James Chapter Two
Commentary by
Pastor
Timothy H. Burdick
Verse 1. "My brethren, do not
hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of
personal favoritism.”
Verse 2. "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,”
Verse 3. "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,’”
Verse 4. "have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become
judges with evil motives?”
Verse 5. "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?”
Verse 6. "But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who
oppress you and personally drag you into court?”
Verse 7. "Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been
called?”
Verse 8. "If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the
Scripture, 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing
well.”
Verse 9. "But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are
convicted by the law as transgressors.”
Verse 10. "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one
point, he has become guilty of all.”
Verse 11. "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.”
Verse 12. "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law
of liberty.”
Verse 13. "For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy;
mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Verse 14. "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but
he has no works? Can that faith save him?”
Verse 15. "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of
daily food,”
Verse 16. "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?”
Verse 17. "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
Verse 18. "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.’"
Verse 19. "You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also
believe, and shudder.”
Verse 20. "But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that
faith without works is useless?”
Verse 21. "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered
up Isaac his son on the altar?”
Verse 22. "You see that faith was working with his works, and as a
result of the works, faith was perfected;”
Verse 23. "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.”
Verse 24. "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith
alone.”
Verse 25. "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?”
Verse 26. "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also
faith without works is dead.”
Commentary
Verses 1-9 of James Chapter Two
deal strongly with prejudice. There are certain sub-points here so we
will study each verse. First of all, James says not to hold the faith of
our Lord Jesus Christ with “respect to persons.” One of the most common
statements that people make, is: “I can't judge another person.” While
this true, we ARE to admonish one another. This means that if we see
something that we should speak to another person about, we are to go to
them in love. We also need to have a humble attitude knowing that we are
no better then they are. Paul tells us in the first part of Colossians
3:16 that we are to teach and admonish each other.
Looking at this a little more in
depth, the American Heritage dictionary gives three definitions for
“admonish.” 1) to reprove gently but earnestly. 2) To counsel another
against something to be avoided; to caution them. 3) To remind them of
something disregarded; an obligation or responsibility they should have
acted upon. God is the only One who can judge impartially because He
alone can look at the heart. Therefore the apostle is saying that we
should not presume to put ourselves in God’s place when dealing with
another individual. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God says that He judges a man by
the “heart,” not his appearance. Verses 2 and 3 of this Chapter in James
are examples we should follow.
James says in Verse 2, "If there
comes into your synagogue, a man with a gold ring and fine clothing and
there comes in also a poor man in vile clothing and ye have regard to
him that weareth the fine clothing and say ‘sit thou here in a good
place:’ and ye say to the poor man ‘stand thou there or sit under my
foot stool…’" have you not become judges and are committing sin? And
please note that things haven't changed at all since James wrote those
words.
Jesus said this about the
religious leaders of His time: "But all their works they do to be seen
of man,” etc. (Matthew 23:5). Jesus goes on to say in verse 6 of the
same Chapter that the Pharisees “love the chief seats in the synagogue.”
As a person with special needs I really feel the prejudice of people. If
James were here, I'm sure he would want us to take this out of the realm
of just the first century, and he would ask what is being said and done
today. If I am not careful, I see that I can also be prejudiced toward
others. James is saying that when you do this, you become judges with
evil motives. When we have cliques and divisions in our churches it's
usually because of a superior attitude. We may look down at someone who
is dressed differently from us or doesn't speak the language as we do.
We judge people mostly on outward appearance, because we have evil
intentions. In other words we're not looking to God's Word to see what
He has to say about our situation.
Jeremiah 17:9 is relevant here:
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, who can
understand it?" James goes on to ask in verse 5 if it wasn't true that
God chose the poor of the world to become rich in faith, making those
who love Him His heirs. James is not saying there is any merit in
poverty necessarily, or that there is necessarily anything wrong with
riches. He is saying that many people trust in poverty or riches, making
such things their God.
Jesus explains how riches can be
a hindrance to faith in the story of the rich young ruler (Mark
10:22-27). If you remember the story, the young man went away from Jesus
because he had great wealth. The disciples were puzzled and asked who
could be saved? Jesus, replying said, that salvation was impossible for
man, but not for God. Many misquote the Scriptures and say that money is
the root of evil. But this not the truth. There has been much good done
because of vast wealth. Money therefore is neither good or evil. It is
the condition of a person’s heart before God. How do YOU handle what has
given you? The apostle said that it was not money in and of itself; it
is the LOVE of money that is the problem.
