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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [James II].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J A M E S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. II.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter the apostle condemns a sinful regarding of the rich,
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and despising the poor, which he imputes to partiality and injustice,
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and shows it to be an acting contrary to God, who has chosen the poor,
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and whose interest is often persecuted, and his name blasphemed, by the
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rich,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:1-7">ver. 1-7</A>.
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He shows that the whole law is to be fulfilled, and that mercy should
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be followed, as well as justice,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:8-13">ver. 8-13</A>.
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He exposes the error and folly of those who boast of faith without
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works, telling us that this is but a dead faith, and such a faith as
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devils have, not the faith of Abraham, or of Rahab,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:11-26">ver. 11, to the end</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jas2_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Regard Due to Poor Christians; Partiality Condemned.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 61.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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<I>the Lord</I> of glory, with respect of persons.
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2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring,
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in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile
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raiment;
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3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and
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say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor,
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Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
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4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges
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of evil thoughts?
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5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of
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this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath
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promised to them that love him?
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6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you,
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and draw you before the judgment seats?
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7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are
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called?
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The apostle is here reproving a very corrupt practice. He shows how
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much mischief there is in the sin of
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<B><I>prosopolepsia</I></B>--<I>respect of persons,</I> which seemed to
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be a very growing evil in the churches of Christ even in those early
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ages, and which, in these after-times, has sadly corrupted and divided
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Christian nations and societies. Here we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. A caution against this sin laid down in general: <I>My brethren,
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have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with
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respect of persons,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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Observe here,
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1. The character of Christians fully implied: they are such as have the
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faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; they embrace it; they receive it; they
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govern themselves by it; they entertain the doctrine, and submit to the
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law and government, of Christ; they have it as a trust; they have it as
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a treasure.
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2. How honorably James speaks of Jesus Christ; he calls him <I>the Lord
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of glory;</I> for he is <I>the brightness of his Father's glory, and
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the express image of his person.</I>
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3. Christ's being the Lord of glory should teach us not to respect
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Christians for any thing so much as their relation and conformity to
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Christ. You who profess to believe the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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which the poorest Christian shall partake of equally with the rich, and
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to which all worldly glory is but vanity, you should not make men's
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outward and worldly advantages the measure of your respect. In
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professing the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should not show
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respect to men, so as to cloud or lessen the glory of our glorious
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Lord: how ever any may think of it, this is certainly a very heinous
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sin.</P>
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<P>
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II. We have this sin described and cautioned against, by an instance or
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example of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>):
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<I>For if there come into your assembly a man with a gold ring,</I> &c.
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<I>Assembly</I> here is meant of those meetings which were appointed
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for deciding matters of difference among the members of the church, or
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for determining when censures should be passed upon any, and what those
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censures should be; therefore the Greek word here used,
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<B><I>synagoge,</I></B> signifies such an assembly as that in the
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Jewish synagogues, when they met to do justice. Maimonides says (as I
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find the passage quoted by Dr. Manton) "That is was expressly provided
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by the Jews' constitutions that, when a poor man and a rich plead
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together, the rich shall not be bidden to sit down and the poor stand,
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or sit in a worse place, but both sit or both stand alike." To this the
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phrases used by the apostle have a most plain reference, and therefore
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the assembly here spoken of must be some such as the
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synagogue-assemblies of the Jews were, when they met to hear causes and
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to execute justice: to these the arbitrations and censures of their
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Christian assemblies are compared. But we must be careful not to apply
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what is here said to the common assemblies for worship; for in these
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certainly there may be appointed different places of persons according
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to their rank and circumstances, without sin. Those do not understand
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the apostle who fix his severity here upon this practice; they do not
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consider the word judges (used in
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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nor what is said of their being convected as transgressors of the law,
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if they had such a respect of persons as is here spoken of, according
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to
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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Thus, now put the case: "<I>There comes into your assembly</I> (when of
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the same nature with some of those at the synagogue) <I>a man</I> that
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is distinguished by his dress, and who makes a figure, <I>and there
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comes in also a poor man in vile raiment,</I> and you act partially,
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and determine wrong, merely because the one makes a better appearance,
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or is in better circumstances, than the other." Observe hence,
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1. God has his remnant among all sorts of people, among those that wear
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soft and gay clothing, and among those that wear poor and vile raiment.
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2. In matters of religion, rich and poor stand upon a level; no man's
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riches set him in the least nearer to God, nor does any man's poverty
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set him at a distance from God. <I>With the Most High there is no
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respect of persons,</I> and therefore in matters of conscience there
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should be none with us.
