James 2 1. Do not try to mix faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, our glory, with the practice of treating rich men better than poor men. He who rules over the poor to make more for himself, or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. Proverbs 22:16 2 – 4 Not showing respect is always wrong. Peter treated some brothers differently from others in Galatians 2:11-14, and was rebuked by Paul. 5. Pay attention, my dear brothers, has not God chosen the poor men of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom that He promised to them that love Him? 6 – 7 At the time when the book of James was written, the Jewish leaders were arresting Christians. Followers of Jesus would have no reason to expect anything good from these leaders. 8 – 9 Everyone agrees with this royal law. It becomes hard to put this law into practice when we have to make a decision on how we are going to treat people. 10 – 11 If you look carefully, you will find parts of the Sermon on the Mount in the entire New Testament. If you ignore the smallest commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 5:19 12. So speak and act like those who will be judged with the law of freedom. Live as a person who knows that he is going to brought before a judge and examined. The Ten Commandments did not give us freedom. The Gospel gives us the freedom to do what is right, not because we have to, but because we want to. But go and learn what this means: “I DESIRE MERCY, AND NOT SACRIFICE.” Matthew 9:13 To obey is better than sacrifice... 1 Samuel 1:22 James is saying, “Can that type of faith save anyone?” James is asking, “What is the use of that kind of faith?” How many people can you find in the Bible who were appreciated for the things they did for others? See also 1 John 3:17. Some people say, “I don’t need to ever do anything to show my faith because then I would be saved by works. For this reason, I do not do any good works.” Faith is something that is invisible (Hebrews 11:1). If we do not do anything which can be seen, then our faith remains invisible. Just listening to the law does not make us right with God. It is obeying the law that causes God to see our sins as covered. Romans 2:13. 19. You may say that you believe there is one God. Good. The demons also believe there is one God and they are afraid! James is writing to Jews who were proud of the fact that they believed in God and recited Deuteronomy 6:4 “The Lord our God is one.” 20. But are you willing, you foolish man, to see that faith that is not put into practice is worth nothing? So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding ... Hebrews 6:1. 21 - 22 Is not it true that our father Abraham practiced his faith when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? Do you see how the things that he did were because of his faith and made his faith complete? Abraham was seen as righteous by God before he had done anything to display his faith. When his faith was mixed together with his works then his faith was made complete. This happened thirty years before He offered Isaac on the altar (Romans 4:1-11). 23. And the Scripture was complete, which says, “Abraham trusted God, and it was put to his credit as righteousness, and he was called the friend of God.” Abraham lived in Hebron which is called “the city of God’s Friend” by the Arabs. It would be very powerful if the people around us saw that we are close friends with God!
See also Genesis 15:6, Isaiah 41:8. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. Matthew 23:23.See also Joshua 2:1-21, 6:25. Martin Luther did not understand James’ emphasis on the display of our faith by works. |