James 2

James 2:1

IV. CONDEMNATION OF PARTIALITY (2:1-13) The first half of chapter 2 denounces the practice of showing respect of persons. Favoritism is utterly foreign to the example of the Lord or to the teachings of the NT. There is no place in Christianity for snobbishness or discrimination. 2:1 First of all, the practice is distinctly forbidden. Note first that the admonition is addressed to believers; we are assured of this by the salutation My brethren. The faith of our Lord Jesus Christ refers to the Christian faith. It is not a question of His trust or dependence, but rather of the body of truth which He gave to us. Putting all these thoughts together, we find that James is saying, My brethren, in your practice of the Christian faith, do not show partiality. Snobbery and caste distinctions are utterly inconsistent with true Christianity.

Servility to human greatness has no place in the presence of the Lord of Glory. Contempt for others because of birth, race, sex, or poverty is a practical denial of the faith. This commandment does not contradict other portions of the NT where believers are taught to pay proper respect to rulers, masters, elders, and parents. There are certain divinely ordained relationships which must be recognized (Rom_13:7). In this passage it is a matter of showing obsequious deference to people because of their expensive clothing or other artificial distinctions. 2:2-4 This is confirmed by the vivid illustration which James gives in verses 2-4. Guy King has cleverly entitled this section The Shortsighted Usher. The scene is the local assembly of Christians. A distinguished looking gentleman, with fashionable clothing and expensive gold rings has just arrived. The usher bows and scrapes, then escorts the notable visitor to a prominent, conspicuous seat in the front. As soon as the usher gets back to the door, he finds that another visitor has arrived.

This time it is a poor man in humble attire. (The expression filthy clothes does not necessarily mean that the man’s clothes needed cleaning. He is dressed poorly, in keeping with his humble circumstances in life.) This time the usher adroitly seeks to save the congregation from embarrassment by offering the visitor standing room at the rear, or a place on the floor, in front of his own seat. It seems incredible that anyone would ever act in this way. We would like to think that the illustration is overdrawn, but when we look into our own heart, we find that we often do make these artificial class distinctions among ourselves, and thus become judges with evil thoughts. Probably the most glaring example of it in the church today is the discrimination shown against people of other races and colors. Black believers have been ostracized in many instances or at least made to feel unwelcome. Converted Jews have not always been accepted cordially. Oriental Christians have tasted discrimination in varying degrees. It is admitted that there are enormous social problems in the whole area of racial relations. But the Christian must be true to divine principles. His obligation is to give practical expression to the truth that all believers are one in Christ Jesus. 2:5, 6a Partiality is utterly incongruous with the Christian faith. James demonstrates this in verses 5-13. He gives four strong reasons why it is ridiculous for a believer to favor the rich and look down on the poor. First of all, it means that we dishonor a man whom God honors. God has chosen the poor people of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him. The poor are God’s elect, God’s elite, heirs of God, and lovers of God. Repeatedly we find in Scripture that it is the poor people, not the rich, who rally to the banner of Christ. Our Lord Himself said, The poor have the gospel preached to them (Mat_11:5). It was the common people who heard Him gladly, not the wealthy or aristocratic (Mar_12:37).

Not many noble are called, but the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised, and the insignificant (1Co_1:26-29). Rich people are ordinarily poor in faith, because they trust their riches instead of the Lord. On the other hand, poor people have been chosen by God to be rich in faith. A survey of the citizens of His kingdom would reveal that most of them have been poor. In the kingdom, they will occupy positions of wealth and glory. How foolish, then, and how perilous it is to treat with contempt those who will one day be exalted in the kingdom of our Lord and Savior. 2:6b A second reason why it is foolish to show deference to the rich is that, as a class, they are the ones who have characteristically oppressed the people of God. The argument is involved, and even a little confusing at this point. The rich man referred to earlier in the chapter was undoubtedly a believer. That does not mean that the rich men mentioned in verse 6 are believers also. What James is saying is simply this: Why show favoritism to people just because they are rich? If you do, you are honoring those who have been the first to bully you and to drag you into the courts.

Calvin captured the argument tersely when he said, Why honor your executioners?2:7 A third reason why it is foolish to be partial toward the rich is that they habitually use evil or harsh speech involving the name of Christ. This is the noble name by which believers are calledChristians, or followers of Christ. While railing against the Lord is not a sin on which the rich have a monopoly, yet it is true that those who persecute poor believers often accompany this persecution with the vilest language against the Savior. So why should believers show special favoritism toward anyone simply because he is rich? The traits which accompany riches are not ordinarily honoring to the Lord Jesus. The expression that noble name by which you are called might also be translated that noble name which has been called upon you.

