James

Personal Study
This letter was probably the first of the New Testament documents written. As such it holds a
unique place from a historical perspective. It was written by an eye witness to Jesus’s entire life,
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and written within 15 to 18 years of his death and resurrection. Such an ancient document
should be held in high regard historically as a very early attestation to the events and beliefs
concerning Jesus. The only reason the New Testament documents are disregarded historically is
because of a determined disbelief in the supernatural nature of the events which they record and
affirm. Since James is the first of these documents, it is worth serious consideration.
1 ​
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings. James 1:1 (ESV)

✓ James, like his brother Jude, did not identify himself as Jesus’ half-brother. He did not
see that as significant nor as a reason that he should be heard. Jesus had four
half-brothers and some sisters, but only James is specifically mentioned in Acts as a
leader in the church. However, Acts 1 indicates that his brothers and possibly his sisters
were present at his ascension and later in the prayer meetings preceding Pentecost.

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near
Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered,
they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John
and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of
James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer,
together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Acts 1:12-14 (ESV). [The word for “brothers” – ​adelphoi – specifically
meant siblings and in certain contexts could mean male and female
siblings. Thus it is possible that Jesus’ sisters were present as well. While
I cannot know for sure, I think that if one of the brothers had been
missing, the ones present would have been named as the disciples were
named.]

Of all the men who served in the church, James knew Jesus the longest for Jesus was his older
brother. He grew up with him and if anyone could have known of some aspect of Jesus’
life that revealed sin, he would have known it. Siblings know each other well, know all
the foibles, know all the dirt, and understand each other’s basic character. James would
have known if there was any reason Jesus could not have been God incarnate. His

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James was the leader of the Jerusalem council of Acts 15. His letter does not deal with the issues raised there.
Since he was writing to Jews, it is unlikely he would have avoided that issue if it has been prominent when he wrote.
However, he does write as one who is a leader in the church so he must have already risen to that position. Thus I
think, along with most commentators, that he wrote around AD 45 – 47, before that council met in AD 48 or 49.
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reference to Jesus as Lord and Christ indicates that no such reason existed. James grew
up with a perfect, sinless brother who was God in the flesh and he worshiped and served
him as such.

✓ James called himself a servant of Jesus. In that he placed himself on the same plane as
any believer. He claimed no special position or authority because of his relationship to
Jesus or his position in the church. All leaders in the body of Christ should exhibit such
humility. All are servants of the Lord, and no one should see himself as anything other
than servant.

✓ James saw Jesus as his Lord. There is no greater testimony as to the deity and authority
of Jesus than this of his earthly brother. In Jewish thought, “Lord” means God. James
wrote to Jewish Christians spread around the Roman Empire, almost certainly dispersed
after the murder of James, John’s brother, and the martyrdom of Stephen. Any of these
readers would have understood that James ascribed deity to Jesus with that word. If
anyone could see a flaw that would deny Jesus as Lord God, James would have known it.
Later James died for his faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ. No man dies for what he
knows to be untrue.
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Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3​ ​ for you know that the
testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4​ ​ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you
may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4 (ESV)

✓ When I read this first statement by James, I cringe. Trials are nothing anyone of us likes,
let alone count a joy. However, as a revelation of our faith and trust in Jesus, trials have
real benefit. Without trials neither we nor anyone else can tell if we really do trust the
Lord. Only when our faith is on the line or as Rich Hubbard a former pastor of mine used
to say, “when the rubber meets the road,” do we find out the reality of our trust. When
disaster strikes; when our health or that of someone we love is threatened; when we fail
or others fail us; when death stares us in the face, or when persecution comes; in those
times we will know to whom or what we turn to carry us through. If we turn to the Lord
and trust him in the face of circumstances that seem to show he has abandoned us, we and
others will know our faith in him is real. When we know the reality of faith and trust in
Jesus, therein we find real joy.

✓ As our faith is tested by our circumstances, it grows stronger or, as James expressed it,
steadfast. As our faith grows, we apply our trust in more and more situations, and rely on
ourselves less and less. A steadfast faith in the Lord becomes our default position so to
speak in any situation. When we pray first, we show that our first thought is to turn to the
Lord. That is what I mean by default position. When we want to strengthen a muscle
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group, we exercise it, stressing it in increasing ways, and in that we make it stronger,
more dependable, or steadfast. Our faith in the Lord undergoes strengthening as the
Lord stresses it, and he stresses it through trials. Trials are not disciplines. The Lord also
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disciplines those he loves. He uses trials to strengthen our faith in him, disciplines to
call us back to faith in him. When our default position is faith; when our faith is
steadfast; we are less likely to let ourselves get into situations in which the Lord needs to
discipline us.

✓ As we live by our faith more and more, showing our faith as our default position, we will
be perfect and complete, lacking nothing – nothing of importance that is, nothing of
eternal value. We want and need to be complete in Jesus. Paul wrote,

And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all
wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. Colossians
1:28 (NASB77)

The word translated in Colossians as “complete” is the same word translated both as “full effect”
and as “perfect” here in James. Another meaning of this word is “mature.” Steadfastness
in our faith matures us in our relationship to Christ. The word translated here as
“complete” then means all three in my mind: sound, whole, and with no part missing.
Thus v. 3 can be understood this way: “Let your steadfast faith make you fully mature,
that you may be mature [in Christ] and whole [spiritually], lacking nothing [of eternal
significance.]”
5​
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and
it will be given him. 6​ ​ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a
wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7​ ​ For that person must not suppose that he
will receive anything from the Lord; 8​ ​ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James 1:5-8 (ESV)

✓ A lack of wisdom is a spiritual incompleteness. We become complete through our

steadfast faith in the Lord. So James reminded us to look to the Lord for wisdom in faith
and trust in him. The first step in exercising wisdom is to pray in any situation. The wise
person trusts in the Lord, seeks the Lord’s guidance, and follows the Lord’s commands.
If we seek the Lord’s direction, the promise is that we will receive it. The Lord does not
withhold direction from those who ask. His generous response is absolutely certain.
When we act foolishly; when we struggle for the sound response; when we don’t know

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Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:6
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the direction to go; we have not sought wisdom from the Lord and our faith in him has
wavered.

James wrote that the Lord gives his wisdom to all generously. What of those who cry out to him
in times of trouble but have not trusted in Jesus? “For [The Father] makes his sun rise on
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the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” If our Lord gives
those good things to people who do not know or trust him and who actively oppose him,
it is not unreasonable to think that he might give the wisdom needed for the situation to
those who ask, even if they have not trusted in Jesus. The Lord’s grace always astounds
me.

✓ The Lord gives his wisdom “without reproach.” When we come to the Father for
wisdom, he receives our request and answers without any sense of criticism for our
waiting so long to come to him and with no shaming us for getting ourselves into
whatever part of our situation is our own fault. Part of the Lord’s wisdom will be to
confess and repent of any sinful choice that has led us to where we are. We are fools not
to follow his wisdom even when it includes painful or embarrassing admissions of guilt.

✓ When we ask the Lord for wisdom, we must do so with full confidence that he will give
us that wisdom and then wait expectantly for him to respond in a way that we can
recognize comes from him.

✓ James warns us not to doubt the Lord, even when circumstances seem to indicate he has
left us hanging. If we doubt and question the worth of trusting in the Lord for anything
but particularly for wisdom, we will not receive the wisdom the Lord so generously
promises. Herein lies a conundrum. If we cry out to the Lord for wisdom but waver in
our faith, will the Lord withhold his wisdom from us? If the Lord freely gives his
wisdom to those who ask, why is our doubt part of the equation? The Greek word for
“doubt” here means “to withdraw from, to hesitate, or to oppose.” This is more than a
simple uncertainty or weakness in our trust. Doubt in this instance means a real
hesitation to even consider seeking the Lord for wisdom, to actually withdraw from that
path and turn another way or even to oppose and ridicule the whole idea of trusting in the
Lord. The one James had in mind is a person who has no real faith in the Lord and does
not genuinely cry out to him with any kind of expectation of receiving anything from
him. Such a person is unstable, flowing back and forth between the impulse to seek God
and the thought of rejecting that impulse as foolish and possibly superstitious. In all this
I am reminded of the father whose son was demon possessed such that the demon caused

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Matthew 5:45 (ESV)
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him to throw himself into the fire. When called on to trust Jesus, the father cried out,
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“Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief.” We need to ask the Lord to give us the faith to
trust him when we cry out to him for wisdom, to trust him and not waver, not listen to
other voices, not seek other paths, but to unwaveringly wait on him for the wisdom we
need.
9​
​ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 ​ ​ and the rich in his humiliation, because like a
flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 ​ ​ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the
grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of
his pursuits. James 1:9-11 (ESV)

✓ In many respects James reads a bit like the book of Proverbs jumping from one subject to
the next sometimes without a clear connection between the thoughts. This seems to me
to be one of those jumps. The connection may be that a rich person is more likely to
waver in his trust in the Lord and trust in other voices. In any case, James warned the
rich that wealth will all pass away so his trust should be in the Lord, not his wealth. In
that he and the poor man stand on level ground if both of them trust in the Lord. No
material resource brings genuine security for all such resources can be swept away in a
moment; but the Lord God is our strength, our security, our sure hope, and our certain
refuge. The poor person or the rich person who trusts in the Lord has the sure promise of
the Lord to be his guide, his constant companion, his eternal friend. The rich person has
that certainty as long as he humbly denies his reliance on the material wealth in his
hands. The poor person has that certainty as long as he focuses on Jesus and not on his
current station in life. Both stand equal before the Lord. I observed when I was in Africa
that the very poor can still be focused on material prosperity for their security, striving for
it with all their effort. All mankind struggles with the same temptation, to rely on either
having or achieving material wealth as our security rather than trusting the Lord God. We
Americans have so much comparatively both now and historically. We must ask the
Lord to give us the faith to trust in him and not in our wealth or possessions.
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Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will
receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13 ​ ​ Let no one say
when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he
himself tempts no one. 14​ ​ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own
​ ​ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown
desire. 15
brings forth death. James 1:12-15 (ESV)

✓ James returned to his initial focus, the trials that prove the steadfastness of our faith.
When faced with a trial of any type, the one who first prays, whose default position is

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See Mark 9:14-29
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faith and trust in the Lord, will be blessed and truly happy. One of the continuing graces
of the Lord is to give us rewards for the work he does in us. He gives us the faith to trust
in him. The Holy Spirit works in us to strengthen and mature our faith in him, and then
when we show that faith in the midst of a trial, he grants us the “crown of life.” That
crown is for those who love the Lord. In that then we understand that trusting in the Lord
is the same as loving him. One who says he loves the Lord but turns away from the
Lord’s commands, in that then proves he does not trust that the Lord’s word is truth, and
he proves also that he lies when he says he loves the Lord. Jesus said, “If you love me
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you will keep my commands.” If we know the Lord’s commands and turn away from
them, we do not love Jesus. It’s as simple as that. The Lord’s commands are for our own
good so to disobey them is to distrust him, to distrust his love and to distrust his honesty
and integrity. Through Moses the Lord said,

Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands
always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!
Deuteronomy 5:29

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“The Lord is good, his mercies are everlasting, and his truth endures to all generations.” Our
temporal and eternal well-being depends on our obedience to the Lord.

✓ James delineated between trials and temptations. Trials are difficulties that the Lord puts
in our path or allows to come across our path. Sickness, injury, loss, disasters,
persecution, and other such calamities all may come our way. These are testing points to
allow us to exercise our faith in the Lord as we face these circumstances. Temptation is
quite another thing. A temptation is a yearning to sin, to follow a sinful path, to disobey
the Lord’s command. These do not come from God. God would never stimulate our
impulse to sin. He himself is holy and perfect. He has no impulse toward evil and he
would never then point us to evil. No temptation comes from God. When we are
tempted to evil, we need to know that God is not in that temptation in any way.

✓ Our temptations come from our own evil desires that lurk within us. As Jeremiah wrote,
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“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Even though we have been saved through our faith in the Lord, our sinful heart still has
the impetus to sin. As the world, the flesh, or Satan hangs a sinful lure in front of us, the
desire for it comes from our sinful heart. Our only escape from temptation is to turn to
the Lord in prayer. Jesus told his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane,

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John 14:15
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Psalm 100:5
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Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV)
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Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak. ​Matthew 26:41 (ESV)

Whatever evil temptation comes our way, we cannot blame God for them, but look into our own
sinfulness as our danger and then cry out to the Lord for the strength to turn from that
temptation and follow his will and way.

