Jam 2 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jas 2:1-4: 2:1-4 James gives a realistic illustration to enforce his prohibition against favoring the wealthy. 2:1 dear brothers and sisters (Greek adelphoi ): The Greek word used here means members of the same family —in this case, fellow Christians —of either sex. James frequently begins a new section with this affectionate greeting (1:2 , 16 ; 2:14 ; 3:1 ; 5:7 , 19 ), soliciting their loyal response. • James contrasts our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with the glory of a well-dressed man (2:2 ). Christ’s glory includes his resurrection, exaltation, and second coming.

Summary for Jas 2:1-4: 2:1-4 ^a James gives a realistic illustration to enforce his prohibition against favoring the wealthy. 2:1 ^b dear brothers and sisters (Greek adelphoi): The Greek word used here means members of the same family—in this case, fellow Christians—of either sex. James frequently begins a new section with this affectionate greeting (1:2 ^c, 16 ^d; 2:14 ^e; 3:1 ^f; 5:7 ^g, 19 ^h), soliciting their loyal response.

• James contrasts our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with the glory of a well-dressed man (2:2 ⁱ). Christ’s glory includes his resurrection, exaltation, and second coming.
2:2 ^j your meeting (literally your synagogue): This word refers to the gathering of people rather than the building in which they met.

• The fancy clothes and expensive jewelry of the rich, in contrast to the dirty clothes of the poor, symbolize the contrast in socioeconomic status.
Summary for Jas 2:3-4: 2:3-4 ^k It is natural to give special attention to wealthy people because of their social status, political power, and potential generosity as patrons. By serving and publicly honoring the wealthy, the church could gain whatever economic benefits they wished to give. James warns that this discrimination reflects evil motives, a division between loyalty to God (1:6 ^l) and a desire for the benefits of worldly wealth (4:4 ^m).
2:5 ⁿ Listen to me: Employing this rhetorical device for emphasis (see Deut 6:3 ^o; Amos 3:1 ^p; Matt 13:18 ^q; Acts 15:13 ^r), James presents his argument against favoring the rich.

• Hasn’t God chosen the poor? God’s special concern for the poor is reflected in the Old Testament (Exod 23:11 ^s; 1 Sam 2:8 ^t; Ps 12:5 ^u) and in the ministries of Jesus and Paul (Luke 4:18 ^v; 6:20 ^w; 1 Cor 1:26-28 ^x). This concern was emphasized by the Jerusalem church (Gal 2:9-10 ^y), of which James was the leader.

• inherit the Kingdom: The Kingdom of God was central to the teaching of Jesus (Matt 12:8 ^z; Mark 1:15 ^aa; Luke 17:21 ^ab). Christ already rules from his place at the right hand of the Father, yet his Kingdom will be fully realized only when the Son of Man comes (Matt 25:31 ^ac, 34 ^ad; 1 Cor 15:24-28 ^ae).
2:7 ^af name you bear (literally name spoken over you): The name is Jesus Christ (2:1 ^ag). It is a sign of ownership, pronounced at the time of conversion and baptism.
Summary for Jas 2:8-13: 2:8-13 ^ah James applies biblical evidence to counter the common practice of favoring rich and powerful people. 2:8 ^ai Christians are to obey (literally fulfill) the royal law, just as Jesus fulfilled the law by his coming (Matt 5:17 ^aj) and his teaching (Matt 22:34-40 ^ak).

• The law is called royal because it belongs to the Kingdom (Jas 2:5 ^al) and was articulated by our glorious Lord (King).

• as found in the Scriptures: James changes from a general reference to the law to a specific written commandment from the holiness code (Lev 19 ^am). It specifies how our love for God is to be expressed in relationships with other people (see Lev 19:18 ^an; Deut 6:5 ^ao).