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3. All undue honouring of worldly greatness and riches should
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especially be watched against in Christian societies. James does not
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here encourage rudeness or disorder. Civil respect must be paid, and
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some difference may be allowed in our carriage towards persons of
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different ranks; but this respect must never be such as to influence
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the proceedings of Christian societies in disposing of the offices of
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the church, or in passing the censures of the church, or in any thing
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that is purely a matter of religion; here we are to know no man after
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the flesh. It is the character of a citizen of Zion that <I>in his eyes
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a vile person is contemned, but he honoureth those that fear the
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Lord.</I> If a poor man be a good man, we must not value him a whit the
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less for his poverty; and, if a rich man be a bad man (though he may
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have both gay clothing and a gay profession), we must not value him any
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whit the more for his riches.
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4. Of what importance it is to take care what rule we go by in judging
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of men; if we allow ourselves commonly to judge by outward appearance,
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this will too much influence our spirits and our conduct in religious
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assemblies. There is many a man, whose wickedness renders him vile and
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despicable, who yet makes a figure in the world; and, on the other
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hand, there is many a humble, heavenly, good Christian, who is clothed
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meanly; but neither should he nor his Christianity be thought the worse
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of on this account.</P>
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<P>
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III. We have the greatness of this sin set forth,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>.
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It is great partiality, it is injustice, and it is to set ourselves
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against God, who has chosen the poor, and will honour and advance them
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(if good), let who will despise them.
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1. In this sin there is shameful partiality: <I>Are you not then
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partial in yourselves?</I> The question is here put, as what could not
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fail of being answered by every man's conscience that would put it
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seriously to himself. According to the strict rendering of the
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original, the question is, "<I>Have you not made a difference?</I> And,
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in that difference, do you not judge by a false rule, and go upon false
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measures? And does not the charge of a partiality condemned by the law
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lie fully against you? Does not your own conscience tell you that you
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are guilty?" Appeals to conscience are of great advantage, when we have
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to do with such as make a profession, even though they may have fallen
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into a very corrupt state.
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2. This respect of persons is owing to the evil and injustice of the
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thoughts. As the temper, conduct, and proceedings, are partial, so the
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heart and thoughts, from which all flows, are evil: "<I>You have become
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judges of evil thoughts;</I> that is, you are judges according to those
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unjust estimations and corrupt opinions which you have formed to
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yourselves. Trace your partiality till you come to those hidden
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thoughts which accompany and support it, and you will find those to be
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<I>exceedingly evil.</I> You secretly prefer outward pomp before inward
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grace, and the things that are seen before those which are not seen."
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The deformity of sin is never truly and fully discerned till the evil
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of our thoughts be disclosed: and it is this which highly aggravates
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the faults of our tempers and lives--that <I>the imagination of the
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thoughts of the heart is evil,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+6:5">Gen. vi. 5</A>.
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3. This respect of persons is a heinous sin, because it is to show
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ourselves most directly contrary to God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith? &c. But
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you have despised them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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God has made those heirs of a kingdom whom you make of no reputation,
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and has given very great and glorious promises to those to whom you can
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hardly give a good word or a respectful look. And is not this a
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monstrous iniquity in you who pretend to be the children of God and
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conformed to him? <I>Hearken, my beloved brethren;</I> by all the love
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I have for you, and all the regards you have to me, I beg you would
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consider these things. Take notice that many of the poor of this world
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are the chosen of God. Their being God's chosen does not prevent their
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being poor; their being poor does not at all prejudice the evidences of
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their being chosen.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+11:5">Matt. xi. 5</A>,
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<I>The poor are evangelized.</I>" God designed to recommend his holy
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religion to men's esteem and affection, not by the external advantages
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of gaiety and pomp, but by its intrinsic worth and excellency; and
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therefore chose the poor of this world. Again, take notice that many
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poor of the world are rich in faith; thus the poorest may become rich;
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and this is what they ought to be especially ambitious of. It is
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expected from those who have wealth and estates that they be rich in
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good works, because the more they have the more they have to do good
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with; but it is expected from the poor in the world that they be rich
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in faith, for the less they have here the more they may, and should,
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live in the believing expectation of better things in a better world.
