James 2

BLB^{(i) 1} My brothers, do not with partiality hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory. ² For if a man might come into your assembly in splendid apparel with gold rings, and a poor man in shabby apparel also might come in, ³ and you should look upon the one wearing the splendid apparel and should say, “You sit here honorably,” and to the poor should say, “You stand,” or, “Sit there under my footstool,” ⁴ then have you not made a distinction among yourselves and have become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He promised to those loving Him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Are not the rich oppressing you and they dragging you into court? ⁷ Are they not blaspheming the good Name having been called upon you? ⁸ If indeed you keep 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, being convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole Law, but shall stumble in one point, he has become guilty of all. ¹¹ For the One having said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” But 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 being about to be judged by the Law of freedom. ¹³ For judgment without mercy will be to the one not having shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. ¹⁴ What is the profit, my brothers, if anyone says to have faith, but has no works? Is the faith able to save him? ¹⁵ Now if a brother or a sister is without clothes and lacking of daily food, ¹⁶ and anyone out from you says to them, “Go in peace; be warmed and be filled,” but does not give to them the needful things for the body, what is the profit? ¹⁷ So also, faith by itself if it has not works, is dead. ¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one. You are doing well! Even the demons believe that, and shudder! ²⁰ But do you want to come to know, O foolish man, that faith apart from works is worthless? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works, having offered his son Isaac upon the altar? ²² You see that his faith was working with his works, and by his works, his faith was perfected. ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled, saying, “And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And likewise was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, having received the messengers and having sent them forth by another way? ²⁶ For just as the body apart from spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.