The Sin of Favoritism

2 ^(A)My brothers, ^(B)do not hold your faith in our ^[a](C)glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of ^(D)personal favoritism. ² For if a man comes into your ^[b]assembly with a gold ring and dressed in ^(E)bright clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in ^(F)dirty clothes, ³ and you ^[c]pay special attention to the one who is wearing the ^(G)bright 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,” ⁴ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges ^(H)with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, ^(I)my beloved brothers: did not ^(J)God choose the poor ^[d]of this world to be ^(K)rich in faith and ^(L)heirs of the kingdom which He ^(M)promised to those who love Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and they themselves ^(N)drag you into ^[e]court? ^7 (O)Do they not blaspheme the good name ^[f]by which you have been called?

⁸ If, however, you ^(P)are fulfilling the ^[g]royal law according to the Scripture, “^(Q)You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you ^(R)show partiality, you are committing sin, being convicted by the ^[h]law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole ^[i]law and yet ^(S)stumbles in one point, he has become ^(T)guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, “^(U)Do not commit adultery,” also said, “^(V)Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the ^[j]law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by ^(W)the law of freedom. ¹³ For ^(X)judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy ^[k]triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

^14 (Y)What use is it, ^(Z)my brothers, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can ^[l]that faith save him? ^15 (AA)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “^(AB)Go in peace, ^[m]be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ Even so ^(AC)faith, if it has no works, is ^[n]dead by itself.

^18 (AD)But someone will say, “You have faith; and I have works. Show me your ^(AE)faith without the works, and I will ^(AF)show you my faith ^(AG)by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that ^[o](AH)God is one. ^(AI)You do well; ^(AJ)the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to recognize, ^(AK)you foolish fellow, that ^(AL)faith without works is useless? ^21 (AM)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²² You see that ^(AN)faith was working with his works, and ^[p]as a result of the ^(AO)works, faith was ^[q]perfected. ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^(AP)And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness,” and he was called ^(AQ)the friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way, was not ^(AR)Rahab the harlot also justified by works ^(AS)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also ^(AT)faith without works is dead.