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Take notice further, Believing Christians are rich in title, and in
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being heirs of a kingdom, though they may be very poor as to present
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possessions. What is laid out upon them is but little; what is laid up
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for them is unspeakably rich and great. Note again, Where any are rich
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in faith, there will be also divine love; faith working by love will be
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in all the heirs of glory. Note once more, under this head, Heaven is a
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kingdom, and a kingdom promised to those that love God. We read of the
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crown promised to those that love God, in the former chapter
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>);
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we here find there is a kingdom too. And, as the crown is a crown of
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life, so the kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom. All these things,
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laid together, show how highly the poor in this world, if rich in
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faith, are now honoured, and shall hereafter be advanced by God; and
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consequently how very sinful a thing it was for them to despise the
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poor. After such considerations as these, the charge is cutting indeed:
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<I>But you have despised the poor,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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4. Respecting persons, in the sense of this place, on account of their
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riches or outward figure, is shown to be a very great sin, because of
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the mischiefs which are owing to worldly wealth and greatness, and the
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folly which there is in Christians' paying undue regards to those who
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had so little regard either to their God or them: "<I>Do not rich men
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oppress you, and draw you before the judgment-seat? Do not they
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blaspheme that worthy name by which you are called?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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Consider how commonly riches are the incentives of vice and mischief,
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of blasphemy and persecution: consider how many calamities you
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yourselves sustain, and how great reproaches are thrown upon your
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religion and your God by men of wealth, and power, and worldly
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greatness; and this will make your sin appear exceedingly sinful and
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foolish, in setting up that which tends to pull you down, and to
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destroy all that you are building up, and to dishonour that worthy name
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by which you are called." The name of Christ is a worthy name; it
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reflects honour, and gives worth to those who wear it.</P>
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<A NAME="Jas2_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jas2_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Christian Law.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 61.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou
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shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
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9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are
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convinced of the law as transgressors.
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10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in
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one <I>point,</I> he is guilty of all.
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11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not
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kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art
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become a transgressor of the law.
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12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the
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law of liberty.
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13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed
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no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The apostle, having condemned the sin of those who had an undue respect
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of persons, and having urged what was sufficient to convict them of the
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greatness of this evil, now proceeds to show how the matter may be
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mended; it is the work of a gospel ministry, not only to reprove and
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warn, but to teach and direct.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Col+1:28">Col. i. 28</A>,
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<I>Warning every man, and teaching every man.</I> And here,</P>
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<P>
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I. We have the law that is to guide us in all our regards to men set
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down in general. <I>If you fulfil the royal law, according to the
|
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scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, you do well,</I>
|
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Lest any should think James had been pleading for the poor so as to
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throw contempt on the rich, he now lets them know that he did not
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design to encourage improper conduct towards any; they must not hate
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nor be rude to the rich, any more than despise the poor; but as the
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scripture teaches us to love all our neighbours, be they rich or poor,
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|
as ourselves, so, in our having a steady regard to this rule, <I>we
|
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shall do well.</I> Observe hence,
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1. The rule for Christians to walk by is settled in the scriptures:
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<I>If according to the scriptures,</I> &c. It is not great men, nor
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worldly wealth, nor corrupt practices among professors themselves, that
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|
must guide us, but the scriptures of truth.
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2. The scripture gives us this as a law, to love our neighbour as
|
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ourselves; it is what still remains in full force, and is rather
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|
carried higher and further by Christ than made less important to us.
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3. This law is a royal law, it comes from the King of kings. Its own
|
|
worth and dignity deserve it should be thus honoured; and the state in
|
|
which all Christians now are, as it is a state of liberty, and not of
|
|
bondage or oppression, makes this law, by which they are to regulate
|
|
all their actions to one another, a royal law.
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|
|
|
4. A pretence of observing this royal law, when it is interpreted with
|
|
partiality, will not excuse men in any unjust proceedings. In is
|
|
implied here that some were ready to flatter rich men, and be partial
|
|
to them, because, if they were in the like circumstances, they should
|
|
expect such regards to themselves; or they might plead that to show a
|
|
distinguished respect to those whom God in his providence had
|
|
distinguished by their rank and degree in the world was but doing
|
|
right; therefore the apostle allows that, so far as they were concerned
|
|
to observe the duties of the second table, they <I>did well in giving
|
|
honour to whom honour was due;</I> but this fair pretence would not
|
|
cover their sin in that undue <I>respect of persons</I> which they
|
|
stood chargeable with; for,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. This general law is to be considered together with a particular
|
|
law: "<I>If you have respect to persons, you commit sin, and are
|
|
convinced of the law as transgressors,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Notwithstanding the law of laws, <I>to love your neighbour as
|
|
yourselves,</I> and to show that respect to them which you would be apt
|
|
to look for yourselves if in their circumstances, yet this will not
|
|
excuse your distributing either the favours or the censures of the
|
|
church according to men's outward condition; but here you must look to
|
|
a particular law, which God, who gave the other, has given you together
|
|
with it, and by this you will stand fully convicted of the sin I have
|
|
charged you with." This law is in
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+19:15">Lev. xix. 15</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Thou shalt do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect
|
|
the person of the poor nor the person of the mighty; but in
|
|
righteousness shalt though judge thy neighbour.</I> Yea, the very royal
|
|
law itself, rightly explained, would serve to convict them, because it
|
|
teaches them to put themselves as much in the places of the poor as in
|
|
those of the rich, and so to act equitably towards one as well as the
|
|
other. Hence he proceeds,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. To show the extent of the law, and how far obedience must be paid
|
|
to it. They must fulfil the royal law, have a regard to one part as
|
|
well as another, otherwise it would not stand them in stead, when they
|
|
pretended to urge it as a reason for any particular actions: <I>For
|
|
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is
|
|
guilty of all,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
This may be considered,
|
|
|
|
1. With reference to the case James has been upon: Do you plead for
|
|
your respect to the rich, because you are to love your neighbour as
|
|
yourselves? Why then show also an equitable and due regard to the poor,
|
|
because you are to love your neighbour as yourself: or else your
|
|
offending in one point will spoil your pretence of observing that law
|
|
at all. <I>Whosoever shall keep the whole law, if he offend in one
|
|
point,</I> wilfully, avowedly, and with continuance, and so as to think
|
|
he shall be excused in some matters because of his obedience in others,
|
|
<I>he is guilty of all;</I> that is, he incurs the same penalty, and is
|
|
liable to the same punishment, by the sentence of the law, as if he had
|
|
broken it in other points as well as that he stands chargeable with.
