A problem similar to that which James deals with in this passage was found both in the religion of Israel and later Judaism. The Old Testament prophets had spoken out against people who took part in public worship and offered sacrifices to God but who did not show their loyalty to the law of the Mosaic Covenant in their day-to-day life. They disregarded the moral teaching of the Covenant law which required honesty, justice, fair dealing and moral attitudes generally in their dealings with others. Their public worship was only a hypocritical show. There are many passages in the prophetic books which condemn unjust, immoral and unloving behaviour on the part of those who call themselves the people of God, for example, Amos 5:21-24, Micah 6:6-8, Hosea 4:1-2, Isaiah 1 :10-17, Jeremiah 7:1-11. God was not deceived by mere outward professions of faith; he saw into the inner self of the person, from where all evil came, as Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23.

Jesus condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, in his ministry in Galilee. Paul attacked a similar problem when he emphasized that converts ought to show the results of their conversion in their day-to-day living (Galatians 5:16-26 and 1 Corinthians 12, 13 and 14). Paul's emphasis is different from that of James. Paul emphasized that the convert is changed by faith, enabling God jo work in him and transform him by the power of the Holy Spirit. James emphasized that without the signs of the changed character, mere verbal profession of faith meant nothing. Paul teaches in both Galatians and Romans that a person is not put right with God through his own unaided efforts, particularly with regard to keeping the Jewish Law. God's grace alone, working through the faith which is genuine commitment to God's will, puts a person right with God and offers him salvation from the power of sin. But it is absolutely clear in Paul's teaching that the step of faith should result in an observable transformation in the convert. In the power of the Holy Spirit, a new life-style should be the result. If it does not, then the one who professes conversion is not living a life controlled by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25).

James never speaks of the Holy Spirit, but there is no contradiction with the teaching of Paul in what James says about faith without actions. 'If it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead' (2: 17).

James leads into his argument about the relationship of faith and actions by speaking very sarcastically of those who piously ask for God's blessing on the poor who lack even the basic necessities of food and clothing, but who do nothing at all to help the poor obtain what they need. How will a hungry man with only rags to cover his nakedness feel when the well fed, well dressed man says piously, 'God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!' (2: 16) but offers the poor man nothing to help him? It is possible that James was speaking from unfortunate experience of a church congregation where there was an unhappy division among those who came together for worship. There may have been well fed, well dressed, wealthy members of the church and there may have been others who had to struggle to keep alive, perhaps poor slaves lacking food, clothes and adequate shelter. It may have been that those who lacked nothing ignored those who lacked almost everything in contradiction to the teaching of the early Church about loving, sharing and caring, as described in Acts 2:44-47 and 4:32-35.

What James says has a powerful application for the modern Church There is awareness amongst many Christians of the need to share re-sources with others who lack them and there are many Christian organizations which do much to help the poor, but much more could be done. The Church, as the world-wide community of the people of God, could bring much more pressure to bear on the governments of the nations to focus attention on the need for much fairer distribution of the world' resources. In all countries where Christians are to be found, they have a responsibility to speak on behalf of all who are oppressed, poor, home-less, hungry, handicapped and suffering. The church-goer who says, 'It's not my business!' when confronted with suffering or injustice in the society in which he lives, should remember the biting words of James in 2: 19, 'The demons also believe!' 'Faith without actions is dead' (2:26).

In 2:20-24, James uses Abraham as an example of a man of true faith.

James takes the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his only son, the son of God's promise, if that was the will of God. In his use of the story, James is arguing against mere intellectual assent or verbal profession of faith which does not involve the intention and will of a person. Abraham showed by his intention and action that he was totally committed to the will of God even if this appeared superficially to be in opposition to Abraham's own interests. It is possible that James had met people in the early Church who, perhaps like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5: 1-11) professed faith publicly in Jesus Christ but by their actions denied that they were totally committed to following him.

James continues his argument in 2:25 by referring to Rahab (Joshua 2 and 6), a woman who showed compassion and courage in spite of being a Canaanite prostitute. 'She was put right with God through her actions' (2:25). 2:26

The cananite prostitute

 reminds the readers of the Jewish-Christian teaching that body and spirit form the unity of man's being (compare Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 12-15). There is an essential relationship between the spiritual and the physical aspects of the human being. What man believes in his inner spirit will be demonstrated in his outward actions.

·