Faith Without Works

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

-- James 2:14-17(NRSV)

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

-- James 2:14-17(NIV)

Take this one and memorize it.

It was very early in my Christian life; I was at university and fell in amongst Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship folk. I was invited to an "advance" which is what they were calling retreats then. They taught me all sorts of stuff, like there is no such thing as a virtuous pagan as all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Fortunately I had met a virtuous pagan so was safe from that particular instruction.

I mentioned in conversation that I had seen something on television about Mormons who stored six months worth of food in advance of emergencies. This was when the media were agitating about survivalists and the commentator had asked the Mormon what he would do if there were a real emergency and he replied he was obligated to share his stores with his neighbours.

I must have sounded too impressed with the Mormon fellow on the television. One woman looked at me with horror in her eyes, But that's justification by works! I'm afraid I had no answer for her.

James has an answer for her. My answer now is, any faith that does not make you just, does not justify you.

Peace be with you, Friends.

Book Keeping Matters

You will notice a Links list (courtesy of Crystal) in the sidebar. They are interesting -- especially if you are interested in the scholarly stuff issues related to what we've been discussing.

As I am currently Clerk of this meeting posting of interesting links in the sidebar becomes my responsibility. If you want to post a link for others to explore you can post a blog with the links in it. Or you can email me and I'll add them to the sidebar.

I would also remind members they can now post blogs as well as comments. So if the passage under discussion speaks to you and you want to respond to it rather than to me you are given full freedom of the meeting.

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

-- James 2:8-13

It seems to me a lot is going on here. I find it interesting that this is one paragraph and one section in NRSV.

To show preferences (following on the last section I read this as showing preferences towards the rich) you sin by breaking the royal law of love. This reminds me so much of the tract by Leo Tolstoy, The Law of Love and the Law of Violence. I read it when I was a teen and at the time I saw myself as a practicing atheist. I picked it up because it was Tolstoy and thin (thinner than War and Peace). It preached a kind of Christianity I had never imagined before. It prepared the road for me to faith and to Quakerism. It doesn't quite speak to me condition any longer. But I still love it as a part of the path I have walked.

The other thing I see James doing here is reminding us that there is no such thing as a small sin. You cannot break a part of the law. You break the law or you do not break the law. Yet if you do not show mercy you break the law.

If I do not forgive the injury another has done me I stand in the same place as the one who has injured me.

A Buddhist story (I forget where I heard it): Two monks are walking down the road. They come to a river -- the bridge has been washed out. A woman is standing on the bank. The one monk picks her up and carries her across the river. Several hours alter, the second monk mentions it: You touched a woman. That is against our vows

The first monk replies, I left that woman on the river bank. You're still carrying her.

Is it not the rich who oppress you?

Yes, a political blog!

But how can we avoid it? The religious is the political. Funny thing is the editors of the biblical translations want to hedge their bets. This section receives the title Warning Against Partiality in the NRSV. This title is imposed by the editors based upon their sense of what the main thrust of this section is.

Is that your sense of this section?

I would label it Preferential Option for the Poor. This section clearly opposes partiality toward the rich. But the justification is that God shows partiality for the poor. Recall an earlier posting of mine that talked of Prophetic Reversal? God shows forth God's power by turning our ways on their heads. As literary critic Northrup Frye once wrote, the Bible story is a comedy.

What does this do to the cherished democratic principle of separation of church and state? I mean liberals everywhere bemoaned the last American election when it became clear that it was traditional, social conservative values, backed by conservative and evangelical churches that won this last election for the President.

Yet James seems to be taking a very political tack. It would seem for James faith and politics are fundamentally in the same business. Its just that the political stance of the gospel isn't exactly consistent with the middle America (or Canadian for that matter) political ideologies.

Now what?

Peace be with you all

James 2:1-7

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? (NRSV)

My brothers, do not let class distinction enter into your faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord. Now suppose a man comes into your synagogue, well-dressed and with a gold ring on, and at the same time a poor man comes in, in shabby clothes, and you take notice of the well-dressed man, and say, 'Come this way to the best seats'; then you tell the poor man, 'Stand over there' or 'You can sit on the floor by my foot-rest.' In making this distinction among yourselves have you not used a corrupt standard? Listen, my dear brothers: it was those who were poor according to the world that God chose, to be rich in faith and to be the heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who love him. You, on the other hand, have dishonoured the poor. Is it not the rich who lord it over you? Are not they the ones who drag you into court, who insult the honourable name which has been pronounced over you? (New Jerusalem)

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? (NIV)