Remember the days that have been, when you, the enlightened ones, underwent a hard struggle with sufferings, both when you were publicly exposed to revile- ments and afflictions, and when you shared them with those who were so treated; for you suffered along with those who were imprisoned, and you accepted the seizure of your property with joy, knowing that you have a greater possession and one that endures. Do not lose your courage, which brings a great reward, for you have need of endurance in order to do the will of God and win the promise. For (it is written): In a very little time he who is coming will come, and he will not delay; the one who is righteous will live by faith and if anyone falters, my soul is not well pleased with him. We do not belong to faltering, for destruction, but to faith, for the saving of the soul.
11 Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the proof of things unseen; for by it our forebears were attested. By faith we understand that the ages were formed by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from things that appear. By faith Abel brought to God a better offering than Cain, and by this he was proved righteous, with God himself be^ang witness to his gifts; and by faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up aloft, so as not to look on death, and he was never found because God had taken him; since it is attested that before his taking up he was pleasing to God, and without faith it is impossible to please him; for one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he is the rewarder of those who seek him out. By faith Noah, divinely w^ed of things not yet apparent, took careful thought and built the ark for the salvation of his household; and by this he refuted the world, and became heir to that righteousness that comes through faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go forth into that region which he was to receive as his ^taeri- tance, and he went forth not knowing where he was going. By faith he moved to the land of the promise as to a foreign land, living in tents as did also Isaac and Jacob, who shared with him the ^^eritance of the same promise; for he was waiting for the city with foundations, of which the architect and designer is God. By faith also Sarah herself found strength to give birth, though past her time of life, since she thought the giver of the promise was to be believed; so that from one man, even from one far gone, there came a number like the stars in the sky, or like the innumerable sands at the edge of the sea.
All of these died in faith without winning the promise,
but seeing it from far off and hailing it, and confessing that they were strangers and visitors on earth. They who say such things make it clear that they are searching for their own country. If they had been remembering the country from which they came, they would have had occasion to tum back; but as it is they long for a better one, that is, the one in heaven. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has made ready a city for them.
By faith Abraham offered up Isaac when he was put to the test, and accepting the promise, offered up his only son, the one of whom it had been said: Your seed shall be called after Isaac; reasoning that God can even raise men from the dead; therefore symbolically he did recover him. By faith even in things to come Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and prayed for them over the end of his staff. By faith Joseph, dying, remembered the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones. By faith when Moses was born he was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the baby was a fine one, and they were not frightened by the edict of the King. By faith Moses, grown big, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing to suffer with the people of God rather than have the temporary enjoyment of sinfulness, considering the despised estate of the Christ a richer thing than the treasures of Egypt, since he looked forward to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the King, for he endured as if he saw him who cannot be seen. By faith he established the Passover and the sprinkling of blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not strike them. By faith they walked across the Red Sea as if on dry land, which the Egyptians tried to do and were engulfed. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down when they were circled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with the unbelievers, because she had received the spies in peace.
Why should I say more? My time will run out as I tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel and the prophets. By faith they overthrew kingdoms, did works of righteousness, won promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the force of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, grew strong out of weakness, proved mighty in battle, routed the lines of their opponents. Wives recovered their resurrected dead. But others were tortured, refusing release so as to win a greater resurrection; others again accepted the ordeal of mockery and whippings and even of chains and prison. They were stoned, tortured, sawn in two, slaughtered by the sword. They went about in the skins of sheep and goats, in want and affliction and abuse. The world was not worthy of them as they wandered in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
Yet all of these, though proved through their faith, did not achieve the promise, since God for our sake contemplated something better: that they should not be perfected apart from us.
11 Let us also, therefore, surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses, putting aside every obstacle and the sin that easily besets us, with tenacity the course that lies before us, looking to the originator and perfecter of faith, Jesus; who, instead of the joy that lay ready before him, endured the cross, despising the shame of it, and has sat down to the right of the throne of God. Consider him who endured so great a rebellion by sinners against himself ; so that you may not falter, weakening in your spirits. You have not yet gone to the point of bloodshed in your struggle against sinfulness, and you have forgotten that appeal that speaks to you as sons: My son, do not think lightly of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when you are punished by him; for whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and he whips every son whom he acknowledges. Put up with discipline. God treats you as sons. Where is there a son whose father does not discipline him? If you go without the discipline which all are born to share, you are bastards, not sons.
