James 2:1 My brothers and sisters, if you truly believe in our glorifi ed Lord, Jesus Christ, you will not discriminate between persons. 2 Suppose a person enters the synagogue where you are assembled, dressed magnifi cently and wearing a gold ring; at the same time, a poor person enters dressed in rags. 3 If you focus your attention on the well-dressed and say, “Come and sit in the best seat,” while, to the poor one you say, “Stay standing, or else sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not, in fact, made a distinction between the two? Have you not judged, using a double standard?
5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters, did God not choose the poor of this world to receive the riches of faith, and to inherit the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 Yet, you despise them! Is it not the rich who are against you, and drag you to court? 7 Do they not insult the holy name of Christ by which you are called?
8 If you keep the law of the kingdom, according to Scripture: Love your neighbour as yourself, you do well; 9 but if you make distinctions be tween persons, you break the law, and are condemned by the same law. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law, but fails, in one aspect, is guilty of breaking it all. 11 For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not kill. If, then, you do not commit adultery but you do commit murder, you have broken the law. 12 Therefore, speak and behave like people who are going to be judged by the law of freedom. 13 There will be justice, without mercy, for those who have not shown mercy, whereas, mercy has nothing to fear of judgement. Faith is shown in action
• 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, to profess faith, without showing works? Such faith has no power to save you. 15 If a brother or sister is in need of clothes or food, 16 and one of you says, “May things go well for you; be warm and satisfied,” without attending to their material needs, what good is that? 17 So, it is, for faith without deeds: it is totally dead.
18 Say to whoever challenges you, “You have faith and I have good deeds; show me your faith apart from actions and I, for my part, will show you my faith in the way I act.” 19 Do you believe there is one God? Well enough, but do not forget, that the demons, also, believe, and tremble with fear!
20 You foolish one, do you have to be convinced, that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Think of our father Abraham. Was he not justified by the act of offering his son Isaac on the altar? 22 So you see, his faith was active, along with his deeds, and became perfect by what he did. 23 The word of Scripture was thus fulfilled, Abraham believed in God so he was considered a righteous person and he was called the friend of God.
24 So you see, a person is justified by works, and not by faith alone. 25 Likewise, we read of Rahab, the prostitute, that she was acknowledged and saved, because she welcomed the spies, and showed them another way to leave.
26 So, just as the body is dead without its spirit, so faith, without deeds is also dead.
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