James 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons
Have you ever been a guest in a church that was not your own? Boy, is that ever an adventure. Sometimes I have met some dear people who were warm, affirming, and encouraging when I showed up as a guest. I wish I could say that was always the case. There have been times I visited churches and I scarcely knew that anyone even regarded our presence. It can be easy when you are with people you know to disregard people who may be visiting.
James 2 is talking about pure religion. He is talking about faith and how that should be exhibited in our actions. James 2:1 says, “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.” Now, these are brothers who have faith. So, this is not a question about whether they are saved or not. These are brethren who have faith, but he is saying, “Have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in comparison to you is the Lord of glory, so you have more in common with someone who has nothing than the wealthiest person in the universe has with the Lord of glory. So, don’t hold that respect of persons.”
The question is to ask then is, “Who is your faith helping?” We know it helps you. Verse 10 says, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” God’s Ten Commandments were never given for you to earn your way to Heaven. They were given to help you know that you cannot. You need a Savior. It is only by faith and trust in God’s Son as your Savior alone that can give you peace with God and save your soul.
There is that law, and then the Bible talks about the royal law, which is love. Verse 8 says, “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.”
So, who is your faith helping? A guest comes in on Sunday morning and who is a help? Your faith should be helping other people. It is far too easy to say, “I love God,” talk piously, go to church, and visit with friends. No one has seen God, so how can they verify that you love God. It is easy to say, “I love God, but I can’t stand that person.” Well, if you love God you are going to do right by that person. So, if a poor man comes to your church who is shabbily dressed with nothing to offer, my treatment of him is actually showing my love for God. So, I am not to have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with respect of persons.
In fact, the Bible goes on with another example. Here comes someone who needs food and clothing, and you say something pious like, “Be warmed and filled.” That does them no good. Who does that help? In that case, your faith isn’t helping them. So, your faith should be helping other people. James 1:27 says, “Pure religion and undefiled…is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.” So, I need to be doing right by other people because that is a reflection of my love for God. I may be saved, but people can’t see my faith. What they see is my actions. So, it is my faith that God acknowledges, sees, and responds to, but it is my actions that are seen by people and validate my faith in front of them.
Verse 18 says, “I will shew thee my faith by my works.” I am not showing God my faith; I am showing “thee,” other people, my faith by the things that I do. All those who will see this are those who cannot see my saving faith. Abraham is given as an example as someone who lived by faith and whose actions helped other people see that. Rahab is another example of someone who had faith in God and consequently had a life that showed people her faith.
Rahab was a Canaanite harlot who experienced the grace of God because of her faith. I can see her actions, but I can’t know her faith. Imagine an Israelite soldier right after the defeat of the Canaanites at Jericho who says, “I don’t trust that Rahab. She says she believes in Jehovah, but I just don’t know. She is harlot who lives on the wall that God destroyed and is part of the enemy.” Someone else could reply, “No, I can’t see her heart, but she hid and saved two of our spies. I think that what she has is real.”
What justifies me before God Almighty is my faith in the work of Christ, but it is my actions that justify me before people who do not see God or my heart for God. So, don’t have the faith of our Lord Jesus with respect of persons, rich or poor, brilliant or slow. I am to be a person who has pure religion and undefiled before God, who is saved by my faith and lives out my faith with other people.