Favoritism is forbidden
1 My brothers and sisters, do not show favoritism; honor the faith of our Master Jesus Christ! 2 If someone comes to your synagogue wearing fine jewelry and fancy clothes, and another in filthy rags, 3 you tell the rich one to take the seat of honor and the poor one to stand in the back like a slave! 4 Did you not discriminate among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen! Doesn’t God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom promised to those who love him? 6 Yet you insult the poor! Aren’t the rich the ones who harass you and drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who speak disrespectfully against the ideal Name you bear?
8 The best thing to do is to fulfill the royal law according to the Writing, “Love others as yourself.” 9 But if you play favorites you are sinning and are exposed by the law as criminals, 10 because anyone who keeps the whole law but trips over just one thing is guilty of lawbreaking nonetheless. 11 The One who said “Do not commit adultery” also said “Do not murder,” so if you don’t commit adultery but do commit murder, you have still broken the law. 12 So speak and act as those who are about to be judged by the law of freedom, 13 for the Judge will show no mercy to those who don’t show mercy. Mercy trumps judgment!
Faith and actions
14 My brothers and sisters, what do you gain when you say you have faith but never act on it? That is not a faith that saves. 15 Suppose a brother or sister is lacking food and clothing, 16 and you just send them away with “Well, I hope you get some food and clothes”; what good is that? 17 In the same way, faith that is never put into action is dead because it is alone. 18 Now someone may say, “You have faith and I have actions.” But without actions, how will anyone know you have faith? 19 So you believe in one God— fine, but so do the demons, who not only believe but shake with fear!
20 Are you demanding, empty-headed one, to know why this invisible faith is useless? 21 Look at our ancestor Abraham; wasn’t he shown to be just when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You can see that his faith and actions worked together, and the actions completed the faith. 23 And that fulfilled the Writing, “Abraham believed God, so he was credited with righteousness,” and he was called the Friend of God. 24 So you can see that a person is shown to be righteous from works and not only from faith. 25 Likewise with the prostitute Rahab; was she not shown to be righteous by her actions when she sheltered the army scouts and then sent them out by another route? 26 Just as the body is dead when separated from the spirit, so also faith is dead when separated from actions.