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The Sin of Partiality
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.
For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes,
If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor” — well,
and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”
doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?
Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?
Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well.
But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT COMMIT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead
What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?
Faith and Works
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well” — but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.
You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.
So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.
In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?