A Warning against Favoritism
1My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Faith and Works
(Genesis 15:1-7; Romans 4:1-12; Galatians 3:1-9; Hebrews 11:8-19)
14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
A Warning against Favoritism
1 My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality. 2 For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in; 3 and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing, and say, “Sit here in a good place;” and you tell the poor man, “Stand there,” or “Sit by my footstool;” 4 haven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts? 7 Don’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?
8 However, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom. 13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith and Works
(Galatians 3:1–9)
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? 15 And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, 16 and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled;” and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.
18 Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? 21 Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness;” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25 In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.
A Warning against Favoritism
1 My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.
2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting a wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the noble name by which you have been called? b
8 If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” c you are doing well. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10 Whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” d also said, “Do not murder.” e If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom. 13 For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith and Works
(Galatians 3:1–9)
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? 17 So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, f is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that God is one. g Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless? h 21 Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” i and he was called a friend of God. j 24 As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies k and sent them off on another route? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
Footnotes:
2 a Greek your synagogue
7 b Or the noble name invoked upon you or the noble name of Him to whom you belong
8 c Leviticus 19:18
11 d Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18
11 e Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17
17 f Literally if it does not have works
19 g Or that there is one God
20 h BYZ and TR dead
23 i Genesis 15:6
23 j See Isaiah 41:8.
25 k Literally messengers
A Warning against Favoritism
1My brethren, hold not, in respect of persons, the faith of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2for if there may come into your synagogue a man with gold ring, in gay raiment, and there may come in also a poor man in vile raiment, 3and ye may look upon him bearing the gay raiment, and may say to him, 'Thou -- sit thou here well,' and to the poor man may say, 'Thou -- stand thou there, or, Sit thou here under my footstool,' -- 4ye did not judge fully in yourselves, and did become ill-reasoning judges. 5Hearken, my brethren beloved, did not God choose the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the reign that He promised to those loving Him? 6and ye did dishonour the poor one; do not the rich oppress you and themselves draw you to judgment-seats; 7do they not themselves speak evil of the good name that was called upon you?
8If, indeed, royal law ye complete, according to the Writing, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,' -- ye do well; 9and if ye accept persons, sin ye do work, being convicted by the law as transgressors; 10for whoever the whole law shall keep, and shall stumble in one point, he hath become guilty of all; 11for He who is saying, 'Thou mayest not commit adultery,' said also, 'Thou mayest do no murder;' and if thou shalt not commit adultery, and shalt commit murder, thou hast become a transgressor of law; 12so speak ye and so do, as about by a law of liberty to be judged, 13for the judgment without kindness is to him not having done kindness, and exult doth kindness over judgment.
Faith and Works
(Genesis 15:1-7; Romans 4:1-12; Galatians 3:1-9; Hebrews 11:8-19)
14What is the profit, my brethren, if faith, any one may speak of having, and works he may not have? is that faith able to save him? 15and if a brother or sister may be naked, and may be destitute of the daily food, 16and any one of you may say to them, 'Depart ye in peace, be warmed, and be filled,' and may not give to them the things needful for the body, what is the profit? 17so also the faith, if it may not have works, is dead by itself.
18But say may some one, Thou hast faith, and I have works, shew me thy faith out of thy works, and I will shew thee out of my works my faith: 19thou -- thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they shudder! 20And dost thou wish to know, O vain man, that the faith apart from the works is dead? 21Abraham our father -- was not he declared righteous out of works, having brought up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected? 23and fulfilled was the Writing that is saying, 'And Abraham did believe God, and it was reckoned to him -- to righteousness;' and, 'Friend of God' he was called. 24Ye see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith only; 25and in like manner also Rahab the harlot -- was she not out of works declared righteous, having received the messengers, and by another way having sent forth? 26for as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also the faith apart from the works is dead.
The Favor of God Paraphrase
Warning Against Showing Favoritism
¹ My brothers and sisters, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, you must not show favoritism! ² Imagine someone comes into your assembly wearing fine clothes and gold rings, and another person comes in dressed in shabby, dirty clothes. ³ If you pay special attention to the one dressed in fine clothes, saying, “Sit here in this place of honor,” but say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” ⁴ haven’t you discriminated and judged with evil thoughts?
⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: hasn’t God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the Kingdom He promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor! Aren’t the rich the ones who oppress you and drag you into court? ⁷ Aren’t they the ones who slander the noble name of Him to whom you belong?
⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture—“Love your neighbor as yourself”—you are doing well. ⁹ But if you show favoritism, you are sinning and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹ The same One who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” So if you don’t commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
¹² Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law that brings freedom, ¹³ because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Faith and Works: Working Together
¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no actions to show it? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well-fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have works.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and they shudder!
²⁰ Do you want to know, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.
Footnotes
1.Favoritism: The Greek word used here means showing partiality or favoritism, typically based on outward appearance or status.
2.Royal Law: This refers to the command to love one’s neighbor as oneself, which is considered the fulfillment of the law.
3.Faith without works: This passage emphasizes that true faith produces action; it is not just belief, but belief put into practice.
4.Slandering the noble name: The rich were often known for exploiting the poor and even blaspheming the name of God by their actions.
5.Mercy triumphs over judgment: God’s mercy is greater than His judgment, and we are called to show mercy to others.
6.Abraham’s faith: Abraham’s willingness to offer his son Isaac was an act of faith, showing his complete trust in God.
7.Rahab’s example: Rahab, despite her background, was justified by her faith, demonstrated through her actions to protect the Israelite spies.
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