✓ James outlined the path of temptation to sin and sin to destruction. Temptation comes
from our own desires so our temptations are tailor made to match the inner desire of our
sinful hearts. What may tempt one person will have no effect on another. A homosexual
lure will have no impact on a heterosexual person for example. While some temptations
seem to have the potential to draw everyone, money for example, the lure of wealth is
much greater in some than others. The temptation that will be most effective in turning
us away from the Lord is the one that touches the deep inner desires of our sinful heart.

✓ If we yield to that desire and grab onto the temptation, we sin. The temptation is not sin
but the grabbing onto it is sin. It begins in the mind and heart, savoring the temptation,
perhaps mentally yielding to it. That in itself is sin for sin is conceived in the heart. If
we do not confess and repent at that juncture we will eventually put our sinful desire into
action and the sin will become overt instead of covert. That begins a downward spiral
leading to more sin and more sin. David’s sin with Bathsheba led to deceit and murder.
Thus the initial lure to sin will likely lead a person to other sins not directly related to the
initial temptation. Sin multiplies in the heart of one who follows the lure of his desires.
Jesus said to “Watch and pray” when faced with temptation. Paul gave us this promise:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and
he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation
he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1
Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)

While the Lord does not bring any temptation our way, he watches over us so that no temptation
we face is so powerful that we cannot overcome it. In any temptation the Lord provides
us a way out of it so that we will not sin. As Jesus said, when temptation comes our way,
pray and the Lord will intervene to show us the way of escape.

✓ If, however, we continue down the path to sin, the sin will increase, overflowing into
every aspect of our lives. Eventually even those sins which would normally not be for us
a lure will become part of us such that temporal destruction and death will be the end
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result. Since James wrote to believers, we have to understand this as a warning to

believers. Obviously one who does not trust in Jesus has no way of escape from
temptation. We then as believers need to pay careful attention to this warning. Paul told
the Corinthian believers that some of them had died because of their continued sinful
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behavior. He also pictured some believers as coming into heaven with the smoke of hell
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on them. Therefore we know that the believer can so be corrupted by sin that he is
useless to the Lord here, and the Lord then ends his or her sinful path with death. Who
wants to stand before the Lord with that as his or her end?

In reality though no one, neither the ones following the path to sin nor those who love them,
should ever assume that one living in sin is saved in spite of their sin. The most likely
condition of one wallowing in sin is that he or she is unredeemed and in need of
salvation. The prayer of anyone who loves that person should be for his or her
redemption. There is no assurance of salvation for one who is deep in sin and
unrepentant.

✓ The question arises, if God created all, including Satan, how is he then not really the
author of temptation? God created all things perfect but he built in us and in the angelic
beings the ability and freedom to choose, choose to love and trust God or choose to
follow one’s own devices or desires. For our choices to be of any meaning, temptation
must be there. However, our temptations come from within or from others. The lust to
replace God came from within Satan and from that lust all other evil comes. In essence
that is the crux of sin, the desire for us to be in charge, not God. For our freedom of
choice to mean anything, we must have a choice. God does not tempt anyone nor is he
the source of the temptation, but the temptation to the wrong choice is inherit in freedom
of choice. Without freedom we would be driven only by our instincts and natures and be
like the animals or else be robotic beings operating by our programming. God created us
for relationship with him and only with freedom of choice can we have a genuine
relationship built on our love for him and trust in him. In this I in no way deny the
absolute sovereignty of God. Anyone who trusts in the Lord and understands the
Scriptures will see both the absolute sovereignty of God and the unfettered free will of
man. Both are true and we must live with that paradox.
16 ​
​ ​ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17
above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to

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That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 11:30
(NIV)
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If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 1
Corinthians 3:15 (ESV)
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change. 18​ ​ Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of
firstfruits of his creatures. James 1:16-18 (ESV)

✓ Often the good things in life seem to be the lure to sin. It is not the good thing itself that
is sinful, such as wealth, possessions, or sex. The sin is in seeing any good thing in life
as our security, obtaining it as our purpose, and loving it such that we make it our god.
Money is not the root of all kinds of evil; it is the love of money that is the root of all
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kinds of evil. To keep believers from seeing some sort of ascetic life as the way to God,
James reminded us that all the good things in life come from the Lord. The Gnostics of
the late first and second century AD espoused an ascetic view of life, seeing the material
as evil and only the spiritual as good. In that they ignored that when the Lord created the
world he said it was “very good.” Certainly sin has corrupted our world such that evil
pervades it, but the evil lies in the hearts of man, not in the material world. What we see,
touch, feel, and enjoy that is good comes as a gift from the Lord and only the sinful heart
of man can turn what is good into evil.

✓ Thus, after discussing the lure of temptation, James warned all believers not to be
deceived into thinking of the good things as the cause of sin. The love of these good
things above loving God is sin; seeking these good things in a dishonest, sinful way is
sin; focusing all our thoughts and energies on these good things is sin; but the good things
themselves come from God and are not evil, and are not the source of our sin. ​It is as
much a deception to see the good things God has made and provided as evil as it is
to see them as our god.

✓ God, our heavenly Father, does not change. He continues throughout history to provide
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these good things for the people he loves: rain on the just and unjust; food, clothing,
shelter for people regardless of their trust in him; sunlight, air, water, and all the bounty
of creation. In fact, apart from the sinful hoarding of mankind and the violent upheavals
of war, there would be no starvation in the world. The earth can provide more than
enough food for all. Our sinfulness causes us to grasp what the Lord provides, to steal
it, to love it, and to destroy it. If we trust him instead of what he provides or our own
effort to provide, he promised to make sure we have what we need. We need to regularly
remind ourselves what Jesus said on this matter.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what
you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air:

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1 Tim. 6:10
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See Matt. 5:45
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they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of
you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why
are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of
the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will
he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be
anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What
shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your
heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV)

Anxiety about our needs is a sin because Jesus commanded us against it. The Lord provides for
the grass and birds, which are far less significant to the Lord than we are because he died
for us. If he provides for them, he will certainly provide for us. Grasping after these
things: food, clothing, and shelter, is the way sinful man lives. Those who trust the Lord
should live with their eyes on him and seek him and his kingdom. Those with no real
faith in the Lord scramble all their lives for these temporal needs. The Lord knows our
needs and he has promised to provide them if our focus and energy are on his purpose
and will. We get a clear look at the focus of our faith when we look at what we strive for
and worry about.

✓ The Lord redeemed us; our salvation is all his work. Those to whom James originally
wrote were the “firstfruits” of the Lord’s redemptive work. We are a continued fruit of
his salvation. All those who come to Jesus are a fruit of the Lord’s work of redemption.

✓ We are redeemed through the “word of truth.” John saw Jesus as the Word in his gospel.
I wonder if he got the kernel of that idea from James. Just as Scripture is God’s Word, so
also was and is Jesus the full expression of God’s Word to mankind. The writer of
Hebrews made a similar comparison.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the
prophets, but in these last days ​he has spoken to us by his Son,​ whom he
appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,
and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making
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purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Hebrews 1:1-3 (ESV)

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Jesus himself said he is “the truth.” Matthew alone records twenty-five times that Jesus said, “I
tell you the truth.” John records that Jesus told believing Jews, “If you abide in my word,
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you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus is the Word of God, the truth of God, and in trusting in him we are the fruit of his
redemptive work because we have come to the truth, the real truth about life, death, and
eternity.
19 ​
​ Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to
anger; 20​ ​ for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21
​ ​ Therefore put away
all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is
able to save your souls. James 1:19-21 (ESV)

✓ James seems again to have jumped to another idea unrelated to much of what he wrote so
far in this letter, similar to the pattern of Proverbs. In a sense he seems to follow a stream
of consciousness. I suspect as he wrote about trusting in the Lord for our material needs
some who angrily fought for those needs came to mind and he switched thoughts to the
dangers of anger.

✓ James set out the pattern of interacting with others that we should ask the Lord to make
our pattern.

1. Listen carefully and completely to what the other person has to say, seeking to clearly
understand their thoughts, concerns, and passions. Even if their tone and manner is
angry, loud, and intense, we need to listen, asking the Lord to give us understanding
and lead us in our response.

2. When we do respond, we need do so only after careful thought to be certain a

response is appropriate and necessary. Not every outburst from someone needs a
response from us. When we respond we need to speak slowly and clearly. It also
helps if we lower the tone and volume of our response which may dissipate the
emotions of the situation.

3. We should be very slow to become angry; slow to add our emotional response to an
already emotionally charged situation. David wrote the words of the Lord, “Be

12
John 14:6
13
John 8:31-32 (ESV)
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angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.” Paul
in his letter to the Ephesians expanded on this thought.

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no
opportunity to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27 (ESV)

When we allow ourselves to become angry we give Satan an opportunity to do evil in us and
in those with whom we are angry. Thus when faced with a situation in which anger
rises in us, we are better to remain silent, to let the Lord guide our words and
thoughts, and later, before we go to bed to pour out our emotions to the Lord. If a
response is necessary, we must do so only in the prompting of the Holy Spirit, not in
our own natural emotions.

✓ James reminded us that anger never produces righteousness, certainly not in others but
also not in us. We cannot ever get through to another the will and purpose of God when
we speak and act in anger. Our emotions cloud out thinking, drown out the still, quiet
voice of the Lord, and give offence to the ones to whom we are shouting. Nothing good
comes from anger. We cannot advance the cause of the Lord God when we are angry for
in our anger we are open to Satan, not the Lord.

✓ Anger is filled with filth – often in vile, vulgar, and blasphemous language. We are
likely to speak and act in accord with evil when we allow ourselves to become angry.
We are prone to use the name of the Lord God in vain when we are angry. Moses led
God’s people for 40 years. He saw God do many wonders and miraculous things through
him. He actually spoke with God regularly so intimately that his face glowed with the
glory of the Lord. Yet, he struggled with anger and several times let that emotion control
his behavior. Because of his anger he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. God
15
called Moses’ anger a lack of faith. In truth, when we are angry, we are exhibiting a
lack of trust in the Lord that he is in control of the situation. No matter how high we rise
in our service to the Lord, if we let anger get control of us, we sin and in that sin may tear
down all the Lord has done through us in the past. Evil rises in the heart when we become
angry. James referred to it as “rampant wickedness.” Our anger releases the wickedness
that lies within all of us. We must consciously and deliberately turn away from any anger
that rises in us. Only in the power of the Holy Spirit can we do that for he alone can
change our natural, human response in these emotionally charged situations.

14
Psalm 4:4 (ESV)
15
See Numbers 20:2-13
 13

✓ Instead of letting our angry emotions rule us, we are to receive the “implanted word.” I
can see two ways to think of that phrasing. One is to receive within us the prompting of
the Holy Spirit as he guides us through the situation. Second is to follow the written
word of God that we know and have learned as the Holy Spirit brings it to our minds.
For this to work in any situation, not just those where anger rises, we must already know
and have learned the Scripture. Memorize, meditate on, and practice the truth of the
Word of God regularly, so that in the crisis situations the truth of God’s Word comes into
our minds. The Word, Jesus, and the Word, Scripture, save us as we trust in Jesus and
rely on the Scripture. We are saved eternally and saved temporally when we trust the
revelation of the Lord God through Scripture and the Lord Jesus. Salvation only comes
through trusting Jesus as he is revealed by the written Word of God.
22 ​
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 ​ ​ For if anyone is a
hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a
​ ​ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25
mirror. 24 ​ ​ But the
one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who
forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. James 1:22-25 (ESV)

✓ James called us to do what the word “implanted” in us commands us to do, not to simply
be a hearer of it. We deceive ourselves as to our relationship with the Lord and as to the
depth of our love for Jesus when we ignore the clear teaching of the Word of God. We
prove our love for the Lord by obeying his commands. To have walked a path of sin,
ignoring the warnings and commands of Scripture is to give evidence that we are not
redeemed. John wrote, “​​ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in
16
darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” James said those who claim fellowship
with Jesus but disobey his commands are deceiving themselves. Such a one deceives
himself with his own lies, comes to believe his lies, and bases his eternal destiny on his
own lies.

