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James 2

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The Whosoever Study Bible
Whosoever will, may come.
the general epistle of james
James (half-brother of Jesus) · c. 45–48 AD
Chapter the Second

Faith Without Works Is Dead

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 
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; 
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: 
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 
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? 
But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 
Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? 
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 
But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 
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. 
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. 
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 
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? 
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 
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. 
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 
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. 
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. 
DOCTRINAL VERDICT
TIER 1: JAMES IS NOT OPPOSING PAUL. HE IS DEFINING FAITH.

James 2 is the most misread chapter in the NT in the justification debate. James is not attacking Paul's doctrine of faith. He is attacking a counterfeit version of it. His question: 'can that faith save him?': refers to a faith that is verbal claim without transformative reality. Thread 4: genuine faith is genuine. It is not the kind of faith that leaves no trace in how a person lives. The Abraham and Rahab examples both demonstrate faith expressed through concrete action. James's he'emin (the same Hiphil of aman that Genesis 15:6 uses for Abraham) is always active, always the person's own.

What Genuine Faith Looks Like: Thread 4
HOW TO USE
PROVISIONIST · DISPENSATIONAL · PRE-TRIBULATIONAL
Chuck Smith · Sunday Nights, 1979 to 1985 (C2000)
James 1-2
Tape C2303 · 1:17:44
Permission granted by The Word For Today
Chuck Smith · Sunday Nights, 1985 to 1999 (C3000)
James 2
Tape C3720 · 53:09
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Chuck Smith · James, In Depth
Rich Man, Poor Man, James 2:1-5
47:36
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Chuck Smith · James, In Depth
Poor in the World, Rich in Faith, James 2:5-9
48:34
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Chuck Smith · James, In Depth
Respect of Persons, James 2:9-14
49:28
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Chuck Smith · James, In Depth
Faith and Action, James 2:15-20
33:44
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Chuck Smith · James, In Depth
Works and Faith, James 2:21-26
40:52
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Questions answered from James 2

Short answers from Always Ready that cite this chapter

Chuck Smith on James 2

Verse by verse, taught on Sunday nights: the C2000 series, 1979 to 1985, and the C3000 series, 1985 to 1999. Permission granted by The Word For Today.

Sunday Nights, 1979 to 1985 (C2000)

Verse 1

Now my brothers, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons (2:1).

This is so difficult. It is so easy for us to fall in the trap of respecting persons. It's just I don't know a part of our whole social structure, I guess, is that of respecting certain persons above others. You've got to be careful that we don't fall into that trap.

So often a person will introduce himself, "Well I am Dr. So." Doctor, oh my, we respect the person. We shouldn't be a respecter of persons. God isn't. "God is no respecter of persons," the Bible says (Acts 10:34). We shouldn't be.

Verses 1–7

If there comes into your assembly a man with a gold ring, fancy clothes, there comes also a man in with rags that smell; And you have respect to him that is wearing the fancy clothing, and you say to him, Oh, sit here in this good place; and you say to the poor man, Stand over there in the corner, or sit under my footstool: Are you not then partial in yourselves, and you've become the judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hasn't God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him? But you've despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, draw you before the courts? Don't they blaspheme that worthy name by which you are called (2:1-7)?

You've been called Christians. So be careful on this business of respecting a person just because he is rich. Or sort of snubbing a person because he is poor. Now let's be honest. We are far more apt to stop along the road and help a person with a flat tire who's driving a Mercedes than we are someone driving a Volkswagen bug. I mean, you see someone out there you know and in distress. "Oh my, you know, I'll be glad to help him because who knows, maybe they'll you know offer me five bucks you know for giving them a hand." But you've been there. That's respect of persons. Something we shouldn't be guilty of.

Interesting God has chosen the poor of this world as far as worldly good but rich in faith. God measures riches on a far different standard than do we. We're on the gold standard; used to be. We're on no standard now. Used to be gold notes. In effect, they said the government owes you twenty dollars worth of gold. Then we went to silver notes; the government owes you twenty dollars worth of silver. Now they're federal notes. They're not backed by anything so it means the government owes you nothing. It's true. They're not backed by anything. Just paper. But gold is not the standard of heaven. Asphalt up there; they pave the streets with the stuff.

God looks at the heart of a man and He sees the faith and the trust that is there in Him. And God says, Oh that's a rich man. He loves me. He trusts me. God looks at some of the named people in the world who lived in the Four Hundred Club and God says, "Oh, what poor riches. They have nothing." Now we should look at people as God. We shouldn't have respect for wealthy people but we should be just as concerned to help the poor. In fact, most concerned to help the poor. The rich don't really need help so much. It's the poor that need our help, our attention. God help us. I'm guilty here. God help me.

Verse 8

Now if you fulfil the royal law (2:8)

I love this, the royal law. What is the royal law?

