The Sin of Partiality

2 ^(A)My brethren, ^(B)do not hold your faith in our ^(C)glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of ^(D)personal favoritism. ² For if a man comes into your ^[a]assembly with a gold ring and dressed in ^[b](E)fine 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)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,” ⁴ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges ^(H)with evil ^[d]motives? ⁵ Listen, ^(I)my beloved brethren: did not ^(J)God choose the poor ^[e]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 ^[f]personally ^(N)drag you into ^[g]court? ^7 (O)Do they not blaspheme the fair name ^[h]by which you have been called?

⁸ If, however, you ^(P)are fulfilling the ^[i]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 and are convicted by the ^[j]law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole ^[k]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 commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the ^[l]law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by ^(W)the law of liberty. ¹³ For ^(X)judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy ^[m]triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

^14 (Y)What use is it, ^(Z)my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can ^[n]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, ^[o]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 ^[p]dead, being by itself.

^18 (AD)But someone ^[q]may well 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 ^[r](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 ^[s]as a result of the ^(AO)works, faith was ^[t]perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^(AP)And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned 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 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.