And the rich are the ones who insult the wonderful name of Christ, the name by which you are known.

One law rules over all other laws. This royal law is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.” If you obey this law, you are doing right.

But if you are treating one person as more important than another, you are sinning. You are guilty of breaking God’s law.

You might follow all of God’s law. But if you fail to obey only one command, you are guilty of breaking all the commands in that law.

God said, “Don’t commit adultery.” The same God also said, “Don’t kill.” So if you don’t commit adultery, but you kill someone, you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law.

You will be judged by the law that makes people free. You should remember this in everything you say and do.

Yes, you must show mercy to others. If you do not show mercy, then God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the one who shows mercy can stand without fear before the Judge.

Faith and Good Works

My brothers and sisters, if a person claims to have faith but does nothing, that faith is worth nothing. Faith like that cannot save anyone.

Suppose a brother or sister in Christ comes to you in need of clothes or something to eat.

And you say to them, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat,” but you don’t give them the things they need. If you don’t help them, your words are worthless.

It is the same with faith. If it is just faith and nothing more—if it doesn’t do anything—it is dead.

But someone might argue, “Some people have faith, and others have good works.” My answer would be that you can’t show me your faith if you don’t do anything. But I will show you my faith by the good I do.

You believe there is one God. That’s good, but even the demons believe that! And they shake with fear.

You fool! Faith that does nothing is worth nothing. Do you want me to prove this to you?

Our father Abraham was made right with God by what he did. He offered his son Isaac to God on the altar.

This shows the full meaning of the Scriptures that say, “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.” Abraham was called “God’s friend.”

Another example is Rahab. She was a prostitute, but she was made right with God by something she did. She helped those who were spying for God’s people. She welcomed them into her home and helped them escape by a different road.

A person’s body that does not have a spirit is dead. It is the same with faith—faith that does nothing is dead!

Controlling the Things We Say

My brothers and sisters, not many of you should be teachers. I say this because, as you know, we who teach will be judged more strictly than others.

We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. With these bits we can control their whole body.

It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. And the one who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. It goes where he wants it to go.

It is the same with our tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it can boast about doing great things. A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame.

The tongue is like a fire. It is a world of evil among the parts of our body. It spreads its evil through our whole body and starts a fire that influences all of life. It gets this fire from hell.

But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison.

We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness.