James 2 Studies

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each chapter is divided into a number of studies and each study or passage has a simple four-Part, verse-by-verse approach, to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: James 2:1-4

1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favouritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

A. Find Out:

1. How are the readers first described? v.1a
2. What are they exhorted not to do? v.1b
3. What two men are illustrated? v.2
4. How might we deal with them? v.3
5. What will we have done? v.4a
6. What will we have become? v.4b

B. Think:

1. What is James speaking about here?
2. Why do you think he starts off with the description of Christians as he does? Of what is he trying to remind us?

C. Comment:

      Having just spoken about having a caring attitude towards those who are in need (see 1:27), it is natural that James moves on to attitudes towards people in general.

     He reminds us first that we are believers or followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a subtle way of reminding us about the very foundations of our faith. Jesus came down from heaven in humble human form, not taking the form of a rich man. He also went to the poor and did not discriminate between rich and poor, only between believer and unbeliever! If we have any tendency to discriminate, we would have rejected Jesus.

     Very well, says James, if rich and poor come into your meeting make sure that you don’t discriminate between them; they are both as precious to God if they are seeking Him. If you discriminate you elevate yourself to the role of judge, but your thoughts will be wrong (or evil) because you are having unChrist-like thoughts.

     How easy it is for us to go on outward appearances. How often we in the modern church go on what looks good, yet the heart of a rich sinner is worse than that of a poor seeker. James hits at the root of a most common malaise and we each need to check ourselves against it!

D. Application:

1. Jesus accepted every person who came to him with an open heart.
2. We are not to judge people by their appearances but accept them, whoever they are, when they come open heartedly to Jesus.

Passage: James 2:5-7

5 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? 6 But you have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

A. Find Out:

1. Who has God chosen? v.5b
2. What has he chosen for them? v.5c
3. What does James say they have done? v.6a
4. What 2 things does he say the rich are doing? v.6b
5. What also are they doing? v.7

B. Think:

1. What is the main thing James seems to be saying here?
2. How does it flow from the previous passage?
3. What signs of the truth of this are there in today’s world?

C. Comment:

      James has just said don’t discriminate between rich and poor when they come into your meetings. It seems as if he feels the church has been particularly falling prey to this error, for he now bangs home his exhortation with some particularly strong “social truths”.

      First of all, he says, to whom was it that God brought the Gospel? It was to the poor of the world, those who do not place sufficiency in themselves or their possessions, they are the ones who are rich in faith, so don’t go rejecting them now!

     Second, he goes on, consider the general track record of the rich in our world. They are the ones who exploit you, that’s how they got rich. They are the ones who have money enough to back up their wishes by litigation. They are the ones who oppose the name of Jesus. Why? We are not told, but perhaps it is because Christians talk about truth, justice and integrity, things which are so often absent from business life, wherever it is in the world, and that brings opposition.

    This word is applicable today both for church life in general and specifically for those in business. The church is not to discriminate on social grounds, and it is to speak up for truth and justice. Christians in business need to check their working practices to ensure total honesty and justice. Christians will not be exempt from God’s anger.

D. Application:

1. Beware of social (or political) divisiveness in the church!
2. Beware dishonesty and injustice in business activities.

Passage: James 2:8-13

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself,’ you are doing right. 9 But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘You shall not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

A. Find Out:    

1. What does “the royal law” say? v.8
2. What do we do if we show favouritism and what will happen? v.9
3. What happens if we stumble on one point of the law? v.10
4. How do we become a law breaker? v.11
5. How are we to speak and act? v.12
6. What will be shown to those who have not shown mercy? v.13

B. Think:

1. What is the main point James is making here?
2. How does it flow from the previous passage?
3. How should it affect our daily lives?

C. Comment:

      Since the beginning of the chapter, James has been warning us against favouritism, or discriminating between people, especially between rich and poor. He now appeals to the Law of the Old Testament and uses part of the passage that Jesus used (Matthew 22:39) to sum up the impact of the Law.

