NOTES for Jam 2:13

In these words the apostle James reveals to us the great mystery of God's mercy. Justice and repayment according to deeds are important things; righteous judgment on our actions is unavoidable, like all the laws of the world. A brick thrown upward falls on one's head according to the law of universal gravitation. Sin brings about the disappearance of life... But the destiny of the world and of the human person is not limited to this just judgment. There is God's mercy, and it is higher and more important than judgment. The Synodal translation here conveys the meaning of the Greek word very precisely: mercy triumphs over judgment. This revelation is astonishing, and it has the most direct relation to our hope; and it is precisely this triumph of mercy that makes the world beautiful.

But for the apostle James it is important that we understand his thought correctly. The triumph of God's mercy does not mean that we can "allow ourselves" sin, relying on the idea that the Lord will "in any case" have mercy. Such a view appeared already in the apostolic age and was rejected then as well. The apostle emphasizes that mercy is effective to the extent that we ourselves are guided by it in our lives. If it is not "practiced," it remains inaccessible to us. This, in fact, is why the Lord singles out loving God and neighbor as the main thing for a human being.