✓ Thus we are to be diligent to study God’s Word, to pay careful attention to the life Jesus
led, and to put into practice in our daily lives the precepts and patterns of Godly living
taught and commanded in Scripture. We do so, not to make ourselves acceptable to God,
but to honor and love the Lord God who has redeemed us. We can only do so in the
power of the Holy Spirit within us. I need to pray daily that the Lord will guide me into
obedience to his Word on every decision. Obedience to God’s Word matters and none of
us should take obedience to the Scripture casually.

16
1 John 1:6 (ESV)
 14

✓ James painted a vivid picture of the one who hears the Word of God but ignores it in his
daily life. He is like one who looks in the mirror, who preens himself, who looks at his
visage, sees the truth of what he looks like, then walks away and by his actions seems to
see himself as much better looking, much more attractive, much younger, and/or much
more distinguished than the reality of the mirror reveals. Just as we need to know the
reality of our own sinfulness so also we need to have a clear picture of our spiritual
condition after salvation. Scripture gives us this and we can measure our spiritual
condition by our obedience and devotion to the Word of God.

✓ James called the Word of God the “perfect law, the law of liberty.” In many cases, law
17
and liberty don’t seem to belong in the same sentence. Jesus fulfilled the Law for its
18
whole purpose was to reveal the sin that imprisoned mankind. In paying the penalty for
19
all the sins of the whole world Jesus freed us from the prison of sin, thus the message of
Scripture is a law of liberty. The commands of Scripture for the redeemed are not
imprisoning but freeing, freeing us from the burdens of the world system, and giving us a
newness in Christ that is beyond human understanding. Jesus said that.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light. Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

We lay down the burdens that the world places on us, that sin ties to us, and the worries and
cares that come with that. Instead we take up the yoke of Jesus which, when we take it
up, we will find it incredibly freeing and light. In that then, James wrote that we will
blessed in what we do and happy in a way we never would have imagined when we were
in the prison of sin.
26 ​
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this
​ ​ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is
person’s religion is worthless. 27
this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the
world. James 1:26-27 (ESV)

✓ In his somewhat stream of consciousness writing, James, for the rest of his letter, gives
one example or another of what it means to be a doer of the Word of God, and not simply

17
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them ​but to fulfill
them​. Matthew 5:17 (ESV)
18
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since ​through the law comes knowledge of
sin​. Romans 3:20 (ESV)
19
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2 (ESV)
 15

one who only hears it. The first issue a doer faces is in our speech. Later in this letter he
dealt with the tongue in more detail. Here he called on us to control our tongue. Gossip,
complaining, dissensions, criticism, and such all flow out of the mouth and all bespeak of
one who has not controlled his tongue. We need to take care that what we say comes
from a heart in tune with the Word of God for in that then we are doing what the Word
called us to do. An uncontrolled tongue hurts those we should love, damages the work of
God in the world, and aligns us with Satan’s methods.

✓ James said that our “religion” is worthless if we do not control our tongue. That is a
serious condemnation. If we have a loose, uncontrolled tongue, if we speak without the
work of the Holy Spirit in us, we, in essence, make the eternal work the Lord has done in
us of no practical value in the world. What we say flows from the heart and reveals the
true condition of our inner person.

✓ One who has the Holy Spirit working in him or her will act in ways that express love to
others, not speak words that hurt or harm others. We are called to minister to those who
are hurting. James specifically mentions orphans and widows as those who need care.
When we consider the children of the street in many places, we should provide and care
for them as we have opportunity. That may be through charitable organizations, but we
also need to keep our eyes open to the opportunities to minister around us. The principle
of Scripture is this: God’s people should have a regular plan to care for those in need. In
Israel, as part of their giving to the Lord, the people were called on to care for widows,
20
orphans, and aliens. I suspect churches should have as a part of their budget a plan to
care for the needy. Certainly we individual believers should have such a plan in our own
giving budget. Apart from our tongue, nothing reveals the condition of our hearts more
clearly than our giving pattern, for the Lord has given us resources so that we can share
21
with others.

✓ If we yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, we will intentionally not follow the worldly
pattern of living. James called that pattern being stained by the world. We should be
different from unbelievers in all our decision making, in all our conversation, and in all
our interactions with others in any way. We should not espouse the world’s value
system, the world’s passions, or the world’s pattern of living. Our security lies with the
Lord God not with any aspect of the word system. If we align ourselves with the Lord

20
so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and ​the aliens, the fatherless and the
widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you
in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 14:29 (NIV)
21
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity
will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV)
 16

regardless of the cost in this world, we will not be stained by the world. That is what it
means to be a doer of the Word of God and not simply one who only hears it.
1 ​
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of
glory. 2​ ​ For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor
man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3​ ​ and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine
clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over
there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4​ ​ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and
become judges with evil thoughts? James 2:1-4 (ESV)

✓ Another aspect of doing the Word of God is to see all people as equals, as the Lord God
sees them, no more and no less. What does that mean? We see everyone as a sinner and
recognize that no one including ourselves is free of sin. Hence we all stand on an equal
plane. Race, gender, age, religious beliefs, or economic, political, and social status are
immaterial and should have no impact on how we see a person. We also see everyone as
loved by God. We see everyone as a person for whom Jesus suffered and paid the full
penalty for his or her sin. God makes no distinctions between people, and neither should
we. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit within us guiding our thoughts and, as we
yield to him, those distinctions and divisions that the sinful world makes will fade into
nothingness.

✓ When we show partiality toward one or another, we sin. That is so clear from this
passage. We need to confess and repent of any sinful bent. Partiality is one we so easily
overlook or excuse. James called all believers to recognize it as sin. John told us “if we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
22
unrighteousness.” The only release from the sin of partiality is confession, repentance,
and yielding to the Holy Spirit.

As racism is the most prevalent form of partiality in our culture, we need to actively ask the Lord
God to root that out of our minds and souls. We have been reared in an atmosphere of
racism. Is exists in Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, and African American cultures. No
group is exempt and believers from all people groups must face this sin and repent.
However, the Caucasian/African American divide has been the most severe and is born
out of the slave culture that permeated the founding of our nation. The almost reflex
reactions that people of both groups have toward those of the other come from that
culture. Only Christ can change that as he changes us from the inside out. We need to
seek that change so that we can obey this command, to show no partiality in our
responses to others.

22
1 John 1:9
 17

5​
Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in
faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6​ ​ But you have
dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you
into court? 7​ ​ Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were
called? James 2:5-7 (ESV)

✓ James continued his thoughts on partiality by reminding us that no matter how poor a
person is, if he trusts in the Lord as Savior, he is an heir of God, a fellow heir with Jesus,
23
and our fellow heir as well. He is our equal, equally redeemed, equally cleansed, and
equally just before the Lord God. He is our brother or sister. When we dishonor a poor
believer because of his poverty, we are treating someone with whom we will share
eternity despicably. Alternately, when we dishonor a poor unbeliever because of his
poverty, we put a barrier between him and the Lord and mask the love the Lord has for
him or her. When we discriminate, we align ourselves with Satan, not with the Lord.
Partiality, discrimination, and contempt for another person have no place in the heart of
one who truly loves and serves the Lord Jesus Christ.

✓ James warns further against showing favoritism which is the flip side of discrimination.
Both are equally sinful and equally in need of confession and repentance. To treat
someone better than another is just as much a sin as to treat a person worse than others.
We treat all people with equal love, mercy, and grace. We abuse no one because of his
status, nor do we honor anyone because of his status. In this passage, James reminded
the believers that it was generally the rich who oppressed them, so to honor them made
no sense even from a human perspective. If we are rich in the world’s goods, we need to
continually keep ourselves from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought. We
should never be an oppressor. Gentleness, kindness, love, and grace should flow from us
regardless of our social, economic, or political position. If we know Jesus we will exhibit
his humility in all our dealings with others.
8​
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself,” you are doing well. 9​ ​ But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are
convicted by the law as transgressors. James 2:8-9 (ESV)

✓ James solidified the truth that discrimination either for or against someone for any reason
is sin. He quoted the law in part, the same words that Jesus called the second greatest
commandment. The full quote is this:

23
and if children, then heirs—​heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ​, provided we suffer with him in order that
we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:17 (ESV)
 18

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with
your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take
vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, ​but you
shall love your neighbor as yourself: ​I am the LORD. Leviticus
19:17-18 (ESV)

Our relationship and interaction with other people reveals the true condition of our hearts. If we
are in right relationship with the Lord, we will not hate others; we will speak with them
24
honestly but with love; we will never seek to get even; we will never hold onto a
grudge; but will seek to show others love at any opportunity. If we do this we “do well.”
Of course, the underlying truth is that none of us can respond in this way to anyone
without the work of the Holy Spirit in us. I don’t trust myself to love another unselfishly,
even someone I truly love, let alone love someone who has offended me, hurt me, or even
just got in my way. Only if we seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance for every day, every
interaction, yielding ourselves to him will we “do well” in the way James meant.

✓ If we every show any partiality to another person, for or against, we sin. The response to
sin in the heart of a believer is simple. If we want to be in right relationship with the
Lord, we confess our sin and repent of it. When that first hint of disdain toward another,
or the first hint of special deference toward another because of any outward condition
arises in our hearts, we need to immediately pray to the Lord and ask him to love that
person through us in spite of our sinful, discriminatory heart. If I hold onto this sin of
discrimination or any other sin for that matter, the Lord doesn’t hear my prayers about
25
other things. Confession is the first step in prayer. We need to ask God to let us see
people as he sees them, sinners yes, just as we are; but also as people the Lord loves so
dearly that he suffered terribly for them as he did for us.

One sin which creates a specific disgust among many Christians is homosexual behavior. God
26
hates that sin; the Scripture specifically condemns it; however, the people involved in it

24
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will
repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19 (ESV) (Paul quoted from Deut. 32:25)
25
If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; Psalm 66:18 (NASB77)
26
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put
to death; their blood is upon them. Leviticus 20:13 (ESV) You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an
abomination. Leviticus 18:22 (ESV) For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women
exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with
women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in
themselves the due penalty for their error. Romans 1:26-27 (ESV) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men
who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the
kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (ESV)
 19

are still people whom the Lord loves; and while we condemn the sin, we still are called to
respond to them with love, gentleness, grace, and respect.
10 ​
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11​
For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit
adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 ​ ​ So speak and so act as
​ ​ For judgment is without mercy to one who
those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13
has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:10-13 (ESV)

✓ James wanted all of us to understand that sin is sin. If we have sinned at any point, we
are no different than someone else who has sinned at some other point. We all stand on
level ground, equally sinful. Thus even for sins we cannot and should not discriminate.
All are sinners and fall short of the glory of God ourselves included, and all can be
redeemed from any and all sins. Thus our attitude toward anyone should be one of
communicating the “law of liberty” which is the gospel of the Lord’s grace that frees us
from the prison of sin. We should never to speak or act in condemnation of the person
for judgment and condemnation is the province of the Lord, and that comes after this life.
27
The writer of Hebrews expressed this clearly.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so
Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a
second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting
for him. Hebrews 9:27-28 (ESV)

Three truths are in this passage. 1- Judgment comes after death; 2 – Jesus bore the sins of the
many, and that includes all kinds of sins, even those we find particularly repugnant; and 3
– Jesus will return for those who eagerly wait for him, that is those who trust him for
their redemption thus do not fear judgment. Thus we can know that only two types of
people walk this earth – those who will face judgment after death if they do not trust in
Jesus and those who have trusted Jesus and eagerly wait for his return. The specifics of a
person’s sin do not matter. What matters is if they have recognized their actions as sin
and confessed them and turned to Jesus for redemption.

✓ We are then to speak and act as one redeemed from sin. Since we have been shown grace
and love, we are to show grace and love to others. If we have been redeemed then we
have the Spirit of the Lord within us. Our lives should be an expression of him, not of
our sinful selves. Our words should be gentle and kind, even when we may need to stand

27
We do call sin what it is, sin. But we do that for all sins, not simply those we find repugnant.
 20

firm and confront sin. Our actions should reveal a heart changed by the love of the Lord
God. Paul, in his first letter, written around the same time as James’ letter, wrote this:

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an
opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the
whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14 (ESV)

Rather than yield to the flesh at any point, we are to yield to the Holy Spirit. In doing that then
we will love and serve others. In his power we live as one redeemed for only one
redeemed by the Lord God can live unselfishly. John wrote, “Little children, let us not
28
love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” Genuine love expresses itself in actions
that reveal the love of the Lord. We need to let the Lord love others through us for only
he can truly show unconditional love.

