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The Sin of Partiality

^1 (C1)My brothers and sisters, ^(C2)do not hold your faith in our ^(C3)glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of ^(C4)personal favoritism.² For if a man comes into your ^(F1)assembly with a gold ring and is dressed in ^(C1)bright clothes, and a poor man in ^(C2)dirty clothes also comes in,³ and you ^(F1)pay special attention to the one who is wearing the ^(C1)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 ^(C1)with evil ^(F1)motives?⁵ Listen, ^(C1)my beloved brothers and sisters: did ^(C2)God not choose the poor ^(F1)of this world to be ^(C3)rich in faith and ^(C4)heirs of the kingdom which He ^(C5)promised to those who love Him?⁶ But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and ^(F1)personally ^(C1)drag you into ^(F2)court?^7 (C1)Do they not blaspheme the good name ^(F1)by which you have been called?

⁸ If, however, you ^(C1)are fulfilling the ^(F1)royal law according to the Scripture, "^(C2)YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well.⁹ But if you ^(C1)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law as violators.¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet ^(C1)stumbles in one point, has become ^(C2)guilty of all.¹¹ For He who said, "^(C1)DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "^(C2)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 ^(C1)the law of freedom.¹³ For ^(C1)judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy ^(F1)triumphs over judgment.

Faith and Works

^14 (C1)What use is it, ^(C2)my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can ^(F1)that faith save him?^15 (C1)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,¹⁶ and one of you says to them, "^(C1)Go in peace, ^(F1)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, ^(C1)faith also, if it has no works, is ^(F1)dead, being by itself.

^18 (C1)But someone ^(F1)may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your ^(C2)faith without the works, and I will ^(C3)show you my faith ^(C4)by my works."¹⁹ You believe that ^(F1)(C1)God is one. ^(C2)You do well; ^(C3)the demons also believe, and shudder.²⁰ But are you willing to acknowledge, ^(C1)you foolish person, that ^(C2)faith without works is useless?^21 (C1)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?²² You see that ^(C1)faith was working with his works, and ^(F1)as a result of the ^(C2)works, faith was ^(F2)perfected;²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "^(C1)AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called a ^(C2)friend of God.²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.²⁵ In the same way, was ^(C1)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also ^(C2)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 ^(C1)faith without works is dead.