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (2:8),

That's the royal law. I like the title for it.

If you fulfill that royal law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,

you do well (2:8):

Now really, that's where that young ruler sort of failed, isn't it, who came to Jesus, fell at His feet and said, "Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said, Keep the commandments. Which ones? Oh, thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit adultery, thou shall not bear false witness. Oh Lord, I kept all these from the time I was a kid. But what I, what do I lack yet? Well if you will be perfect, keep the royal law, go sell everything you have and distribute it to the poor. You'll have great riches in heaven." Keep the royal law; Love your neighbor as yourself; hard to do, isn't it? Awfully hard to do. Loving my neighbor as I love myself. But if you keep that, you do well.

Verse 9

But if you have respect of persons, you're actually committing sin, and you're convicted of the law as a transgressor. Convinced of the law (2:9).

It is pointing its finger of accusation against you.

Verses 10–11

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet violate in one point, you're guilty, guilty of all. For the law says, Don't commit adultery, but it also says, Do not kill. Now if you don't commit adultery, but yet you kill somebody, you're guilty of violating the law (2:10-11).

You're a violator. Doesn't matter which one of the commandments you violated. Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not commit adultery. Oh, I've never done that. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Whoops. But you violate one point; you're guilty of all. You're guilty of breaking the law and it really doesn't matter which of the commandments you've broken. You're guilty of having broken the law. If you keep the entire law let yet you break one of the commandments, then you're just as guilty as if you've broken all of them. You are guilty of being a lawbreaker.

Verses 12–13

So speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy (2:12-13);

Think about that for a moment. Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). We are also told, "And whatever measure you meted out, it's going to be measured to you in judgment. Judge not, lest you be judged. For whatever mete you measure, that's the standard by which you're going to be judged" (Matthew 7:1,2). Now I don't like that. I want one standard for me and another standard for you.

But I if I stand in judgment against you, and if I begin to point a guilty finger at you and say, Boy, you're really terrible, look what you did and all. What you did you may not have known was wrong. But I do because I'm judging you for it. And that means that's the standard by which I'm going to be judged.

Interesting, all you have to do is just change the picture a little bit and put in different faces and oh, it's horrible. Terrible. "How could they do such a thing?" Wait a minute. That's me. I've done that.

>David had all these beautiful wives. Walking on his roof one day, he saw a gal next door taking a bath. Lusted, desired her. Sent his servants over with a message, the king would like to see you. Committed adultery with her. A few weeks later he gets a note: Dear David, I'm pregnant. Bathsheba.

So David sends a message to his general to send her husband home on furlough. Her husband comes home. David says, "Well how's everything going? How's the battle?" "Oh fine." "Well, you know, go home and spend the night with your wife. Talk to you in the morning." He didn't go home. He slept on David's porch. In the morning the servant said, "Hey, he didn't go home last night. He slept right here on the porch." And David called him in and said, "What's the matter with you, man? Got a beautiful wife there, you ought to you know go home and spend the night with her you know. Enjoy your wife. What's your problem?" And the guy says, "Well," he said, "I was thinking of all my buddies. They're out there in the fox holes and it wouldn't be fair for me to go in and enjoy an evening with my wife while those guys are out there in the trenches. That wouldn't be very honorable."

So David got him all soused. Told the servants, Keep his wine cup full. So the guy was drunk. Figure he'd stagger home; spend the night with his wife. And instead he staggered to David's porch, went to sleep again. In the morning, the servant said, "He spent the night here." The Bible says, "He that seeks to cover his sins shall not prosper" (Proverbs 28:13). David tried to cover his sins. Very dastardly way. He sent secret orders with this man back to Joab, the general. It said, "Put him in the front of the battle. When things get tough, withdraw the support from him."

And so Joab did as David commanded and he was killed in battle. Got the report. Killed in battle. David took Bathsheba as his wife. Figured he could cover his tracks. The child was born. David looked like he was a very magnanimous person. Here her husband was killed in battle and now David takes her as one of his wives to raise the child. Isn't that wonderful? No, it isn't.

Nathan the prophet came to David. David thought nobody knew. He'd covered it pretty well. Nathan came to him and said, "David, a man in your kingdom, very wealthy man; he had more than he could ever spend. Tremendous herds, sheep, he lived next door to an extremely poor man who had as his sole possession one little ewe lamb that he loved greatly. In fact, it was sort of a pet. He slept with it at night. Slept in the house and it ate at the guy's table. And the rich man had company. And he ordered his servants to go next door and by force to take the ewe lamb from this man and kill it in order that he might give it to his company. He might feed his company." And David got angry and he said to Nathan, "That man will be surely put to death." David said. Nathan said, "David, you're the man. You've had all these wives. Here's your neighbor. You take away. You're the man, David."

