Verses 1-4 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?
The Greek word translated as “respect of persons” is “prosopolepsia” and it means partiality. James was concerned that believers professing a belief in Jesus and claiming to follow Him were showing partiality or preference to those who had money and treating the poor with disrespect or disdain. In doing so, the believers were then judging the value or worth of people and having impure or unrighteous thoughts, which if acted upon, would be sin in the eyes of the LORD. All people are equal in the sight of God. Christian believers, therefore, should be treating all people equally and in the same manner as Jesus treated those people He ministered to.
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25:31–46)
Application: There are churches today claiming to be Christian that reserve seating for those people who are prominent in their congregations. Usually that means that the prominent have given money to the churches. People cannot buy themselves into Heaven. Donating money or time for any other reason than to serve the LORD is vain.
Verses 5-7 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 reality is that those people with few resources tend to have a greater love and faith in the LORD Jesus Christ as they have tested His promises to provide, to protect and to love them, and know the truth of His Word. They are “rich in faith”. Those people with many resources tend to rely on what they have or rely on the people they know to assist them in times of trouble. Wealthy people tend to not think that they need God. They can buy anything they need, both material things and people.
Application: Apparently, the Christian believers James was writing to were dishonoring, insulting, and treating the poor in their congregations with contempt. This was/is not glorifying to either the LORD or to His Church. This was/is sin, and yet it continues to this day. Years ago, this writer was attending a Pentecostal church in a town where most people were middle or upper middle class financially, and they dressed well when in the church setting and they drove nice cars. But a Spanish couple started attending who were not well off financially and who did not drive a nice car and who loved the LORD with all their might. The husband could not read and worked as a laborer, but he could relate to the poor and to the drug addict and to the alcoholic out on the street. They got involved with a battered women’s shelter and became part of this writer’s home Bible study group. It was not long before the group was welcoming the women from the shelter. And then they were taken to the church via this couple’s old car. The demographics of the congregation began to change as these “street people” and battered and wounded began to attend. This writer noticed soon that the couple and their rescued ‘souls’ were always seated on the left side of the auditorium and the rest of the people were sitting elsewhere. It was nauseating. The body of Christ was shunning those less fortunate than themselves. The pastor became aware of it and gave a rousing sermon from this exact passage of the book of James and put to shame the congregation. Things changed after that. One Sunday, the Spanish couple came to the church with a very elderly, rag attired, smelly man. He would walk the streets carrying a bottle of alcohol in a brown paper bag. He was often accompanied by a homeless woman. This Sunday, as the couple had been driving to the church, they heard the LORD instruct them to pick this man up and take him with them. They were obedient. That Sunday, this unwashed, somewhat drunk elderly man heard the Gospel message, repented, and ran to the front of the church at the altar call and asked Jesus into his life. With the couple’s help, he was given a bath, clean clothes, and driven to church on Sundays. This went on for a few weeks, and then he was no more found walking on the highway waiting to be picked up for Sunday church. He had been hit by a car and killed just a few weeks after his conversion. This man that had been rejected by everyone for so long was in the Kingdom of God in Heaven because the not very rich Spanish couple opened their hearts and their scant resources to him and showed him the way to Jesus. The church was never the same after this. Their outreach resulted in church planting in neighboring communities. They had learned to not have respect of persons because of outside appearances or because of financial standing. Think about it.
Verses 8-9 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.
“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” Luke 10:27
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Galatians 5:14
Verses 10-11 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.
Application: Confusion can exist in various churches regarding living under the law and living under grace. In the Old Testament, people had the law. It was given by God to the prophet Moses and it was/is a series of do’s and don’t’s. Jesus came and fulfilled the law perfectly as He was sinless. Mankind cannot keep the law and therefore needed/needs a Savior who did. Under the New Testament, people have the Holy Ghost/Spirit leading them and so they have the law in them. They know when they transgress and they seek forgiveness and do not repeat the transgression. This process of sinning, feeling remorse for offending God, asking forgiveness and not repeating the offense leads to growth and to becoming more Christ-like every day. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;” Hebrews 10:16 So the law did not go away after the birth, death, and resurrection of the LORD Jesus Christ. However now all of it can be condensed into two commandments. “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 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. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40 If following these two commandments, people will not treat others in an unrighteous manner. So it is impossible to keep the law perfectly, and just breaking one part of the law makes people guilty of breaking all of it in the eyes of God which is why the Christian believer relies of the shed blood of Jesus Christ to cover and remove all sin and relies on the Word of God and on the guidance of the Holy Ghost/Spirit to learn to live a sinless life while living in fleshly bodies on this Earth.
Verses 12-13 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.
The Greek word translated as “liberty” is “eleutheria” and it means liberty to do or to omit things having no relationship to salvation, and true liberty is living as we should and not as we please. So the Christian believer is free to exercise his/her will and actions but in accordance with that which pleases God. And in so doing, Christian believers need to have mercy which is the Greek word “eleos” and which is defined as having kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them. Jesus has mercy towards people, and so His people are to be like Him and have mercy on others.
Verses 14-17 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.
The theme of “mercy” continues in these verses in that James is saying that Christian believers should not hide behind their Faith or belief in Jesus and neglect the tangible. The people of the world ignore the needy. Christians are commanded to not ignore the needy but to help others less fortunate. Jesus never shunned the poor, the sick, the in-firmed, or the people of low degree. The title, Christian, means Christ-like. Faith and action/doing go together. To claim Christianity and to not help others if able to do so is not Christianity.
Verses 18-20 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?
Twice in these verses James states that faith without works is dead. When something is repeated twice in Scripture, it usually means it is definite and final and cannot change. People professing faith in God/Jesus but who fail to do good works are no better than the devils, according to James, as the devils also profess faith in God/Jesus. They know who He is and they fear Him. So for people to claim they know God/Jesus doesn’t mean much as if they truly knew Him, they would love and serve Him. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40 “Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Matthew 25:45-46
Verses 21-24 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.
The story of Abraham and Isaac referred to by James in the verses above can be found in Genesis chapter 22. James used Abraham as an example because he knew that the people he was writing this epistle to were Jews who knew their history: Abraham was the father of the nation they had been born into. Abraham knew that God would provide in some way because Abraham had been promised a son through which he would be the father of a great nation. He stood on the promises of God and was obedient to the command to sacrifice his son, Isaac. God would either provide another sacrifice, or He would raise Isaac from the dead. Because of his unwavering faith in God, and because of his action or works, he was deemed righteous and the Friend of God.
Verses 25-26 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. (James 2)
The story of Rahab can be found in Joshua chapter 2. For the third time, James states that faith without works is dead. Faith and works operate in conjunction with each other with the result being eternal life just as the fleshly body operates with the spirit and the result is physical life.