James 2:1
King James Version (KJV)
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
Translations
James 2:1 - Amplified Bible
MY BRETHREN, pay no servile regard to people [show no prejudice, no partiality]. Do not [attempt to] hold {and} practice the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Lord] of glory [together with snobbery]!
James 2:1 - American Standard Version
My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
James 2:1 - Bible in Basic English
My brothers, if you have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory, do not take a man's position into account.
James 2:1 - Darby Bible
My brethren, do not have the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [Lord] of glory, with respect of persons:
James 2:1 - English Standard Version
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
James 2:1 - King James Version
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
James 2:1 - La Biblia de las Americas
Hermanos mìos, no tengáis vuestra fe en nuestro glorioso Señor Jesucristo con una actitud de favoritismo.
James 2:1 - The Message
My dear friends, don’t let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," haven’t you segregated God’s children and proved that you are judges who can’t be trusted?
James 2:1 - New American Standard Bible
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with {an attitude of} personal favoritism.
James 2:1 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
Hermanos mìos, no tengan su fe en nuestro glorioso Señor Jesucristo con una actitud de favoritismo.
James 2:1 - World English Bible
My brothers, don`t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, [the Lord] of glory, with respect of persons.
James 2:1 - Young's Living Translation
My brethren, hold not, in respect of persons, the faith of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,
James 2:1 - Additional Comments
Think about whenever you have been discriminated against, or just when others made you feel like an outsider. This could be at work, at church, in the neighborhood, in your family even - any social setting. How did that make you feel?
In the United States there was a day when we had paid pews in our churches. They had a little door to them, and only the family which paid for that pew could sit there on Sunday. You couldn't sit with whomever you wanted to sit. Today we have our little cliques who take a certain section in a church, and woe to the stranger (especially if he is not well dressed or simply dressed differently) who comes in and sits next to that crowd! He will get a cold shoulder. (Describe what a clique is.) Are you in a clique?
The good will God gives us by our faith, that we govern our lives by, which we express to others, should not be given to others with partiality. As we perform what God has for us to do (our pure and undefiled religion), the holiest acts are those to the truly needy (like orphans and widows, vs 1:27). Wrong partiality may be based on race, heritage, wealth, looks, personality, success, friendships, even their relationship with God. Basically, anything that differentiates people. In our day, looks and personality cause much of the partiality, although wealth and status, if very different, can come into play (e.g. see how much attention a famous or really wealthy person would get). Any time you compare yourself with others, you may be tempted to accept them easier if you view them as having more than you in some area, or to accept them with difficulty if you view them as having less than you. Notice it does not depend on actual status, but your perception of their status. We must not act out our faith with preferences based on prejudice - it is sin (verse 9). This is also related to the tenth commandment not to covet.
Partiality divides societies and churches, and may even divide small groups within societies or churches (e.g. a Sunday School class).
"Respect" is a different thing. How so? We need to be careful not to give extra respect because of worldly values or attitude (Psa 40:4), but we need to respect the elderly (Deu 28:49-50), our parents (Exo 20:12, Heb 12:9), our spouse (Eph 5:33), the view and perspective of others (Rom 12:17), our bosses (Mal 1:6), and those who are mature and wise in the faith (Luke 2:46, Acts 5:34). Respect may be given based on position (government, pastor, judges, police, management at work, etc.).
Note that Jesus is "the Lord of glory", having the same overwhelming and stunning glory as the Father - in fact, Jesus gives us a view of God's glory (John 1:14). One day Jesus' full glory will be revealed (1 Pet 4:13).
Comments are closed.