You see, if we show no mercy we will be shown no mercy. Whatever measure we meted out, it's going to be measured to us again. That's why it's so dangerous to put yourself in the position of a judge. Judging other people's actions. "I can't understand why they would do something like that. That's horrible for them to do that, you know." Watch out now. You're setting a standard by which you're going to be judged. "Blessed are the merciful, they shall obtain mercy"(Matthew 5:7). He who doesn't show mercy, he who judges without mercy will be shown no mercy.

Verses 12–14

but true mercy rejoices against judgment. Now what does it profit, my brethren, though a man says he has faith, and doesn't have works? can faith save him (2:12-14)?

Now at this point many people see James and Paul in conflict in teaching. I don't. Paul teaches that salvation is through faith, faith alone. "By grace are you saved through faith; not of yourselves: it is a gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship" (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Then what does James say, Can faith save him? The answer is yes, faith can save him. A true faith. But make sure you have a true faith. For if you have a true faith, it will be manifested by the works. In other words, to just say you have faith doesn't cut it. Saying it isn't enough.

I've had people come to me and say, "Oh, I have all the faith in the world." Baloney! Nobody has all the faith in the world. And saying it doesn't make it so. If you believe certain things to be so, then your life is going to be lived accordingly. And so your life testifies of your faith or your beliefs. And to say that you believe in God and that God is supreme and that God is first in your life, then it will follow that there will be certain evidence that will verify that fact that you have declared to be so. And by the works that you do your faith will be proved or proclaimed. And to say that you have faith and not have any works that correspond is totally wrong. You've deceived yourself. You aren't really walking in faith. If you are truly walking in faith, your works are going to be manifesting that truth.

So "what does it profit if a man says he has faith, and he doesn't have works? can that kind of faith save him?" No, it can't.

Verses 15–16

If a brother or sister is naked, or is destitute of daily food, And you say to them, [Oh] Depart in peace, be warmed and filled; but yet you don't give them any clothes or any food; what good are your words (2:15-16)?

They can't make him warm. They can't fill his stomach.

Verses 17–18

Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, if you try to stand alone. Yes, a man may say, You have faith, and I have works: but you show me your faith without your works, I will show you my faith by my works (2:17-18).

So it isn't just the declaration. It's the declaration that has something behind it. The proof behind it is the works that I do. Now the works don't save me. They only prove that I have saving faith. And if I don't have works that are corresponding to what I am declaring, then I do not have saving faith, just the declaration, the verbal affirmation isn't enough and it won't do it.

Now a lot of people made mistakes; going forward and saying the sinner's prayer and then going away and living the same kind of life doing the same kind of thing. They say, "Oh yeah, I was saved. I went forward and I said the sinner's prayer." No, no, the sinner's prayer isn't going to save you. It is a living faith in Jesus Christ that brings about actual changes in your life and the proof is in the works; the proof of your faith. Your works have to be in accordance, in harmony with what you are declaring to be true.

Verse 19

You believe that there is one God; [Ah] you do well: the devils believe the same thing, and they tremble (2:19).

"Oh, I believe in God." Big deal. Who doesn't, except some fool? The Bible says the fool is the one that says there is no God. So you say you believe in God, it only proves one thing, you're not a fool. But it doesn't save you. The devils believe in God, they probably believe more firmly in Him than you do. They said to Jesus, "We know who you are, you're the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24). So you say, "Oh I believe Jesus is the holy One of God." So what? Have you submitted your life to His lordship? Are you doing His works? Are you obeying His commands?

You see, not all who say, Lord, Lord, are going to enter the kingdom of heaven. So you say, "Oh Lord, Oh the Lord, Oh the Lord," yea, yea, but saying is not going to do it. Jesus said, "not all who say, Lord, Lord, are going to enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of the Father" (Matthew 7:21). James is telling you the very same thing. It isn't saying I have faith, it is demonstrating the faith because of the works of my life are in harmony with what I am declaring that I believe.

If I believe that there was a bomb planted in this room, set to detonate in two minutes, and I'd stand up here and calmly proclaim to you, "You know, huge bomb in this room going to detonate in two minutes and blow this whole place to smithereens." Terrible of people to do that, isn't it? Can't imagine the mind of a person that would plant such a bomb. Why would they want to destroy us? You'd say, "Ah, you don't really believe there's a bomb here." Why? Because my works don't correspond with what I'm declaring that I believe. But if I go running out of the door and say, "Get out of there, you know. Bomb's going to blow up in two minutes," you know, then you're more apt to believe that at least I believe what I'm telling you because now my actions are corresponding with what I am declaring that I believe to be so.

