My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? (1-4)
-the faith (the trust we were entrusted with from the Lord of Glory) has no room for partiality, favoritism, differentiation by class (i.e. Beyonce, politicians, micro-celebrities)
-treat each human with dignity and respect, especially when they can offer you nothing in return
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? (5-7)
-rich people use the court system to impose their will the way texas holdem players blind out opponents with low capital
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. (8-13)
-the King’s law is to love your neighbor as yourself; this is not a command to love yourself, as the spirit of this age teaches, rather it assumes you already love yourself since you clothe yourself, feed yourself, bathe yourself, come to church, and use the bathroom in the bathroom rather than your pants
-love God by loving strangers and your enemies (pay your enemy to read you Scripture; offer to wash their car)
-adultery and murder are not just instantiated in deed, but in speech and in thought; stay alert
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (14-17)
-The so-called ‘Old’ Perspective and ‘New’ Perspective debate shows the Early Church interpreters to be right and Martin Luther and his spiritual children to be wrong; trust God, actions follow
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (18-end)
-demons are spiritual beings, they have doctrine and fasting (St. Moses the Ethiopian mentions fasting, scripture just speaks of their certainty of the spiritual realm)
-The common example of Abraham (Gen. 15:1-6) descendants like stars in sky; And the extreme example of Rahab (Joshua 2; 6:17-25), she of the oldest profession
The Scroll of Jacob