Also, we had the fathers of our flesh to discipline us, and we have let them; should we not far rather submit to the father of our spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a few days, as it seemed right to them, but he does it for our good so that we can participate in his sanctity. All discipline, for the moment, seems to belong not with pleasure but with pain; but later, to those who have been through it, it yields a peaceful harvest of righteousness. So straighten up the slack arms and the tottering knees, and take straight steps with your feet, so that your lameness may not put you off, but rather be set right.
Seek to be at peace with all, and seek sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord; taking care that no one of you who lacks the grace of God, some root of bitterness pushing up among you, cause you trouble so that all are polluted by it; someone lewd or profane, like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that afterward he wished to inherit the blessing but was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he begged for it in tears.
You have not come to the place that is felt, which bums with fire, to the gloom and darkness and storm and the clamor of the trumpet and voice speaking, which those who heard it begged not to have to hear it again; for they could not bear the co^^^dment: If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death. And so frightful was the apparition that Moses said: I am terrified and shaking.
But you have come to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels, the festal gathering and assembly of the firstborn whose n^es are written down in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and the souls of the just made perfect, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and his blood sprinkled which speaks louder than the blood of Abel. See to
it that you do not ask not to hear him who speaks to you; for if those others who asked not to hear did not escape him who warned them on earth, even less shall we escape if we tum from him who speaks from heaven. At that time his voice shook the earth; now he has given a promise, saying: One more time I will shake not only the earth but also heaven. The words: One more time, mean the abolition of the shaken things as things that had been made, so that what was not shaken may remain. So, taking over a kingdom unshaken, let us keep our gratitude and in it serve God with piety and fear so that he may be well pleased; for our God is a consuming fire.
Let brotherly love abide. Do not forget your hospitality, for through this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners as if you were in prison with them, the abused as if you were so in body. Honorable is maniage among all, and the undefiled bed, for God condemns lechers and adulterers. Let your living be without avarice, making do with what is on hand; for he himself said: I will never let you go, I will never forsake you. So that we can be confident and say: The Lord is my aid, I shall not fear. What can man do to me?
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you, and as you consider the end of their life, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by strange and complex teachings; it is good to strengthen the heart with grace, not foods, by which those who followed that way have not been helped. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle are not allowed to eat. For the beasts whose blood is offered at the sanctuary for sin by the high priests, their bodies are b^ned outside the camp. Jesus, therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Let us therefore go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he bore, since we have no enduring city here but are looking for the one to come. For him let us offer a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the product of lips which confess to his name. And do not forget to do good, and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
Obey your leaders and give way to them, for they go sleepless for the sake of your souls, since they will be accountable for them; so that they may do this with joy and not grieving, for that would be unprofitable for you.
Pray for us, for we believe that we have a good conscience, trying always to conduct ourselves well. And I ask you to do this all the more so that I may be restored to you the sooner. May the God of peace who brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the flock through the blood of the everlasting covenant, that is, our Lord Jesus, confirm you in all good for the doing of his will; working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
And I ask you, brothers, to be patient with my message of exhortation, for I have written to you in only a few words.
Know that our brother Timothy has been released, and if he arrives soon, I will see you in his company.
Give greeting to all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings. May grace be with you all.
The General Letter of James
11JAMES, SLAVE OF GOD AND THE LORD Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in their dispersion. Greetings.
Count it all as cause for joy, my brothers, when you are forced into various trials, knowing that the proved quality of your faith engenders fortitude; but let your fortitude have complete scope, so that you may be complete and blameless, lacking in nothing. But if any one of you does lack in wisdom, let him ask for it from God who gives to all simply and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask with faith and without any doubt, since one who doubts is like the sea waves blown and tossed; let such a one not suppose that a man who is of two minds and uncertain in all his ways will receive anything from the Lord.
Let the humble brother glory in his exaltation and the rich brother in his humiliation, because he will be gone like the flower of the grass. The sun rises with its burning heat and shrivels the grass, and the flower falls to the ground and the beauty of its face is destroyed. Just so the rich man in his comings and goings will wither away.