>Now the same is true. You say, "Well I believe in God and I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and all." Well, do your actions correspond? Do your actions really show that Jesus is the Lord of your life? Is that demonstrated by the works that you do? That's what James is saying. Don't just say it. Don't rest in just words, beautiful words. But let's see the actions that demonstrate that you truly believe what you're saying.

Verse 20

Will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead (2:20)?

It isn't really alive. It isn't a living faith. It isn't a saving faith.

Verse 21

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar (2:21)?

You see, his works corresponded with his faith. He believed God. He believed that through Isaac God was going to raise up a nation because God has promised that. Through Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now his very offering up of Isaac was proof of his strong belief in the word of God. Believing that God would if necessary raise Isaac from the dead to keep His promise. And so his faith was in keeping or his works were in keeping with his faith.

Verse 22

Seest thou how faith wrought with his works (2:22),

They were working together. His faith produced the works as faith will also produce the corresponding works in our life.

and by works was faith made perfect (2:22)?

Not a question mark. In the Greek there is no question mark there. It's just the declaration, "by works his faith was made complete." His faith was proved.

Verses 23–24

And the scripture was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (2:23-24).

The works being the proof of the faith.

Verses 25–26

Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (2:25-26).

When your spirit leaves your body, your body is dead. The body without the spirit, dead. So faith, if it doesn't have corresponding works, is not a true faith. It's dead. It does nothing for you. It cannot save you. Dead faith can save no one. It's a living faith and a living Lord and that living faith can be demonstrated by the actions of my life that are in harmony and corresponding with what I declare to be true and what I declare I believe to be true. There has to be the corresponding works for faith to be alive.

Therefore, let us examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, the true faith that saves. Not just the verbalizing of the Apostle's Creed. I believe but the actions of my life being in harmony with it.

Father, help us that we might indeed be doers of the word and not hearers only. That we might not just affirm a belief but may we demonstrate that belief by the attitudes and actions of our lives. Lord, help us not to be deceived. In Jesus' name, Amen.

May the Lord bless you and guide you as you go this week. As you face the many temptations, may the Lord give you strength and may you walk and live after the Spirit. And may you respond after the Spirit. In the temptation may you not yield to the flesh and react after the flesh. May your life be pleasing unto God, as our actions come into harmony with our declarations of what we believe. May we show it in the works that we do. In Jesus' name.

Sunday Nights, 1985 to 1999 (C3000)

Chapter introduction

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. The Greek word, translated, respect of persons, literally means to lift up the faith. The idea was to show favoritism. We are not to show favoritism. The idea of lifting up the faith is found in the Scriptures as a sign of showing favoritism.

Now in the prayer that the priest put on the people, the Lord bless thee and keep thee, may he lift up His countenance, lift up His face upon you and give you peace. And so the prayer was that God might show favor on you.

But we are not to show favoritism in the church in regard to a person’s status in life. We should treat everyone the same. And the Bible tells us that with God, there is no respecter of person. When we stand before God, we all stand on the same level. To show favor to one person over another, just because they are rich or because they are poor, was considered in the Bible, a sin.

It’s interesting that they recognized with Jesus, that He didn’t show respect of person. When they came to Him, they said, Master, we know that You do not respect or regard a person. That is, He treated everyone alike. It didn’t matter to Him if they were rich or poor. In fact, He called the poor to follow Him.

When a rich young ruler came declaring his desire for eternal life, Jesus laid down what he would have to give up in order to obtain eternal life. He was unwilling to do so. He went away sorrowful. Jesus didn’t cut any corners for him. He didn’t try to make it easier. He didn’t think, oh my, he’ rich. He’s young. How great it would be and so let’s give him a little easier path to come by. We don’t want to turn him away.

But you see when you come to the Lord you all come on the same level. And there is no respecter of persons as far as the Lord is concerned. That means that all of you are of equal importance to the Lord. It doesn’t matter what your background may be. It doesn’t matter how much you have in the bank. All of you are equally important to the Lord. And so James tells us that we’re not to have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of person.

When Peter was on the housetop in the city of Joppa, and God let down the sheet. And he saw the different types of animals. God said, rise, Peter, kill and eat. The net result of that vision was Peter, recognized that God was no respecter of person. With God it made no difference, if you were a Jew or a Gentile. God loves all! And He want’s all to come to Him. And there is only one way by which we all may come to Him, and that is through Jesus Christ!

When Paul was writing to the Ephesians, concerning the relationship of a master to his slave, Paul declared that with God there was no respecter of person. And that the masters were to treat their slaves, not as did the worldly masters, but with respect and dignity, because God was no respecter of person.

Now in those days, when there was a marked difference in the cultural status of people, it was interesting because when they would to church, it might be that the slave would be ministering the word and his master would be in the congregation. And it might be that they would sit side by side in the congregation. And as you sit there before the Lord, you all sit on the same level because God loves all and there is no respecter of persons with God.

