Yakobus 2

James 2:1

My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.

(a) saudara-saudara; Lihat masuk for Jas. 1:16.

(b) Your faith. Don’t let worldly prejudice influence your Christian walk.

Recall that James wrote for two audiences, believers and unbelievers (see masuk for Jas. 1:1). The last seven verses of chapter one were directed to unbelievers who had not received the word which could save their souls (Jas. 1:12). They were hearers of the word (they had heard the gospel) but not doers (they had not received it with faith; see Jas. 1:22–24). James will return to these unbelievers in a few verses, but here is speaking to those who are doers of the word, meaning they have put their faith in Christ.

(c) Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews called Jesus rabbi, but Christians call him Lord and Christ.

When Jesus walked the earth he was known as Jesus of Nazareth (e.g., Matt. 26:71). But after he ascended to heaven he was given a new name above every name, and that name is Lord (Php. 2:9–11). The original word for Lord (kyrios) means the One who is supreme above all. “You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am” (John 13:13).

(d) Personal favoritism. In some assemblies, the rich and powerful were given preferential treatment. James called out this type of discrimination (verses 2–3) and condemned it as foolish (verses 5–7) and unlawful (verses 9–11).

James 2:2–3

For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool

(a) Assembly. Kata aslinya (sunagoge) is normally translated synagogue. James expected that his letter to the twelve tribes would be read in Jewish synagogues (see masuk for Jas. 1:1).

(b) Fine clothes. It is the way of the world to give special treatment to those who are well-dressed and have the appearance of success. But in the kingdom we regard no one from a worldly point of view (2 Cor. 5:16). Everyone is precious in God’s eyes.

(c) The poor man. In this world the poor and downtrodden get the scraps. They are exploited, oppressed, and they get the worst seats. For this reason the poor receive special attention from the Lord (see Jas. 2:5).

James 2:4

have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?

(a) Distinctions. Discrimination based on race, gender, or wealth has no place in the new covenant (Gal. 3:28).

(b) Judges. To judge people based on outward appearances (their looks, clothes, status, social media following, etc.) is to judge with evil or worldly standards. God does not look at people this way. He looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).

Yakobus 2:5

Dengarlah, saudara-saudaraku yang terkasih: bukankah Allah memilih orang miskin di dunia ini untuk menjadi kaya dalam iman dan ahli waris kerajaan yang Dia janjikan kepada mereka yang mengasihi Dia?

(a) Beloved. James reminds us that we are beloved (Jas. 1:16, 19). This is a radical departure from the old mindset that says we must love the Lord God with all ours heart (Deut. 6:5, 10:12). Those who lived under the old covenant were commanded to be lovers of God, but in the new covenant of grace, we love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). Your primary identity is not “lover of God” but “beloved of God.” You cannot be the former unless you know you are the latter. See masuk untuk Rm. 1:7.

(b) saudara-saudara; Lihat masuk for Jas. 1:16.

(c) The poor. If the gospel is good news for anyone, it’s good news for the poor and downtrodden.

Jesus has nothing against the rich and comfortable, but the rich have trouble receiving what the Lord wants to give them (Matt. 19:23). Not so the poor. With empty hands and hungry hearts they are more than ready to take what Jesus provides.

(d) Ahli waris kerajaan. Di dalam Kristus kita adalah ahli waris kerajaan (Kol. 1:12), ahli waris bumi (Mat. 5:5, Rom.4:13), dan ahli waris segala sesuatu (Yohanes 17:10, Ibr. 1:2 , Wahyu 21:7).

Lihat masuk untuk Warisan.

James 2:6

But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?

(sebuah) Dishonoured. Why do you mistreat those who have been chosen by God (see previous verse)?

(b) Oppress you. Why do you honor those who mistreat you? It makes no sense.

(c) Court. The rich and powerful use the law to exploit the weak and powerless.

James 2:7

Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called?

(a) Blaspheme. To blaspheme is to slander or speak falsely. “Why prefer those who mock and belittle your faith in Christ?”

(b) The fair name. The precious, beautiful, and most honorable name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

(c) Called. Everyone is called (1 Cor. 1:24), but only those who respond in faith are known as “the called of Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:6).

Yakobus 2:8

Namun, jika Anda memenuhi hukum kerajaan menurut Kitab Suci, "KAMU HARUS MENGASIHI TETANGGAMU SEPERTI DIRIMU SENDIRI", kamu baik-baik saja.

