Is James 2:1-7 Simply a Moral Teaching?

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

James’ rebuke of showing partiality in James 2:1-7 cannot be considered a mere Jewish moralistic exhortation. Scholars pay attention to the similarity between James 2:1-7 and Jewish moral traditions. Even if the documents are commonly based on Leviticus 19:15, James 2:1-7 does not merely reiterate Jewish moral tradition. A distinct feature is that James’ exhortation against favoritism is primarily connected to the readers’ Christological faith and their identity as believers. Scholars have debated as to whether the phrase πίστις κυρίου is “faith in Christ” or “faithfulness of Christ.” Unfortunately, statistical analysis of the genitive construction cannot be a significant clue to our decision. Rather, this study attempts to find evidence that substantiates the phrase τὴν πίστιν τοῦ κυρίου could be interpreted as “faith in Christ” considering the context of James 2:1-7. Although there is no direct mention of Jesus, euphemistic references to Jesus, such as “glory” and “the honorable name,” fit more naturally into “faith in Christ.” Although this passage alludes to Leviticus 19:15, James does not simply repeat the Jewish moral teaching tradition of the Jews but rather delivers a Christianized exhortation to the messianic community. Rather than focusing on the moral aspect of Christ’s faithfulness, this study examines James’ argumentation; for believers, it is impossible to discriminate against one another since having faith and showing favoritism are incompatible.
Elsewhere in this letter, James warns about the inconsistency between faith and work (Jas 2:26). This contradiction consequently undermines the unity of the Christian community and reveals one’s double-mindedness. Moreover, this study draws attention to several identity markers (ὁ θεὸς ἐξελέξατο, πλουσίους ἐν πίστει, κληρονόμους τῆς βασιλείας) in James 2:5, which further support the argument that the exhortation against favoritism is connected to the readers’ Christian identity.