God declared when they dispensed the law in the Old Testament, that they should not respect the person of the rich or the poor. Just because they were poor, they shouldn’t give deference to them, saying oh well, they are so poor. And in the same token, if they were rich, they weren’t to give deference to them, saying oh, they are so rich and so influential. So God wanted the judgment, across the board, to be equal. And so in the church, we are together as equals before the Lord. And that’s the way it should be!

We shouldn’t have respect of a person, just because of their social status. If say the Governor should come into the church, we shouldn’t give him any more special treatment, you know, there shouldn’t be, oh the Governor is here! And the ushers, you know, try and to, let’s all behave because he’s here. But God is no respecter of person, you see. And so we shouldn’t have that kind of respect of person when we’re in the church.

Verses 2–4

Now he gives an illustration of this.

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring,(and a diamond on his pinkie.) in goodly apparel,

(and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment (dirty rags);

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:
Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

Now in those days, it just wasn’t a ring on the finger, they would wear rings on all of their fingers. And not just one ring, but several rings on each finger, except the middle finger. And even on their thumb. The number of rings indicated how much wealth you had. So in those days they had shops where you could rent rings, when you were wanting to make an impression. It was like you rent a tuxedo. You could go rent rings, so that you could really make an impression when you come in with all these rings all over your fingers.

And so he is making a reference, if someone comes in then, their fingers are covered with rings, obviously the man is a man of wealth, a man of stature. And so you’re not to give special treatment. You’re not to give a special seat of prominence and at the same token, a man comes in with dirty clothes, obviously, he is poor. He maybe is a street person. And you say to them, well, you know, sit over there.

My father was a very literal person as far as the Bible is concerned. And he happened to be the usher of the church we attended in Ventura. And he had a prison ministry. He would go every Sunday afternoon, to the orphanages and the Ventura County Jail and minister there to the inmates. And often times when the inmates were dismissed, they would come and look up my dad. And being the usher of the church and with this verse in mind, I remember there was one fellow that we dubbed, his name was George, and we dubbed him, George the tramp. He always smelled of the Rescue Mission disinfectant. He wore filthy clothes and was a tramp. But when he first came to church, he came late that first Sunday. And my dad, being an usher, ushered him down to the front row. And sat him right there in the front row, to the chagrin of many of the people, because as he walked down the aisle, you could smell the disinfectant on his body, that they shoot on them at the Rescue Mission. And yet my dad had taken this very literally and in fact, invited the man home for lunch after service. George was there at our house. He was a character. There are a lot of stories that I could tell you about George. And my dad got him a new suit. And you know, he tried to clean him up, but George was George.

But my father was right in following the exhortation of James, not to show favoritism just because a person was rich or not to look with disdain because a person was obviously poor and treat him as a second rate saint. Before God we all stand on one level. That’s basically what James is telling us. And if we are guilty of showing partiality, then we become judges of people, judging them by the way they look, rather than by the truth.

Verse 5

So he goes on to say,

Hearken, my beloved brethren,

He starts out, my brothers, now they become, beloved brothers.

Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, And so often, and when you are poor, you have to be rich in faith. It’s takes more faith to be poor, than it takes to be rich. When you are rich, you are prone, and the danger and the temptation, is to trust in the uncertainty of your riches. When you are poor you learn what it is to live by faith.

And so hasn’t God chosen the poor of this world, who are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? Yes, I may not have much of the worldly goods, but I’m an heir to the Kingdom of God, a joint-heir with Jesus Christ! But by the grace of God, seeking to lay up treasures for heaven, I would rather be rich in the things of the Spirit, than in the material things of this world. Because the material things of this world are going to rust and corrupt and decay, but the Spiritual riches that you have are eternal. And God has chosen the poor of this world who are rich in faith, to be heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those that love Him.

Verse 6

But ye have despised the poor.

That’s not good!

Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? And in those days, if you owed a man some money, and there were loan sharks in those days. They would charge exorbitant interest rates. You remember the Scriptures spoke about usury? People would charge usury, interest upon interest. A person could become hopelessly in debt. If you met one of these persons that you were indebted on the street, he could grab you. And by force he could take you to the judge and have you thrown in prison for your debt.

Do not the rich oppress you? That practice is what you are referring to, how that when a person who was poor and owed money to another, how that the person who was rich could actually have them put in prison. Don’t they oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats?

Verse 7

Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?

Now they were called Christians. It was a name that was originally given to them by the press. It wasn’t a name that they adopted for themselves, but a name that was given to them in Antioch. And it was because they were so much like Christ.

