James 2:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

NIV: because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

NASB: For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

CSB: For judgment is without mercy to the one who has not shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

NLT: There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

KJV: For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

NKJV: For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

James's statement in this verse hints toward the theme he will use for the rest of this chapter: Those who trust in God live like it. As he wrote in prior verses, true believers speak and act in ways consistent with what they believe to be true. It isn't really such a radical idea, but it is an easy one to confuse.

In this verse, James writes that God will judge without mercy people who have shown no mercy to others. First, it's important to understand what this does not mean. It does not mean that a Christian who has been unmerciful at times will go to hell. It does not mean an unbeliever who is merciful will go to heaven.

What James means is that those who trust in God, who are in Christ, will show mercy to others. Of course, they won't be perfect. Christians still sin, in this and other ways. But trust in the God of mercy causes Christians to show mercy, at least as a matter of habit. One who never shows mercy, or rarely shows it, is not one who trusts in Christ, and God will not judge that person with mercy.

God will show mercy to those who are in Christ. His mercy is far superior to His judgment. In a similar way, it is far superior for us to show mercy to each other than to judge each other. And it is consistent with how God is treating us.

James 2:1–13 continues the prior passage's focus on Christians living out what the Word of God says. Those who hold the faith of Christ should obey the command to love our neighbors as ourselves. This includes not showing favoritism to the rich over the poor. Christians should trust God to provide for and protect them, instead of seeking the favor of the very group of people who were oppressing them in the first place. According to the gospel, all of us are lawbreakers. Christians, as people who believe they will be judged by the law that gives freedom, should treat all others as equals.

Genuine saving faith in God leads to good and loving actions: ''works.'' In chapter 1, James discussed the importance of acting on the words of God, not merely hearing them. Favoritism to the rich over the poor demonstrates a lack of faith. In fact, this is a sin. Following up on these ideas, James insists that ''faith'' which doesn't result in good works is dead. Such belief is merely intellectual agreement. It is not trust, or true, biblical saving faith. James doesn't deny that belief in God is essential to salvation, nor does he claim that works are necessary to obtain salvation. Rather, he makes the case that works are to faith what the breath is to the body: a sign of life. A ''faith'' without works is like a body without breath: dead.

In chapter 1, James taught that a saving belief in God changes how a Christian looks at trials in their lives. It affects where they turn for help, and who they credit for good. Believers hear the Word and do it. In this chapter, James insists that our faith in God should keep us from showing favoritism to the rich and powerful on earth and should provoke us to love our poor neighbors as ourselves. He also makes the case that so-called-''faith'' which does not result in works, is not saving faith, at all. Despite controversy, this does not clash with Paul's view of salvation by grace alone. James refers to good works as an expected outcome of salvation, not the source of it. In the following chapters, he will continue to show what a life of genuine faith looks like.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.