Some see this as a reference to Christian baptism. Believers are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. This is the very name which the rich habitually blaspheme. 2:8 James’ fourth argument is that showing deference to the rich violates the law that You shall love your neighbor as yourself. It is called the royal law because it belongs to the King and because it is the king of all laws. Perhaps the usher excused his action toward the rich man by saying that he was just trying to love his neighbor as himself. But that wouldn’t excuse his action toward the poor man. If we really loved our neighbors as ourselves, we would treat them all the way we would want to be treated. Certainly we would not want to be despised simply because we were poor. Then we should not show contempt to others for this reason. Of all the teachings of the Bible this is certainly one of the most revolutionaryYou shall love your neighbor as yourself. Think what it means! It means that we should care for others as we care for ourselves. We should be willing to share our material possessions with those who are not as privileged as we are. And above all, we should do all in our power to see that they have the opportunity to know our blessed Savior. Too often our decisions are based on how our actions affect ourselves.

We are self-centered. We cater to the rich because of the hope of reward, either socially or materially. We neglect the poor because there is little prospect of their benefiting us in this way. The royal law forbids such selfish exploitation of others. It teaches us to love our neighbor as ourselves. And if we ask, Who is my neighbor? we learn from the story of the Good Samaritan (Luk_10:29-37) that our neighbor is any person who has a need which we can help to meet. 2:9 To show partiality is a violation of the royal law. It is both sin and transgression. Sin is any lack of conformity to the will of God, a failure to meet His standards. Transgression is the breaking of a known law. Certain acts are sinful because they are basically and inherently wrong, but they become transgressions when there is a specific law which forbids them. Partiality is sinful because it is essentially wrong in itself. But it is also transgression because there is a law against it. 2:10 To break one part of the law is to be guilty of all. The law is like a chain of ten links. Break one link and the chain is broken. God does not allow us to keep the laws we like, and break others. 2:11 The same God who forbade adultery also forbade murder. A man may not be guilty of adultery, yet he may commit murder. Is he a transgressor of the law? Certainly he is! The spirit of the law is that we should love our neighbor as ourselves. Adultery is certainly a violation of this, but so is murder. And so is snobbishness and discrimination. If we commit any of these sins, we have failed to do what the law commands.

EXCURSUS ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS Now we must pause in our discussion to consider a basic problem which arises at this point in James’ argument. The problem is this: Are Christians under the law or are they not? It certainly seems that James has been enforcing the Ten Commandments on Christian believers. He specifically refers to the sixth and seventh commandments which forbid murder and adultery. Also he summarizes the last five commandments in the words: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Yet to put believers under the law, as a rule of life, contradicts other portions of the NT, such as Rom_6:14 You are not under law, but under grace; Rom_7:6 We have been delivered from the law; Rom_7:4 You also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ (see also Gal_2:19; Gal_3:13, Gal_3:24-25; 1Ti_1:8-9; Heb_7:19.) The fact that Christians are not under the Ten Commandments is distinctly stated in 2Co_3:7-11. Why then does James press the matter of the law on believers in this Age of Grace? First of all, Christians are not under the law as a rule of life. Christ, not the law, is the believer’s pattern. Where there is law, there must also be penalty. The penalty for breaking the law is death. Christ died to pay the penalty of the broken law.

Those who are in Christ are therefore delivered from the law and its penalty. But certain principles of the law are of abiding value. These precepts apply to all people of all ages. Idolatry, adultery, murder, and theft are basically and inherently wrong. They are just as wrong for believers as for unbelievers. Furthermore, nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the Epistles.

The only one that is not repeated is the one concerning the Sabbath. Nowhere are Christians ever told to keep the Sabbath or seventh day of the week, for that commandment is ceremonial rather than moral. It was not basically wrong in itself for a Jew to work on the seventh day. It was wrong only because God set that day apart. Finally, it should be mentioned that the nine commandments which are repeated in the Epistles are not given as law but as instruction in righteousness for the people of God. In other words, God does not say to Christians, If you steal, you are condemned to death. Or If you commit an immoral act, you will lose your salvation. Rather He says: I have saved you by My grace. Now I want you to live a holy life out of love to Me. If you want to know what I expect of you, you will find it throughout the NT.

There you will find nine of the Ten Commandments repeated. But you will also find the teachings of the Lord Jesus which actually call for a higher standard of conduct than the law required. So James is not really putting believers under the law and its condemnation. He is not saying, If you show respect of persons, you are breaking the law, and are thus condemned to death. 2:12 What James is saying is, As believers, you are no longer under the law of bondage, but you are under the law of libertyliberty to do what is right. The Law of Moses required you to love your neighbor but did not give you the power, and condemned you if you failed. Under grace, you are given the power to love your neighbor and are rewarded when you do it. You don’t do it in order to be saved but because you are saved. You do it, not through fear of punishment, but through love for Him who died for you and rose again. When you stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will be rewarded or suffer loss according to this standard.