✓ The primary expression of our relationship to the Lord is in showing mercy to others
rather than expressing any form of condemnation. When the attitude arises in us that
someone in distress deserves it because of his or her choices, we are passing judgment on
that person. All sin has negative consequences that will bear fruit in the lives of the one
who sins. However, our responsibility before the Lord is to alleviate suffering, not say in
our minds or with our words and actions, “you are getting what you deserve.” Caring for
others, particularly those whose pain is a direct result of their own sin, reveals the mercy
of God who will forgive all the sins of anyone who turns to him. The Lord is merciful;
we his servants should also be merciful. In one of the great statements about our Lord,
David wrote these words.

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast
love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does
not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our
iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his
steadfast love toward those who fear him; Psalm 103:8-11 (ESV)

As the Lord’s character fills us we will be more merciful, more gracious, less prone to anger, and
more consistent in our love for others. We will know the full assurance of our
redemption as the love of Christ fills us with love for others.
14 ​
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that
​ ​ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16
faith save him? 15 ​ ​ and one of

28
1 John 3:18 (ESV)
 21

you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed
​ ​ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
for the body, what good is that? 17
James 2:14-17 (ESV)

✓ James continued by addressing the importance of the outward expressions of the inward
change wrought by our salvation. Our works of love, mercy, and grace demonstrate the
change in us, the work of the Lord in changing how we think, feel, and act. With no
effort to alleviate suffering in a practical way, how can we know we have truly been
changed? The genuineness of our redemption through our faith in the Lord will of
necessity express itself in our actions. If we have no inner change, how can we say we
have faith in the Lord?

✓ James specifically addressed the issue of poverty, those poorly clothed and without
sufficient food. Providing for the poor is a theme that permeates Scripture, from the time
of Job to the end of the Canon. Job wrote of his care for those less fortunate than he was
in his defense of his integrity.

If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the
widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not
eaten of it (for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a
father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow), if I have seen
anyone perish for lack of clothing, or the needy without covering, if his
body has not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my
sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my
help in the gate, then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let
my arm be broken from its socket. For I was in terror of calamity from
God, and I could not have faced his majesty. Job 31:16-23 (ESV)

Job’s point is that because of his relationship with the Lord God he acted with kindness toward
the poor and needy. Before the giving of the Law those who walked with God
understood that faith in God necessarily translated into actions of love, mercy, and
generosity. The Psalmist wrote, “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the
29
wicked have no such concern.” Lev. 25:35-55 relates some of the Law concerning how
to care for the poor. God reiterated that command in Deuteronomy.

But if, when you arrive in the land the Lord will give you, there are any among
you who are poor, you must not shut your heart or hand against them; you
must lend them as much as they need. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 (TLB)

29
Proverbs 29:7 (NIV)
 22

Jesus told the wealthy of his day, “when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,
the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid
30
at the resurrection of the just.” While no one of us can alleviate all the suffering around
us, we should have a plan of generosity and care for those less fortunate that we are.
Before the Lord pray out a plan and then follow through on it. However, even with that,
we need to have an open-handed approach to meeting the needs of the needy as they
come across our path.

✓ If we close our heart to the needs of poor people, we cut ourselves off from the Lord as
well, for he wrote, “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and
31
not be answered.” How can we pray, asking the Lord to intervene on our behalf when
we have no openness to the needs of others whom the Lord also loves. Our faith is not
much faith if it does not permeate our actions. What we really believe we will act upon.
If we believe the Lord is our provider, we can use what he provides to meet the needs of
others in harmony with the words Paul wrote, “You will be enriched in every way to be
32
generous in every way.” We need to ask the Lord regularly to let us see others as he
sees them so that we can express love to them as he does and thus we can be his hand of
love toward them.
18 ​
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from
​ ​ You believe that God is one; you do
your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19
well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! James 2:18-19 (ESV)

✓ James dealt with the idea of a works based salvation in one sentence. The person who
demeans faith by saying his works are sufficient has it all wrong. Works apart from faith
are simply the actions of a selfish, sinful person. Isaiah understood this when he wrote
about the legalistic society in which he lived,

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like
filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep
us away. Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)

There is an element of pride in the statement, “you have faith, I have works.” That in itself
underlines the sinfulness of the person’s works. He or she is relying on his works to save
him and salvation is by faith alone. Paul underlined this in his letter to the Romans.

30
Luke 14:13-14 (ESV)
31
Proverbs 21:13 (ESV)
32
2 Corinthians 9:11 (ESV)
 23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace
as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put
forward as a propitiation by his blood, ​to be received by faith​. Romans
3:23-25a (ESV)

After a long explanation of this from several points of view, Paul then wrote, “Therefore, since
we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
33
Our peace with God through Jesus Christ is all based on our faith. No one is saved by
34
his works.

✓ James continued with the real truth about works when he wrote, “I will show you my
faith by my works.” Our works reveal our faith in Jesus, flow from our faith in him, and
point others to him and not to us. Real works are unselfish, sacrificial, and loving. Real
works have no underlying motive to enhance our reputation with others. Real works are
not driven by a desire to make ourselves right with God. Real works flow from the
changes God brings in us, in our mind set, our world view, and our attitude toward others.
Real works show that we do trust Jesus instead of ourselves or any aspect of this world
system. Real works fulfill the will of God in our lives and in the lives of others.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

In one sentence, James showed that a works based salvation meant nothing and that our faith in
the Lord will produce genuine, eternal works that honor the Lord.

✓ James also dealt with the superficial belief system, an intellectual agreement with the
facts of doctrine without a genuine trust and reliance on Jesus Christ himself. The central
tenet of Jewish faith was the word of the Lord through Moses, “The Lord is one.”

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (ESV)

In adhering to this intellectually but never really trusting in the Lord by faith, the practicing Jew
then relied on his actions for his rightness before God. Even Satan and his demons
believe the truth about God, but there is no saving faith in their intellectual understanding

33
Romans 5:1 (ESV)
34
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of
works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
 24

of this truth. What this means to us is that an intellectual belief in the truth of the Bible, in
Jesus as God and Man, in the redemption Jesus provided through his suffering, and even
in his eventual coming again, if that is only a theological position, a passive concept,
instead of a life changing trust in Jesus alone, it means nothing. Salvation is not an
intellectual concept; it is a true, full, and complete trust in Jesus alone for our redemption
and that trust in Jesus changes everything about us. If we are not changed, how can we
say we are saved?
20 ​
Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21​ ​ Was
not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22​ ​ You
​ ​ and the
see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23
Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as
righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. James 2:20-23 (ESV)

✓ Abraham obeyed God when God called him to sacrifice his son on the altar. That act of
obedience was an act of faith played out in what he did. The writer of Hebrews when he
wrote of Abraham’s faith said this:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received
the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was
said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that
God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively
speaking, he did receive him back. Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV)

Abraham trusted that the Lord would fulfill his promises even as the Lord called him to sacrifice
his son who was the promised fulfillment of his promise. So in his work of obedience,
his faith was what moved him to act. His work did not save him but his work revealed
his true faith and trust in the Lord God. As James quoted, “Abraham believed God and it
35
was credited to him as righteousness.” Faith motivated his actions, but it was his faith
that made him right before God.

36
✓ Abraham was called “a friend of God.” Jesus told his disciples, “You are my friends if
37
you do what I command.” Abraham obeyed God and God called him “friend.” If we
obey the Lord because we trust him, then we are God’s friends. A friend of God does
what God commands because he trusts that God knows the truth, loves him perfectly, has

35
Gen. 15:6
36
Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the
descendants of ​Abraham your friend​? 2 Chronicles 20:7 (ESV) But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have
chosen, the offspring of ​Abraham, my friend​; Isaiah 41:8 (ESV)
37
John 15:14 (NIV)
 25

redeemed him from his sin, and is in total control of all circumstances. In that then I am
not sure that all who are saved are truly looked at by God as his friends. Our friendship
with God depends on our faith in him expressed outwardly in actions. While I think
Scripture does reveal that some will be saved who have no real acts of faith, such as those
38
Paul referred to as being saved “as through the fire,” I wonder if they can be called
God’s friend. We sing blithely “I am a friend of God” but are we? Do we obey him? If
not how can we think we are his friend?
24 ​
​ ​ And in the same way was
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25
not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them
​ ​ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from
out by another way? 26
works is dead. James 2:24-26 (ESV)

✓ V. 24 is phrased in such a way that if taken out of context it can be interpreted as teaching
us that our works have a part in our redemption. If we didn’t have his teachings in v. 18
and following on the foolishness of relying on works alone for salvation, we could be
confused. It helps to understand that the Greek word for justified here has two meanings
in literature. The first usage is in relationship to a legal standing, as righteous, not-guilty,
acquitted, or vindicated in a court. Believers stand justified before the Lord God, the
Holy Judge of all people, because of their trust in Jesus. Jesus’ righteousness atones for
and covers their guilt, so they stand as righteous and free of guilt before God. The
second usage in literature is of a proof, verification, or evidence of righteousness. In that
then our acts of faith and obedience which are our works prove the reality of our right
standing before God. Since we know from the totality of Scripture as well as from what
James wrote earlier that our own human works cannot save us, then we can understand
James’ words in v. 24 as using the second meaning of justification, that of evidence.
What James is saying is that no one who fails to exhibit works of faith can be seen to
have genuine, saving faith. They may still be saved for only God knows the heart, but the
evidence for salvation is missing. We should never assume someone is saved who
exhibits no evidence of being saved.

✓ James used Rahab as another example of one who put her faith into action. Rahab said to
the two spies who came to look over Jericho for Joshua, “I know that the LORD has
given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants
39
of the land melt away before you.” In that she expressed in words what she believed to
be true about the Lord. In response to what she believed she hid the spies. That is what
works of faith are: acts that flows out of what we really believe. She believed the Lord

38
I Cor. 3:15
39
Joshua 2:9 (ESV)
 26

would take the land and she aligned herself with him, demonstrating in her actions her
faith and trust in the Lord. However, it was her faith, not her acts that saved her. Paul
wrote,

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved
us, ​not because of works done by us in righteousness​, but according to
his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy
Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the
hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7 (ESV)

Our works do not save us but our works prove our faith and trust in Jesus.

✓ James then made clear that words of faith without actions that support those words mean
nothing. After stating that faith alone saves us in Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul then underscored
that we are called to good works in v. 10. Real faith translates into action. In fact,
everyone lives by faith – it is just that what we trust differs. We can know what or whom
we trust by the choices we make on a day by day basis. If I make no choices or decisions
that show I trust Jesus, then what evidence is there that I really do trust Jesus? Is that
empty faith saving faith? James says it is not.

One example of faith in action is how we use and view our financial resources. The most
important thing Jesus said on earth is, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no man
40
comes to the Father except through me.” I think perhaps the next or one of the next
41
most important statements Jesus made is, “You cannot serve both God and money.” If
we trust the Lord through Jesus, if we have been changed by the work of the Holy Spirit,
we will use and view money quite differently from the attitude of the unredeemed. We
will obey God in how we use our resources and will not look at that as our security.
Tithing is an essential part of recognizing that our security and hope does not lie in
money. It is both an act of obedience and an evidence of trust in the Lord, one of those
works of faith that James said proves the genuineness of our faith. I can hardly say I trust
Jesus if I grip onto money as my security. Jesus’ parable of the rich fool underscores this.
The fool thought his security lay with his wealth but God called him a fool, and said that
he would die that very night. Then Jesus said, “This is how it will be with anyone who
42
stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” The practical expression of our

40
John 14:6 (ESV)
41
Luke 16:13
42
Luke 12:21 (NIV)
 27

faith in the Lord is revealed in our bank accounts. We need to take this warning to heart:
Faith without works is a dead, unreal, false faith that deceives us but does not save us.
1​
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be
judged with greater strictness. 2​ ​ For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not
stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. James 3:1-2
(ESV)

✓ James seems to jump to a new subject unrelated to much of what he wrote before. The
connection is not obvious to me, but his words regarding teaching have always been a
serious warning to me. To be a teacher of any subject but most particularly of the Word
of God makes a person accountable to God for how and what he or she teaches. Any one
of us who teaches should remember that we will answer to the Lord for what and how we
teach; whether we teach truth or lies; and whether we point others to the truth or lead
them astray.

