1 My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing; 3 and ye have regard to him that weareth the fine clothing, and say, Sit thou here in a good place; and ye say to the poor man, Stand thou there, or sit under my footstool; 4 do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? 6 But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats? 7 Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called? 8 Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: 9 but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also. Do not kill. Now if thou dost not commit adultery, but killest, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak ye, and so do, as men that are to be judged by a law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy: mercy glorieth against judgment.

In his first chapter James has spoken of the temptations by which we are assailed; here he deals with one which is most common, namely, that of partiality, of making unfair distinctions between persons. He has also referred to "the word of truth" by which we should direct our lives; he here mentions a fault which the law of Christ would forbid. Possibly the connection is even more direct. The previous verses have dealt with forms of religious service; here the writer may be recalling a scene which he had recently witnessed in the place of worship. The incident, whether real or imaginary, was one in which honor was shown to a rich man and disrespect to a man who was poor; it is here mentioned to illustrate the fault which James seeks to correct, namely, "respect of persons." The word so translated means "judging by appearances," and so influenced to unfair treatment of people by considerations of wealth or class or power or social distinction. The folly of such behavior is rebuked by the words the writer employs to introduce his theme: "My brethren." We should treat one another as equals in the household of God and "hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons." As our faith is in Jesus Christ we should follow his example; as we submit to him as Lord we should obey his law; as he is "the Lord of glory,", then, by comparison with him, all degrees of rank and position among men are insignificant and contemptible.

Nevertheless the fault of partiality, and of making unjust distinctions, is far too common even among Christians. Few of us find the least difficulty in imagining the picture which James paints: Two strangers present themselves to take part in a religious service; one, by his gorgeous clothing and his jewelry, is proclaimed to be rich; the other, in wretched rags, is evidently poor; the former is cordially welcomed and given a seat of honor, the latter is made to stand against the wall or to crouch upon the floor. Such conduct and all similar offenses James severely rebukes: "Do ye not make distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?"

The fault is condemned as unreasonable. It is really absurd. .Many poor men are actually rich, and many rich men are deserving only of contempt. How foolish then to judge a man by outward circumstances or to condemn him because he belongs to a certain class! Poor men are often peculiarly rich in faith, and heirs of the glorious Kingdom of God; rich men are often opposed to God and his cause. .The latter in the days of James, were notoriously cruel to Christians, oppressing them and dragging them to the judgment seats, and blaspheming the name of their Lord.

More serious still the fault is not only unreasonable; it is unlawful, it is actually sinful. For all Christians, and in the treatment of all men there is one changeless law: ,it is the law of love. It is called "the royal law" because it is superior to all others and because it makes those who obey it regal and kingly. It is called the "law of liberty" for it sets men free from sin and self. If we are controlled by this law in our treatment of rich or poor, w^e are worthy of praise; "If ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect of persons, ye commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors."

To emphasize the guilt James adds the difficult words: "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all." He does not mean that all sin is equally great, or that it is as serious to break one commandment as to break all. Breaking one commandment puts the offender in the class of transgressors. It also shows that he is indifferent to law, and so to the will of God expressed in all the commandments, and that it is but accident or fear or the absence of temptation that prevents him from breaking the other commandments. Most of all, it is evident that as love is the sum of all the law, acting contrary to love is, in principle, breaking "the whole law."

We should be careful, then, as to our judgments, and guard against all unfair discriminations, all narrow suspicions and class distinctions and race prejudices, for we ourselves are to be judged. It is reassuring to know that it is to be by "a law of liberty" and of love. Let us remember, however, that it is nevertheless by a law of justice, and "judgment is without mercy to him that hath showed no mercy." So, as we hope to find that "mercy glorieth against judgment," let love triumph in all our estimates and judgments of our fellow men. We shall not then be guilty of holding the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ "with respect of persons."