It will not be a question of salvation but of reward. The expression So speak and so do refers to words and deeds. Both profession and life should agree. In speech and act, believers should avoid partiality. Such violations of the law of liberty will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ. 2:13 Verse 13 must be understood in the light of the context. James is speaking to believers. There is no question of eternal punishment here; that penalty was paid once for all at Calvary’s cross. Here it is a question of God’s dealing with us in this world as children. If we do not show mercy to others, we are not walking in fellowship with God and can expect to suffer the consequences of a backslidden condition. Mercy triumphs over judgment may mean that God would rather show mercy to us than discipline us (Mic_7:18); judgment is His strange work. It may mean we can rejoice in the face of judgment if we have shown mercy to others, but if we have not shown mercy to those whom we might justly condemn, we will not be shown mercy. Or it may mean that mercy triumphs over judgment in the sense that it is always greater than judgment. The general idea seems to be that if we show mercy to others, the judgment which might otherwise fall on us will be replaced by mercy. Let us test ourselves then on this important subject of partiality. Do we show more kindness to those of our own race than those of other races? Are we more kindly disposed to the young than to the old? Are we more outgoing to good-looking people than to those who are plain or homely? Are we more anxious to befriend prominent people than those who are comparatively unknown? Do we avoid people with physical infirmities and seek the companionship of the strong and healthy? Do we favor the rich over the poor? Do we give the cold shoulder to foreigners, those who speak our language with a foreign accent? As we answer these questions, let us remember that the way we treat the least lovable believer is the way we treat the Savior (Mat_25:40).

James 2:14

V. FAITH AND WORKS (2:14-26) These verses are perhaps the most controversial in James’ Letter. Even such a great worthy of the church as Luther thought he saw an irreconcilable conflict between James’ teaching on justification by works and Paul’s insistence on justification by faith. These verses are commonly misused to support the heresy that we are saved by faith plus works, called synergism. In other words, we must trust the Lord Jesus as our Savior, but that is not enough. We must also add to His redemptive work our own deeds of charity and devotion. The section might actually be entitled Justification by Works, because there is a sense in which we are justified by works. In fact, in order to grasp the full truth of justification, we should clearly understand that there are six aspects of justification. We are justified by grace (Rom_3:24). This simply means that we do not deserve to be justified; in fact, we deserve the very opposite. We are justified by faith (Rom_5:1). Faith is the human response to God’s grace.

By faith, we accept the free gift. Faith is that which appropriates what God has done for us. We are justified by blood (Rom_5:9). Here blood is the price which had to be paid in order to procure our justification. The debt of sin was met by the precious blood of Christ, and now God can justify ungodly sinners because a righteous satisfaction has been made. We are justified by God (Rom_8:33).

The truth here is that God is the Person who justifies. We are justified by power (Rom_4:25). Our justification is linked to the power that raised Christ from the dead. His resurrection proves that God is satisfied. And we are justified by works (Jam_2:24). Works are the outward proof of the reality of our faith.

They give outward expression to what would otherwise be invisible. From this we see that the person is justified by grace, by faith, by blood, by God, by power, and by works. Yet there is no contradiction at all. These statements simply present different aspects of the same truth. Grace is the principle upon which God justifies; faith is the means by which man receives it; blood is the price which the Savior had to pay; God is the active Agent in justification; power is the proof; and works are the result. 2:14 James insists that a faith that does not result in good works cannot save. There are two keys which greatly help in the understanding of this verse. First of all, James does not say What does it profit … though a man has faith … . Rather he says, What does it profit … if someone says he has faith. In other words, it is not a question of a man who truly has faith, and yet is not saved. James is describing the man who has nothing but a profession of faith.

He says he has faith, but there is nothing about his life that indicates it. The second helpful key is brought out in the NASB. There, the verse closes with the question Can that faith save him? In other words, can that kind of faith save? If it be asked what kind of faith James is referring to, the answer is found in the first part of the verse. He is speaking about a say-so faith that is not backed up by good works.

Such a faith is worthless. It is all words, and nothing else. 2:15, 16 The futility of words without deeds is now illustrated. We are introduced to two people. One has neither adequate daily food nor clothing. The other has both, but is not willing to share them. Professing great generosity, the latter says to his poor brother, Go and put on some clothing, and eat a good meal. But he doesn’t raise a little finger to make this possible. What good are such words? They are positively worthless! They neither satisfy the appetite nor provide warmth for the body. 2:17 Thus also faith by itself if it does not have works, is dead. A faith without works is not real faith at all. It is only a matter of words. James is not saying that we are saved by faith plus works. To hold such a view would be to dishonor the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we were saved by faith plus works, then there would be two saviorsJesus and ourselves.