Blessed is the man who endures trial, because when he passes the test he will win the wreath of life which the Lord promised to those who love him. Let no man who is tempted say: I ^ being tempted by God. For God is not tempted by evil things, and he himself tempts no one. Each man is tempted when he is attracted and seduced by his ownwn desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and the sin when it is full-grown br^^ forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good giving and every perfect gift comes from above, descending from the father of lights, in whom there is no change, nor any shadow of variation. He wilwilled it and brought us forth by the word of truth, for us to be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
Know this, my beloved brothers: every man should be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of a man does not effect the righteousness of God. Putting aside, therefore, all filthiness and any excess of baseness, meekly accept the implanted word which can save your souls. Be practitioners of the word, not mere self-deceiving listeners. Since if one listens to the word but does not practice it, he is like a ^^ who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for he looks at himself and then goes on his way and forgets what he looked like. But one who gazes into the perfect law of freedom and abides by it; not a listener to something to be forgotten, but one who performs an act; that man will be blessed in his activity. If one believes that he is religious, but does not curb his tongue, and if he deceives himself, his religion counts for nothing. This is the pure and unde- filed worship before our God and Father: to care for orphans and widows in their afliction, and to keep oneself untarnished by the world.
My brothers, surely the faith you have in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ does not go with discrimination among persons? If a man wearing golden rings and shining clothes comes into your synagogue, and there also comes in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you look at the man wearing shining clothes and say: Sit here, in a place of honor, but say to the poor man: Stand, or else sit down there below my footstool, are you not discriminating among yourselves and being judges who give vicious opinions? Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose out those who are poor in the things of the world but rich in faith and heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who love him? But you despised the poor man. Are not the rich lords over you, and is it not they who drag you into the law courts? Is it not they who insult the noble name which has been bestowed upon you? If you fulfill the kingly law accordingly as scripture says: You shall love your neighbor as yourself; you are acting well. But if you discriminate among persons, you are committing a sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For anyone who obeys all the rest of the law but fails in one respect is guilty in all respects. He who said: You shall not commit adultery; also said: You shall not murder. But if you do not commit adultery but do murder, you are breaking the law. Speak and act as if you were about to be tried by the law of freedom. For him who acts without mercy, judgment is merciless. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
What good does it do, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith but does not have the acts of faith? Surely his faith will not save him? If a brother or a sister is naked and short of daily nourishment, and one of you says to them: Go in peace, keep warm and eat, but you do not give them what they need for their bodies, what good does it do? So even faith, if it does not have the acts of faith, is a dead thing in itself. But someone will say: You have faith, but I have actions. Show me your faith apart from your actions, and I will show my faith from my actions. You believe that there is one God? You do well to do so. Demons also believe this, and they shudder. But are you willing to understand, О empty man, that faith without acts is idle? Was not Abraham our father justified by his actions, when he offered up Isaac, his son, on the sacrif
icial altar? You see that his faith worked with his actions and through his actions his faith was made a thing complete, and so the scripture was fulfilled which says: Abraham believed God, and it was counted as righteousness in him, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by his acts and not by faith alone. So likewise was not even Rahab the harlot justified by her action when she received the messengers and sent them off by the wrong way? As the body without spirit is a dead thing, so also faith without acts is a dead thing.
11 My brothers, not many of you should become teachers. We know that we teachers shall be given a stricter trial; for we all make many mistakes. But if a man makes no mistakes in what he says, he is a complete man and able also to control his entire body. If we put bits in the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can also control the entire body. Consider also ships, which, big as they are and driven by severe winds, are directed by a very small rudder wherever the impulse of the steersman chooses. So also the tongue is a small part of the body but makes a big noise. Consider how small a fire ignites how great a forest. The tongue too is a fire; the tongue is appointed among the parts of our bodies as a whole world of wickedness, which stains the entire body and sets fire to the wheel of creation, and which itself is burned by Gehenna. For the whole world of beasts and birds and reptiles and sea creatures is subjected, and has been made subject, to the world of men. But no man can make a subject of the tongue. It is an evil that is never still, full of deadly poison. With it we praise the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who were born in the likeness of God; out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. This, my brothers, should not be so. Surely the spring does not run sweet and bitter from the same opening? Surely, my brothers, a fig tree cannot grow olives, nor a grape vine figs? Neither can a salt spring give sweet water.
The New Testament Page 43