I think this applies to anyone who teaches, regardless of the subject. At all ages the teacher in
school forms the thinking and direction of the lives of those he or she teaches. The
impact of a teacher is huge in the life of a child regardless of the subject matter. Even
those teachers who do not know the Lord, but who lead others away from the Lord
through their teaching will stand accountable to the Lord God for their teaching. Since
every one of us will give an account of ourselves to the Lord, we can be certain that our
accountability includes how we led others in any way. We are to teach truth no matter
what the subject matter and when we teach in areas of uncertainty, we should make that
very clear. Science is one area of serious accountability. So much of what passes for
scientific “truth” is really extrapolations, opinions, and even fantasy yet it is taught with
authority as reality. Teachers of history also fall into the trap of teaching as truth what is
often at best a guess and at worst a reworking of history that has little basis in fact.
Anyone who teaches will answer to Almighty God for it. Thus a teacher should be
extraordinarily careful to teach as truth only what is verifiably true and carefully
delineate what is theory, extrapolation, and opinion instead of mislabeling it as fact.

However, these words of James apply most directly to those who teach about God and handle
God’s Word. If our teaching deviates from the truth of God’s Word, we will answer for
that before the Holy God of truth. I take that seriously as I teach, to not misuse or deviate
from the truth of God’s Word. These words from James echo in the mind of any serious
teacher of the Word of God. Even those who teach of false gods, false religions, and
false philosophies will answer to the Lord for what they have taught. All teachers,
preachers, rabbis, gurus, mentors, mullahs, shamans, and such will stand before the Lord
God at the judgment and give an account of their teaching with the full revelation of any
 28

falseness in their words. The judgment will rest, I think, on what they taught that they
knew in the depth of their hearts was not truth; for all of us have within us a sense of the
truth however flawed.

[God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also ​set eternity in the
hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning
to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

No person is free from the sense of eternity for all people have that in their hearts, and for that
each of us will give an account.

✓ James understood that difficulty of controlling what we say. As that relates to teaching,
we need to pray before each teaching session and ask the Lord to guide our tongue, for in
the moment of teaching, we can easily slip into error or pass off our opinion as truth. It is
perfectly reasonable to discuss our opinion if we so label it as such.

✓ We all have one area in which we are more likely to stumble than another. James wrote
that we all stumble in “many ways.” However, stumbling in what we say is a universal
danger. None of us can say we control our tongue.

✓ The one who ably controls his tongue is perfect – and thus we know no one of us can
control our tongue for none of us is perfect. Therefore the warnings that follow regarding
the tongue apply to everyone, not just teachers.
3 ​
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as
well. 4​ ​ Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are
guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5​ ​ So also the tongue is a
small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!
James. 6​ ​ And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our
members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
7​
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed
by mankind, James 3:3-7 (ESV)

✓ James used three illustrations of small things that brought about or controlled things or
situations much larger. A bit in the mouth of a horse controlled the direction and
movement of the horse, bringing that large animal under the control of the rider. A
rudder, small in comparison to the boat or ship it is attached to set the course for the
entire ship. A small spark or tiny fire, if not contained can set the entire forest ablaze. In
each of these, James pointed to a characteristic that it shared with the tongue, a small
member of the body. The tongue as it speaks sets the tone and direction of a
 29

conversation; it establishes the direction of the life of a person; and it can with words set
in motion great, destructive waves of rumors, lies, wars, and riots. Words matter and the
words flow across the tongue. Uncontrolled, the words we say can destroy much.
Controlled words can build much. Of course, the tongue does not speak independent of
the mind, so it is the control of the intentional mind that is in view. So the message from
God is this: be very careful what you say, how you say it, and when and where you say it
so that good not evil flows from how you use your words.

✓ James pictured the tongue as the destroyer of our souls because of the venom it releases
into the world. In that he addresses much the same thing as Jesus did in his teaching his
disciples.

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a
person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual
immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.
Matthew 15:18-20a (ESV)

The sinful evil that resides in our souls finds its first venomous expression in our words. As we
speak, we reveal the depths of our souls, and uncontrolled, those expressions expand into
actions that destroy. The phrase “unbridled passion” indicates the same condition, a lack
of control of the outward expression of the inner man’s sinful thoughts.

✓ Mankind has tamed “every kind” of beast and bird. That is not a statement that all of the
various species of life have been tamed, but that many different kinds of animals and
birds have been tamed such that they are under control. Across the ages, men have
controlled the savagest of beasts, the wildest of animals, birds, and sea creatures, and
some of largest of all living things to do his bidding at his timing. Even plants and
insects have been put to the use and purposes of man. Thus the will of man can control
so much, yet the implication is that his ability stops with himself. James expanded on
that in the next few sentences.
8​
but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9​ ​ With it we
bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 ​
From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
11 ​
Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 ​ ​ Can a fig tree,
my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
James 3:8-12 (ESV)

✓ None of us can control our tongue for it is the full expression of the depths of our hearts
and we cannot control what we are so we cannot control what we will say. We are
 30

helpless and hopeless before our sinful souls and our souls find their outlet through our
speech.

✓ Our words can be both good and evil, and both flow from the same mouth. We can
worship the Lord with our words but then turn and curse others who are made in the
image of the Lord God whom we have just worshipped. Such a divided impact of our
words ought not be. We should not be both blessing and cursing, but in that we see the
continual war within our souls. Paul expressed this vividly.

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God's law; ​but I see another law at
work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my
mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my
members​. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body
of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I
myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave
to the law of sin. Romans 7:21-25 (NIV)

We who have trusted Jesus have the power within us to control our sinful nature, but it is the
Lord Jesus who will “rescue us” from our sinful nature and turn our words and actions to
the good not to evil.

✓ In nature a tree produces only one kind of fruit and a spring or pond can only have one
kind of water. We however, have the potential to produce a great deal of good through
the power of the Holy Spirit within us and a great deal of evil through the expression of
our natural, sinful soul. James called us to be aware of the words we speak, and by
implication seek the Lord’s work in us to control what we say so that we become a
fountain of good. Sinful words breed sinful actions but if we yield to the power of the
Holy Spirit within us we can speak words of faith that breed acts of faith that will
produce both temporal and eternal good. The war within us between our sinful nature
and our redeemed soul will continue till death. The danger of letting our sinfulness loose
43
always lurks within us. Only if we “guard our hearts” as Solomon wrote, will we
recognize our evil bent and seek the Lord for his power to control it. Every time a
believer does a grievous sin, he does so because he ignored the warning signs and did not
cry out to the Lord within for his power to turn him away from that sin.

43
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt
talk far from your lips. Proverbs 4:23-24 (NIV)
 31

13 ​
​ Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in
the meekness of wisdom. 14 ​ ​ But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts,
​ ​ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but
do not boast and be false to the truth. 15
is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16​ ​ For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be
disorder and every vile practice. James 3:13-16 (ESV)

✓ James laid it on the line. If we have jealousy and selfish ambition, we are not under the
power of the Holy Spirit but have given full rein to our sinful nature. That will then lead
to disorder and every kind of vile practice. Once we let our ambitions loose, we will
excuse any sort of evil to obtain our goal. Even murder, torture, and any sort of deceitful,
dishonest, and cruel act will be done to satisfy our ambition and jealousy. Evil begets
viler evil which begets more heinous, despicable evil until every thought or act is evil to
the core. One who turns such evil loose in himself has no evidence that he is redeemed at
all but rather gives the evidence of fleshly and demonic influence or control.

✓ Those who yield to the Holy Spirit will be different. They understand the evil bent of
their soul. Instead of pride, arrogance, and selfish ambition, they exhibit humility,
yielding to the Lord in meek submission to him and thus they do live righteously and they
do genuine good works. It is the genuine good works done in humble submission to the
Lord that prove the reality of a person’s redemption. As Jesus said, “by their fruit you
44
will recognize know them.” We need to carefully observe our bents and actions to
avoid the disaster of giving in to our evil drives. Confess our first thoughts to sin;
immerse ourselves in the Word of God; pray regularly and continually; and yield to the
Holy Spirit in every circumstance and situation so that we become rivers of good for the
Lord, not sewers of evil from the heart and mind of Satan. We must remember what
45
Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.” If we
remember that, we will be on guard continually, and seek the Lord moment by moment to
protect ourselves from our own dangerous, sinful self.

✓ Selfish ambition and jealous feelings come from a wisdom focused on the temporal, the
world system, and this life alone. That thinking comes from Satan who will do anything
to keep us from an eternal perspective on life. Such thinking and actions are unspiritual
in two ways. First, they have no spiritual origin but arise completely from a sinful heart.
Second, they will accomplish nothing of spiritual or eternal value but only lead to
destruction both temporally and eternally. That thinking and activity is completely
focused on the earth, or as James called it “earthly,” with the mindset that this world is all

44
Matt. 7:15-20
45
Jer. 9:17 (KJV)
 32

there is and all that matters. That thinking comes from Satan and his minions and he will
push that agenda with deceitful cleverness. We must beware.
17 ​
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy
​ ​ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by
and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18
those who make peace. James 3:17-18 (ESV)

✓ In contrast to the worldly wisdom that destroys, the wisdom from the Lord is quite
different. James outlines carefully the aspects of the wisdom the Lord imparts to us. If
we follow his wisdom, we will both enjoy and be emissaries of this wisdom. The aspects
of heavenly wisdom are these:

a. Pure – purity means that this wisdom has no evil undertones, no evil motivation, and
no evil ends. It is untainted by the selfishness that resides in the human heart. It has
no goal for self-aggrandizement. It is fully consistent with the character of the Holy
God. The Lord gives us this wisdom through His Word and through the promptings
of the Holy Spirit within us. Without God’s Word, we cannot know his wisdom;
without the Holy Spirit within we cannot act on his wisdom.

b. Peaceable – If we are peaceable we then are not argumentative, not seeking some
advantage in conflict, but seeking a way to bring peace among men and peace
between men and God. We preach the gospel that brings about that peace. Paul in
46
his discourse on the full armor of God calls our message the “gospel of peace.” If
we follow the wisdom of the Lord God, we will communicate his primary message of
salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Those redeemed by him will be
peacemakers in both the temporal and eternal sense of the word.

c. Gentle – Gentleness means being kind, loving, and caring. Gentleness that comes
from the Lord does not include aggressive words or actions, but a calm, reassuring
manner of speaking and living. Certainly we confront evil, but do so with gentleness
47
and respect, treating the other person, not as scum but as one whom the Lord loves
and for whom he died; in other words as someone equal to and just like us.

d. Open to reason – Here we fail so often, for being open to reason means that we listen
attentively to the thinking of someone else, even when that thinking is contrary to the
Word of God. We hear people out, and then, when we have earned the right to
ourselves be heard, we communicate the wisdom of God’s Word carefully and

46
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:15 (ESV)
47
Peter wrote, “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone
who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; ​yet do it with gentleness and respect​,” 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)
 33

prayerfully. In all our words, we still respond gently and with the purity that comes
from the Lord. When we are speaking with fellow believers in a theological or
practical discussion, the principle is the same, we listen carefully before adding our
own thinking, and we do so with the gentleness and respect that comes from the Lord.

e. Full of mercy – If we are merciful, we grant others the same mercy we have received
from the Lord. We forgive readily; we extend love quickly; we empathize with
others in their pain and distress; and we seek to remedy suffering as much as possible.
As the Lord has forgiven us, loved us; and borne our pains, so we extend that grace
and mercy to others. We are to be a conduit of the mercy of the Lord to others.

f. Full of good fruits – Good fruits are those which have an eternal significance. The
48
character qualities of the fruit of the spirit, the conduct that signifies we are
49
controlled by the Spirit, and the focus on the Lord that informs our mindset as we
50
live in this world are those good fruits. Jesus told us,

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. John 15:4
(ESV)

We can only produce good fruits if we focus on, pray to, and trust fully Jesus Christ. Our
fruit depends on how closely we follow him.

g. Impartial – Impartiality means that we treat all people equally well, with equal love
and concern, with equal honor and respect; and with equal gentleness and grace.
James already spoke of the danger of favoritism. If we heed the Lord’s wisdom we
will never treat someone better or worse than another based on their outward station,
position, or any other externals.

h. Sincere – Some of the aspects of heavenly wisdom can be faked some of the time but
such fakery is neither sincere nor genuine. We who have the Lord living within us
can truly live with the wisdom of the Lord in our lives and that sincerity will come
out in our interactions. We treat others with love, mercy, and grace from a genuinely
loving merciful and grace filled heart. When we forgive, we mean it and we act as

48
Gal. 5:22-23
49
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and
increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10 (ESV)
50
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge
his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews
13:15-16 (ESV)
 34

one who has forgiven the other. The Lord said he has moved our sins as “far as the
51
East is from the West,” in his forgiveness. When we forgive, we no longer take the
affront, insult, or injury into account in our dealings with the one we have forgiven.

i. Producing a harvest of righteousness – This is a summary so to speak of the result of

living by the wisdom that comes from the Lord. The results will be righteousness in
our own thinking and activity. It will also produce righteousness in those with whom
we interact. It will exhibit the righteousness of the Lord for all to see. Righteousness
will surround the one who lives by the wisdom from the Lord, and it will call others
to the righteousness that comes from the Father.
1​
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at
war within you? 2​ ​ You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so
you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3​ ​ You ask and do not receive,
because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. James 4:1-3 (ESV)

✓ If we remember that James’ primary purpose is a call for believers to show evidence of a
genuine faith, then the various leaps of subject matter are easier to follow. Genuine faith
shows up in a changed life. One who claims to be redeemed, to have faith in the Lord,
yet continues to live as the world lives, gives no evidence that he or she is truly saved.
One of the major testing points of our faith is our interaction with other people. If we
treat them with love, gentleness, mercy, and grace, then, that being completely opposite
of the way we would normally react and being more in keeping with the character of
God, we show we have been genuinely and gloriously saved. If, on the other hand, we
act no differently that our human nature would demand, we should be warned to examine
ourselves and see where we have turned away from trusting the Lord.