|
|
Not that all sins are equal, but that all carry the same contempt of
|
|
the authority of the Lawgiver, and so bind over to such punishment as
|
|
is threatened on the breach of that law. This shows us what a vanity it
|
|
is to think that our good deeds will atone for our bad deeds, and
|
|
plainly puts us upon looking for some other atonement.
|
|
|
|
2. This is further illustrated by putting a case different from that
|
|
before mentioned
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>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.</I> One, perhaps, is very severe in the case
|
|
of adultery, or what tends to such pollutions of the flesh; but less
|
|
ready to condemn murder, or what tends to ruin the health, break the
|
|
hearts, and destroy the lives, of others: another has a prodigious
|
|
dread of murder, but has more easy thoughts of adultery; whereas one
|
|
who looks at the authority of the Lawgiver more than the matter of the
|
|
command will see the same reason for condemning the one as the other.
|
|
Obedience is then acceptable when all is done with an eye to the will
|
|
of God; and disobedience is to be condemned, in whatever instance it
|
|
be, as it is a contempt of the authority of God; and, for that reason,
|
|
if we offend in one point, we contemn the authority of him who gave the
|
|
whole law, and so far are guilty of all. Thus, if you look to the law
|
|
of the old, you stand condemned; for <I>cursed is every that continueth
|
|
not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do
|
|
them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+3:10">Gal. iii. 10</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. James directs Christians to govern and conduct themselves more
|
|
especially by the law of Christ. <I>So speak and so do as those that
|
|
shall be judged by the law of liberty,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
This will teach us, not only to be just and impartial, but very
|
|
compassionate and merciful to the poor; and it will set us perfectly
|
|
free from all sordid and undue regards to the rich. Observe here,
|
|
|
|
1. The gospel is called a law. It has all the requisites of a law:
|
|
precepts with rewards and punishments annexed; it prescribes duty, as
|
|
well as administers comfort; and Christ is a king to rule us as well as
|
|
a prophet to teach us, and a priest to sacrifice and intercede for us.
|
|
<I>We are under the law to Christ.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. It is a <I>law of liberty,</I> and one that we have no reason to
|
|
complain of as a yoke or burden; for the service of God, according to
|
|
the gospel, is perfect freedom; it sets us at liberty from all slavish
|
|
regards, either to the persons or the things of this world.
|
|
|
|
3. We must all be judged by this law of liberty. Men's eternal
|
|
condition will be determined according to the gospel; this is the book
|
|
that will be opened, when we shall stand before the judgment-seat;
|
|
there will be no relief to those whom the gospel condemns, nor will any
|
|
accusation lie against those whom the gospel justifies.
|
|
|
|
4. It concerns us therefore so to speak and act now as become those who
|
|
must shortly be judged by this law of liberty; that is, that we come up
|
|
to gospel terms, that we make conscience of gospel duties, that e be of
|
|
a gospel temper, and that our conversation be a gospel conversation,
|
|
because by this rule we must be judged.
|
|
|
|
5. The consideration of our being judged by the gospel should engage us
|
|
more especially to be merciful in our regards to the poor
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>For he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shown no mercy;
|
|
and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.</I> Take notice here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The doom which will be passed upon impenitent sinners at last will
|
|
be judgment without mercy; there will be no mixtures or allays in the
|
|
cup of wrath and of trembling, the dregs of which they must drink.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Such as show no mercy now shall find no mercy in the great day.
