1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
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Ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 5:1
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;
If rich and poor people come into your assembly,
3And 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:
and you respect the rich, while disrespecting the poor,
4Are 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?
then you are behaving in an evil manner.
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.
Love your neighbor as yourself. [1]
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.
If you obey every law except one,
you are guilty of breaking them all.
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
If you don't have mercy on others,
God won't have mercy on you.
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
What good is faith without works?
Can faith save you? [2]
15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
If someone is naked or hungry, [3]
16And 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?
and you say to them, "be warm and eat well"
without giving them clothing or food,
what good are you doing them?
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.
Faith without works is dead.
19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
You say there is one God.
Good for you. The devils also believe. [4]
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Don't you know that faith without works is dead?
21Was 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.
Wasn't Abraham justified by works? [5]
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
You are justified by works, and not by faith alone.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
Wasn't Rahab justified by works
when she sent the messengers the other way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
As the body without the spirit is dead,
faith without works is dead.
Faith, if it hath not works, is dead. (v.17)
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (v.20)
By works a man is justified, and not by faith only. (v.24)
Faith without works is dead. (v.27)
Help others that are in need; don't just wish them well. This is good advice, though it's unfortunate that James restricted this help to "brothers". Did he mean by this that you only need to help fellow believers?
James ridicules those who say salvation is by faith alone. He says the devils believe in God. Will their faith save them?
James says Abraham was justified by works (for being willing to kill his son for God); Paul (Rom 4:2-3) says he was justified by faith (for believing that God would order him to do such an evil act).
(By her works as a prostitute or by lying?)