I think that that’s a glorious thing, when you are so much like Christ, that the world begins to call you, Christian. I loved it when the press picked up the phrase, “Jesus people”, and started called these young people who had received Jesus Christ, as Jesus people, because they were acting like Jesus. They were loving. They were kind. They were considerate. They were forgiving. They had the characteristics and traits of Jesus. And they were in love with the Lord. And so, they were known as Jesus people. And that’s great when that’s the name that people of the world, put on you, because of your Christ likeness.

Verse 8

But he is saying that they blasphemed that worthy name by which you are called. But

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture,

And what is the royal law? Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. You do well! Jesus was asked by the lawyer, what is the greatest commandment? Thou shall love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength.

And the second is likened to the first, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus said, in this is all the law and the prophets. It’s all encapsulated in these two.

And so here James calls it the royal law. Now remember, he says, be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourself. To be a doer of the Word, I must love my neighbor as myself. And love, as James will go on to show us, is manifested not in my words.

It’s not like Lucy in the Peanut’s cartoon that said, I love the world, it’s people I hate! It’s not to be that way! Love manifests itself in its action. And the royal law, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself, you do well!

Verse 9

But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin,

If you have respect to persons, you are actually committing sin!

and are convinced of the law as transgressors. You are convinced of the law as a transgressor. So he is declaring that it is a sin to have respect of persons, judging a person by the clothes they wear or by their social status or things of that nature.

Verse 10

And then if you are a transgressor of the law, he goes on to say.

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend (or transgress) in one point, he is guilty of all.

Now how many laws do you have to break to become a lawbreaker? One law—if you break one law, you are a lawbreaker. Now we’ve got many laws, so many laws, and we don’t even know the law. But there are basic laws. And all you have to do is break one of the laws and you become a lawbreaker. Now there are laws against robbing banks. There are laws against raping someone. There are laws against committing murder. It really doesn’t which of these laws, you break, or have broken. Just one of them makes you a lawbreaker. There are ten commandments. And you don’t have to break all ten! All you have to do is break one and you become a violator. You are guilty, just as guilty as if you had broken all of them! You are a lawbreaker because you have broken one of the commandments. So if you keep the whole law and yet you violate in one point, you’re actually guilty of all! So that is what makes trying to be righteous and to have a righteous standing before God, and seeking to be saved by the works of the law, a futile attempt. Because we’ve all sinned. We’ve all come short of the glory of God.

Now, there are many people who see, wrongfully see, a contradiction between the teaching of Paul and the teaching of James. There really is no contradiction between their teachings. You need to understand what they are teaching.

Paul declares that by the works of the law, shall no flesh be justified. You can’t be justified by keeping the works of the law.

James is telling you this. If you keep the whole law, yet you violate in one point, you are guilty of all. James is not talking about the matter of being saved. He’s talking about, he believes in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. But he is saying if you truly have faith in Jesus Christ, that faith is going to be manifested in the deeds that you do.

And Paul is saying the deeds that you do, as far as the works of the law, will never save you. You are justified by faith. But then Paul goes to say, therefore put off the works of the flesh and put on the Lord Jesus Christ! And Paul said, the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these. And he gives you that list of the works of the flesh. And he said, we know that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of Spirit, so true faith that brings salvation, will also bring the fruit of the Spirit, or the works of the Spirit in and through your life. And so Paul says, you are justified by faith. And James shows the kind of faith that justifies you. It’s the faith that produces a changed life!

Verse 11

But going on to illustrate. We got ahead of our point here, just a bit, or ahead of ourselves. For whosoever shall keep the law, yet offend in one point is guilty of all.

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.

As we pointed out earlier.

Verse 12

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

Now in Christ Jesus I have been set free. I’m at liberty from the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses could not save me. It did not save me. The keeping of the Law of Moses could not save me and did not save me. I was saved by faith in Jesus Christ. And Christ is the end of the law of works to all that believe! So my faith in Jesus Christ has brought me under a new law, the law of liberty! And in this law of liberty, I now do things not to be saved, but I do things because I am saved. The new law within my heart, it is now God's law, written in the fleshly tablets of my heart. It is God putting His desires in my heart. And my now doing the things that are a blessing for me to do. I delight in doing the things that I do for the Lord. It’s the law of liberty. It’s not trying to be saved by what I’m doing, but it’s because I am saved and I want to please my Lord, that I do these things! There is a big difference between seeking to be saved by doing the works of the law and the works that spring from the new life you have in Christ! Yes, I do good works. I don’t look to them to save me. I look to Jesus alone for my salvation. But because I believe in Jesus and I’ve received Him as my Lord, my belief is manifested in my changed life. And with this, Paul and James would be in total agreement!

Verse 13

For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Jesus said, blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. I wrote that on the blackboard of my class in college on the final test date. But if you go around judging people and you show no mercy, then when it comes times for you to be judged, you will be shown no mercy! For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shown no mercy. In whatsoever measure you mete it out, by the standard by which you judge others, by those standards you will be judged!