|
|
But we may note, on the other hand,
|
|
|
|
(3.) That there will be such as shall become instances of the triumph
|
|
of mercy, in whom mercy rejoices against judgment: all the children of
|
|
men, in the last day, will be either vessels of wrath or vessels of
|
|
mercy. It concerns all to consider among which they shall be found; and
|
|
let us remember that <I>blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
|
|
mercy.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jas2_26"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Faith and Works.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 61.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>14 What <I>doth it</I> profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath
|
|
faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
|
|
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily
|
|
food,
|
|
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be <I>ye</I>
|
|
warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things
|
|
which are needful to the body; what <I>doth it</I> profit?
|
|
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
|
|
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show
|
|
me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by
|
|
my works.
|
|
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the
|
|
devils also believe, and tremble.
|
|
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is
|
|
dead?
|
|
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had
|
|
offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
|
|
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works
|
|
was faith made perfect?
|
|
23 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.
|
|
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by
|
|
faith only.
|
|
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works,
|
|
when she had received the messengers, and had sent <I>them</I> out
|
|
another way?
|
|
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
|
|
works is dead also.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In this latter part of the chapter, the apostle shows the error of
|
|
those who rested in a bare profession of the Christian faith, as if
|
|
that would save them, while the temper of their minds and the tenour of
|
|
their lives were altogether disagreeable to that holy religion which
|
|
they professed. To let them see, therefore, what a wretched foundation
|
|
they built their hopes upon, it is here proved at large that a man is
|
|
justified, not by faith only, but by works. Now,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Upon this arises a very great question, namely, how to reconcile
|
|
Paul and James. Paul, in his epistles to the Romans and Galatians,
|
|
seems to assert the directly contrary thing to what James here lays
|
|
down, saying if often, and with a great deal of emphasis, <I>that we
|
|
are justified by faith only and not by the works of the law. Amicæ
|
|
scripturarum lites, utinam et nostræ--There is a very happy agreement
|
|
between one part of scripture and another, notwithstanding seeming
|
|
differences: it were well if the differences among Christians were as
|
|
easily reconciled.</I> "Nothing," says Mr. Baxter, "but men's
|
|
misunderstanding the plain drift and sense of Paul's epistles, could
|
|
make so many take it for a matter of great difficulty to reconcile Paul
|
|
and James." A general view of those things which are insisted on by the
|
|
Antinomians may be seen in Mr. Baxter's Paraphrase: and many ways might
|
|
be mentioned which have been invented among learned men to make the
|
|
apostles agree; but it may be sufficient only to observe these few
|
|
things following:--
|
|
|
|
1. When Paul says that <I>a man is justified by faith, without the
|
|
deeds of the law</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+3:28">Rom. iii. 28</A>),
|
|
|
|
he plainly speaks of another sort of work than James does, but not of
|
|
another sort of faith. Paul speaks of works wrought in obedience to the
|
|
law of Moses, and before men's embracing the faith of the gospel; and
|
|
he had to deal with those who valued themselves so highly upon those
|
|
works that they rejected the gospel (as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+10:1-21">Rom. x.</A>,
|
|
|
|
at the beginning most expressly declares); but James speaks of works
|
|
done in obedience to the gospel, and as the proper and necessary
|
|
effects and fruits of sound believing in Christ Jesus. Both are
|
|
concerned to magnify the faith of the gospel, as that which alone could
|
|
save us and justify us; but Paul magnifies it by showing the
|
|
insufficiency of any works of the law before faith, or in opposition to
|
|
the doctrine of justification by Jesus Christ; James magnifies the same
|
|
faith, by showing what are the genuine and necessary products and
|
|
operations of it.
|
|
|
|
2. Paul not only speaks of different works from those insisted on by
|
|
James, but he speaks of a quite different use that was made of good
|
|
works from what is here urged and intended. Paul had to do with those
|
|
who depended on the merit of their works in the sight of God, and thus
|
|
he might well make them of no manner of account. James had to do with
|
|
those who cried up faith, but would not allow works to be used even as
|
|
evidence; they depended upon a bare profession, as sufficient to
|
|
justify them; and with these he might well urge the necessity and vast
|
|
importance of good works. As we must not break one table of the law, by
|
|
dashing it against the other, so neither must we break in pieces the
|
|
law and the gospel, by making them clash with one another: those who
|
|
cry up the gospel so as to set aside the law, and those who cry up the
|
|
law so as to set aside the gospel, are both in the wrong; for we must
|
|
take our work before us; there must be both faith in Jesus Christ and
|
|
good works the fruit of faith.
