James Chapter 2 Bible Study

7/26/2019 James Chapter 2 Bible Study

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Amplified Bible, NIV Study Bible, Jeanne McIntosh 2016

James Chapter 2 Bible Reading

James 2 Amplified Bible (AMP)

The Sin of Partiality

2 My fellow believers, do not practice your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with anattitudeof partiality [toward peopleshow no favoritism, no prejudice, no snobbery].2

For if a man comes into your[a]

meeting place[b]

wearing a gold ring and[c]

fine clothes,and a poor man in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and you pay special attention to the onewho wears the [d]fine clothes, and say to him, You sit here in this good seat, and youtell the poor man, You stand over there, or sit down [on the floor] by my footstool, 4

have you not discriminated among yourselves, and become judges with wrongmotives? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters: has not God chosen the poor of this

world to be rich in faith and [as believers to be] heirs of the kingdom which He promisedto those who love Him?

6But you [in contrast] have dishonored the poor man. Is it not

the rich who oppress andexploit you, and personally drag you into the courts of law?7 Do they not blaspheme the [e]precious name [of Christ] by which you are called?

8 If, however, you are [really] fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, YOUSHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF[that is, if you have an unselfish concern forothers and do things for their benefit] you are doing well .

9But if you show partiality

[prejudice, favoritism], you are committing sin and are convicted by the Law asoffenders. 10 For whoever keeps the whole Law but stumbles in onepoint, he hasbecome guilty of [breaking] all of it. 11 For He who said, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, also

said, DO NOT MURDER. Now if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you havebecome [f]guilty of transgressing the [entire] Law. 12 Speak and act [consistently] aspeople who are going to be judged by the law of liberty [that moral law that freesobedient Christians from the bondage of sin].

13For judgment will bemerciless to one

who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs[victoriously] over judgment.

Faith and Works

14What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no

[good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith

is not sufficientgenuine faith produces good works.]15

If a brother or sister is without[adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day,

16and one of you says to

them, Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves, but he doesnot give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do? 17 So too, faith, if itdoes not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective]. 18 Butsomeone may say, You [claim to] have faith and I have [good] works; show me your[alleged] faith without the works [if you can], and I will show you my faith by my works[that is, by what I do].
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19 You believe that [g]God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe[that], and shudder andbristle [in awe-filled terrorthey have seen His wrath]! 20 But areyou willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good]works is useless? 21 Was our father Abraham not [shown to be] justified by works [ofobedience which expressed his faith] when he offered Isaac his son on the altar [as a

sacrifice to God]?

22

You see that [his] faith was working together with his works, and asa result of the works, his faith was completed [reaching its maturity when he expressedhis faith through obedience]. 23And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ABRAHAMBELIEVED GOD,AND THIS[faith] WAS CREDITED TO HIM[by God] AS RIGHTEOUSNESSandASCONFORMITY TO HIS WILL,and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man(believer) is justified by works and not by faith alone [that is, by acts of obedience aborn-again believer reveals his faith].

25In the same way, was Rahab the prostitute not

justified by works too, when she received the [Hebrew][h]

spies as guests andprotectedthem, and sent them away [to escape] by a different route? 26 For just as the [human]body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works [of obedience] is also dead.
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James Chapter 2 Study Guide

Read James 2:1-7

1. For what reasons do people show favoritism?2. What does God think about showing favoritism?

3. Why is it wrong to judge a person by their wealth or intelligence?

4. Do the poor automatically go to heaven? Why or why not?

Read James 2:8-13

1. According to this passage, what is the law, in how we should relate to each

other?

2. How do your respond to the poor differently than someone who seems to be

wealthy?3. How do we measure ourselves according to God rather than what others may

expect of us?

4. Is one sin worse than another sin? Is there such a thing as just a little sin?

Read James 2:14-18

1. When someone claims to have faith, yet their conduct does not display this, can

others believe their claim to be genuine? Why or why not?

2. Does faith work without deeds? Discuss.

3. Does deeds work without faith? Explain.

Read James 2:19-25

1. How is faith made complete and demonstrated according to this passage?

2. Why was Rahab, who was a prostitute, considered righteous because of what

she did?

3. How do you show your faith to the world? Discuss.

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James Chapter 2 Bible Study