Paul writing to the Jews, rebuked them because they were setting different standards for the Jews and the Gentiles. And he was saying we’re all going to be judged by the same basic standard. And you say, Paul said, thou shalt not steal. But do you steal? And so often it is just a matter of how a person looks at a thing. I may be guilty of judging someone for what they have done. And I may be doing basically the same thing, only with a slight twist. And therefore, feel very justified in what I am doing and how I am judging, but in reality if you just turn it slightly, I’m guilty of the very same thing that I’m judging someone else for!

You remember when the prophet Nathan came to David after his sin with Bathsheeba. He gave him that little story of a very rich man in his kingdom, who had flocks and servants galore, more than he could need or wish! There lived next to him this poor man. He had only one little ewe lamb that was like a child to him. It ate at his table and slept in the room in his little tent at night. And the rich man had company come. He ordered his servants to take by force the one little ewe lamb from his neighbor, to kill it, to barbecue it for his company.

David was angry. He said, that man shall be surely be put to death! Nathan said, David, you are the man!

The story was just slightly changed and here is David now, judging himself. But God was more gracious. When the prophet said you are the man, David said I have sinned. And the prophet said, and God has forgiven your sin. But we have to be careful in this matter of judgment. Judge not lest you be judged. You see, so often, we are judging people with incomplete information. Or sometimes we are judging them with false information.

I received a letter this week, a very castigating letter! Someone had told this fellow that I believed a certain thing and had done a certain thing. I don’t believe it. I didn’t do it. And here he spends a whole letter, telling me how horrible I am for doing it. Well, I didn’t do it! But he’s already judged me as having done it. And was just condemning me over and over in the letter for having done something that I didn’t do. But someone told him I did. But he makes judgment on false information.

So I wrote him back. And I said, I understand why the Lord said, judge not, lest you be judged. Because people often are guilty of judging on misinformation. And that happens to be your case. You’ve judged me on misinformation. I’ve never said the things that this person said, I said. And this person had said that I didn’t believe in church boards and we had no board members. I said we have a board that governs our church. I haven’t heard back from him yet. I don’t know that I will, but this has happened before. It happened the other way around. I have made judgments on misinformation. And so we’ve got to be careful about that. For if we have no mercy, then we will be shown no mercy when we are judged. Mercy rejoices against judgment.

Verse 14

But

What doth it profit, my brethren,

Now notice he’s using the word, brothers, so much. And it is a word of closeness and fellowship.

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? Yes, faith can save him. But not if it doesn’t have works because that is not a genuine faith. A true faith will produce. And this is exactly what James is going to show you here. A true faith will produce works of righteousness, a changed life. If you say that you went forward and received Jesus Christ, and yet there is no change in your life, you are still living in sin as you were living before. There’s been no changed life at all. Then the commitment that you made is meaningless. A true commitment to Jesus Christ will bring forth changes in your life.

As John the Baptist said when he was preaching said, bring forth fruit that demonstrates your repentance. You say, well, I’ve repented from my sin. Well, John said, let’s see some fruit that demonstrates that repentance. True faith works!

And so what doth it profit, my brethren, though a man says that he has faith and he has no works. Can that faith save him. No that faith can’t save him.

Verse 15

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

Now, you see, James is great! He gives, first of all sort of a principle, and then he will illustrate the principle. Just like he gave you the principle that we are not to have respect of person. And then he illustrates it by saying, if a guy comes in loaded with rings, and so forth.

Verse 16

And now he gives another principle of this business of faith. And without works, can that faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

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?

Your words are empty. They are meaningless. John in writing his first letter said, if you have of this world’s goods and you have a brother that is in need, if you shut up your compassion from this needy brother, how can you say that the love of God dwells in you? Let’s not love in word or tongue, but let’s love in deed and in truth! Loving in deed and truth is then giving to that person from what you have. Sharing with them, there is the proof of your love. You can say, oh, I love you brother! God bless you! Go be warm! Be full! These are empty words, unless they are backed up by giving to that brother in his need.

Verse 17

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

If it isn’t followed by deeds, it’s not a true faith!

Verse 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.

You say you have faith! Show me! How can you show your faith? You can show your faith in the things that you do. They are a demonstration of your faith. If there is no evidence, if there is not demonstration of faith, then that kind of faith is to be sorely doubted. True faith, will produce a changed life. It will produce works of love, kindness, goodness.

Verse 19

Thou believest that there is one God;

Well, I believe in God! Now James says, great! Give me a break!

thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. The devils also believe. They go one step further. They tremble! So just to say you believe in God, doesn’t save you. Unless there is a changed life, there is no real evidence of salvation. There is no real evidence of faith. True faith will produce in your life, works of righteousness.