|
|
|
|
3. The justification of which Paul speaks is different from that spoken
|
|
of by James; the one speaks of our persons being justified before God,
|
|
the other speaks of our faith being justified before men: "<I>Show me
|
|
thy faith by thy works,</I>" says James, "let thy faith be justified in
|
|
the eyes of those that behold thee by thy works;" but Paul speaks of
|
|
justification in the sight of God, who justifies those only that
|
|
believe in Jesus, and purely on account of the redemption that is in
|
|
him. Thus we see that our persons are justified before God by faith,
|
|
but our faith is justified before men by works. This is so plainly the
|
|
scope and design of the apostle James that he is but confirming what
|
|
Paul, in other places, says of his faith, that it is a laborious faith,
|
|
and a faith working by love,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+5:6;1Th+1:3;Tit+3:8">Gal. v. 6;
|
|
1 Thess. i. 3; Titus iii. 8</A>;
|
|
|
|
and many other places.
|
|
|
|
4. Paul may be understood as speaking of that justification which is
|
|
inchoate, James of that which is complete; it is by <I>faith</I> only
|
|
that we are put into a justified state, but then good works come in for
|
|
the completing of our justification at the last great day; then,
|
|
<I>Come you children of my Father--for I was hungry, and you gave me
|
|
meat,</I> &c.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Having thus cleared this part of scripture from every thing of a
|
|
contradiction to other parts of it, let us see what is more
|
|
particularly to be learnt from this excellent passage of James; we are
|
|
taught,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. That faith without works will not profit, and cannot save us.
|
|
<I>What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, and
|
|
have not works? Can faith save him?</I> Observe here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That faith which does not save will not really profit us; a bare
|
|
profession may sometimes seem to be profitable, to gain the good
|
|
opinion of those who are truly good, and it may procure in some cases
|
|
worldly good things; but what profit will this be, for any to gain the
|
|
world and to lose their souls? <I>What doth it profit?--Can faith save
|
|
him?</I> All things should be accounted profitable or unprofitable to
|
|
us as they tend to forward or hinder the salvation of our souls. And,
|
|
above all other things, we should take care thus to make account of
|
|
faith, as that which does not profit, if it do not save, but will
|
|
aggravate our condemnation and destruction at last.
|
|
|
|
(2.) For a man to have faith, and to say he has faith, are two
|
|
different things; the apostle does not say, <I>If a man have faith
|
|
without works,</I> for that is not a supposable case; the drift of this
|
|
place of scripture is plainly to show that an opinion, or speculation,
|
|
or assent, without works, is not faith; but the case is put thus, <I>If
|
|
a man say he hath faith,</I> &c. Men may boast of that to others, and
|
|
be conceited of that in themselves, of which they are really
|
|
destitute.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. We are taught that, as love or charity is an operative principle, so
|
|
is faith, and that neither of them would otherwise be good for any
|
|
thing; and, by trying how it looks for a person to pretend he is very
|
|
charitable who yet never does any works of charity, you may judge what
|
|
sense there is in pretending to have faith without the proper and
|
|
necessary fruits of it: "<I>If a brother or a sister be naked, and
|
|
destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace,
|
|
be you warmed and filled, notwithstanding you give them not those
|
|
things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:15-17"><I>v.</I> 15-17</A>.
|
|
|
|
What will such a charity as this, that consists in bare words, avail
|
|
either you or the poor? Will you come before God with such empty shows
|
|
of charity as these? You might as well pretend that your love and
|
|
charity will stand the test without acts of mercy as think that a
|
|
profession of faith will bear you out before God without works of piety
|
|
and obedience. <I>Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being
|
|
along,</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
We are too apt to rest in a bare profession of faith, and to think that
|
|
this will save us; it is a cheap and easy religion to say, "We believe
|
|
the articles of the Christian faith;" but it is a great delusion to
|
|
imagine that this is enough to bring us to heaven. Those who argue thus
|
|
wrong God, and put a cheat upon their own souls; a mock-faith is as
|
|
hateful as mock-charity, and both show a heart dead to all real
|
|
godliness. You may as soon take pleasure in a dead body, void of soul,
|
|
or sense, or action, as God take pleasure in a dead faith, where there
|
|
are no works.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. We are taught to compare a faith boasting of itself without works
|
|
and a faith evidenced by works, by looking on both together, to try how
|
|
this comparison will work upon our minds. <I>Yea, a man may say, Thou
|
|
hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and
|
|
I will show thee my faith by my works,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
Suppose a true believer thus pleading with a boasting hypocrite, "Thou
|
|
makest a profession, and sayest thou hast faith; I make no such boasts,
|
|
but leave my works to speak for me. Now give any evidence of having the
|
|
faith thou professest without works if thou canst, and I will soon let
|
|
thee see how my works flow from faith and are the undoubted evidences
|
|
of its existence." This is the evidence by which the scriptures all
|
|
along teach men to judge both of themselves and others. And this is the
|
|
evidence according to which Christ will proceed at the day of judgment.
