The Sin of Partiality

2 ^(A)My brothers and sisters, ^(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 is dressed in ^(E)bright clothes, and a poor man in ^(F)dirty clothes also comes in, ³ and you ^[b]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 ^[c]motives? ⁵ Listen, ^(I)my beloved brothers and sisters: did ^(J)God not 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 ^[e]personally ^(N)drag you into ^[f]court? ^7 (O)Do they not blaspheme the good name ^[g]by which you have been called?

⁸ If, however, you ^(P)are fulfilling the ^[h]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 Law as violators. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet ^(S)stumbles in one point, 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 do murder, you have become a violator of the 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 ^[i]triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

^14 (Y)What use is it, ^(Z)my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can ^[j]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, ^[k]be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷ In the same way, ^(AC)faith also, if it has no works, is ^[l]dead, being by itself.

^18 (AD)But someone ^[m]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 ^[n](AH)God is one. ^(AI)You do well; ^(AJ)the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to acknowledge, ^(AK)you foolish person, that ^(AL)faith without works is useless? ^21 (AM)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(AN)faith was working with his works, and ^[o]as a result of the ^(AO)works, faith was ^[p]perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^(AP)And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a ^(AQ)friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was ^(AR)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also ^(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.

The Tongue Is a Fire

3 ^(AU)Do not become teachers in large numbers, ^(AV)my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a ^[q]stricter judgment. ² For we all ^(AW)stumble in many ways. ^(AX)If anyone does not stumble in ^[r]what he says, he is a ^(AY)perfect man, able to ^[s](AZ)rein in the whole body as well. ³ Now ^(BA)if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their whole body as well. ⁴ Look at the ships too: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are nevertheless directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot determines. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it ^(BB)boasts of great things.

^(BC)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! ⁶ And ^(BD)the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among ^[t]our body’s parts as that which ^(BE)defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our ^[u]life, and is set on fire by ^[v](BF)hell. ⁷ For every ^[w]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human ^[x]race. ⁸ But no one among mankind can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of ^(BG)deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless ^(BH)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, ^(BI)who have been made in the likeness of God; ¹⁰ from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. ¹¹ Does a spring send out from the same opening both ^[y]fresh and bitter water? ^12 (BJ)Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, bear olives, or a vine bear figs? Nor can salt water produce ^[z]fresh.

Wisdom from Above

¹³ Who among you is wise and understanding? ^(BK)Let him show by his ^(BL)good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter ^(BM)jealousy and ^[aa]selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against ^(BN)the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom is not that which comes down ^(BO)from above, but is ^(BP)earthly, ^[ab](BQ)natural, ^(BR)demonic. ¹⁶ For where ^(BS)jealousy and ^[ac]selfish ambition exist, ^[ad]there is disorder and every evil thing. ¹⁷ But the wisdom ^(BT)from above is first ^(BU)pure, then ^(BV)peace-loving, ^(BW)gentle, ^[ae]reasonable, ^(BX)full of mercy and good fruits, ^[af](BY)impartial, free of ^(BZ)hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And the ^(CA)fruit of righteousness is sown in peace ^[ag]by those who make peace.