James 2

Verses 1-9

• Don't discriminate on the basis of class or status. Treat all believers with honor and appreciation, whether rich or poor. All believers are rich in faith, and for this we should honor them.

  • ​To show more honor to some, merely for their wealth, is to be judge with evil thoughts. It is indeed evil to favor some for their money and neglect others
  • Remember that all of us, as believers, share in the wealth of eternal life. And since God has received all believers into His kingdom, treat other believers with the same favor and generosity that God has given them.

Verses 10-13

• Honoring all believers is included in God's law: "love your neighbor as yourself". Therefore, if you favor some for their wealth and status (partiality), you are breaking the law and committing sin. Do not downplay this issue, thinking it's insignificant, nor think that you are only disobedient if you commit the "big sins". Being partial is still disobedience!

  • Remember, seek to obey every word in Scripture! If you try to obey some commandments, but still willingly ignore others, you are guilty of all. 

• Remember that we all will receive judgment from God for our actions (Colossians 3:25, 1 Peter 1:17). Stay conscious of this coming judgment, and it will help you keep your words and actions proper. Show mercy to others, loving even those who are poor. Then you will have mercy from God. You will be judged at the level that you judge (Matthew 7:1-2).

  • ​Keep in mind that the law brings liberty. He who commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8:34). But when we come to understand right from wrong, and repent from wrong, it brings freedom from sin! Repentance is freedom. Remember this, and you will not feel burdened by God's commandments, but rather liberated by them.

• “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Aside from the future judgment day, in life today, judgments can come from God in the form of hard circumstances. God prefers to be merciful because showing mercy generates more love; but sometimes hardships are necessary in order for people to learn. If we are more merciful, God can show more mercy to us. But if we are harsh, often God will have to be harsh with us (Psalm 18:25-26).

  • All in all, show kindness and mercy to others, and you will experience more love from God. 

Verses 14-26

• To start, if we read in context with the above teaching, James adds that keeping God's commandments and honoring our fellow believers equally requires more than just saying that you will. To truly be obedient to God and honor others, we must do so in our actions, not just our words (1 John 3:18). If someone is in need, and you are able, actually give what is needed, don't merely say that you will. 

• Next, to talk about faith in general: Many do not understand what faith truly is. It is true that we are not saved by our works. We are saved by Christ. Without Him, we are hopeless. However, some explanation is needed.

• Let's start by explaining the difference between belief and faith.

  • Belief is the heartfelt knowing or persuasion that you have, of Christ and His teaching, after you hear the Word of God (Ephesians 1:13, John 17:8, Romans 10:9-10). Therefore, belief is internal.

  • Faith, as James says, is the action that you take on the basis of what you believe in your heart. Therefore, faith is external—the outworking of belief. So we read, “I will show you my faith by my works ” (James 2:18).

• And Christ saves us through the belief and the faith that He gives to us when we hear His Word (2 Thessalonians 2:13, Ephesians 2:8, Hebrews 12:2).

  • Belief, if it's real, always includes corresponding faith—the action that a person takes (1 Thessalonians 1:3, Galatians 5:6).

    • If you understand faith merely as what someone professes to believe in their heart, despite their actions, this isn't faith at all.

• So, when Scripture says that we are “not saved by our works” (Ephesians 2:9), but “by grace through faith”, it cannot mean that no work at all is involved in our salvation. Otherwise faith, which is shown through works, is no longer faith. For “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).

  • Therefore, Ephesians 2:9 means, specifically, that we are not saved by the “works of our own righteousness” (Titus 3:5) or by the “works of the law”(Romans 3:20). 

  • But we are saved through the works of faith that come from belief in Christ. What's the difference?

    • Works of the law do not come from belief in Christ, but from confidence in oneself (Romans 10:3, Philippians 3:4,9). These works do not save.

      • A person who has confidence in themselves lives as though they do not need Christ. They erroneously think their works will merit their salvation.

    • Works of faith, on the other hand, are the actions that are fueled by the grace of Christ and belief in Him (1 Corinthians 15:10, Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:14). In other words, doing good out of sincere gratitude to Christ.

      • As such, to Christ we owe all the credit for the belief and faith that He uses to save us.

• So, when James says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only”, he means that works demonstrate faith. We identify a saved person by the works that they do (Matthew 7:16-20). A mere claim to belief in Christ is not enough.

• Therefore, your faith (the good works that you do out of belief in Christ) proves that you are saved. And works of obedience are an inseparable part of living saved(Philippians 2:12-13).

• This is the main point: Be obedient to God in your actions because of a sincere appreciation for Christ, and with confidence in His power. This is belief and faith.

  • An example of works of faith versus works of the law: 

  • Two people give money to a church. One, a man of faith, does so to obey the Word out of love for Christ. Another, out of works of the law, will do so as a means to excuse himself for his sin, thinking that such a work will get God to forgive him.

  • Be a person of faith. Do what you do out of love (Galatians 5:6) and a sincere desire to obey God with your whole being.