• “Love your neighbor as yourself”: This quotation from Lev 19:18 ^ap requires identifying with the neighbor as though the neighbor were yourself.
2:9 ^aq Favoritism violates the command to love one’s neighbor (2:8 ^ar).
2:12 ^as The law . . . sets you free from the controlling power of sin (see 1:25 ^at and corresponding study note) and thereby promotes endurance and growth toward perfection (1:3-4 ^au).
2:13 ^av James concludes this section (2:1-13 ^aw) by correlating divine mercy with human mercy (see also Matt 6:14-15 ^ax; Eph 4:32 ^ay).
Summary for Jas 2:14-26: 2:14-26 ^az James explains why Christians need to be concerned about the judgment of their actions (2:12-13 ^ba): Real faith must be accompanied by good deeds (see 1:22-25 ^bb). 2:14 ^bc if you say you have faith: James writes to Christians who need to be stimulated to produce actions that should arise from genuine faith. Paul makes the same point (see, e.g., Gal 5:6 ^bd) but often criticizes people for trying to base their relationship with God on what they do (Rom 3:20 ^be, 28 ^bf; 4:3-5 ^bg; Gal 2:16 ^bh; 3:1-14 ^bi).
Summary for Jas 2:15-16: 2:15-16 ^bj Suppose you see: As in 2:2-4 ^bk, James gives an illustration of “faith” that is useless.

• no food or clothing: In first-century Palestine and the Roman world in general, many poverty-stricken persons lacked the bare necessities of life.

• stay warm and eat well: This sentence probably expresses a presumption that God would provide the needs of the poor person. The speaker might suppose that what is needed is simply an expression of faith that it will happen. But without participation (action), it is an empty wish.
Summary for Jas 2:18-19: 2:18-19 ^bl James demonstrates the futility of believing that something is true without acting upon it.

• Now someone may argue: James presents another diatribe (see study note on 1:13), in which he presents a hypothetical counterargument that one person may have the gift of faith while another person has the gift of works (see 1 Cor 12:7-9 ^bm).
2:19 ^bn that there is one God: This is the basic confession of Israel’s faith (see Deut 6:4 ^bo).

• the demons believe: They know that there is one God, and he is their enemy (Mark 1:24 ^bp).
Summary for Jas 2:20-26: 2:20-26 ^bq James demonstrates from Scripture that genuine faith finds expression in action.
2:22 ^br This verse explains 2:21 ^bs so it won’t be misunderstood: Abraham was not justified by his actions alone; instead, his faith and his actions worked together. This describes the full scope of Abraham’s faithful response to God throughout his life (see Gen 12:1-4 ^bt; 18:1-27 ^bu).
2:23 ^bv it happened just as the Scriptures say (literally the Scripture was fulfilled): James saw the offering of Isaac (Gen 22 ^bw) as the fulfillment of Abraham’s pledge of faith and God’s declaration of Abraham’s righteousness (quoted from Gen 15:6 ^bx).

• He was even called the friend of God: James emphasizes the nature of faith as a relationship of undivided loyalty (Jas 1:5-8 ^by; 4:4 ^bz; John 15:15 ^ca).
2:24 ^cb not by faith alone: That is, not like the demons who merely believe something is true (2:19 ^cc), but by a belief that results in generous deeds like those of God himself (1:17 ^cd). Though some have thought that this teaching contradicts what Paul taught, it does not. Paul does not speak against good deeds themselves, but about trying to receive forgiveness of sins through good deeds (Rom 3:28 ^ce; Gal 2:16 ^cf). Just as Paul understands that love and generosity necessarily issue from a true faith (Gal 5:6 ^cg), so also James knows that good deeds can result only from authentic faith that results in a commitment to God (Jas 2:18 ^ch, 26 ^ci).
2:25 ^cj James presents Rahab the prostitute (see Josh 2:1 ^ck) as his second example of how good works must accompany genuine faith. She declared her belief that the Lord God of Israel was the only God (Josh 2:9-11 ^cl), and her faith was made perfect by her actions when she provided hospitality and a means of escape to the Israelite spies (Josh 2:1-6 ^cm; 6:25 ^cn; Heb 11:31 ^co).
2:26 ^cp Good works are as necessary to faith as breath is to a physical body (Gen 2:7 ^cq). We cannot have one without the other.