- Feb 27, 2023
- 4 min read

Lesson 659: James 2

"Faith Without Works is......."

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JAMES CHAPTER 2

1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? 8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Faith results in good works 14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Lesson No. 659 "Faith Without Works is......." Book of James, Chapter 2 02/26/2023 1) Verse 1 sounds confusing, but what is James saying? 2) Verses 2 - 4 express a problem in the early church that was a carry-over from the temple and the 'cast' system of the day, what was it?

3) What does verse 5 remind us of, and who said it? 4) Verses 6 - 7 seem to put all people with money down; is that the intent of the passage? What is James referring to when he discusses 'rich men'? Hint- you can get an idea of the behavior of these characters by what he references in these verses- how and why they may have money and power. 5) Verses 8 and 9 describe how we love our neighbor, partiality is not part of God's plan! Verse 10 says that if you show partiality, it's the same as breaking all the commandments and sinning. 6) Verses 13 and 14 start the discussion relating faith to mercy and works- do we really have 'faith' if we don't practice it by showing mercy? 7) James shows us how giving a prayer or a blessing without meeting someone's need of food or clothing is pointless (verses 15 through 17); why? 8) Verse 18 says it all- we know that works alone does not build the kingdom (if not lead by the Holy Spirit), so James turns it around by explaining how good works can be done; what is it? 9) James goes on in verses 19 and 20, to show how just believing in God, even as devils do, does not please Him. Just believing without putting our faith to work is 'dead'. What happens when our faith is dead when we think it is alive? 10) These concepts are shown to be true and explainable in verses 21 through 23 in the retelling of Abraham and his test of faith. What happened? 11) The final example given in verse 26 is pretty stark; what is James saying?