James Chapter Two Overview

In this chapter, the apostle brings out the point that it is wrong to view the rich and wealthy as special while ignoring or marginalizing the poor. James tells us that to treat a wealthy person better than a poor person strictly based on their financial status is, point blankly, a sin. 

God often chooses the poor through whom to glorify Himself. God is also often spoken wrongly about or put down by those who are rich (James 2:1-7). God wants us to recognize the true value of a human being based on the content of the soul, to the amount in a bank account. 

Also, in chapter two of the book of James, the author encourages us to remember mercy and justice in all that we do. Many people boast about their level of faith of seek to appear spiritual through what they say, but James reminds us in this chapter that the level of our faith shows up by what we do not in what we say. In fact, James goes so far as to say that faith without works is dead faith. Rather, faith that is rooted in a love relationship with Jesus Christ will manifest itself through actions done on His behalf. These actions include caring for those in need, giving to others, being kind and exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit. 

To pretend that you have a lot of faith while choosing to live without actions that back up your belief is hypocrisy. James tells us plainly in 2:18 that a person cannot show their faith without works but, rather, the level of faith is shown by what a person actually does in obedience to Jesus Christ's command to love God and love others. 

Listen to the entire second chapter of James by clicking on the audio clip.