(a) If. The conditional if indicates that this is a lawlike statement. James is preaching law to people who believed they were made righteous by the law. James is saying, “If you insist on living by law, you better not show partiality (see next verse). Break one law and you’re guilty of breaking all” (Jas. 2:10).

(b) Hukum kerajaan is to love your neighbor as yourself. This commandment is the king of laws because loving others fulfils all the other laws (Rom. 13:8–9, Gal. 5:14). In context, it means treat people with dignity, even if they are poor, and don’t show favouritism (Jas. 2:1, 5). The royal law is analogous to the golden rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you; Luke 6:31), but it should not be confused with the law of liberty (see masuk for Jas. 1:25).

Bacaan lebih lanjut: "Apa hukum kerajaan?”

(c) Kitab Suci. Perintah kasihi tetanggamu berasal dari Lev. 19:18.

(d) You are doing well. How wonderful the world would be if we all loved our neighbors. The problem is this is an impossible law for sinful humanity. To keep the royal law we need the higher law of Christ: “love one another as I have loved you” (see masuk for John 13:34). Only the love of God can empower us to love others.

James 2:9

But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

(a) Partiality. If you judge people on external appearances and treat some people better than others (see Jas. 2:1–4).

(b) You are committing sin. You are violating those old covenant laws that forbid showing partiality (e.g., Lev. 19:15, Deu. 16:19).

Just as all are equal under grace, all were equal under the law. The same laws that governed one governed all. No one was above the law and no one could receive special treatment without violating the law.

(c) Transgressors. Lawbreakers.

To anyone raised under the law, these are strong unequivocal words. “Mistreat the poor and you are breaking the law.”

Yakobus 2:10

Karena barangsiapa menuruti seluruh hukum itu, tetapi mengabaikan satu bagian, ia bersalah terhadap seluruhnya.

(a) Hukum is the Law of Moses, namely the commandments, ordinances, punishments, and ceremonial observances given to the nation of Israel through Moses (Jos. 8:31, John 1:17). This law is sometimes referred to as the law of commandments (Eph. 2:15) or the law of the Jews (Acts 25:8).

In the new covenant, we are not under law but grace (Rom. 6:14). So when James preaches law it can create the impression that he was confused about the difference between the covenants. He was not. Those who are self-righteous need the bad news of the law before they can receive the good news of grace.

Like Jesus addressing the crowds, James was a master communicator capable of preaching to two audiences at the same time. Those who shared his faith in Christ got grace, but those who rejected the Lord got the merciless law.

Lihat masuk untuk Hukum.

(b) Namun tersandung pada satu titik. The standard demanded by the law is flawless perfection, and this presents an insurmountable problem for we all stumble in many ways (Jas. 3:2). Imperfect humanity is incapable of delivering a flawless performance.

Yakobus 2:11

Karena Dia yang berkata, "JANGAN BERZINA," juga berkata, "JANGAN BERBURU-BURU." Sekarang jika Anda tidak melakukan perzinahan, tetapi melakukan pembunuhan, Anda telah menjadi pelanggar hukum.

(a) Do not commit adultery is the seventh commandment (Ex. 20:14).

(b) Do not commit murder is the sixth commandment (Ex. 20:13). Later in this letter James will accuse some of breaking this commandment (Jas. 4:2, 5:6).

(c) Transgressor. Lawbreaker. Break one part of the law and you will be judged guilty of breaking all of it (see previous verse).

Some believe that God will accept them if they are mostly good. The law demolishes this deception. A holy God demands perfection. Either you must be perfectly obedient every hour of your life, or you need a high priest who was perfectly obedient on your behalf. Only the sinless Savior can present us to God without fault or blemish (Eph. 5:27, Heb. 4:15).

Yakobus 2:12

Jadi berbicaralah dan bertindaklah seperti mereka yang akan diadili oleh hukum kebebasan.

(a) Those who are to be judged. We are judged by our response to Jesus. We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10).

The Law of Moses condemns all as transgressors and makes nobody righteous (Rom. 3:20, Gal. 3:11). Happily, there is another law that offers hope to the lawbreaker – the law of liberty.

(b) The law of liberty is the liberating rule of the Lord Jesus. The law of liberty can be contrasted with the Law of Moses which binds. See masuk for Jas. 1:25.

