 1 My family+, do not have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with deferential respect~ of persons. 2 For one man may come into your assembly with gold rings and wearing fine+ apparel, and a poor man may also come in wearing vile clothing+. 3 If you look+ with deferential respect upon the one who wears fine+ apparel and say to him: Sit here in a good place, and then say to the poor: Stand over there or sit here under my footstool, 4 then are you not showing partiality among+ yourselves and becoming judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen+ my beloved+: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him? 6 But by acting deferentially, you have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 Do they not blaspheme that worthy name by which you are called? 8 If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture: You shall love your neighbor as yourself, then you do well. Matthew 19:19 9 But if you show partiality+ to certain persons, you commit sin and are convicted+ by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet offends in one point is guilty of all. 11 For He who said: Do not commit adultery, also said: Do not kill. Now if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, then you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and do as those who shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For there will be judgment without mercy for those who have not shown mercy, and rejoicing over merciful judgment. 14 My family+, what is the benefit+ if someone says they have faith but they do not have works? Can faith save them? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them: Go+ in peace, be warm and filled, but you do not give them those things that are necessary+ for the body, what benefit are your words? 17 So faith, if it does not also have works, is dead, being alone. 18 Someone+ may say: You have faith and I have works. But I say, show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that there is one God and you do well to thus believe. And the demons+ also believe and tremble. 20 But will you know this, O vain person+: That faith without works is dead. 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 See how faith worked+ with his works, and by works faith was made perfect~? 23 In this, the Scripture was fulfilled that says: Abraham believed God and it was credited+ to him as righteousness and he was called the Friend of God. Genesis 15:6 24 You see then, that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
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