1 M y brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality.

My Christian brothers, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord of shining-greatness. Since your trust is in Him, do not look on one person as more important than another.

2 F or if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your synagogue, and a poor man in filthy clothing also comes in;

What if a man comes into your church wearing a gold ring and good clothes? And at the same time a poor man comes wearing old clothes.

3 a nd 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”;

What if you show respect to the man in good clothes and say, “Come and sit in this good place”? But if you say to the poor man, “Stand up over there,” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”

4 h aven’t you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

are you not thinking that one is more important than the other? This kind of thinking is sinful.

5 L isten, 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?

Listen, my dear Christian brothers, God has chosen those who are poor in the things of this world to be rich in faith. The holy nation of heaven is theirs. That is what God promised to those who love Him.

6 B ut you have dishonored the poor man. Don’t the rich oppress you, and personally drag you before the courts?

You have not shown respect to the poor man. Is it not the rich men who make it hard for you and take you to court?

7 D on’t they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called?

They speak against the name of Christ. And it was Christ Who called you.

8 H owever, if you fulfill the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well.

You do well when you obey the Holy Writings which say, “You must love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

9 B ut if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.

But if you look on one man as more important than another, you are sinning. And the Law says you are sinning. Keep the Whole Law

10 F or whoever keeps the whole law, and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

If you obey all the Laws but one, you are as guilty as the one who has broken them all.

11 F or 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.

The One Who said, “You must not do any sex sins,” also said, “You must not kill another person.” If you do no sex sins but kill someone, you are guilty of breaking the Law.

12 S o speak, and so do, as men who are to be judged by a law of freedom.

Keep on talking and acting as people who will be told they are guilty or not by the Law that makes men free.

13 F or judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Anyone who shows no loving-kindness will have no loving-kindness shown to him when he is told he is guilty. But if you show loving-kindness, God will show loving-kindness to you when you are told you are guilty. Faith Without Works Is Dead

14 W hat good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him?

My Christian brothers, what good does it do if you say you have faith but do not do things that prove you have faith? Can that kind of faith save you from the punishment of sin?

15 A nd if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food,

What if a Christian does not have clothes or food?

16 a nd 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?

And one of you says to him, “Goodbye, keep yourself warm and eat well.” But if you do not give him what he needs, how does that help him?

17 E ven so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.

A faith that does not do things is a dead faith.

18 Y es, 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.

Someone may say, “You have faith, and I do things. Prove to me you have faith when you are doing nothing. I will prove to you I have faith by doing things.”

19 Y ou believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and shudder.

You believe there is one God. That is good! But even the demons believe that, and because they do, they shake.

20 B ut do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead?

You foolish man! Do I have to prove to you that faith without doing things is of no use?

21 W asn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?

Was not our early father Abraham right with God by what he did? He obeyed God and put his son Isaac on the altar to die.

22 Y ou see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected;

You see his faith working by what he did and his faith was made perfect by what he did.

23 a nd 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.

It happened as the Holy Writings said it would happen. They say, “Abraham put his trust in God and he became right with God.” He was called the friend of God.

24 Y ou see then that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith.

A man becomes right with God by what he does and not by faith only.

25 I n the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?

The same was true with Rahab, the woman who sold the use of her body. She became right with God by what she did in helping the men who had been sent to look through the country and sent them away by another road.

26 F or as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

The body is dead when there is no spirit in it. It is the same with faith. Faith is dead when nothing is done.