Verses 10-13 all make one
general point. We will also look at some sub-points as we go along.
First of all, James tells us in verse 10 that if keep the whole Law, but
stumble in one part we have broken it all. But because of what Christ
did for us on the cross we’re not under Law. Verse 11 points out some
examples of this. Verse 12 says to speak and do as those who are to be
judged by “the royal law of liberty.” Here he is talking about how we
all are accountable. The one standard we will be judged by is God's
Word. That judgment doesn't have anything to do with our salvation if we
have accepted Christ - we have been made totally secure. The judgment
that James is talking about has to do with the rewards that we will
receive as believers.
Christ demands nothing less than
total obedience. Paul talks about this in I Corinthians 5:10, when he
tells us that we will all stand before Christ's judgment. In 1st
Corinthians, Paul talks about self-examination in light of the Lord's
Supper, but I think that this principle needs to be extended to our
daily lives. In verse 13, James goes back to the familiar concept of
mercy. He is saying that mercy is victorious over judgment. I think
James is telling us that while we have to live wisely, we don't have to
be terrified of God's judgment because He is merciful.
To sum up verses, 1-13 in verse
1 he stated the principle of favoritism. We are not to “play favorites”
in the church or in our lives. When He discussed riches, Jesus went on
to say something else that I think might shed some light on the subject:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Again, it isn't a person’s status that matters (in relation to their
riches or poverty in life). Jesus is saying that for a person to be
“poor in spirit,” he needs to be humbly and totally dependent on God.
Let me ask you a question: While you may not be rich according our
standard of living, what are you trusting in? That is the real issue.
James 2:6 speaks of the rich person who has dishonored and exploited the
poor person. James also reminds the poor person that the rich man has
taken advantage of him. Isn't it funny how we forget these verses when
money is involved? We play up to the rich person and forget that such
people are the ones who have oppressed us. In many churches today, and
in many Christian circles, the rich get voted in just because they have
money, but they don’t look to God or have the gifts and abilities for a
particular position. We need to find out what GOD has to say in these
matters, and stop looking at a person's external status.
Verse 7 asks, “Don't they
blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?” I have heard just
as many people in poverty and riches blaspheme His name. James is
saying, however, that the rich in this context, if they take advantage
of the poor, are blaspheming God not only with their mouths, but also by
their conduct. Another thing though, regardless of status we often
forget about the honor of Christ's name. To honor Him is to recognize
His majesty, power, and glory.
Verses 10-13 all make one
general point. We will look at some individual points as we go along.
First of all, James tells us in verse 10 that if keep the whole law, but
stumble in one part we have broken it all. But because of what Christ
did for us on the cross, we don't have to. Verse 11 points out some
examples of this. Verse 12 says to speak and do as those who are to be
judged by the royal law of liberty. Here James is stating that we ALL
are accountable. The one standard we will be judged by is God's Word.
That judgment doesn't have anything to do with our salvation, for if we
have accepted Him, we have been made totally secure. The judgment that
James is talking about has to do with the rewards that we will receive
as believers. And note Christ demands nothing less than total obedience.
Paul talks about this 1 Corinthians 5:10 when he tells us that we will
all stand before Christ's judgment. In 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about
self-examination in light of the Lord's Supper, but I think that this
principle needs to be extended to our daily lives. In verse 13 James
goes back to the familiar concept of mercy, stating that mercy is
victorious over judgment. I think James is telling us that while we have
to live wisely, we don't have to be terrified of God's judgment because
He is merciful.
James explains his thinking in
verses 5-11, and he employs the principle in verses 12 and 13. Starting
with verse 14, James begins to discuss one of the most controversial
topics in the Bible, namely faith and works. I have never seen the
problem in reconciling these two. While I have seen different writers
put a different emphasis on faith and works, I have always seen how they
complement one another. The first division is verses 14-17. In verse 14
he starts out by asking two questions. First he asks, “Does faith
without works mean anything?” The answer is: of course not! Unless you
back up your faith with some kind of action, to me that faith is worth
little or nothing. The second question he asks is: can that kind of
faith save him? Many people mouth empty words, without actions to back
them up. Jesus talked about the wise man who first counted the cost. If
we are to call ourselves disciples, we need to count the cost of
following Christ also. Let me just try to answer the second question
this way: empty words are just that - empty.
