James 2 - Lesson

JUSTICE OR MERCY?

On the Day of Judgment, all of us will give an account of our words and actions.

On that day, we will either receive God’s mercy or His judgment.

Of course, given those two choices, all of us would hope to receive God’s mercy.

But how do we do that, and do we have any say in the matter?

Consider the following words spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Mathew:

• “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  - Mathew 12:36.

The Bible teaches us that if we want to receive mercy, we must show mercy to others.  

• “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” – James 2:13.

God not only wants us toshow mercy to others, He commands us to show mercy to others!

Shortly after choosing His twelve Apostles, Jesus spoke in front of a large gathering of His disciples and said:

• “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” – Luke 6:36. 

Too often we want justice when we are talking about somebody else, and mercy when we are talking about ourselves. 

It does not work that way. 

If we want to receive mercy on the day of judgment, we must show mercy to others while we are on Earth. 

THE GOLDEN RULE

During His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:

• “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Mathew 7:12.

This scripture is known as "The Golden Rule," and as followers of Jesus, our job is to learn it and to follow it.  

In this statement, Jesus  points out that it is hypocritical to treat people one way and expect to be treated differently ourselves. 

And clearly, God does not like hypocrisy, as we see in the following three scriptures:

1. “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.” - Mathew 23:2-4,
2. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.” - Mathew 23:25-26,
3. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” - Mathew 23:27-28.

The Golden Rule teaches us that if we want to please God, we must treat people the way that we want to be treated and we cannot be hypocrites.

FAITH AND WORKS

When it comes to our salvation, there is an important question for us to think about.

• “Is it our faith that saves us, our works, or both?”

What does the Bible say?

The following scriptures make it clear that faith in Jesus is a requirement for salvation:  

1. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9,
2. “And without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6, 
3. “Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.” – Galatians 2:16.

And while faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation, it must be accompanied by works if we are going to be right with God.  

The following four scriptures show us how important it is for our faith to be backed up by works if we are going to please God:

1. “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?  Even so, faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” – James 2:14-17, 
2. “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” – James 2:24, 
3. “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” – James 2:26, 
4. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” – James 2:18.

CONCLUSION

When the Day of Judgment comes, we will either receive God's mercy or His judgment.  

And whether we go to Heaven or Hell depends, in part, on how we treat people while we are on Earth.

If we showed mercy to people, God will show us mercy.

If we judged others harshly, God will judge us harshly.   

And if we want to follow the perfect example of Jesus, we need to live the Golden Rule that He taught when He delivered HIs Sermon on the Mount:  

• “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” – Mathew 7:12.

Our lesson today highlighted the importance of not only having faith but acting on it.

We also discussed how obeying the Golden Rule means not being hypocritical, treating people one way, and expecting to be treated differently ourselves. 

We will end today’s lesson with the following two scriptures from the Book of James: 

1. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” – James 2:18, 
2. “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.” – James 2:13.