|
|
<I>The dead were judged according to their works,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+20:12">Rev. xx. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
How will those be exposed then who boast of that which they cannot
|
|
evidence, or who go about to evidence their faith by any thing but
|
|
works of piety and mercy!</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
4. We are taught to look upon a faith of bare speculation and knowledge
|
|
as the faith of devils: <I>Thou believest that there is one God; thou
|
|
doest well; the devils also believe, and tremble,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
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That instance of faith which the apostle here chooses to mention is the
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first principle of all religion. "<I>Thou believest that there is a
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God,</I> against the atheists; and that there is but one God, against
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the idolaters; <I>thou doest well:</I> so far all is right. But to rest
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here, and take up a good opinion of thyself, or of thy state towards
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God, merely on account of thy believing in him, this will render thee
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miserable: <I>The devils also believe, and tremble.</I> If thou
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contentest thyself with a bare assent to articles of faith, and some
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|
speculations upon them, thus far the devils go. And as their faith and
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knowledge only serve to excite horror, so in a little time will thine."
|
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The word tremble is commonly looked upon as denoting a good effect of
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|
faith; but here it may rather be taken as a bad effect, when applied to
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|
the faith of devils. They tremble, not out of reverence, but hatred and
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|
opposition to that one God on whom they believe. To rehearse that
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article of our creed, therefore, <I>I believe in God the Father
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Almighty,</I> will not distinguish us from devils at last, unless we
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now give up ourselves to God as the gospel directs, and love him, and
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delight ourselves in him, and serve him, which the devils do not,
|
|
cannot do.</P>
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|
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<P>
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5. We are taught that he who boasts of faith without works is to be
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looked upon at present as a foolish condemned person. <I>But wilt thou
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|
know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
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The words translated <I>vain man</I>--<B><I>anthrope kene,</I></B> are
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observed to have the same signification with the word <I>Raca,</I>
|
|
which must never be used to private persons, or as an effect of anger
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+5:22">Matt. v. 22</A>),
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but may be used as here, to denote a just detestation of such a sort of
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|
men as are empty of good works, and yet boasters of their faith. And it
|
|
plainly declares them fools and abjects in the sight of God. Faith
|
|
without works is said to be <I>dead,</I> not only as void of all those
|
|
operations which are the proofs of spiritual life, but as unavailable
|
|
to eternal life: such believers as rest in a bare profession of faith
|
|
<I>are dead while they live.</I></P>
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|
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<P>
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6. We are taught that a justifying faith cannot be without works, from
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|
two examples, Abraham and Rahab.</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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(1.) The first instance is that of Abraham, the father of the faithful,
|
|
and the prime example of justification, to whom the Jews had a special
|
|
regard
|
|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
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|
<I>Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered
|
|
Isaac his son upon the altar?</I> Paul, on the other hand, says (in
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+4:3"><I>ch.</I> 4 of the epistle to the Romans</A>)
|
|
|
|
that Abraham <I>believed, and it was counted to him for
|
|
righteousness.</I> But these are well reconciled, by observing what is
|
|
said in
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:1-40">Heb. 11</A>,
|
|
|
|
which shows that the faith both of Abraham and Rahab was such as to
|
|
produce those good works of which James speaks, and which are not to be
|
|
separated from faith as justifying and saving. By what Abraham did, it
|
|
appeared that he truly believed. Upon this footing, the words of God
|
|
himself plainly put this matter.
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:16,17">Gen. xxii. 16, 17</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son,
|
|
thine only son; therefore in blessing I will bless thee.</I> Thus the
|
|
faith of Abraham was a working faith
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>it wrought with his works, and by works was made perfect.</I> And by
|
|
this means you come to the true sense of that scripture which saith,
|
|
Abraham believed God, <I>and it was imputed unto him for
|
|
righteousness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
And thus he became the <I>friend of God.</I> Faith, producing such
|
|
works, endeared him to the divine Being, and advanced him to very
|
|
peculiar favours and intimacies with God. It is a great honour done to
|
|
Abraham that he is called and counted the friend of God. You see then
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>)
|
|
|
|
how that <I>by works a man is justified</I> (comes into such a state of
|
|
favour and friendship with God), <I>and not by faith only;</I> not by a
|
|
bare opinion, or profession, or believing without obeying, but by
|
|
having such a faith as is productive of good works. Now besides the
|
|
explication of this passage and example, as thus illustrating and
|
|
supporting the argument James is upon, many other useful lessons may be
|
|
learned by us from what is here said concerning Abraham.