✓ James addressed the disputing within the body of Christ. If there are fights and quarrels
among those who claim to be saved, then something is wrong. One side or the other or
both are not in right relationship with the Lord, and gives no evidence of true salvation.
The cause of such disputes is always the sinful passions of a sinful heart. The issues can
be trivial or incredibly serious, but the fact that a fight, either verbal or even physical, has
arisen is clear evidence that at least one of the parties and quite probably both are in sin.

✓ James does not mean we should not confront sin, but we must do so carefully,
prayerfully, and with sadness and grace. The one caught in sin may react angrily,
defensively, and even violently, but the one who confronts must deal with the situation

51
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as
the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:11-12 (ESV)
 35

52
with both love and humility. Confrontation is not necessarily a quarrel or a fight; it can
be restorative, bringing about repentance. That is the goal of any confrontation. While
the end result could be discord, it can only descend into a quarrel and fight if the one who
confronts approaches the issue with pride and a judgmental attitude. If we are humble
and submissive to the Lord, we will be quiet when the sinner rages.

✓ James reminded us that our sinful passions war against us. If we give in to our passions
they will destroy our testimony, destroy our effectiveness in the world, and, if we have
not truly trusted in Jesus for our salvation, condemn us to eternal damnation. Our
unbridled passions are our enemy, a tool used by Satan and the world to bring us to their
side in the war against Our Lord.

✓ One passion that can consume us is our “wanter” – whether it is a desire for material
goods or resources, or a passion for position and recognition. We want, we want, we
53
want. In our wanting then, when others have what we want, we “murder,” fight, and
quarrel. We must guard our desires, for if we dwell on what we want, instead of being
grateful for what we have, we will sin and potentially sin grievously.

✓ The proper way to handle our wants is to bring them to the Father in prayer. As we focus
on the Lord, we have the promise from Psalms, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he
54
will give you the desires of your heart.” Paul showed us how to handle even the most
selfish of requests.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace
of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)

Whatever concerns us, rather than stew over it and allow our sinful passions to take control, we
should bring it to the Lord even if our desire borders on coveting. As we pray, the Lord
will change our hearts and give us a peace beyond understanding. He will set the guard
on our hearts and minds, and keep our desires from leading us away from him. As we
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Again – Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of
gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Galatians 6:1 (ESV)

53
I think James had in mind what Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder;
and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will
be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be
liable to the hell of fire.” Matthew 5:21-22 (ESV) Later, John crystalized this in his letter: “Everyone who hates his
brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” 1 John 3:15 (ESV)
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Psalm 37:4 (ESV)
 36

become in tune with the Lord instead of with our own sinful passions we have this
promise from Jesus.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:13-14
(ESV)

James said that these believers did not have because they did not pray.
✓ We can even pray with wrong motives, and if we do so, our prayers will not be answered.
It is my perspective though, that as we pray, we interact with the Lord and he will change
our hearts so that our motivations will change and his Spirit will direct our prayers
toward non-selfish, non-sinful desires. So even if we begin our prayers with wrong
motives and sinful passions, we are still coming to God in prayer. Any interaction with
the Lord God cannot help but change us.
4 ​
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5​ ​ Or do
you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that
he has made to dwell in us”? James 4:4-5 (ESV)

✓ James reiterates a theme that flows throughout Scripture: There are only two sides in the
war between good and evil, Satan’s side which includes all the allure of the world system
and God’s side. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot
55
serve God and money.” James put it this way, “friendship with the world is enmity with
God.” John wrote much the same truth when he write,

Do not love the world or the things in the world. ​If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires
of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the
Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16 (ESV)

We must guard against becoming allied with Satan and the world system in any way, finding our
security there, our dreams there, and/or our rewards there. Every aspect of the world
system will pass away, Satan will end up in the Lake of Fire, and those who align
themselves with him and the world will likewise perish. We must choose sides, and the
side we choose matters for all eternity. As someone said, our earthly life will be
summarized by two dates, our birth and our death, separated by a dash. However, our life

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Matthew 6:24 (ESV)
 37

goes on in eternity forever. The choices we make in the “dash” determine our eternity.
Only through Jesus can we make the right, good, life-saving choice. Satan and the world
or the loving, merciful, gracious Lord God – that is our choice. There is no middle
ground. We choose our Lord by trusting Jesus alone for our salvation.

✓ The Lord “yearns” for the spirit he made to dwell in us. God’s thoughts about us are not
casual, indifferent, or hostile. He loves us and aches when we reject his love, mercy, and
grace. He longs to restore life to the spirits of men; indwell them with the power of the
Holy Spirit; and cleanse them from every sinful contamination. Our God wants to give to
all of us the same open communication that existed between him and Adam before
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Adam’s sinful choice. The Lord does not want any to perish. After his parable of the
lost shepherd finding his one lost sheep, Jesus said, “So it is not the will of my Father
57
who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” The Lord through Ezekiel
asked a question for which the answer was and is always NO. “Have I any pleasure in the
death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his
58
way and live?” God wants us all to know him, but he forces himself on no one. We, in
a way that I cannot understand, choose and God accepts that choice. In some way his
total sovereignty intermeshes with our choice, but the agony of his love for those who
choose the world drips from the pages of his Scripture.
6 ​
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the
humble.” 7​ ​ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:6-7 (ESV)

✓ Our Lord gives us grace. His yearning for us, his love for us, and his suffering for us all
flow from the wonder of his grace. All humanity receives God’s grace in some ways.
The breath of life alone is a grace. The earth, sun, moon, stars, and universe all were
created for our benefit out of God’s love and grace. However, to be the full recipient of
his grace for all eternity, we must turn away from our pride that makes us think we are
someone who is worthy of all he has given us, humble ourselves, recognizing our sinful
helplessness before him, and turn to him in confession and repentance. God opposes the
proud, hence all those who are arrogant, full of themselves, and devoid of humility fight
against God in a contest they cannot win.

[As an aside, this coming election seems to pit two incredibly arrogant, prideful people against
each other. God opposes both of them, but the outlook for our country if either is elected
is bleak for as God opposes the prideful leaders of nations in the past, the people of that

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2 Pet. 3:9
57
Matthew 18:14 (ESV)
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Ezekiel 18:23 (ESV)
 38

nation suffer greatly. The Pharaoh of Moses’ time is a prime example. His nation and
people suffered terribly as he, in his arrogance and pride, fought against the Lord God.
Without the mercy of the Lord changing the coming choice facing us, the prospect for our
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nation is not good.]

✓ God gives his full, merciful, forgiving grace to the humble. We humble ourselves before
him when we see ourselves as we truly are: sinful, evil, without any good in us. We then
cry out to him for mercy. In that moment we receive his matchless grace of forgiveness
through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Lord applies to us Jesus’ righteousness. We
cannot stand before him in our own righteousness for we have none; but the Lord in love,
mercy, and grace gives his righteousness to us when we humble ourselves before him.
No one can or will come to the Lord God who is filled with pride in himself.

✓ In humility we submit to the Lord. Submission is a word that all of us seem to resent.
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This is not the same word as in Ephesians 5:21 – translated also submit. The word in
Ephesians has the connotation of deference, courtesy, and honor to another (implied
among equals.) The word here has much more to do with authority and obedience to the
authority of the one who has the right to command. In submitting to the Lord, we do so
by obeying him who is our authority. He is over us in every respect. In that then we
rightly understand reality. God alone is the real authority. He is over all. Thus we are to
obey him in all things. To disobey him is to rebel against his authority and align
ourselves with Satan who led the first rebellion against the Lord. To submit to him is to
follow his commands. We must then know his commands and we do so by a continuing
study and meditation on the Word of God.

✓ In continuing his warning against friendship with the world and pride in ourselves, James
reminded us that Satan himself stands against us. In essence then James set out the
enemies of our soul: the world and all its allure; our own sinful, self-focused pride; and
Satan whom Peter said is seeking to devour us.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a

roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, 1
Peter 5:8 – 9a (ESV)

Our response to Satan is to resist him. Peter gave that same command following his warning,
“Resist him.” We do so through our faith in the Lord. We trust him, his promises, his
work of redemption, and his indwelling power in us. We can only resist Satan when we

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I am writing this before the presidential election in 2016, the outcome of which hangs in the balance.
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Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 (NIV)
 39

trust the Lord fully and completely no matter what turmoil surrounds us. When we resist
him, he will flee. Satan fears nothing more than the Lord working within a human heart.
When we stand against him in our faith in Jesus, we will win. If we try to withstand him
on our own, we will crumble and fall. It is our obedience to Christ our Lord and our trust
in him that gives us the power to resist Satan. How do we resist him? We pray first. We
must look to the Lord for the manner of our resistance, and in that moment, when we
pray, Satan and the lure he holds in front of us fades and the Lord comes into focus.
Second, we think of Scripture that applies. Jesus when tempted by Satan rebuked him
with Scripture, so he has already shown us the way. We must therefore know God’s
Word for without it, the sword of the Spirit, we have no offensive weapon against Satan.
Paul gave us a description of the armor we have against all the tempting lures that Satan,
the world, and our own flesh throw at us.

Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the
readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the
shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the
evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer
and supplication. Ephesians 6:14-18a (ESV)

Faith in the Lord, prayer to the Lord, and knowing and using the Word of the Lord will defeat
Satan and he will flee from us.
8​
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify
your hearts, you double-minded. 9​ ​ Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be
turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10​ ​ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will
exalt you. James 4:8-10 (ESV)

✓ We draw near to the Lord through prayer and by reading, meditating, and studying the
Scripture. We also draw near to the Lord by considering his creation and all it reveals
about him: his wonder, his majesty, his love for beauty, his intense attention to detail, his
vast power, his breadth of creativity, and his extraordinary care for life on this planet.
Before the Lord God we stand amazed and in awe that he of such almighty power loves
us. In reverence we fall down and worship. The unbelievable part of this is that as we
draw near to him, he draws himself even closer to us. The God of all creation, the
eternal, holy, almighty Lord wants a close relationship with us, something that is beyond
human understanding.
 40

✓ A primary step in drawing hear to the Lord is confession and repentance. We need to
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deal with the sin in our lives, the sin that so easily entangles us, and we do that by
confessing it in detail to the Lord and seeking his cleansing. “If we confess our sins, he is
62
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” As
we confess our sins, we receive the cleansing that comes from the Lord, and that brings
us closer and closer to him.

✓ James understood that much of the time we believers have a double mind. We want to
trust in the Lord, but we tend to lean on the world system as well. We enjoy the allure of
all that the world offers. Only the Lord can give us that single minded devotion to him
and for that we need to ask him to work it out in us for only he can change us. We need
to recognize our double-mindedness and turn away from it in sorrow and repentance.
Whatever laughter and joy we seem to find in our sinfulness we need to reject and then
mourn that we have been fooled by the lure of sin. In our confession, we need to be
specific; in our repentance we need to take deliberate steps to turn away from our sin; and
in our sorrow we find real joy in our loving Lord.

