Introduction
III. PARTIALITY AND VITAL FAITH CH. 2
"In the epistle of James, the Holy Spirit has given the church a commentary on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Sermon on the Plain, a commentary that is rich in applications for daily life." [Note: Stulac, p. 34. Cf. Davids, pp. 47-50.]
The similarities appear both in subject matter and in structure. Note the parallels between Matthew 7:1-27 and James 2:1-26 below. [Note: Stulac, p. 92.]
| Matthew 7 | James 2 | |||
| Matthew 7:1-2 | Prohibition against judging | James 2:1 | Prohibition against judgmental favoritism | |
| Matthew 7:3-5 | Illustration of remov-ing one’s own faults so that one can help remove others’ faults | James 2:2-4 | Illustration of removing one’s own partiality so that one can judge or instruct others | |
| Matthew 7:6 | Warning not to despise what is sacred in favor of dogs or pigs that will harm you | James 2:5-7 | Warning not to despise brothers who are rich in faith in favor of others who harm you | |
| Matthew 7:7-11 | Encouragement to ask and to believe | |||
| Matthew 7:12 | Summary of the law as doing to others what you would want for yourself | James 2:8-11 | Summary of the law as loving others as yourself | |
| Matthew 7:13-14 | Summary admonition to follow the narrow way that leads to life | James 2:12-13 | Summary admonition to follow the law that gives freedom | |
| Matthew 7:15-23 | Warning against false prophets, with the true test presented: deeds | James 2:14-19 | Warning against dead faith, with the true test presented: deeds | |
| Matthew 7:24-27 | Parable to illustrate putting Christ’s words into practice | James 2:20-26 | Examples to illustrate putting faith into practice |
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