In a recent livestream teaching, Isaiah Saldivar continued his verse-by-verse journey through the New Testament, covering James chapters 2 and 3.
Using the New King James Version, Saldivar focused on the connection between faith and works, the warning against showing favoritism, and the responsibility that comes with our words.
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“True faith and partiality should not go together,” Saldivar said, referencing James 2:1. He acknowledged the challenge of treating everyone equally, especially in a culture that tends to elevate people based on wealth or influence.
“Favoritism is not just bad manners—it is sin,” he added, quoting James 2:9. “God does not value the wealth of a person or the popularity of the person.”
Saldivar also pointed to the example of Abraham and Rahab in James 2 to emphasize that faith is shown through action.
“Faith without works is dead,” he said, quoting verse 17. “Real saving faith is demonstrated by your works.” He cautioned against a belief system that stops at intellectual agreement. “Even the demons believe—and tremble,” he said, citing James 2:19.
In James 3, Saldivar turned to the power of the tongue. “The tongue is set on fire by hell,” he said, reading from verse 6.
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He stressed the importance of using speech to build up rather than destroy, warning that blessings and curses shouldn’t come from the same mouth. “We bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men,” he said. “My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”
He left viewers with a reminder about godly wisdom found in James 3:17. “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy,” Saldivar said.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
