James 2

1-13 Warnings against Partiality

• You demonstrate your lack of faith when you show favoritism to the rich, who oppress you, while disregarding the poor, whom God has chosen to be rich in faith and heirs of his kingdom. Again, this is a continuation of the discussion of faith as it relates to 1:27, helping the fatherless and widows.
• You are now subject to the royal law: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
• You can’t pick and choose laws to obey; they are all from God.
• Obey the law of liberty, in which mercy triumphs over judgment.

14-26 Faith without Works Is Dead

• Faith alone won’t save you.
• Just saying you believe helps no one, just like wishing a hungry person well does not feed that person.
• We show our faith by our works, just as Abraham proved his faith by what he did in offering Isaac.
• Abraham’s faith was completed in his works.
• Rahab likewise was justified when she welcomed the Israelite messengers.
• Faith without works is dead, just like a body without a spirit. We might compare works to the body, and faith to the spirit, because the body is visible, just as works are visible, whereas the spirit and faith are invisible. But just as it was the Spirit of God that moved on the face of the earth in creation, so it is our spirit that motivates us to move, to act on others’ behalf.
  
  In the same vein, some eschew baptism as part of salvation because they see it as a work, a means of earning salvation. But even if they see it as a work (which is debatable), at least baptism is evidence of faith, just as the good works they do are evidence of their faith. Would they consider someone a believer who refused to recite the sinner’s prayer or confess Christ as personal savior?