Introductory remarks:
James begins this chapter with a new topic of how we are to treat other believers in the assembly. "James says that pandering to the rich and looking down on the poor among them is ungodly. The degree of a sin doesn't matter in that any breach makes you a transgressor. A profession of faith is useless, a life lived out of faith is true faith. Abraham and Rahab demonstrated their faith in their actions" (A Survey of James - By Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: Warning against partiality vv. 1-13: Faith and works vv. 14-26.
Warning against Partiality
Verse 1, "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons."
LGT "My brethren, do not with respect of persons hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the [Lord] of glory."
My brethren: James is writing to believers only. Do not with respect of persons: that is, do not cater to the rich versus the poor. Hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory: you have out your trust in the Lord of Glory, and then lost fellowship with Him because of your behavior to the poor.
Verse 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."
LGT "For if may have come into your synagogue a man with gold rings in splendid apparel, and may have come in also a poor [man] in vile apparel:"
For if may have come into your synagogue: the early church met in homes and in synagogues on the Lord's Day, which is Sunday, commemorating Christ's resurrection on a Sunday; the Jews were sometimes cordial with Christians, and because they met on Saturday, they would allow the Christian Jews to use their synagogues. It was only the Judaizing sect of the Jews that were hostile to Christianity, not the orthodox sect. A man with gold rings in splendid apparel: a rich man enters the assembly with goodly apparel and many gold rings on his right hand; the phrase is literally "the gold fingered man.' The ancients said that a man that wore rings on his left hand was effeminate. And may have come in also a poor man in vile apparel: then a poor man comes in dirty and wearing tattered clothing.
Verse 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 here, or sit here under my footstool."
LGT "And ye may have looked upon the one who wears the splendid apparel, and may have said to him, Thou sit thou here honorably, and to the poor may have said, Thou stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool."
And ye may have looked upon the one who wears the splendid apparel: you have regard for the rich man and seat him in the seat of honor. The Jews were especially fond of sitting in the seats that men would pay them honor. We saw this when we studied the gospels how the disciples questioned our Lord as to who would be the greatest in His coming kingdom. The chief priests and rabbis also sought those seats of honor. In this assembly, James says that they catered to the gold-fingered man with splendid apparel. And said to him, Thou sit thou here honorably: the Greek word for 'good place' is kalos meaning beautiful or honorable place. And to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: they would seat the poor wretch in the back standing, or on the floor out of site.
Verse 4, "Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?"
LGT "Are ye not divided in your own mind, and became judges [having] evil reasonings?"
Are ye not divide in your own mind: by making a distinction between the rich and the poor, they were making an evil distinction, for all God's family should be treated with equal love of the brethren. And became judges having evil reasonings: by making these terrible distinctions, they were setting themselves up as judges, which was diametrically opposed to the will of God. These men were certainly deceiving themselves.
Verse 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?"
LGT "Hear, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor as to the world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to the ones who love Him."
Hear, my beloved brethren: James is speaking to believers, so the poor and the rich are included here. Did not God choose the poor as to the world: the poor in these worlds' goods? Rich in faith: the poor are poor as far as this world is concerned; however, because they have faith in Christ they are spiritually rich. And heirs of the kingdom: there is a big difference between entering the kingdom as one of its citizens, and being an heir to the kingdom. A citizen lives in the kingdom, while an heir rules with the king in the kingdom. Which He promised to the ones who love Him: a believer may not study the Word and therefore not even understand the meaning of agape divine love, and if they do not understand love, they cannot love Him, but they are still saved. The mature believer has studied, and has the capability to love the Lord, and he will reign with Christ in the future kingdom.
Verse 6, "But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?"
LGT "But ye dishonored the poor [man]. Do not the rich oppress you, and do [not] they drag you before [the] courts of justice?"
But ye dishonored the poor man: these men in the assembly that have given the best seats to the rich have dishonored the poor, and humiliated them by making them sit on the floor or stand in the back of the synagogue. Do not the rich oppress you: James tells these respecters of persons, Don't the rich oppress you in every day living, as you go about your every day life, and now when they come into your fellowship you seat them in the most honorable seats, as if the were privileged Christians, blessed by God. And do they not drag you before the courts of justice: if anyone tries to oppose the rich in any way, they will drag them before the courts, hire the most expensive lawyers, and win their cases, and even have the poor thrown in prison. The reason the rich do these awful things to the poor is because where their treasure is, that is where their heart is.