Yakobus 2:13

Karena penghakiman akan tanpa belas kasihan kepada orang yang tidak menunjukkan belas kasihan; belas kasihan menang atas penghakiman.

(a) Merciless. Those who live by the merciless law shall receive no mercy, for the law condemns all and justifies no one.

(b) The one who has shown no mercy is the one who lives by the cold and unforgiving standard of the law and whose life remains untouched by the grace of God.

(c) Mercy is one facet of God’s grace (Heb. 4:16). Just as God is rich in grace (Eph. 1:7, 2:7, Jas. 4:6), he is rich in mercy (Eph. 2:4, Jas. 5:11). He is the God of all grace (1 Pet. 5:10) and the Father of all mercies (2 Cor. 1:3). See masuk for Mercy.

(d) Rahmat menang. Just as God’s grace is greater than our sin (Rom. 5:20), his mercy triumphs over the condemnation of the law. The bad news of the law is that you are a transgressor, for nobody is perfect. But the good news of grace is that God justifies the sinner (Rom. 3:24).

Yakobus 2:14

Apa gunanya, saudara-saudaraku, jika seseorang mengatakan dia beriman tetapi dia tidak memiliki perbuatan? Bisakah iman itu menyelamatkannya?

(a) Iman. Kata aslinya (pistis) means persuasion or conviction. Abraham, the father of the faith, was fully persuaded or convinced that God would do what he had promised (see Rom. 4:21).

(b) Bekerja. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is the action that reveals our faith. It may seem strange to think of believing as a work, but believing in Jesus is itu karya Allah (lihat masuk for John 6:29).

James does not leave us guessing when it comes to works of faith. He says we need to submit and draw near to God (Jas. 4:7–8). We need to humble ourselves and receive his grace (Jas. 4:6, 10). In short, we need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (see masuk for Jas. 1:21). It is through the Son that we draw near to the Father (John 14:6). It is through Christ that we receive God’s grace (John 1:14, Rom. 5:15).

(c) Bisakah iman itu menyelamatkannya? We all have faith of one kind or another, but not all faith is saving faith. Faith that is unaccompanied by the “work” of believing in Jesus is dead and useless (Jas. 2:17, 20).

Faith is only as good as the object in which it trusts. The religious have faith in themselves and their ability to keep the rules. In contrast, Christians have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Jas. 2:1).

James 2:15–16

If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

What use is that? Although it is good to help those in need, we are not saved by our charitable deeds. James is making a comparison. Just as talk without deeds is empty talk, so too faith without deeds is empty faith (see next verse).

Yakobus 2:17

Demikian pula iman, jika tidak ada perbuatan, mati dengan sendirinya.

(a) Iman; Lihat masuk untuk Yas. 2:14.

(b) Bekerja. John Calvin famously said that faith alone justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is never alone. In other words, faith in Christ will lead to good works and those works prove that one has faith in Christ. While it is true that right living follows right believing (Matt. 5:16, Eph. 2:10), that is not what James is talking about here. The work that accompanies saving faith is believing in Jesus (see masuk for Jas. 2:14).

The works-prove-your-faith message can perversely lead to dead works. If you don’t have good works, the thinking goes, your faith is dead and you are not saved. The remedy is get busy for Jesus and prove your faith is real. But just as faith without works is dead, so too works without faith are also dead. They are dead works.

If we were saved by our works, the thief on the cross would have been lost. Believing in Jesus is the only work that counts and this is the work that saved the thief.

(c) Dead. We are all creatures of faith, but unless our faith is in the Savior, ours is a dead or useless faith (Jas. 2:20, 26). Faith in Christ leads to eternal life (John 3:16), but faith in anything else leads to death.

Yakobus 2:18

Tetapi seseorang mungkin berkata, “Kamu memiliki iman dan saya memiliki perbuatan; tunjukkan kepadaku imanmu tanpa perbuatan, dan aku akan menunjukkan kepadamu imanku melalui perbuatanku.”

(a) Imanmu, Imanku. There are different kinds of faith but only one kind is a saving faith (Jas. 2:14).

(b) Without the works… my works. There are different kinds of work, but only one kind is the work of God (John 6:29).

Religious people like to make a great show of their works. “I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I have” (Luke 18:12). Yet their works count for nothing if they have failed to do the one thing that counts. See masuk untuk Yakobus 2:14.

