James 2:5

The context

James has just described a wealthy visitor given a seat and a poor man told to stand. He accuses the assembly of partiality and reminds them that the rich are the ones dragging them into court. Verse 5 states the reversal: God chose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom.

What it establishes

It establishes that God's choosing is not aligned with worldly status, and that the poor are named as the ones chosen. The verse is an argument from theology to practice: since God has honored them, showing them dishonor contradicts the faith being professed.

What it does not establish

It does not establish that poverty is a sign of election. James says God chose the poor, not that all the poor believe, and he does not say the rich cannot be saved. The wealth named is faith.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Don’t the numerous televangelists on TBN and other such networks show that Christianity is all about the money?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.