. (Acts 10:34) But He made us and "that one should be rich and have abundance, and another should be poor and needy, is an arrangement of the Almighty, just as it is His arrangement and appointment, that all the ears of corn should not contain the same number of grains, and that all flowers should not be arrayed in the same gay colours, and that all the stars should not shine with the same brilliancy, but one star differ from another star in glory.” (B. Jacobi)
So, whenever people judge greatness or give prefferal treatment based on these "the divine Spirit departs.” (F. B. Meyer)
“My brethren — The equality of all Christians as ‘brethren,’ forms the groundwork of the admonition.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)— “‘do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.’ That is, honour none merely for being rich; despise none merely for being poor.” (John Wesley) “So 1 Corinthians 2:8. As all believers, alike rich and poor, derive all their glory from their union with Him, ‘the Lord of glory,’ not from external advantages of worldly fortune, the sin in question is peculiarly inconsistent with His ‘faith.’” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)
Jesus "is the fountain of honor as well as blessedness; and those are the most honorable and happy who most resemble Him, and are most faithful in His service.” (Justin Edwards) He is Yahweh of glory. (Ps 24:10; 1 Cor 2:8) "‘Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ wrote St. Paul to the proud and wealthy men of Corinth (2 Cor 8:9), ‘that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich;’ and, with more cogent an appeal, to the Philippians , ‘In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves’: look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God’—i.e., very God, and not appearance merely—nevertheless ‘thought not His equality with God a thing to be always grasped at,’ as it were some booty or prize, ‘but emptied Himself’ of His glory, ‘and took upon Him the shape of a slave.’” (C. J. Ellicott)
2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
This passage “carries a warning against courting the favor of middle-upper income people or the wealthy, against showing special courtesies and solicitude. There are no doubt many congregations which are tempted to do this very thing. After all, there are budgets to be subscribed, programs to be financed and all kinds of good works which require constant scrambling on the part of the church elders and deacons in their efforts to finance such things. Therefore, the tendency is to do a little bowing and scraping when some well-to-do person condescends to visit the assembly of the church. It was no different in that generation to which James addressed these remarkable words. The warning is clear enough: ‘Don't do it!’... A number of totally false assumptions on the part of Christians acting in such a manner are discernible in this situation condemned by James. By such conduct, the perpetrators of this injustice revealed that they considered fine clothing a mark of good character and shabby clothes a mark of bad character. It showed that they considered wealth to be a guide to the worth of persons, that financial ability should procure a more favorable acceptance in the church, and that social and economic caste systems are allowed in the religion of Christ. All men should be thankful that James came down very hard against such false values.” ( Burton Coffman)
You have “become judges with evil thoughts”— “You reason ill, and so judge wrong: for fine apparel is no proof of worth in him that wears it.” (John Wesley)
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
“This seems to refer to Matthew 11:5; : “And the poor have the Gospel preached to them.’ These believed on the Lord Jesus, and found his salvation; while the rich [generally, as a rule had] despised, neglected, and persecuted Him.” (Clarke) God has chosen the poor of this world indeed— poor in spirit. “This the world wonders and stumbles at. The heathen Romans would not receive Christ (though they heard of his miracles and mighty works) into the number of their gods, because he preached poverty and made use of poor persons. Aigoland, king of Saragossa in Arragon, refused to be baptized because he saw many lazars and poor people expecting alms from Charlemagne’s table; and asking what they were, was answered, that they were ‘the messengers and servants of God.’ ‘And can he keep his servants no better?’ said he. ‘I will be none of his servants.’ (Turpine) But what saith Christ? ‘I know thy poverty; but (that is nothing) thou art rich,’ Revelation 2:9. And the poor are gospellized, not only receive it, but are changed by it, Matthew 11:5. We usually call a poor man a poor soul: a poor soul may be a rich Christian, and a rich man may have a poor soul; as he in the Gospel that had animam triticeam, a wheaten soul, Luke 12:16-21, and as those other rich fools in David’s days, whose hearts were as fat as grease; they delighted not in God’s law, Psalms 119:70.” (John Trapp)
6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
But you have dishonored—killed— the poor man. He who hates his brother is is murderer. “Love your neighbour as yourself.” (8) “They would, under Moses' law (where the rule was first taught; Leviticus 19:18), be considered law-breakers, no matter what other good they may have done. For example, they may not commit adultery, but if they kill they are still law-breakers (9-11).” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary)
12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
“‘So speak and so do’ - Have respect to every commandment of God, for this the law of liberty - the Gospel of Jesus Christ, particularly requires; and this is the law by which all mankind, who have had the opportunity of knowing it, shall be judged. But all along St. James particularly refers to the precept, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’” (Adam Clarke)
James 2: No Saving Faith Without Fruits of Righteousness
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
“Luther, supposing that James did actually teach the doctrine of justification by works, which his good sense showed him to be absolutely insufficient for salvation, was led to condemn the epistle in total, as a production unauthenticated by the Holy Spirit, and consequently worthy of no regard; he therefore termed it ‘an epistle of straw,’ fit only to be burnt.” (Adam Clarke)
Paul indeed taught justification by faith. But “James was not attacking Paul's doctrine of justification by faith but rather a perversion of it." (Walter W. Wessel) “Faith is not merely a mental belief, but something that is practiced.” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary)
“What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith? etc.’— Here is the key. He says it but it is false. “The apostle here returns to the subject adverted to in James 1:22-27, the importance of a practical attention to the duties of religion, and the assurance that men cannot be saved by a mere speculative opinion, or merely by holding correct sentiments...‘Can faith save him?’—It is implied in this question that faith cannot save him, for very often the most emphatic way of making an affirmation is by asking a question. The meaning here is, that that faith which does not produce good works, or which would not produce holy living if fairly acted out, will save no man, for it is not genuine faith.” (Albert Barnes)
