James 2

A Warning against Prejudice

1 My dear brothers and sisters,s how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
  2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meetings dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes.3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor"—well,4 doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
  5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn't God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren't they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?7 Aren't they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble names you bear?
  8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: "Love your neighbor as yourself."s9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
  10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws.11 For the same God who said, "You must not commit adultery," also said, "You must not murder."s So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
  12 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead

14 What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?15 Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,16 and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"—but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
  17 So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
  18 Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds."
  19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.s Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.20 How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
  21 Don't you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith."s He was even called the friend of God.s24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
  25 Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.26 Just as the body is dead without breath,s so also faith is dead without good works.

James 3

Controlling the Tongue

1 Dear brothers and sisters,s not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
  3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
  But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.6 And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.s
  7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish,8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God.10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water?12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can't draw fresh water from a salty spring.s

True Wisdom Comes from God

13 If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom.14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying.15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
  17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.s

James 4

Drawing Close to God

1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires at war within you?2 You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can't get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don't have what you want because you don't ask God for it.3 And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
  4 You adulterers!s Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.5 What do you think the Scriptures mean when they say that the spirit God has placed within us is filled with envy?s6 But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say,

"God opposes the proud
  but favors the humble."s

  7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

Warning against Judging Others

11 Don't speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters.s If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God's law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you.12 God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor?

Warning about Self-Confidence

13 Look here, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit."14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it's here a little while, then it's gone.15 What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that."16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.
  17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.