James 2:5

James 2:5 says, 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?  Continuing to speak about the rich and the poor, James asked if God had not chosen the poor of the world who were rich in faith over the rich who were poor in faith.  This still teaches that God judges us by our faith in Jesus Christ, but that those who are rich in faith will always be judged as better than those who are poor in faith.  I don’t believe that he was saying that the poor are more valuable to God because they are poor, but that they are more valuable because of their faith in Him. 

Verse six adds, But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?  James said that Christians had thought that if their fellow Christians were poor, they had been despised.  Some Christians tend to be this way today, looking down on those that they do not see as their equals materially, but this should never be the case.  

Verse seven continues, Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?  James said that when people did this that they blasphemed the name of Jesus Christ, by whom they were called to salvation.  We as followers of Christ should never be guilty of this.  

Verse eight states, If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:  James then stated that if people obeyed God’s royal law, which he said was to love your neighbor as yourself, that they did well.  This was not the law of man, and he did not say if you obeyed the Ten Commandments as being God’s royal law.  He cited Jesus’s commandment that we love our neighbor as ourselves.  If we aren't doing this, then we will not doing well what God expects from us.   

Verse nine adds, But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.  James then stated that the opposite was true.  If people didn’t extend the love of God to everyone the same way, then they were guilty of being guilty of the law of transgressors.  As Christians we cannot look down on anyone as being unworthy of God’s love.    

James 2:1

James 2:1 says, My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.  James called on those who had put their faith in Jesus Christ, and were therefore brothers and sisters in Christ, to not treat people differently because of who they were in the world.  I believe this would apply both materially and ethnically.  God does not see one ethnic group as superior to others, and neither should we.  God also does not judge people based on their material wealth, and neither should we.  

Verse two adds, 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;  James then continued by speaking about a rich man coming into an assembly of Christians and a poor man coming into the same assembly.  I believe we can apply this to people of different ethnic groups as well.  

Verse three continues, 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:  James added what if they treated the two men differently, given the rich man a place of honor and relegating the poor man to the back.  This was treating them differently because of their worldly status.  We as Christian should never do this.  

Verse four concludes, Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?  James then asked if they did this, had they not become judges and partial to people because of their status and therefore guilty of evil thoughts.  Anytime we begin to judge others because of who they are in the world, we become guilty of evil thoughts, no matter what we base this judgement on.      

James 1:23

James 1:23 says, For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  James then compared a person who was a hearer but not a doer of the word to a person looking at their face in a mirror.  He could only see a reflection, but not what he looked like to others. When we look at ourselves in a mirror, we can only see a reflection of our outward appearance and not what we look like spiritually to ourselves or to others.  The same is true of those who profess to be Christians but never do anything to show the world that they are.  

Verse twenty-four adds, For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  After a person looks at himself or herself in a mirror, once they are no longer looking in the mirror, they leave not remembering what they looked like in the mirror.  We then have a mental image of what we look like, but it often is not what other people see.  When we hear God’s word, but it has no impact on how we live our lives, then we may see ourselves as being a Christian, but what we do or don’t do may show the world something entirely different. 

Verse twenty-five continues, But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.  James then said if someone looked into the perfect law of liberty that we receive by placing our faith in Jesus Christ and continue to live by faith in Him, then that person will not be just a forgetful hearer but a faithful doer of God’s work.  When a person is a faithful doer of the word, he or she will be blessed by God, not for the work itself, but by faithfully doing the work God calls them to.  We cannot just be professed Christians who do nothing for God and be blessed by God.  Our actions should be consistent with our words.  

Verse twenty-six states, If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.  James then says that if we profess to be a Christian but cannot control what we say then we deceive our hearts and our religion is vain.  There are many religious people today who do not seem to be able to control what they say about others or the world in general.  What they say becomes their religion instead of faith in Jesus Christ and the leadership of the Holy Spirit directing their speech.  

Verse twenty-seven adds, Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.  James gives us the characteristics of pure religion.  He said that it is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, or to put those in need above us.  If we have no concern for the less fortunate, then we are not doing what God calls us to do, and our words of faith are empty.

James 1:19

James 1:19 says, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:  James asked that Christians be swift to hear and slow to speak and slow to be angry.  We need to hear what people, and God’s word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, have to say before we speak against them.  Even then, if we disagree with them, we are not to speak to them out of anger but with the love of God. 

Verse twenty adds, For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.  James said that the wrath of people does not show the righteousness of God to others, and as Christians this should be our goal.  Some might say that we have to speak out against those who proclaim something contrary to God’s word, and this is true, but we shouldn’t do so out of anger for the person, but only out of concern for their salvation.  Of course, James was writing to his fellow Christians, so this should especially apply to our relationship with them. 

Verse twenty-one continues, Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.  James said Christians are to lay aside all filthiness and inclination to do evil and receive with meekness the engrafted word of God instead.  As followers of Christ, we should have God’s word engrafted in us.  We shouldn’t rely on what we believe based on worldly standards, which is our normal state, but should have God’s word engrafted in us instead to guide us by His righteousness.  

Verse twenty-two concludes, But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  James said that we are not to just hear God’s word but are to do what it tells us as well. We can quote the Bible all we want to, but if our actions are not consistent with what we profess to believe, then we are not obeying God.  What we do as followers of Christ must be consistent with what we proclaim to believe about God.