21 My brethren , do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism . 2 For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes , and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes , 3 and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the 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 with evil motives ? 5 Listen , my beloved brethren : did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man . Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court ? 7 Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called ?
8 If , however , you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture , " YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF ," you are doing well . 9 But if you show partiality , you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors . 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all . 11 For He who said , " DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY ," also said , " DO NOT COMMIT MURDER ." Now if you do not commit adultery , but do commit murder , you have become a transgressor of the law . 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty . 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy ; mercy triumphs over judgment .
14 What use is it, my brethren , if someone says he has faith but he has no works ? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food , 16 and one of you says to them, " Go in peace , 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 faith , if it has no works , is dead , being by itself . 18 But someone may well say , "You have faith and I have works ; show me your faith without the works , and I will show you my faith by my works ." 19 You believe that God is one . You do well ; the demons also believe , and shudder . 20 But are you willing to recognize , you foolish fellow , that faith without works is useless ? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar ? 22 You see that faith was working with his works , and as a result of the works , faith was perfected ; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says , " AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD , AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS ," and he was called 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 Rahab the harlot also justified by works 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 faith without works is dead .