✓ James reminded us again to humble ourselves and in doing so he underlined that pride
will keep us from confessing and repenting. We need to ask the Lord to take away the
pride that grips us, that keeps us from seeking his forgiveness, and that keeps us from
letting go of our grip on the world system. Only the Lord can change us from prideful
arrogance to humble servants, yet that is what we need to find real joy, real pleasure, real
fulfillment, and real peace.

✓ If we are to be exalted in any way, we should let the Lord do it and never seek it for
ourselves. If we humble ourselves before the Lord and before others, then the Lord can
exalt us in his way that brings him glory and honor. We are his servants thus any honor
we get should accrue to him not us. We must deflect any praise we get to him, turn our
minds and hearts away from ourselves and seek to honor and bring glory to our Lord. In
that process, he will give us honor we do not deserve but which comes from his glorious
grace.
11 ​
Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or
judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you

61
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses​, let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1
(NIV)
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1 John 1:9 (ESV)
 41

​ ​ There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to

are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12
save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? James 4:11-12 (ESV)

✓ Speaking evil of another believer is an act of judgment. It is an effort to raise ourselves

above the plane of sinners, as if we are somehow above the sin of this other person.
Since all of us are sinners, without the work of the Lord within us, we cannot but sin.
Our sins may differ but the ultimate consequences of our sins are no different than the
consequences of someone else’s sin, separation from the Lord and, apart from the grace
and mercy of God through Jesus Christ, eternal damnation. All believers are brothers and
sisters in Christ, so again we are all on equal footing before the Lord. Jesus told us how
to handle the sins of another, not in an act of judgment and evil gossip, but through a
pattern of confrontation, the whole purpose of which is restoration.

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him
alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not
listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be
established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to
listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the
church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to
you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:15-18 (ESV)

If we observe a fellow believer sinning, and if particularly that sin is against us, we are first to go
to the person, point out the sin with gentleness and love, with the desire to see confession
and repentance on his or her part. Our responsibility in that case is to forgive him or her.

If the fellow believer refuses to recognize his or her sin, we are then to involve two or three
others to join us in the confrontation, so that the true situation will be known by them. In
that circumstance it is possible, and even likely that our part in the breach of fellowship
may come to light, and any sin on our part will need to also be dealt with. Both of us will
need to confess and repent if both have a sinful part in the broken relationship.

If that fails, then we along with those who accompanied us are to take the matter to the church,
which, in my mind, is to the elders and deacons, the leaders of the church. In that context
the church leaders hear the situation out and call for repentance of sin and any restitution
or restoration needed along with any forgiveness. If the offending one will not respond,
then he or she is to be seen as lost, and outside the fellowship of believers for his or her
 42

refusal to submit to the authority of the church leadership is an evidence of one not in
63
right relationship with the Lord.

If we follow this Biblical pattern of dealing with sin in the midst of the church, the Lord ratifies
our actions in heaven. In that then we can be assured that the Lord will work in the
situation to bring resolution. If we fail to follow the Biblical pattern, either by speaking
evil in the form of gossip and whispers, or by ignoring the sin in one way or another, the
Lord does nothing to bring restoration. Only when we obey him will the Lord work
between us and another believer with whom we have a broken relationship to bring about
restoration.

✓ Judging in the sense of condemnation is a dangerous sin. Jesus’ words make that clear:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be
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judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Paul addressed this
issue in his letter to the Romans.

Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own
master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to
make him stand. … ​ ​But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again,
why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand
before the judgment seat of God. Romans 14:4, 10

To the Colossians, Paul warned against letting the false judgments of others impact our choices.
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with
regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. Colossians 2:16 (ESV)

Judgment is the province of the Lord. As such then, we are to never stand as the authority to
judge another in a spiritual sense. Those charged before the law and government to act as
judges in civil and criminal cases have that authority in a temporal court. The final judge
65
of all humanity is the Lord. He alone can judge perfectly and he will do so with each of
66
us as we die and with all at the final judgment at the end of the age.

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Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give
an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Hebrews
13:17 (ESV)
64
Matthew 7:1-2 (ESV)
65
For [God] has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof
of this to all men by raising him from the dead. Acts 17:31 (NIV)
66
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, Hebrews 9:27 (ESV)
 43

So then, how are we to respond in dealing with others who have sinned? As I considered in
discussing anger, we are to confront in love, calling them to repentance, with the purpose,
not of condemnation but of restoration. Paul wrote,

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should
restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too
be tempted. Galatians 6:1 (ESV)

There is a difference between discerning and judging. Discernment is an ability to understand the
real issues or circumstances, and in this context to recognize sin and properly react to it.
Judging is an act of condemnation of the person, not the sin. Since all of us are sinners,
no one of us has the authority to condemn anyone. Just as we are called to repent of our
own sins before the Lord, so we call others to repent of their sins so that they, like we,
can be forgiven. Our mission is one of hope, spreading the gospel of the Lord God’s
grace and mercy, not one of judgment and condemnation. Leave that to the Holy Spirit,
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for that is his responsibility.

13 ​
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and
spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 ​ ​ yet you do not know what tomorrow will
bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James
4:13-14 (ESV)

✓ James shifted subjects a bit. As we plan for the future, we need to recognize that we have
no assurance of a moment more that the minute in front of us. Jesus told the parable of
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the foolish rich man who planned to store all his bountiful resources and live richly, yet
the Lord said that he would die that night. Only when we yield our plans to the Lord, and
honor him with our steps, can we walk into the future with any confidence at all.

✓ Our life is a “mist” something rather intangible. We are here on earth for only a short
while in the perspective of time. Moses mused,

For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a
sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength
eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly
away. Psalm 90:9-10 (ESV)

67
And when [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: John
16:8 (ESV)
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Luke 12:13-21
 44

“We fly away.” Though this life is a brief moment, eternity lies ahead and we enter it at the
moment of death. As I noted above, our life on this earth is measured by two dates, our
birth and our death, separated by a very short dash. In that dash however, we make the
choices that determine our eternity. Thus we need this eternal perspective in our daily
decision making, fully aware of the brevity and fragileness of this life.
15 ​
​ ​ As it is, you
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16
boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17​ ​ So whoever knows the right thing to do and
fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:15-17 (ESV)

✓ We need to be in submission to the will of the Lord in all our planning. It helps mentally
or even verbally to say the words “if the Lord wills” when we plan ahead to keep our
perspectives in order. Nothing we plan has any possibility of coming to fruition unless
the Lord wills. So as we plan and think through a course of action, we need to keep him
and his purpose in mind. With an eternal focus, we make temporal plans; but we submit
ourselves and our plans to the Lord’s will. He may have a completely different path for
us than we anticipate or a completely different goal for us. If we approach life with that
attitude, then curves and twists in the road will not distress us because we are looking for
the appointments the Lord has for us instead of focusing on our own narrow objectives.

✓ When we boast of any purpose or plan, we sin. It’s as simple as that. To make any plan
without submission to the Lord is sin and a recipe for disaster. Instead, we are to involve
the Lord in our plans from the outset and look to him to bring the right plans to our
minds. Solomon came to this understanding.

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the
LORD. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD
weighs the spirit. ​Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans
will be established. The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even
the wicked for the day of trouble. ​Everyone who is arrogant in heart is
an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished. By
steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the
LORD one turns away from evil. When a man’s ways please the LORD,
he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with
righteousness than great revenues with injustice. ​The heart of man plans
his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.​ Proverbs 16:1-9 (ESV)

No planning that fails to take the Lord’s will into consideration has any chance of success. I’m
reminded of the power hungry senator, Roscoe Conkling, who was senator from New
York from 1865 to 1881. He sought to force then President Garfield to yield to his power
 45

and in a move he thought would underscore his power, resigned his senate seat. He
69
expected to be returned to the senate by the legislature as an evidence of his power, but
the legislature failed to do so and his power was broken. His plans were made in pride
and arrogance and they failed. Submit our planning to the Lord, and he will establish our
plans within his eternal plan. Only then will our plans succeed from an eternal point of
view.

✓ The shift in subject seemed to take us away from the issue of judging others and switched
to the concept of judging our future, laying out our plans and expected results without a
sense of our own mortality. However, after getting us to think through that issue, he
returned to the most important point and that is that if we know the right thing to do but
fail to do it, then that failure is sin. And the right thing to do in the area of confronting
sin is to avoid any attitude of judging but rather to follow the Biblical pattern of
confronting to its conclusion. Similarly, the right thing to do in the area of planning for
the future is to submit our plans to the Lord, pray over them, seek his leading, and look to
the future with our eyes on him, not on our plans. The wrong thing is to plan with our
own agenda in mind and with no thought of the Lord. If we will not do the right thing
we are sinning and we are interfering with the work of the Lord in the situation.
1​
​ Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2​ ​ Your riches
have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3​ ​ Your gold and silver have corroded, and their
corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure
in the last days. 4​ ​ Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept
back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of
the Lord of hosts. 5​ ​ You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have
fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6​ ​ You have condemned and murdered the righteous
person. He does not resist you. James 5:1-6 (ESV)

✓ James had some harsh words for the rich, and we who live in America, need to take them
to heart. Of all people in human history, we live as richly as all but the wealthiest of the
ages past. Since his letter is to believers, he words are aimed at rich Christians. Some
years ago I read a book titled ​Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider. That
challenged me to seek in at least some small way to have a plan of giving to the less
fortunate. We need to have an open heart toward those with less, the hungry masses of
other parts of the world as well as those struggling here in our country. “Whoever closes
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his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.” When Jesus

69
Senators were chosen by the state legislators until the seventeenth amendment was ratified in 1914.
70
Proverbs 21:13 (ESV)
 46

spoke to the rich young ruler who asked how he could be certain of his salvation, Jesus
confronted his reliance on his wealth.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you
have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and
come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad,
for he was extremely rich. Luke 18:22-23 (ESV)

For this man his wealth was his security. Jesus told him to follow him and in Jesus he would
find real security. We need to trust Jesus with our wealth, regardless of how much or
how little we have.

✓ James warned of miseries coming to the rich. In the era of persecution those who trusted
Jesus would not escape just because they had money. In any era of severe distress,
wealth is not a real barrier to the suffering, and the wealthy are less well prepared to
endure the distress. However, James may have had in mind the work of God in their
lives, taking away from them the security of their wealth because of their reliance on it.
The wealth of the rich will mean nothing in eternity.

✓ These wealthy are like the rich fool who laid up treasures for himself but was not rich
71
toward the Lord God. We need to be aware that even as we plan and save for the future
in our retirement funds and other savings and investments, that if we are not open-handed
72
toward the Lord, giving our tithe first to our church, and then have other gifts and
ministries for the Lord as he leads, including a plan to regularly provide a portion of our
resources to the poor, we are relying on our wealth as our security instead of the Lord.
Such a plan will lead to disaster. In one way or another, those believers who are stingy
toward the Lord will struggle in things financial and material. They will be a constant
worry and concern, a snare to keep those believers from an eternal focus.

✓ One principle that any believer must follow is to pay those who work for us what they are
due. No cheating, no holding back, and no defrauding those who work for us is ever
acceptable to God, no matter how we may rationalize it. In fact, we are to be open
handed with those who work for us, pay them promptly for their work, and not begrudge
them their due. In the Law, the Lord commanded that a worker be paid immediately for

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Luke 12:21
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Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and
contributions. Malachi 3:8 (ESV)
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his work. Among the many financial sins of the people of the Lord during Malachi’s
time, withholding wages was one of them. The Lord said,

Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the
sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against
those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the
fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear
me, says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:5 (ESV)

We will answer to the Lord for how we used the wealth he gave us for his purpose in giving it to
us was that with it we would bring glory to the Lord. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul
made that clear.

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every
occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to
God. 2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV)

When the sin of stinginess rises in us, we need to confess it, repent of it, and actively then give as
the Lord leads us to give.