Verse 7, "Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by which ye are called?"
LGT "Do they not blaspheme the beautiful name which was called upon you?"
The Greek words for "worthy name" is kalon onoma which means essentially beautiful, and that is just what the name of Jesus Christ is. These respecters of persons by their preferential treatment of the rich, and their miserable treatment of the poor were blaspheming the beautiful name of the Christ. They were publicly dragging the name of Christ down, for Christ loved the poor believers as much as the rich, that is, He loved them with agape love.
Verse 8, "If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well."
LGT "indeed [the] royal law ye keep according to the Scripture, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well."
The entire law that was considering man's responsibilities was in this one portion of the law from Lev. 19:18. The Jews were to love their fellow Jew as themselves, and the Christians here in Jerusalem were to love their fellow Christian as themselves. Of course this is true even today.
Verse 9, "But if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors."
LGT "But if ye have respect of persons, ye work a sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors."
Let me say this about James making reference to the Law of Moses. The Law is true today as it was in the days when Moses received it. The thing is, the law was never able to save the soul, and it never claimed to be able. The best the law could do was to reveal to man how wretched he really is, and that he needed a Savior, and that he could be saved from his wretched self by accepting Christ as his only sin offering. James uses the law because these Hebrews put such value on the law; however, he never taught that the law could save. James is simply making the statement that being a respecter of person's flies in the face of God's grace to all believers, and is a gross sin.
Verse 10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
LGT "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, but stumble in one [point], he has become guilty of all."
What James is saying is the principle that all men are guilty before God. James is not saying that all sins are equal and deserve equal punishment, he is saying that to be a law breaker, a man does not have to break each and every law, and as Robertson points out, It is a pertinent principle for the ones who try and save them selves. God does not judge man relatively but absolutely; man is either one hundred percent righteous or one hundred percent unrighteous. The Roman Catholic Church has the mistaken idea that at the judgment seat, all your sins will be weighed along side all your good deeds and whichever one out weighs the other, which will tell what action God will take. We know by other scriptures (namely Rom. 3:23) that man is born a sinner and can never earn salvation, and that is why Christ died, in order to make us righteous and fit for His presence.
Verse 11, "for he 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."
LGT "For He who said, Thou mayest not commit adultery, also said, Thou mayest not commit murder: Now if thou commit not adultery but commit murder, thou hast become a transgressor of [the] law."
The two commandments James is quoting are from Exodus 20:13,14). All one has to do to become a lawbreaker is to break one law. A note here on the use of the word "kill" in the King James Version, in the Greek the word is phoneueis is homicide, murder. In war we kill the enemy, and it is approved of God because it is for self-preservation, but homicide, murder, is taking a life of another without just cause. The liberal will squeal that going to war is murder, and if not for the right reason they might have a case, but we believe that most wars the United States has been involved in are justifiable.
Verse 12, "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."
LGT "So speak ye and so do, as by [the] law of freedom being about to be judged:"
James is saying that they should not only speak as those who have been saved from the law, but they are also now, by the grace of God, functioning under the new law of liberty, but they should also direct their actions as being free from the law. They are no longer being judged as under the law, but are judged as those being under grace, showing love for one another because Christ loves them, and this is now their motive for their Christian living.
Verse 13, "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment."
LGT "For judgment [will be] pitiless to him that wrought not mercy: and mercy glories over judgment.
Because God has shown the believer mercy, that is, forgiven him all his trespasses, he should also be merciful to his brothers and sisters. If he does not show mercy, he will be out of fellowship, and will not receive a reward at the Bema seat of Christ.
Faith and Works
Verse 14, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?"
LGT "What is the profit, my brethren, if anyone say [he] has faith, but have not works? Is faith able to save him?"
James is saying "faith alone saves, but faith that saves is not alone." The works James is speaking of is works that are produced in the life of the believer by the Holy Spirit; he is not writing about keeping the law. James and Paul are in perfect agreement about faith alone in Christ alone. James never taught that works save. Martin Luther misunderstood this epistle, and that is the reason he called the epistle of James "an epistle of straw." In verses 14-26 James teaches that works are a natural product of faith. The Jews were saying they were righteous because they kept the law, and that this would save them. The problem is that works of the law cannot save. Keeping the law or any other effort of the flesh cannot produce the works that James is writing about here. James is writing about works that only a believer can produce, and that is, they are the result of being saved.