|
|
|
|
[1.] Those who would have Abraham's blessings must be careful to copy
|
|
after his faith: to boast of being Abraham's seed will not avail any,
|
|
if they do not believe as he did.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Those works which evidence true faith must to works of
|
|
self-denial, and such as God himself commands (as Abraham's offering up
|
|
his son, his only son, was), and not such works as are pleasing to
|
|
flesh and blood and may serve our interest, or are the mere fruits of
|
|
our own imagination and devising.
|
|
|
|
[3.] What we piously purpose and sincerely resolve to do for God is
|
|
accepted as if actually performed. Thus Abraham is regarded as
|
|
offering up his son, though he did not actually proceed to make a
|
|
sacrifice of him. It was a done thing in the mind, and spirit, and
|
|
resolution of Abraham, and God accepts it as if fully performed and
|
|
accomplished.
|
|
|
|
[4.] The actings of faith make it grow perfect, as the truth of faith
|
|
makes it act.
|
|
|
|
[5.] Such an acting faith will make others, as well as Abraham, friends
|
|
of God. Thus Christ says to his disciples, <I>I have called you
|
|
friends,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+15:15">John xv. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
All transactions between God and the truly believing soul are easy,
|
|
pleasant, and delightful. There is one will and one heart, and there is
|
|
a mutual complacency. <I>God rejoiceth over those</I> who truly
|
|
believe, to do them good; and they delight themselves in him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The second example of faith's justifying itself and us with and by
|
|
works is Rahab: <I>Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by
|
|
works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out
|
|
another way?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
The former instance was of one renowned for his faith all his life
|
|
long, This is of one noted for sin, whose faith was meaner and of a
|
|
much lower degree; so that the strongest faith will not do, nor the
|
|
meanest be allowed to go without works. Some say that the word here
|
|
rendered <I>harlot</I> was the proper name of Rahab. Others tell us
|
|
that it signifies no more than a <I>hostess,</I> or one who keeps a
|
|
public house, with whom therefore the spies lodged. But it is very
|
|
probable that her character was infamous; and such an instance is
|
|
mentioned to show that faith will save the worst, when evidenced by
|
|
proper works; and it will not save the best without such works as God
|
|
requires. This Rahab believed the report she had heard of God's
|
|
powerful presence with Israel; but that which proved her faith sincere
|
|
was, that, to the hazard of her life, she <I>received the messengers,
|
|
and sent them out another way.</I> Observe here,
|
|
|
|
[1.] The wonderful power of faith in transforming and changing sinners.
|
|
|
|
[2.] The regard which an operative faith meets with from God, to obtain
|
|
his mercy and favour.
|
|
|
|
[3.] Where great sins are pardoned, there must prefer the honour of God
|
|
and the good of his people before the preservation of her own country.
|
|
Her former acquaintance must be discarded, her former course of life
|
|
entirely abandoned, and she must give signal proof and evidence of this
|
|
before she can be in a justified state; and even after she is
|
|
justified, yet her former character must be remembered; not so much to
|
|
her dishonour as to glorify the rich grace and mercy of God. Though
|
|
justified, she is called <I>Rahab the harlot.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
7. And now, upon the whole matter, the apostle draws this conclusion,
|
|
<I>As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is
|
|
dead also,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jam+2:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
These words are read differently; some reading them, <I>As the body
|
|
without the breath is dead, so is faith without works:</I> and then
|
|
they show that works are the companions of faith, as breathing is of
|
|
life. Others read them, <I>As the body without the soul is dead, so
|
|
faith without works is dead also:</I> and then they show that as the
|
|
body has no action, nor beauty, but becomes a loathsome carcass, when
|
|
the soul is gone, so a bare profession without works is useless, yea,
|
|
loathsome and offensive. Let us then take head of running into extremes
|
|
in this case. For,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The best works, without faith, are dead; they want their root and
|
|
principle. It is by faith that any thing we do is really good, as done
|
|
with an eye to God, in obedience to him, and so as to aim principally
|
|
at his acceptance.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The most plausible profession of faith, without works, is dead: as
|
|
the root is dead when it produces nothing green, nothing of fruit.
|
|
Faith is the root, good works are the fruits, and we must see to it
|
|
that we have both. We must not think that either, without the other,
|
|
will justify and save us. This is the grace of God wherein we stand,
|
|
and we should stand to it.</P>
|
|
|
|
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