But the NT is very clear that Christ is the one and only Savior. What James is emphasizing is that we are not saved by a faith of words only but by that kind of faith which results in a life of good works. In other words, works are not the root of salvation but the fruit; they are not the cause but the effect. Calvin put it tersely: We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.2:18 True faith and good works are inseparable. James shows this by giving us a snatch from a debate between two men. The first man, who is genuinely saved, is the speaker.

The second professes to have faith, but he does not demonstrate that faith by good works. The first is heard delivering an unanswerable challenge to the other. We might paraphrase the conversation: Yes, the first man may correctly and justifiably say, you say you have faith, but you do not have works to demonstrate it. I claim that faith must be backed up by a life of works. Prove to me that you have faith without a life of good works. You cannot do it.

Faith is invisible. The only way others can know you have faith is by a life that demonstrates it. I will show you my faith by my works. The key to this verse lies in the word show: To show faith apart from works is impossible. 2:19, 20 The debate continues. The first man is still the speaker. A man’s professed faith may be nothing more than mental assent to a well-known fact. Such intellectual agreement involves no committal of the person, and does not produce a transformed life. It is not enough to believe in the existence of God. True, this is essential, but it is not sufficient. Even the demons believe in the existence of God and they shudder at the thought of their eventual punishment by Him. The demons believe the fact, but they do not surrender to the Person. This is not saving faith. When a person truly believes on the Lord, it involves a commitment of spirit, soul, and body. This commitment in turn results in a changed life. Faith apart from works is head belief, and therefore dead belief. 2:21 Two examples of the faith which works are now given from the OT. They involve Abrahama Jew, and Rahaba Gentile. Abraham was justified by works in offering up Isaac his son on the altar. In order to see this truth in its proper perspective, turn to Gen_15:6. We read that Abraham believed in the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness. Here Abraham was justified by believing; in other words, he was justified by faith.

It is not till we come to Genesis 22 that we find Abraham offering up his son. It is then that he was justified by works. As soon as Abraham believed in the Lord, he was justified in the sight of God. But then, seven chapters later, God put Abraham’s faith to the test. Abraham demonstrated that it was genuine faith by his willingness to offer up Isaac. His obedience showed that his faith was not merely a head belief, but a heart commitment. It has sometimes been objected that there was no one else present when Abraham offered up Isaac, and there was therefore no one to whom he could prove the reality of his faith. But the young men who had accompanied Abraham were not far away, waiting for Abraham and Isaac to return from the mount. Moreover, Isaac was there. Also, Abraham’s willingness to slay his son in obedience to God’s command has been preserved in the Bible record, thus demonstrating to all generations the reality of his faith. 2:22, 23 It is clear then that Abraham’s faith inspired his works, and by his works his faith was made perfect. True faith and works are inseparable. The first produces the second, and the second evidences the first. In the offering of Isaac we see a practical demonstration of the faith of Abraham. It was the practical fulfillment of the Scripture which said that Abraham was justified by believing. His good works identified him as the friend of God. 2:24 We conclude from this, then, that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Again, this does not mean that he was justified by faith plus works. He was justified by faith Godward, and by works manward. God justified him the moment he believed. Man says, Show me the reality of your faith. The only way to do this is by good works. 2:25 The second OT illustration is Rahab the harlot. She certainly was not saved by good character (she was a prostitute!). But she was justified by works because she received the messengers (or spies) and sent them out another way. Rahab was a Canaanite, living in the city of Jericho. She heard reports that a victorious army was advancing toward the city, and that no opposition had been successful against this army. She concluded that the God of the Hebrews was the true God, and decided to identify herself with this God, whatever the cost might be.

When the spies entered the city, she befriended them. In doing so, she proved the genuineness of her faith in the true and living God. She was not saved by harboring the spies, but this act of hospitality proved that she was a genuine believer. Some people misuse this passage to teach that salvation is partly by good works. But what they mean by good works is giving to charity, paying your debts, telling the truth, and going to church. Were these the good works of Abraham and Rahab? Certainly not! In Abraham’s case, it was willingness to kill his son! In Rahab’s case, it was treason!

If you remove faith from these works, they would be evil rather than good. Strip them of faith and they were not only immoral and unfeeling, but they would have been sinful. Mackintosh well says, This section refers to life-works, not law-works. If you abstract faith from Abraham’s and Rahab’s works, they were bad works. Look at them as the fruit of faith and they were life-works.So this is a not a passage that can be used to teach salvation by good works. It puts the user in the untenable position of teaching salvation by murder and treason! 2:26 James ends the passage with the statement, For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Here the matter is summarized very beautifully. James compares faith to the human body. He likens works to the spirit. The body without the spirit is lifeless, useless, valueless. So faith without works is dead, ineffective, worthless. Obviously it is a spurious faith, not genuine saving faith. To summarize, then, James tests our faith by our answers to the following questions. Am I willing like Abraham to offer the dearest thing in my life to God? Am I willing like Rahab to turn traitor to the world in order to be loyal to Christ?