James
2:1 ¶ 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?
The
Christian religion does not honor distinctions of class, gender, or ethnicity
with regard to value before Christ.
Galatians
3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are
all one in Christ Jesus.
Colossians
3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that
ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of him that created him: 11 Where
there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian,
Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
In our
world, rich and powerful go together. We don’t elect a factory worker to be
president nor is he asked to be the CEO of his company although in America he
might work up to that position. In the world that James lived he tells Christ’s
followers why would you make such distinctions important when the very people
you are emulating despise you, bring you before magistrates, and blaspheme the
name of Christ? Here James declares against prejudice and discrimination
because someone is different from you, whom you perceive to be inferior. This
is part of James’ appeal to the Christian to be genuine and real, being like
Christ. This is about superficial differences of class and appearance, though,
not about character and behavior.
As an
aside, judges of evil thoughts can be understood as judges with
malicious thoughts but that seems clear from the context. Gay, which
used to be a reference to happy or light of heart but became to be used to
denote people who engage in homosexual behavior, can here be viewed as elegant
or expensive.
James
2:8 ¶ 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.
James
calls the second of the most important laws that Jesus Himself underscored the
royal law, the law of Christ, as John Gill noted.
Matthew
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind. 38 This is the first and great
commandment. 39 And the second is like
unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law
and the prophets.
James
warns them and us not to elevate the rich above the poor in regard to their
standing in Christ.
Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment:
thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the
mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
To break only one commandment is to break all of them,
James insists. This is further evidence of the need for Christ as we will all
break one of God’s commands from the Law given to Moses regularly, I suspect.
Without Christ we are helpless and hopeless before a Holy God. We should act as
we should, under Grace, in keeping with our position before God.
He gives a warning that if you expect mercy you better
show mercy and God’s mercy is greater than judgment and our mercy is more
important than our judgment. I can see the truth of this as we are all worthy
of God’s condemnation and those who are His are blessed by His grace and mercy.
Clearly in the churches James was referring to there was
this duplication of the social statuses of the world at large, which the Holy
Spirit, through James, is telling us not to permit within the church. I would
put forth things as objected to by God such as the old habit of having a
prominent pew with a plaque denoting the names of rich donors who had provided
it. I’ve seen that in old churches. It is suspect, to say the least. Such
distinctions have no place in the church.
James
2:14 ¶ 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.
This
peculiar phrasing for verse 14 seems to ask a question about salvation by faith
alone that requires a no answer. However, James is focused on the practical
putting flesh on one’s faith, so to speak. It is so, as James points out, that
if you talk the talk you need to walk the walk. A statement of faith without
any expression of it in obedience to Christ in following His example is an
empty thing.
Yes,
Christ did say this.
John
6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them,
This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
Lest we be
confused or think that our faith needs no action behind it we are told.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in
them.
So that the following proofs or fruits of one having the
Spirit of God and Christ indwelling them are not just what you think inwardly
but how you express them outwardly.
Galatians
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is
no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit.
And so our
love is expressed to our fellow Christians, defined in the Bible as charity, or
love expressed between Christians.
1Corinthians 13:1 ¶ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have
all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am
nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not
charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 ¶
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth
not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things.
8 ¶
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail;
whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it
shall vanish away. 9 For we know in
part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But
when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as
a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a
man, I put away childish things. 12 For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these
three; but the greatest of these is charity.
In a country that prides itself on providing
welfare for individuals suffering from want by government and private charity
we find it hard to understand how the early church cared for its poorer
members. But even with government welfare and places to get a hot meal provided
by private charities there is no excuse today for a church to have senior
citizens who cannot pay their heating bills or eat a proper diet due to their
poverty. Do we even know if someone is suffering? Do we care?
James points out that words without works are
useless, dead things. To express a desire that someone in the congregation get
what they need without an intent to provide it is a vain and shallow expression
of faith. It is, in fact, dead.
He says dramatically that he will show you
his faith by his works and that faith without works is dead. This does not
promote a works to salvation religion but a works after salvation as evidence
of your faith. Again to repeat this verse that Paul said shows that there is no
contradiction here between James and Paul.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in
them.
We aren’t even talking about poverty created
by alcoholism or drug addiction. We’re talking about working-class people who
have worked hard all their healthy lives only to be reduced to poverty and
sickness at the end who need help. Not everyone has a pension to support them
from their employer and Social Security benefits are only designed to provide
40% of what you need. Look around you. Stop saying, “I hope you’re doing well,”
and find out how you can help them do better.
Just saying you believe in God puts you in
some bad company because the devils also believe. There is more to faith than
mere words. True faith always has some skin on it if the person having the
faith is not helplessly ill. Abraham and Rahab believed God but they did something
as a consequence of their belief. It wouldn’t have been the same if they said
they believed God and then refused to obey Him, now would it?
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