Yakobus 2:19

Anda percaya bahwa Tuhan itu satu. Anda melakukannya dengan baik; setan juga percaya, dan bergidik.

(a) Tuhan itu satu. The Jews were monotheists (Deut. 6:4).

(b) Anda melakukannya dengan baik. At a time when nations worshipped many gods and idols, believing in one God above all was commendable. The Jews took pride in their distinctive beliefs and were ready to die for them.

(c) The demons believe in one God but they’re still demons. Believing in the one God won’t save you if your faith is in yourself instead of his Son.

(d) Dan bergidik. Demons are terrified of God and his Son (see masuk for Matt. 8:29).

Yakobus 2:20

Tetapi apakah Anda mau mengakui, hai orang bodoh, bahwa iman tanpa perbuatan tidak berguna?

(a) Anda orang bodoh. It is foolish to think you can save yourself.

James is not speaking to Christians who have faith in Christ (Jas. 2:1), but to unbelievers who are relying on their own righteousness. Trusting your law-keeping is foolishness because the law is perfect and you are not.

(b) Bekerja. Believing in Jesus; see masuk untuk Yakobus 2:14.

(c) Useless. Faith in Christ leads to fruitfulness (John 15:5); faith in anything else leads to barrenness (Jer. 17:5–6).

Yakobus 2:21

Bukankah Abraham bapa kita dibenarkan oleh perbuatan ketika dia mempersembahkan Ishak putranya di atas mezbah?

(a) Abraham our father. The Jews considered Abraham their great patriarch and father (Matt. 3:9, John 8:39). Since James was writing to a Jewish audience (see masuk for Jas. 1:1), Abraham was the ideal example for showing how faith works.

(b) Dibenarkan oleh perbuatan. Abraham was justified or counted righteous because he believed God (Jas. 2:23). He was not justified because of a life time of good works (Abraham sinned from time to time), but the things he did revealed his faith in God the Savior.

Much confusion has come from misunderstanding the relationship between faith and works. Since Paul said we are justified apart from works (Gal. 2:16, Eph. 2:8–9), some have concluded that he and James preached different gospels. Nothing could be further from the truth. Both apostles preached the gospel of grace (Eph. 2:8, Jas. 4:6), and both men challenged people to turn to God in faith (Acts 26:20; Jas. 4:7–8).

Yet some have trouble reconciling James with Paul. They say that James is talking about justification before men rather than God. “Through a life time of good deeds, we reveal our Christian faith to others.” But the context is salvation (Jas. 2:14) and being made right with God (Jas. 2:23). The way to reconcile Paul and James is to recognize that both preached justification by faith and saving faith is evidenced by the work of believing in Jesus.

(c) He offered up Isaac his son. The offering of his son was one of the ways that Abraham exercised his faith in God.

The faith that justifies is always a response; God initiates and faith responds. God told him to go and he went (Gen. 12:1). God told him to count the stars and he counted (Gen 15:5). God told him to offer his son and he did (Gen. 22:2). If Abraham had done none of these things, his faith would have been dead and useless.

Technically, Abraham was not justified before God because he offered up his son, because the scripture says he was reckoned righteous long before this deed (see masuk for Jas. 2:23). Why does James highlight Abraham’s offering of Isaac? Because this deed foreshadowed the offering of God’s own Son. “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day,” said Jesus to the Jews (John 8:56). When Abraham offered his son, he understood that his actions were pointing to Jesus the Savior. The question was, did the Jews understand?

Yakobus 2:22

Anda lihat bahwa iman bekerja dengan perbuatannya, dan sebagai hasil dari perbuatan itu, iman menjadi sempurna;

(a) Iman; Lihat masuk untuk Yas. 2:14.

(b) Working with his works. Our faith and our deeds are like two oxen pulling a cart. When they are aligned, we go forward. But if they pull in different directions, we become unstable (Jas. 1:8). Abraham shows us how this works. Every time he said yes to the Lord, his understanding of God’s goodness and grace was enlarged, and his faith grew stronger.

(c) Perfected. When Abraham first heard the call of God in Genesis 12, he responded in faith. At various times in his life, he heard God’s voice and most of the time he trusted the Lord. But not always. Sometimes Abraham’s much-vaunted faith did not manifest in faithful obedience (e.g., Egypt, Hagar). But by the end of his rich and full life, Abraham’s faith was perfected or made complete.

