James 2

May 23, 2022

Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.

Reading along with us in James? Here’s today’s reading:

James 2 (NIV)

Favoritism Forbidden
1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”..........Continue Reading

Next: James 3
—
Back: James 1

This Post Has 7 Comments

  2. Judging by appearance is definitely not how God wants us to view people. We are to treat everyone the same whether they come in rags or riches. No favoritism allowed. Our deeds alone do not get us into heaven but God is saying that if you have faith then you will do good deeds because you are doing What his word says. He compares it to a body being dead with out the spirit. Also if we do not show compassion or forgiveness towards another he will not show us any mercy either.

    Reply

  3. James 2 we are to look at people and to treat people the same whether they have wealth or are without. We also have to act on our faith and help those in need, if we have a heart for God then we have a heart to do the deeds that are helpful to others.

    Reply

  4. James is never one to mince words, so he goes right after a primary dynamic of how societies tend to work and that is in using favoritism. I think we all understand the tendency to favor people that add something to us: wealth, popularity, intelligence, fame, and various abilities to name a few and disregard or ignore people that don’t. But that makes no sense in the Christian life or the church because we are not defined by the things of the world but by the value that comes from God and Christ. We do not operate according to what people can offer to us, but by what Christ would want us to share with them. So we do not make determinations about people according to earthly dynamics, but by spiritual ones. So it means treating all people with the love and regard of Jesus.

    And it is so important to recognize that in the later part of this chapter James is not adding works to faith in terms of what justifies us before God, but describing the nature of the faith that does. The faith that does not result in works, can SUCH faith save him (James 2:14). We all understand that what we believe is more defined by what we do than what we say. If you say you love somebody but then act in a way that is unloving, do you really love them? All action in fact is based in something you believe. So all James is saying is that true faith in Jesus results in works that are consistent with what Jesus wants. Similarly Jesus says, if you love me, you will follow my commands ( John 14:21). So we are saved by faith, but that faith effects what we do and say. But when we do those works, they are not in order to be saved, but rather because we are saved. It is the outworking of the fait that is within.

    There is also an aspect of how those works also justify us before people. In other words, the only way that I can know you or anyone else is saved is by what you do. I can know whether or not I am saved by what is in my heart. I know what convicts, motivates and orients me. But I cannot know that for another person. But when I see what they do, that will show me what they believe. James may be speaking to that dynamic in verse 24, but mostly is describing the nature of the faith that is the thing that saves us. Therefore there is no contradiction between James 2 and Ephesians 2:8-9, for instance….or Romans 4:5. Again, James is talking about the nature of the faith that justifies and not saying that we are saved by works….

    Reply

  6. James starts out with a challenge that our society is so flawed by! We put “stuff” before people and people with stuff as more important than those without it! Priorities! Remember how fleeting this life is and how unimportant our “stuff” will be once we are gone from this world. The old adage that “you can’t take it with you” is so true so our prize is our forgiveness, our salvation and as James reminds us at the end of the chapter we are saved by Faith but that knowing that forgiveness and salvation came at such a high price for Jesus should inspire us to look different leading to deeds and actions reflective of Christ’s love everyday.

    Reply

  7. I was thinking of the mind-judgments we make all the time. It may not be “rich” vs “poor” all the time, but how often to we give thought-deference to Hollywood stars or Bill Gates? I was thinking recently, why are we taking medical and vaccine advice from Bill Gates? Because he is rich, we defer to his “wisdom.” We think that because these people are rich, they must have wisdom when much of the evidence says that they are morally depraved and reject God.

    Some people get in a conundrum about this “faith without works” part of scripture. It is difficult to accept that we are saved by no merit of our own, and to think that we can do anything to achieve salvation, negates our reliance on Christ’s work on the cross. But how do we assess our own faith?True faith is worked out. It is reflected by a live in service to Christ. The whole of scripture guides us in how to respond when we sin and the Holy Spirit empowers us to walk in righteousness. I think the problem is, we don’t believe it. We choose to believe that we are helpless and unable to overcome sin. Therein lies the problem. Unbelief.

    Here is Rahab. “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” It is interesting that James mentions her. She was not a Jew. I think he chose her because she was not under the law, per se, but she believed God. Her faith was bore out in her works.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back To Top