The Sin of Partiality
1 My brothers,1 tshow no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the uLord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, vhas not God chosen wthose who are poor in the world to be xrich in faith and yheirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who zblaspheme the honorable aname by which you were called?
8 If you really fulfill the broyal law according to the Scripture, c“You shall dlove your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the ewhole law but ffails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, g“Do not commit adultery,” also said, h“Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the ilaw of liberty. 13 jFor judgment is kwithout mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has lfaith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 mIf a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good1 is that? 17 So also nfaith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith oby my works. 19 You believe that pGod is one; you do well. Even the qdemons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not rAbraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that sfaith was active along with his works, and tfaith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, u“Abraham believed God, and it was vcounted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a wfriend of God. 24 You see that a person is xjustified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also yRahab the prostitute justified by works zwhen she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
