About partiality

1My brothers, stop holding the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glory, with partiality! ³⁰

2For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothes, should enter your synagogue, ³¹and a poor man in filthy rags should also enter,

3and you pay special attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit in this special seat,” but to the poor one you say, “You stand there,” or “Sit here at my footstool,”

4have you not been separated among yourselves and become judges with malignant thoughts? ³²

5Listen, my beloved brothers. Has not God chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He has promised to those loving Him?

6But you dishonored the poor one. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into courts?

7Do they not blaspheme the noble name that was called upon you?

8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ³³“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;

9but if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.

10For whoever will keep the whole law, yet stumble in one point, has become guilty of all.

11Because 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. ³⁴

12Speak and act as being those who are about to be judged by a law of liberty

13(the judgment will be without mercy to the one not showing mercy). ³⁵That law exalts mercy ³⁶over judgment.

14What is the advantage, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? That faith cannot save him, can it?

15If a brother or sister is actually naked, and is destitute of the daily food,

16and someone among you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you (pl) do not give them the things needed for the body, what is the benefit?

17Thus also that faith, if it does not have works, is dead, being by itself.

18(But someone will say: “You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith by ³⁷your works ³⁸and I, by my works will show you my faith [what he believes].” ³⁹

19You believe that God is one. ⁴⁰You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder!)

20But you need to know, you foolish fellow, ⁴¹that faith without works is dead! ⁴²

Examples

21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

22You can see that faith was acting together with his works, and the faith was made complete by the works.

23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “So Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” ⁴³And he was called ‘friend of God’.

24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

25Similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different way?

26For just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. ⁴⁴