Respect the poor & faith and actions

James 2:1-26

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

It is a natural human tendency to defer to social superiors and despise those below us on the social scale. There is nothing Christian about this. The right thing is to treat everyone with equal respect - to love our neighbor as ourselves, as God's commandment teaches us.

Faith that stops at words is not faith at all. Even demons believe in God and fear him, but that won't save them from God's judgment. Real faith works, God accepted Abraham and Rahab because their faith resulted in action; it was genuine. If what we believe does not affect the way we live, what we do, it is dead.

Why?

Don't do favoritism, love everyone because God is love, do not show favoritism to the poor or dirty clothes people.

Faith should be completed with action. Faith without action is dead! Faith is not saying but doing it in action.

How?

Love your neighbor as yourself & do it better and say it.

戴繼宗

And it came about that in Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a great multitude believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.

1 Thessalonians 1:5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 

正如保羅在帖撒羅尼迦前書第一章說到，他們傳福音不獨在乎言語，也在乎權能和聖靈，並充足的信心。因此，這種傳講的方式使許多在以哥念的人信了主。對21世紀每一位傳講福音的人來說，忠實地傳講，無畏地傳講，有效地傳講，確實是非常重要的提醒。