Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Vav

¹⁰ “^(A)I, moreover, stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights like the first time, and the Lord listened to me that time also; the Lord was not willing to destroy you. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, proceed on your journey ahead of the people, so that they may go in and take possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

¹² “^(B)And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to ^[a]fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and ^(C)love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with ^(D)all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? ¹⁴ Behold, ^(E)to the Lord your God belong heaven and the ^[b]highest heavens, ^(F)the earth and all that is in it. ^15 (G)Yet the Lord set His affection on your fathers, to love them, and He chose their ^[c]descendants after them, you over all the other peoples, as it is this day. ^16 (H)So circumcise ^[d]your heart, and do not ^(I)stiffen your neck any longer. ^17 (J)For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the ^(K)Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, ^(L)who does not show partiality, nor ^(M)take a bribe. ¹⁸ He executes justice for ^(N)the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing. ^19 (O)So show your love for the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and ^(P)cling to Him, and ^(Q)you shall swear by His name. ²¹ He is ^(R)your glory and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. ^22 (S)Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, ^(T)and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Faith and Works

^14 (A)What use is it, ^(B)my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can ^[a]that faith save him? ^15 (C)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “^(D)Go in peace, ^[b]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, ^(E)faith also, if it has no works, is ^[c]dead, being by itself.

^18 (F)But someone ^[d]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your ^(G)faith without the works, and I will ^(H)show you my faith ^(I)by my works.” ¹⁹ You believe that ^[e](J)God is one. ^(K)You do well; ^(L)the demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰ But are you willing to acknowledge, ^(M)you foolish person, that ^(N)faith without works is useless? ^21 (O)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(P)faith was working with his works, and ^[f]as a result of the ^(Q)works, faith was ^[g]perfected; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^(R)And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a ^(S)friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ In the same way, was ^(T)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also ^(U)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 ^(V)faith without works is dead.