Verses 15, 16, "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"
LGT "Now if a brother or a sister be naked and destitute may be of daily food, and anyone from among you say to them, go in peace, be warmed and be filled; but give not to them the needful things for the body; what is [the] profit?"
Now if a brother or a sister were naked: not completely naked but of needing proper clothing to keep them from being adversely affected by the elements. We must keep in mind that these are Christian brothers and sisters in their assembly. And destitute: poor and needy. May be of daily food: very hungry. And anyone from among you say to them: anyone in the assembly. Be warmed and be filled: these two verbs best fit into the middle voice which would render the phrase, "warm yourself and fill your self with food. But give not to them the needful things for the body: the context is that God led them to you, and you did not give them what they needed. What is the profit: how would one be able to tell that you had faith, because it is not evident by your not having compassion. John writes in his first epistle, "Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he is born God. By this it is evident who the children of God are, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother" (1 John 2:7-10 NEB). When John uses the word practice he means that the unbeliever sins as a way of life, just as the believer practices righteousness, because Christ has imputed His righteousness on every believer.
Verse 17, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
LGT "So also faith, if it have not works, is dead by itself."
True faith produced works in and of itself; therefore, if there are no works produced in the life, there can be no faith. We must keep in mind that God the Holy Spirit produces the works, and He is the only one who is able to judge what these works are. All works are not discoverable by men, and so they cannot be judged of by man.
Verse 18, "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."
LGT "But someone will say, You have faith and I have works: Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you from my works my faith."
James is not saying that works produces salvation, but that faith produces works, and works do not produce faith. James invents an objector here to prove his point that faith without works is dead, or non-existent. Jesus Christ said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit . . ." (John 15:5). And then Paul taught us that works are the fruit of the Spirit, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such things there is no law" (Gal. 5:22). The objector is trying to prove that faith and works are mutually exclusive, and that one Christian may have works and the other faith and that is perfectly acceptable to God. James will prove this is not the case, for the two must go together, that is, faith produces works, but works do not produce faith, for faith is a gift of God's wonderful grace.
Verse 19, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
LGT "You believe that God is one, You do well: even the demons believe and shudder."
James goes on answering the objector with the fact that he believes that there is only one God, and says that that is good, as far as it goes. To believe there is only one God does not save, for even the demons believe, and they shudder because of their fate that lies ahead. To simply believe in God will not save, but you must put your full trust in Christ as Savior.
Verse 20, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead."
LGT "But will you know, O empty man, that faith apart from works is dead."
James says, Do you wish to know, O faithless man? You are unable to produce works apart from faith; just as a field cannot yield produce until it be planted.
Verse 21, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?"
LGT "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, having offered Isaac his son upon the altar?"
Abraham did not actually offer Isaac, but he brought him to the altar in order to obey God and sacrifice his only son. Abraham was justified by faith, as Paul teaches in Rom. 4:3, and his justification was evidenced by his faith in God in his obedience. The works followed his justification. Unless Abraham was already justified he would have never brought Isaac to the altar.
Verse 22, "Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?"
LGT "Do you see that faith was working with his works, and by works faith was perfected."
Abraham's faith was demonstrated by his works. If Abraham had not already been justified by faith, there could not be any faith working out in his works, and the perfecting of his faith.
Verse 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."
LGT "And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Now Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, and he was called friend of God."
James is quoting Genesis 15:6. The Jews all considered Abraham God's friend, but it was not part of the Scripture James quotes.
Verse 24, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."
LGT "You see that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."
James never separated these two, that is, faith and works. Faith produces works, as we have seen in the act of Abraham, and the works are the fulfillment of the faith, or we might say, the perfecting of faith, or the culminating of faith.
Verse 25, "Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?"
LGT "But in like manner also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, having received the messengers, and having by another way put [them] forth."
"In the same sense in which Abraham was justified, as explained above - showing by her act that her faith was genuine, and that it was not a mere cold speculative assent to the truths of religion. Her act showed that she truly believed God" (Barnes). If you have true living faith in God, that faith will produce fruit in you life.
Verse 26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
LGT "For as the body apart from [the] spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead."
Just as man's spirit is his life, so is faith connected to works; neither can function apart from the other. James concludes this doctrine on faith and works justifying the believer, or proof that he is justified.
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