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
The man or woman spoken of here is “‘a believer’, but not a righteous doer; ‘a Christian’, but not a conscientious liver; ‘pious’, but not honest. He holds to a humble Christianity, but despises the poor,.... St. James now inflexibly chases his brethren out of their last refuge and excuse for their sin toward the poor.” (Daniel Whedon)
“‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled’— “It is useless to talk sympathetically to them but not give them food and clothing. A professed faith must produce a corresponding change in behaviour, otherwise it is dead and useless.” (Bridgeway Bible Commentary) “Your saying so to them, while you give them nothing, will just profit them as much as your professed faith, without those works which are the genuine fruits of true faith, will profit you in the day when God comes to sit in judgment upon your soul.” (Adam Clarke)
“‘Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.’ “It is not the kind of faith which justifies the soul: that is, a living, operative faith, which works by love, purifies the heart, overcomes the world, and produces good works.” (Justin Edwards) “If the works which living faith produces have no existence, it is a proof that faith itself has no existence; that is, that what one boasts of as faith, is dead.” (Bengel) This doctrine is not fit for the fire; yea but “a tree that is not for fruit, is for the fire.” (John Trapp)
“James teaches that faith without works is barren or dead. Saving faith demands works. Paul affirms that we are saved by faith. James declared that we are justified ‘by works.’ This is no contradiction. This simply mean that we are justified by both faith and works. It is a sin to teach that men are justified (saved) either ‘by faith alone,’ or ‘by works alone.’
The man who has faith will properly reflect his faith by his works. Fruitless faith is vain! ‘Faith alone’ is not a doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. James wrote, ‘even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.’ (James 2:17) We prove the truthfulness of our faith by the fruits of our works!” (Charles Box)
James 2: Justification by Biblical Faith
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Either all Scripture is profitable for doctrine and reproof (2 Tim 3:16) or it isn’t. Throw out this this text or book and the foundation is destroyed. Paul taught that by the works of the law no man is justified in the sight of God. (Rom 3:20) Yet here James taught that we are justified by our works, that they have a part in our justification before God. An objector is here introduced. “The NIV, by its use of quotation marks, has the objector saying only the first part of this verse, ‘You have faith; I have deeds,’ and James responding in the last part of the verse. The NASB has the objector saying the whole verse. Which is correct? There were no punctuation marks in the Greek text so we have to determine on the basis of what makes the most sense...” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable)
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” This objector holds the popular notion of faith, “that what a man does net deny, he believes; and that if he will maintain a doctrine in argument, he thereby proves that he believes it. ” (J. Parker, D. D.) Moreover, he “seems to think that faith and works are two distinct virtues of equal worth, and that a person is at liberty to make his own choice of them and the reward from the Lord will be the same in either case. James replies with a remark that shows he will not endorse either without the other.” (Zerr's N.T. Commentary)
“The true notion of faith is, conviction in action, principles operating in the life, sentiments embodied in conduct. Faith is practically nothing so long as it is merely in the head.” (J. Parker, D. D.) James responds, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!’ “But”—it is not enough— “do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” “Art thou willing to be instructed in the nature of true saving faith? Then attend to the following examples.” (Adam Clarke)
Abraham and Rahab believed that Yahweh was the one true God and that He was able to raise the dead. Their faith and works went together.
1) “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ (Genesis 15:6) And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. “ “Faith without works; is not the kind which Abraham had, and by which he was justified. His faith led him to obey God, even His most difficult and trying commands. Genesis 22:9; Genesis 22:12. Justifying faith produces good works; and if a man does not love to obey God and do good, he may conclude that he is not in a justified state.” (Justin Edwards) 2) “‘Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?’ For the account of the circumstances here referred to, see Joshua 2:1-24: Her belief in Jehovah, as the true God, (Joshua 2:11,) led to correspondent action. It was therefore a faith showing itself in works.” (Abbott's New Testament)
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James ... does not say more in favour of works than Paul. The loose state of oriental morals rendered strong words necessary. Faith is the first to save, to give life and love to the soul, that works may follow. There is no discord between Paul and James.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
The work of God is that you believe in Him who He sent. (John 6:29) But the “doctrine of salvation at the moment of faith, without obedience, is not a Biblical teaching…..Those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God gladly repent and are baptized. (Acts 2:38) Those with ‘the love of God in them’ serve Him faithfully. They realize that a profession of faith without obedience is loathsome to God.” (Charles Box) "Faith is expressed and perfected by works. Paul and James both affirm that one comes into, and continues in, living relationship to God through faith- apart from the law but not without the love and obedience that is born of faith.” (Tyndale)
After I believed, I obeyed the Gospel by submitting to the ordinance of a believers baptism. Then I was justified. And Jesus continues to reveal His Law to me by His promised Spirit... and I will remain justified as I continue to obey what He shows me. For example, He has shown the seventh-day Sabbath to me and caused me to separate myself. I have not aligned myself with a church, but prayerfully, He will lay a burden on me and also show me how to set that day apart. He has also shown me that hatred of my brother or sister is the equivalent of murder in His eyes. Please Lord, do not allow me to grieve your Spirit. Continue to speak to me and give me strong convictions to keep your commandments and ordinances.