✓ One mark that we rely on our wealth instead of the Lord is grasping at it in dishonest
ways, cheating others in any way so that we come out on top. We will answer to the
Lord for any and all such behavior. Even when we think the bill is high and we ourselves
are being cheated, it seems we should honor the worker and pay what he charged,
knowing that he too will answer to the Lord for his actions, and if we pay we can be sure
we will not have to answer for not paying the worker his due. In any dispute, we should
be generous instead of grasping, so that we can know we have done right before the Lord.
7​
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8​
You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9​ ​ Do not
grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is
standing at the door. James 5:7-9 (ESV)

✓ In a Proverbs like manner, James ended his letter with a series of admonitions, warnings,
and encouragements for us so that we would live with the proper eternal perspective. His
first admonition is to be patient. In the total context of his letter, the patience he

You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. ​The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all
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night until the morning. ​Leviticus 19:13 (ESV)

 48

encouraged was in the face of suffering, persecution, discord, uncertainty, and all the
other pressures of life that can cause us to waver in our faith and trust in the Lord. As a
farmer looks for the rain he knows will come to give life to his crop, so we believers
should be patient in whatever life events we endure, knowing that the Lord will return or
we will meet him first after death. Patience is one of the fruits of the work of the Holy
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Spirit in us. Paul, in his letter to the Colossians encouraged them to exhibit patience
75
among a host of other virtues. If we truly trust that the Lord loves us, has complete
control of all our circumstances, and is working all out for our good and his glory, then
we will endure all while waiting on him, keeping our eyes, mind, heart, and spirit focused
on him. He is our security, our hope, and our joy. In him alone we live and have
meaning in life.

✓ James then warned us to avoid grumbling particularly against another believer, but the
attitude of grumbling is evidence that we do not trust the Lord. Grumbling is a sin. The
people of Israel grumbled and complained against Moses, and the Lord condemned that
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behavior. Grumbling will lead us to turn away from the Lord’s commands as Israel did.
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Paul wrote,

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and
innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and
twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Philippians 2:14-15 (ESV)

When we feel complaints arise in us, we need to confess and repent, and then look to the Lord
for in our trust in him we will shine as a light to point others to him. If we chose to
grumble, then we will face our Lord who will judge our sin.
10 ​
As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of
​ ​ Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the
the Lord. 11
steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate
and merciful. James 5:10-11 (ESV)

✓ The writer of Hebrews wrote of the faith of so many who have gone before us, that “great
cloud of witnesses” who have shown us the way of faith and trust in the Lord. James
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Gal. 5:22-23
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Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and
patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has
forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect
harmony. Colossians 3:12-14 (ESV)
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See Numbers 16:41-50 as an example. When we grumble, we sin. It is as simple as that, and the Lord views that
grumbling as against him, regardless of on whom we focus our complaint.
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They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the LORD. Psalm 106:25 (NIV)
 49

made that same recommendation: that we look at the faith of those who walked before as
an example for us. So many suffered grievously for their trust in the Lord yet they
endured. Jeremiah was so badly treated that the enemies of Israel were the ones who
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rescued him. As the writer of Hebrews wrote,

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a
better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and
imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed
with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute,
afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering
about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
Hebrews 11:35-38 (ESV)

Fox’s Book of Martyrs details the suffering of many believers through the ages who trusted and
endured through torture to death as an example for us as we face whatever lies ahead.
Each example of human patience through faith in the Lord should be an encouragement
for us as we face whatever life throws at us; that we do so trusting in the Lord without
wavering, for he alone is worthy of our trust, and he alone will carry us through whatever
lies ahead.

✓ James referred us to Job as a prime example of the patience and faith we should have.
When we remember that Job’s situation was all specifically allowed by the Lord, we can
understand that we do not know what is really going on. Therefore we should say what
Job said in the depth of his great suffering,

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see
God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not
another. My heart faints within me! Job 19:25-27 (ESV)

If I am truly redeemed, then I have the Lord within me. I can trust him with my life here because
he has promised me life with him forever. His love is certain and in that I trust.

12 ​
But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let
your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. James 5:12
(ESV)

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Jer. 40:1-4
 50

✓ James put using an oath as a most serious offense. How does one use an oath? One way
is in using the Lord’s name in vain as one swears in anger, frustration, or derision. That
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is one of the Ten Commandments that God issued through Moses. For one schooled in
Hebrew upbringing, those commandments would have been central to his thinking.
However, in the context of James, I think he had in mind a second misuse of the Lord’s
name: using his name as a way to give credence to an argument or point of view, “As
God is my witness …” That statement is intended to make one believe what the person
says because he was calling on God to stand with him to certify that what he said was
true. The problem is that one can easily say such words disingenuously, dishonestly, and
deceitfully. We should never presume on the Lord to authenticate anything we say or do.
\
✓ James said that we are simply to let “our yes be yes and our no be no.” We are to stand
on our own veracity. Jesus also said this in more detail.

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely,
but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do
not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by
the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the
great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make
one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’;
anything more than this comes from evil. Matthew 5:33-37 (ESV)

When we take any sort of oath based on the Lord or anything greater than ourselves, we move
beyond right living and into the pattern of Satan. Any words we use to induce someone
to trust us beyond our own truthfulness and personal commitment is evil. We need to
understand that in all our dealings. Our word should be our bond. We make a
commitment, we follow through, but if we fail, while that is wrong, we have not brought
judgment on ourselves from the throne of the Lord. Truth, honor, and honesty flow from
the work of the Lord in us; we do not need an additional oath to support us in that. If we
seek to deceive, we are out of right relationship with the Lord. Swearing by his name
brings even greater condemnation. So, if we are honest swearing by the Lord adds
nothing and if we are deceitful swearing by the Lord makes our sin greater. We need to
take this warning to heart. One who has been redeemed stands on his own word through
the power of the Holy Spirit within him or her. That is enough.

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You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes
his name in vain. Exodus 20:7 (ESV)
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13 ​
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 ​ ​ Is
anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him,
​ ​ And the prayer of faith will save the one who
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15
is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. James
5:13-15 (ESV)

✓ Switching subject again, James reminded us that in any distress we should turn to the
Lord in prayer. James was called “camel knees” because of the callouses on his knees
from kneeling in prayer so much. He practiced what he now taught: pray. In any
distress our first thought ought to be to pray. We should be in such a close relationship
with our Lord that we sense his presence and turn to him immediately.

✓ If things go well and we are joyful, we should praise the Lord, giving him credit for the
good because, as James wrote earlier, all good comes from the Lord. We should so sense
the presence of the Lord with us that we thank and praise him at first thought when good
happens, when what we want occurs, and when we have happiness and delight in
anything or any event.

✓ If we are ill, we call on the elders to pray for us, not simply depend on our own prayers.
From James’ perspective, illness required the support of other believers in prayer. We
are fully biblical when we ask others, particularly the leaders of our church body, to pray
for us in illness. Illness binds the body together before the Lord and we fail the Lord
when we do not unite in prayer for such matters. The anointing with oil had both
symbolic and medicinal purpose. The anointing was part of a commitment of the person
to the Lord. The use of oil was also part of the cleansing process for many illnesses. A
practical application of this is that we should seek and accept the medical treatment
available but first and foremost look to the Lord in prayer for our healing.

✓ The prayer of faith will save. When we pray, we trust the Lord, and believing him is
what is credited as righteousness. While we do accept medical care, our faith and trust is
in the Lord. Even if the illness continues to death, the Lord will raise us up if our faith
and trust is in him, an oblique reference to the promise of the resurrection to come.

✓ In the process of praying, we begin with our confession of sins. As one faces illness, his
sinful thoughts and actions that are unforgiven come to mind. We should confess those
and repent of them with the full confidence that the Lord will forgive them, and if this
illness leads to our death, when we stand before the Lord, those sins will not be held
against us for they are forgiven. Our prayers of confession precede our prayers for
healing or for any other request. We need to be sensitive to our sins and confess them
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and repent of them quickly so that we do not carry that baggage into eternity. We have
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the absolute confidence that if we confess our sins, we will be forgiven.
16 ​
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 ​ ​ Elijah was a man with a
nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months
​ ​ Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its
it did not rain on the earth. 18
fruit. James 5:16-18 (ESV)

✓ One assist in our true repentance is to confess our sins to another, who then can hold us
accountable. Sin is so pervasive in us that we need accountability. Our temptations lure
us into sin, so we need another to assist us in avoiding the path that encourages us to sin.
James assumes a mutuality of confession for he called us to pray for one another. We are
all sinners, so in our confessions, we are to be open to each other and pray for each other
in this. Illness often is a point at which one remembers his sins, but the sense here is that
we should not wait till we are ill, but we are to be dealing with our sins on a regular basis
assisting each other in our confession and repentance and holding each other accountable.

✓ The prayers of the righteous have great power and James said that they work. Who is
righteous? Should we seek some super powerful saint to pray for us? No. If we have
first confessed our sins, and have been cleansed from all our unrighteousness, then we are
righteous before the Lord. We are then the righteous of whom James wrote and our
prayers are powerful and effective. The key is our confession and repentance. Without
that, our prayers hit the deaf ears of the Lord. David testified to this truth.

Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. I
cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had
cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has
surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. Psalm 66:16-19 (NIV)

The Lord heard his prayers, but if he had held onto his sin, the Lord would not have listened.
Confession should be our first focus when we pray. We have no power in our prayers
when we refuse to deal with our sin, but having dealt with our sin by confession and
repentance, we have real power for the Lord will answer such prayers.

✓ James used Elijah as an example of one who prayed effectively, but reminded us that
Elijah was no different than we are; he was a man like us. When we look at Elijah’s life

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If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1
John 1:9 (ESV)
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we can see that. He fled from Jezebel in fear; he pouted and wanted to die; he basically
gave up on his call to minister; yet he also prayed in great faith on Mount Carmel both
showing the Lord was God and not Baal, and also praying for the rain that freed the land
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from drought. God answered his prayers, he will also answer ours if we first confess
and repent. In confession and repentance we bring our hearts and minds into harmony
with the Lord so that our prayers are in accord with his will.
19 ​
​ ​ let
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20
him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death
and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20 (ESV)

✓ We are to seek to bring those who wander from the truth back to the Lord. Our goal in
any confrontation or interaction with one who has wandered away either theologically,
sinfully, or both is restoration to right relationship with the Lord. James already dealt
with judging for that is not our mission. Instead we seek through prayer, words, and
actions to bring the lost sheep back to the fold. Only the Lord, working in us and through
us, can change the heart of the wanderer, but if we are confessed up ourselves and in
harmony with the Lord, we will be his tool for restoration. Such is the promise of the
word. We will see some restored and saved from death, and will see the grace of the
Lord cover over all sorts of sins that have led others away. There is no sin that is so
grievous that the Lord cannot and will not forgive it if the sinner confesses and repents.
Sadly, I think Scripture does indicate that there are some sins that get such a grip on a
person that they will not seek repentance, they are, as John called them, a sin unto death.
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Since John wrote that to believers, that sin must be such that leads to physical death.
Such a one may be the one the Lord referred to in his discourse on confrontation.

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even
to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Matthew
18:17 (ESV)

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Paul too may have referred to the one who sins such that his sin leads to his death. While we
seek restoration for all believers, we accept that some will not repent. Those believers

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1 Kings 17-19
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If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those
who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
1 John 5:16 (ESV)
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Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning
the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For
anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ​That is why many of
you are weak and ill, and some have died.​ 1 Corinthians 11:27-30 (ESV)
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then we must leave to the Lord to deal with for he alone knows the depths of the human
heart. We seek to restore them, but if rebuffed, we simply turn away in sadness. We
make no statements of judgment; we leave that to the Lord.

✓ James’ letter simply comes to an end, not like the letters of Paul with personal greetings
and some personal notes. He wrote from Jerusalem to the believing Jews scattered then
through the empire. This was a call to them to remain true to the Lord in faith. Since the
intended people were in various places, I suspect that James sent several copies of this
rather than just one. As such then, any personal words may have been sent as an
accompaniment, differing for each group. Of course that is speculation, but fits the
abrupt nature of the end of his letter which began as most letters of the day began.

✓ James’ letter is the earliest New Testament writing and the most Jewish of them. His
style is much like that of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. His attestation to
the Lordship of Jesus stands as an affirmation of the fact that all the early witnesses saw
Jesus as Lord and God. There is no other historical conclusion. The historical record is
abundant and clear. To deny Jesus as God is to turn our backs on the most attested to
truth of ancient history. God did not want us to miss this, thus he gave us solid historical
evidence so that we, who did not see the events for ourselves, can know the truth and
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believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

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Jesus said to [Thomas,] “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and
yet have believed. John 20:29 (ESV)