The Sin of Partiality

¹My brothers,1 wshow no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, xthe Lord of glory. ²For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, ³and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” ywhile you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” ⁴have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become zjudges with evil thoughts? ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers, ahas not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be brich in faith and heirs of cthe kingdom, dwhich he has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you ehave dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who fdrag you ginto court? ⁷Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable hname by which you were called?

⁸If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, i“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹But if you jshow partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point khas become guilty of all of it. ¹¹For he who said, l“Do not commit adultery,” also said, l“Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹²So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under mthe law of liberty. ¹³For njudgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith obut does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵pIf a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶qand one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good2 is that? ¹⁷So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith rapart from your works, and I will show you my faith sby my works. ¹⁹tYou believe that God is one; you do well. Even uthe demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ²¹vWas not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that wfaith was active along with his works, and faith was completed xby his works; ²³and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, y“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a zfriend of God. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And in the same way was not also aRahab the prostitute justified by works bwhen she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

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Taming the Tongue

¹cNot many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. ²For dwe all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, ehe is a perfect man, fable also to bridle his whole body. ³If we put gbits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. ⁴Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵So also the tongue is a small member, yet hit boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ⁶And ithe tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, jstaining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life,1 and set on fire by hell.2 ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, ⁸but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, kfull of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people lwho are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,3 these things ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Wisdom from Above

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? mBy his good conduct let him show his works nin the meekness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter ojealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. ¹⁵This is not pthe wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, qdemonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. ¹⁷But rthe wisdom from above is first pure, then speaceable, gentle, open to reason, tfull of mercy and good fruits, uimpartial and vsincere. ¹⁸And wa harvest of righteousness xis sown in peace by those who make peace.

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