     Every law about your attitude and actions towards other people can be summed up in “Love your neighbour as yourself”. However, if you discriminate between people, you will not be doing that and that therefore makes you a law breaker.

      Look, he goes on, anyone who breaks one bit of the Law breaks all of it because it has the same effect, it stops there being good will between people. God’s intention is for there to be good will between people and if you break the Law in one small way, you break the whole intention. Recognise, he says, that you will be judged on the way you keep this law; you are going to have to answer for it, so if you want mercy then show mercy.

     We all of us fail in this law and we all of us will hope for mercy at the judgement seat, and the basis of our hope is Jesus dying for us on the Cross. That happened so that God could show us mercy (but mercy is not something you can demand), and if we expect it, we ought to give it.

D. Application:  

1. Good will towards all men is what God wants from each of us.
2. Good will towards all men is what God wants from each of us.

Passage: James 2:14-18

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

A. Find Out:

1. What two things does James imply go together? v.14
2. What practical need does he use as an example? v.15
3. What example of only half caring does he give? v.16
4. So what conclusion does he draw? v.17
5. What wrong thinking does he then show possible? v.18a
6. How does he unite faith and deeds? v.18b

B. Think:

1. Read Romans 4:5 What was Paul’s point there?
2. What is James’ point in today’s passage?
3. How do the two go together?

C. Comment:

      James is insisting that faith always expresses itself in some way. He has been speaking against favouritism and points out that favouritism is failing the Law that says, “Love your neighbour”. Having spoken about the Law he now brings balance by reminding his readers that we are supposed, as Christians, to be people of faith, and that means having a practical dimension that works in everyday life!

     If you say you have faith (as I hope you do) then that faith ought to express itself in some practical way. If you see someone in need, faith doesn’t merely say, “I’ll pray for you”, it seeks to DO something about the need as well. He goes on, you can’t divide faith from works, they go hand in hand. Real faith will always express itself in some way.

     When the apostle Paul spoke of faith and not works being the key to salvation, his emphasis was on the need to believe, as against relying on our own good behaviour or self-righteousness. The first step of faith is believing and then out of that comes action, and the action is always a natural flow.

     We aren’t saved by our good works but by our believing in the finished work of Christ on the Cross, but believing that will release us to live in the light of that, i.e. actions following.

D. Application:

1. We don’t have a salvation by works.
2. We do have a salvation that works.

Passage: James 2:19-26

19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

25 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? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

A. Find Out:

1. What does James say he will give? v.20
2. So what situation does he speak about? v.21
3. What does he say this was? v.22
4. So how is a person justified? v.24
5. What second example does he give? v.25
6. So what does he conclude? v.26

B. Think:

1. What is the main point James is making?
2. Why do you think this is applicable in today’s church?
3. Read John 14:12 How might this tie in with today’s passage?

C. Comment:

      James continues the maintain his argument that faith without works is useless and gives us two illustrations.

     First of all, there was Abraham going to sacrifice Isaac; this was a tangible expression of his faith. God had told him to do something and so faith was being obedient by doing what had been asked of him.

      His second illustration was of Rahab in Joshua 2. She believed that Israel were God’s chosen people and that belief drove her to protect the spies who came to Jericho. Again, belief led to action.

      Yes, James is quite explicit, real faith will always be expressed in some way, it isn’t just something talked about! For many Christians today “faith” is a passive believing that results in nothing!

     Jesus said that those who believed in Him would be DOING the same things He did (John 14:12). This would be the tangible expression of their faith. He also said that we would produce fruit (John 15:5,8,16) which means that He expected there to be a tangible expression of our faith that could be seen. If this is not happening in our lives, then these words of James should be powerfully applied to us!

D. Application:

1. Faith will always express itself in some way.
2. The expression of that faith will be in word or deed, something that is clearly observable.