Now you are not saved by works of righteousness. People can do the work of righteousness and if they are trusting in those works of righteousness, they’ll never be saved! You are saved by your faith in Jesus Christ, but a genuine faith in Jesus Christ, will produce works of righteousness in your life! You are not then looking to those for your salvation, but you’re looking to them as the proof of your salvation.

Verse 20

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

It’s not faith. It’s not a true faith at all, unless there are demonstrable works.

Now it is interesting that Paul uses Abraham as the classic example of a man being accounted righteous by God through his faith. The faith in offering Isaac unto the Lord, when called upon by God to do so. And in Hebrews, it tells us, by faith, Abraham offered up Isaac, whom he had received in a way, from the dead, believing that God would, if necessary, raise him from the dead to fulfill His word. And of course, when God promised to Abraham that through his seed all the nations of the world would be blessed, Abraham believed God. And God accounted his faith for righteousness. So, Paul uses Abraham as the example of a man, whose faith in God's Word was accounted by God to him for righteousness.

Now James looks at the picture of his offering Isaac, from a different standpoint. He is saying this is demonstration of his faith. His faith was not just, I believe the promise of God and I believe the word of God. He demonstrated that faith in offering Isaac, because there was then the practical demonstration that he truly did believe God that through Isaac the seed would be called and his willingness to sacrifice him, He proved the faith that he had with a genuine faith in the promises of God. Now it wasn’t in the offering of Isaac in the works that God accounted him righteous. He was accounted righteous by his faith, but because he truly did believe when God called upon him to make the sacrifice, his faith was demonstrated in his willingness to do so, believing God would raise him from the dead to keep His word.

Verses 21–22

So James looks at it from a different slant.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works,

You see, he joins the faith together. There was an agreement between his faith and his works, because he truly did have faith, it followed that he was obedient unto the command of God.

So faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect? (Complete or it was demonstrated.) It was shown and made complete by the works. It shows that the faith was a genuine faith.

Verse 23

And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God,

You see, he accepts this. Abraham believed God, but here is the demonstration that he truly believed God.

Verse 24

So 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.

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Now by the works, it proves the faith. And thus I’m justified by the faith, but the faith that works.

Verse 25

Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works,

Now again in Hebrews, chapter eleven, she is held up as a woman of faith in the Old Testament. And how that it was by faith that she received the spies. And it was by her faith in the believing that God was going to give the land to these people, that she identified with them.

But yet her faith was manifested when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? By her delivering the spies that had come into Jericho, it demonstrated her faith.

Verse 26

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

No man will ever be moved to action without faith. And no man’s faith is genuine unless it moves him to action! Let me give you that one, once more. No man will ever be moved to action without faith! And no man’s faith is genuine, unless it moves him to action!

There are two oars in rowing a boat. Only one will lead you in circles. It takes the two oars to get you anyplace. Faith and works are companions. They work together. The faith produces the works. The works demonstrate the genuineness of the faith.

So, again, be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourself. If you have faith, it will be demonstrated. And you can demonstrate that faith, and it is demonstrated in the works that do. It demonstrates that that faith is genuine and that you are genuinely saved in because you have the faith to be saved, is demonstrated in the works that you do. Doing the works without faith is invalid! Doing the works in order to save yourself will never make it! Looking to your works to save you, they can never do it!

But the faith that will save you, will bring forth fruit, the fruit of righteousness, in your life. Remember Jesus said, by their fruits, ye shall know them. What kind of fruit is my life producing? Is it the fruit of the flesh? The fruit that demonstrates the flesh is in control? Or is it the fruit of the Spirit, that demonstrates the Spirit is in control of my life?

Paul said, therefore, let a man examine himself, for if will judge ourselves, we will not be judged of God. It’s important that our lives bear fruit! It proves your faith is genuine.

Father, we thank You for the practicality of James’ teaching. How he puts feet to the faith. And Lord, help us to put feet to our faith. And may the faith that we have, produce in us the works of righteousness, a demonstration of the genuineness of our commitment to Jesus Christ. In His name we pray, Father. Amen.

Tonight, the pastors are down here in the front to minister to you. If you have a need in your life, it may be as the Spirit of God has been speaking to you tonight about the practical aspects of faith. Maybe some questions have been raised. And as you look at yourself, you are void of demonstratable faith and you want to make sure that you are on the right track. I would encourage you to come down and let them pray with you. If you have a need in your life, if you are going through a financial crunch or you’re going through a physical problem or maybe an emotional situation—your family is sort of messed up at this time of year. And you’re sort of upset over it. Come on down and let them pray with you. The Bible promises that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. May the Lord be with you and bless you. May we enjoy just a wonderful week of fellowship with Him as we give thanks and as we give praise unto Him for His goodness and for His mercy and for the many blessings that He bestows upon us, day by day!