Yakobus 2:23

dan Kitab Suci digenapi yang mengatakan, “DAN ABRAHAM PERCAYA ALLAH, DAN INI DIPERHITUNGKAN KEPADANYA SEBAGAI KEBENARAN,” dan dia disebut sahabat Tuhan.

(a) Kitab Suci is Genesis 15:6. Like Paul in Romans 4:3, James quotes this scripture to establish that Abraham was justified and made right with God on account of his faith and not on the basis of anything he had done. The one deed James mentions – the offering of his son (Jas. 2:21) – came after he was counted righteous.

(b) Abraham percaya Tuhan and his faith was evident in the way he lived.

The Jews thought they were special because they were Abraham’s descendants. But Jesus said if they were children of Abraham, they would do what Abraham did (John 8:39). What did Abraham do? He believed God and looked forward to the Son he would send (John 8:56). To believe God means being fully persuaded that God will do what he has promised (see Rom. 4:21). In the context of salvation, it means believing in the Savior he sent (John 6:29).

(c) Dihitung baginya sebagai kebenaran. Before the cross, no one could be made righteous but they could be reckoned righteous or credited with righteousness on account of their faith in God. In the old days, righteousness was credited to those who believed; now righteousness is created in the believer. Back then, righteousness was imputed; now it is imparted (see masuk for Rom. 4:3).

(d) Sahabat Tuhan. Abraham saw Jesus from a distance and rejoiced (Heb. 11:13), while the Jews saw Jesus up close and rejected him. By rejecting the Son, they scorned the Father. Like Abraham, they could have been friends with God, but they chose to make themselves his enemies of God (Jas. 4:4).

Yakobus 2:24

Anda melihat bahwa seorang pria dibenarkan oleh perbuatan dan bukan hanya oleh iman.

(a) Dibenarkan oleh perbuatan; Lihat masuk for James 2:21.

(b) Not by faith alone. A faith in God that does not lead to the corresponding action of believing in the One he sent is a dead and useless faith (Jas. 2:17, 20, 26).

Yakobus 2:25

Dengan cara yang sama, bukankah Rahab si pelacur juga dibenarkan karena perbuatan ketika dia menerima para utusan dan mengutus mereka melalui jalan lain?

(a) In the same way that Abraham believed God, Rahab believed God (Jos. 2:1–21).

The pairing of Abraham with Rahab highlights the indiscriminate love of God. One was a patriarch of the Jews, while the other was a Canaanite prostitute, yet both were justified on account of their faith in God. Their deeds, good or bad, did not come into it.

(b) Dibenarkan oleh perbuatan. Abraham walked out a door, while Rahab opened a door, and their actions revealed that both of them had opened their hearts to the Lord.

(c) Received. Rahab’s behavior revealed her belief that the God of Israel was the true God of heaven and earth (Jos. 2:11).

Rahab risked her life in receiving the spies, but she did it to save those she loved (Jos. 2:12–13). Her actions foreshadowed the sacrificial love of the One who gave his life to save the world.

Yakobus 2:26

Karena seperti halnya tubuh tanpa roh adalah mati, demikian juga iman tanpa perbuatan adalah mati.

(a) The spirit or breath gives life to our bodies. In the same way, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is how we give life to our faith.

If you have cried “Jesus is Lord,” your faith is genuine and living. You could not have said such a thing except the Holy Spirit revealed it to you (1 Cor. 12:3).

(b) Dead. You can hear the good news of Jesus Christ a hundred times, but unless you receive the life-giving message in your heart, your faith is dead (Jas. 2:17). This is why we are exhorted to receive the word that can save our souls (Jas. 1:21). Faith comes to life when we believe. As we allow the word of truth to take root in our hearts, we receive the life of Christ and are born again.

The Grace Commentary sedang dalam proses dengan konten baru yang ditambahkan secara teratur. Mendaftar untuk pembaruan sesekali di bawah ini. Punya sesuatu untuk dikatakan? Silakan gunakanUmpan balikhalaman. Untuk melaporkan kesalahan ketik atau tautan rusak pada halaman ini, silakan gunakan formulir komentar di bawah.

Navigator Bab

Navigator Buku

Tinggalkan Balasan