James 2:16

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Passive sentimental impressions from sights of woe not carried out into active habits only harden the heart. ONE OF YOU - James brings home the case individually. DEPART IN PEACE - as if all their wants were satisfied by the mere words. The same words in the mouth of Christ, whose faith they said they had, were accompanied by deeds of love. BE YE WARMED - with clothing, instead of being as heretofore "naked" (; ). FILLED - instead of being "destitute of food" ()....

14-26 Those are wrong who put a mere notional belief of the gospel for the whole of evangelical religion, as many now do. No doubt, true faith alone, whereby men have part in Christ's righteousness, atonement, and grace, saves their souls; but it produces holy fruits, and is shown to be real by its effect on their works; while mere assent to any form of doctrine, or mere historical belief of any facts, wholly differs from this saving faith. A bare profession may gain the good opinion of pious people; and it may procure, in some cases, worldly good things; but what profit will it be, for any to gain the whole world, and to lose their souls? Can this faith save him? All things should be accounted profitable or unprofitable to us, as they tend to forward or hinder the salvation of our souls. This place of Scripture plainly shows that an opinion, or assent to the gospel, without works, is n...

Verse 16. _BE YE WARMED AND FILLED_] Your saying so to them, while you give them nothing, will just profit them as much as your professed faith, without those works which are the genuine fruits of true faith, will profit you in the day when God comes to sit in judgment upon your soul....

IF A BROTHER OR SISTER BE NAKED ... - The comparison in these verses is very obvious and striking. The sense is, that faith in itself, without the acts that correspond to it, and to which it would prompt, is as cold, and heartless, and unmeaning, and useless, as it would be to say to one who was destitute of the necessaries of life, depart in peace.” In itself considered, it might seem to have something that was good; but it would answer none of the purposes of faith unless it should prompt to action. In the case of one who was hungry or naked, what he wanted was not good wishes or kind words merely, but the acts to which good wishes and kind words prompt. And so in religion, what is wanted is not merely the abstract state of mind which would be indicated by faith, but the life of goodness to which it ought to lead. Good wishes and kind words, in order to make them what they should be fo...

EXPOSITION JAMES 2:1 WARNING AGAINST RESPECT OF PERSONS. JAMES 2:1 The translation is doubtful, two renderings being possible. (1) That of the A.V. and R.V., "Hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons." (2) That of the R.V. margin and Westcott and Hort, "Do ye, in accepting persons, hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory?" According to this view, the section commences with a question, as does the following one, James 2:14. According to the former view, which is on the whole prefe

AND ONE OF YOU SAY UNTO THEM,.... That is, one of the same faith, and in the same communion and church fellowship. DEPART IN PEACE; wishing them all prosperity and happiness, inward and outward: BE YE WARMED AND FILLED; clothed and fed; signifying, that they wished them all the accommodations of life: NOTWITHSTANDING YE GIVE THEM NOT THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE NEEDFUL FOR THE BODY; neither clothes to wear, nor food to eat; nothing to warm their bodies, or fill their bellies: WHAT DOTH IT PROFIT? the Ethiopic version reads, "what doth it profit them?" either the poor brother, or sister, to whom these good words are given, and nothing else; for these will neither warm them, nor fill them; or the persons themselves, that say these tidings to them: and the apostle, by this instance, shows, that as that charity which lies only in words, and in tongue, and not in deed, and in truth, is unprofi...

II. THE ROYAL LAW: FAITH AND WORKS CHAPTER 2 _ 1. The faith of Christ with respect to persons (James 2:1)_ 2. The royal law (James 2:6) 3. Faith must be manifested by works (James 2:14) James 2:1 Here we have the synagogue mentioned, sufficient evidence that these Jewish believers were still gathering together in the Jewish fashion, and were not an ecclesia, an assembly, gathered out. The Epistle to the Hebrews, written many years after the Epistle of James, exhorted them to leave the camp behind and go outside of it (Hebrews 13:13

The surface contradiction between James and Paul, which made Luther call this an epistle of straw, and the Tü bingen critics hail it as a Judaist's attack upon Paulinism, troubles no one now, simply because faith is seen to be used in entirely different senses. It is _creed_ here, personal _trust_ there. James, who is most probably prior in time, teaches that orthodoxy defined in true Jewish fashion as acceptance of the _Shema_ (James 2:19; Deuteronomy 6:4) can never save until it has its logical outcome in conduct. Paul makes trust vital, just because nothing else can produce conduct after the mind of God. James 2:14 belongs naturally to the doctrine of Saying and Doing. To repeat a creed and not live up to

RESPECT OF PERSONS (James 2:1) _ 2:1 My brothers, you cannot really believe that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, and yet continue to have respect of persons._ Respect of persons is the New Testament phrase for undue and unfair partiality; it means pandering to someone, because he is rich or influential or popular. It is a fault which the New Testament consistently condemns. It is a fault of which the orthodox Jewish leaders completely acquitted Jesus. Even they were bound to admit that there was no respect of persons with him (Luke 20:21; Mark 12:14; Matthew 22:16). After his vision of the sheet with the clean

ONE. App-123., as in James 2:1; James 2:4; James 2:5. NEEDFUL. Greek. _epitedeios._ Only here....