James 2:15 - Prayer Tents



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James 2
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The Royal Rule of Love

2My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith.G3450G80G2192G3361G4102G2257G2962G2424G5547G1391G1722G4382 2If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him,G1063G1437G1525G1519G5216G4864G435G5554G1722G2986G2066G1161G1525G2532G4434G1722G4508G2066 3and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row,"G2532G1914G1909G5409G2986G2066G2532G2036G846G2521G4771G5602G2573G2532G2036G4434G2476G4771G1563G2228G2521G5602G5259G3450G5286 4haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted?G1252G3756G2532G1252G1722G1438G2532G1096G2923G4190G1261 5Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God.G191G3450G27G80G1586G3756G2316G1586G4434G5127G2889G4145G1722G4102G2532G2818G932G3739G1861G25G846 6And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn't it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind?G1161G5210G818G4434G2616G3756G4145G2616G5216G2532G846G1670G5209G1519G2922 7Aren't they the ones who scorn the new name—"Christian"—used in your baptisms?G987G3756G846G987G2570G3686G1909G5209G1941 8You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: "Love others as you love yourself."G1487G3305G5055G937G3551G2596G1124G25G4675G4139G5613G4572G4160G2573 9But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it.G1161G1487G4380G2038G266G1651G5259G3551G5613G3848 10You can't pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God's law and ignoring others.G1063G3748G5083G3650G3551G1161G4417G1722G1520G1096G1777G3956 11The same God who said, "Don't commit adultery," also said, "Don't murder." If you don't commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you're a murderer, period.G1063G2036G3431G3361G3431G2036G2532G5407G3361G5407G1161G1487G3431G3756G3431G1161G5407G1096G3848G3551 12Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free.G3779G2980G2532G3779G4160G5613G3195G2919G1223G3551G1657 13For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.G1063G2920G448G4160G3361G1656G2532G1656G2620G2920

Faith in Action

14Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?G5101G3786G3450G80G1437G5100G3004G2192G4102G1161G2192G3361G2041G1410G3361G4102G4982G846 15For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starvedG1437G1161G80G2228G79G5225G1131G2532G3007G5600G2184G5160 16and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you?G1161G5100G1537G5216G2036G846G5217G1722G1515G2328G2532G5526G1161G1325G846G3361G2006G4983G5101G3786 17Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?G2532G3779G4102G3362G2192G3362G2041G2076G3498G2596G1438 18I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.G235G5100G2046G4771G2192G4102G2504G2192G2041G1166G3427G4675G4102G1537G4675G2041G2504G1166G4671G3450G4102G1537G3450G2041 19Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them?G4771G4100G3754G2076G1520G2316G4160G2573G1140G2532G4100G2532G5425 20Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?G1161G2309G1097G5599G2756G444G3754G4102G5565G2041G2076G3498 21Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar?G1344G3756G11G2257G3962G1344G1537G2041G399G2464G846G5207G1909G2379 22Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"?G991G3754G4102G4903G846G2041G2532G1537G2041G5048G4102G5048 23The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend."G2532G1124G4137G3004G1161G11G4100G2316G2532G3049G846G1519G1343G2532G2564G5384G2316 24Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?G3708G5106G3754G1537G2041G444G1344G2532G3756G1537G4102G3440 25The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God?G3668G1161G2532G1344G3756G4460G4204G1344G1537G2041G5264G32G2532G1544G2087G3598 26The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.G1063G5618G4983G5565G4151G2076G3498G3779G4102G5565G2041G2076G3498G2532


The Message (MSG). All Scripture quotations are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. More details.
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