World English Bible · Under Rome
James 2
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My brothers, don't hold the of our with partiality. For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your , and a man in filthy clothing also comes in, and you pay special attention to him who wears the fine clothing and say, "Sit here in a good place;" and you tell man, "Stand there," or "Sit by " haven't you shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil ? Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn't choose those who are in this world to be rich in and of which he promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored man. Don't the rich oppress you and personally drag you before the courts? Don't they blaspheme the honorable name by which you are called? However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the , "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well. But if you show partiality, you , being convicted by as transgressors. For whoever keeps , and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For he who said, "Do not ," also said, "Do not commit ." Now if you do not but do , you have become a transgressor of . So speak and so do as men who are to be judged by of . For is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over . What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has , but has no works? Can him? And if a brother or sister is and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, "Go in peace. Be warmed and filled;" yet you didn't give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so , if it has no works, is in itself. Yes, a man will say, "You have , and I have works." Show me your without works, and I will show you my by my works. You that is one. You do well. The also —and shudder. But do you want to know, man, that apart from works is ? Wasn't by works, in that he offered up his son on the ? You see that worked with his works, and by works was perfected. So the was fulfilled which says, " , and it was accounted to him as ," and he was called the friend of . You see then that by works a man is , and not only by . In the same way, wasn't the also by works when she received the and sent them out another way? For as the body apart from is , even so apart from works is .
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Christians read this chapter differently
- Which of God's laws still bind a Christian? · James 2:8-12
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.