In verses 15 and 16, James gives
the example of a person without clothes or food. The person seeing him,
says to the poor man, “Go be warmed and filled.” Today if a person said
that or something like it without doing anything, we might say that talk
is cheap, and that he should put his money where his mouth is.
Personally, it really frustrates me because Christians don't seem to
take these verses seriously enough. But then - do I? Question: how can
you become a person who acts on what you profess to believe?
James concludes in Verse 26 that
“faith without works is dead.” It is like what Jesus talked about when
He said “if a branch doesn't bear fruit it is worthless.” That is why
many times His words have fallen on deaf ears. We hear Bible studies and
sermons and then go out into the world and act like hell. We need to
achieve a balance between hearing and doing. James says in a sarcastic
way: show me your faith without actions, and I will show you true faith
BY my actions. When I was in seminary, I talked about feeding the poor
etc. I was accused of being involved in the “social gospel.” That is, I
was made to feel I only cared about people on a social plane, and had no
concern for their spiritual welfare. If a man is hungry, he won't listen
to anyone until he gets his stomach full. That is what James is saying.
In James 2 19, he says that we
do well when we believe that God is “One,” noting that the demons also
believe this and tremble. James, in writing to the Jews, is quoting from
the “Shema,” (“hear”), a prayer that Orthodox Jews know by heart. It is
in Deuteronomy 6:4 and contains these words: "Hear O Israel, the Lord
our God is one God." But it is more than a principle written to early
Jews; it is also written to us. We cannot give mere intellectual assent
to our faith, for the devil can recite a creed along with the best of
us.
Verse 20 is basically a repeat
of the idea in verse 17. I believe that James wants to emphasize this
point, and is trying to keep us from self-deception. There are many
people who fall into this trap and I feel that the Holy Spirit through
James is underscoring this out of love.
In verses 21-24, the apparent
contradiction between faith and works comes to a head. Verse 21 asks the
question, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he
offered Isaac his son upon the altar?” Verse 22 goes on, “Thou seest
that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect;”
Verse 23: “And the scripture was fulfilled that sayth, and ‘Abraham
believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness; and he was
called the friend of God.” This reference is found in Genesis 15:6.
After telling us what Abraham did as a result of his faith, Verse 24
goes on to say that a man is justified by what he does. James is not
saying here that faith is not important; he is just saying that genuine
faith is active. Do you think that this contradicts Ephesians 2:8-9
where Paul tells us that we are saved by grace and not by any works on
our part? James is just saying, if you really believe something, you'll
act upon it. Paul is saying that true faith includes works of action,
but not works that will merely gain merit in God’s sight.
James gives us the example of
Rahab the prostitute, and asks was she not considered righteous for what
she did? When she lodged the spies, she put herself in grave danger. It
took a great deal of faith to act in that manner. In order to do this,
she had to renounce her own life and turn to God with a whole-hearted
commitment. How can you turn from any ways that are keeping you from
this kind of commitment? Look at this story, which is found in Joshua
2:1-5. Is God calling you to take a stand that is unpopular like Rahab
did?
James basically repeats what he
has been saying in Verse 26. I think he does because often we need to be
told something important over and over before it “clicks.” As the body
is dead without the spirit, James says, so you can't separate faith and
works.
I have broken James Chapter 2,
down into three headings: 1} prejudice (James 2-7), 2} freedom in
Christ, found in James 2:8-13, and 3} in James 2:14-26, he discusses
faith that is real. Since James talked about Rahab, I did some studying
and this is what I found: According to Jewish lore, Rahab is the name of
a sea-demon; a dragon of the waters which was the ruler of the sea.
Rahab the sea demon was an angel of insolence and pride responsible for
shaking the waters.
As I said in the beginning, the
Christian has split hairs over the matter of faith and works, when they
really complement one another. I feel that James 2:14-26, is the most
important part of the Book of James, and everything else rests upon it.
Timothy H. Burdick, Associate Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
PO Box 92131
Long Beach, CA
90809-2131 USA
www.fridaystudy.org
TSBurdick@msn.com
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