James 2 - Worldly FavouritismНамуна

The law that gives freedom

Believers are to behave as those who will be judged according to the “law that gives freedom.” As in James 1:25, this phrase refers to the traditions about Jesus (now contained in our four Gospels). Our lives, in other words, are going to be tested against the life and teaching of Jesus, particularly his royal law of love. Of course, James is not teaching salvation by works. In 1:17-18 he has already made clear that new birth is a gift of God. He is simply emphasizing what all New Testament authors teach; good works are the proof of new birth.

In verse 13, James is echoing what Jesus said about God’s mercy belonging to the merciful, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy,” (Matt 5:7). Mercy is so fundamental to God’s nature, say Jesus and James, that to refuse to show mercy to others is to prove that I don’t know the mercy of God.

The Biblical idea of mercy

But, what has mercy got to do with favouring the rich and insulting the poor? The answer is simple. When used of our treatment of one another, the word mercy throughout the Bible very often means ‘charity/generosity.’ In the parable of the Good Samaritan, for example, the Samaritan himself is described simply as “the one who had mercy,” (Luke 10:37). Shaming the poor in favour of the rich is to withhold mercy from the needy. It will result in God withholding his mercy from us at the judgement.

Then comes James’ final and dramatic statement; “Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (2:13). Some take this to mean that despite our failure to be merciful toward others, God’s mercy will rescue us from judgement on the last day. But this would effectively contradict what James has just said about God’s judgement being without mercy for those who have been unmerciful. 

James is saying that our mercy toward others is what will triumph over judgement. This does not mean that human mercy achieves our salvation from judgement. To ‘triumph’ is not to gain a victory; it is to boast or rejoice in a victory. What James is saying is simple but profound. On the Day of Judgement, ‘mercy’ among all the virtues will boast that it is the merciful who are proven to be the rightful recipients of God’s mercy. Human mercy is the proof of who God’s people are. In this sense, mercy is able to ‘boast/triumph’ over judgement. 

While God’s mercy precedes our mercy, it also inspires our mercy. Once we have understood the riches of God’s generosity toward us in Christ, how could we not seek to live lives of generosity toward those in need around us? This message must penetrate our hearts. James would settle for nothing less. Mercy is not simply an ethical matter; it is a theological matter. It is the evidence that we have rightly grasped the character of God and his actions toward us in Jesus.