Introduction
The Letter
of James is called a General Epistle (letter) as it was not written to a
particular person like Timothy, Titus, and Philemon or to particular churches
like Romans or Corinthians. Many people believe it was written by James the
Lord’s brother.
Galatians
1:19 But other of the apostles saw I
none, save James the Lord’s brother.
It is
believed by many to have been written between 40AD and 60AD. The oldest copy of
any part of this letter is from the 3rd century which is not unusual
as these papyrus manuscripts were used and copied until they were lost to us.
The oldest reference to this letter outside of the Bible that is widely
accepted is from Origen of Alexandria in the 3rd century. Other,
older references are in dispute. That would be in the 200s. Its canonicity,
that it should be in the Bible, was affirmed by several large church councils
of which it is not important to go into here. It’s in our Bible and that is
what is important. Martin Luther hated it, though, and we will see why later.
James,
chapter 1
James
1:1 ¶ James, a servant of God and of the
Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James
labels himself a servant of God the Father, who I have explained, is the soul
of God, the seat of will and self-identity, and the Lord Jesus Christ, as has
been shown by scripture previously, is the express image of God the Father’s
person, by whom we are saved. They are two parts of the same person; our
Creator, Sustainer, Judge, and Deliverer from Judgement. You can read or watch
my comments on Genesis and my sermon notes on my talks entitled, “Who is God?”
and, “Who is Jesus Christ?” to get more detail and for review.
Scattered
abroad, with
possibly the exception of Genesis 11:4 referring to the Tower of Babel,
typically refers to the Jewish people, Israelites, the Hebrews, and even early,
mostly Jewish, Christians being dispersed.
Exodus
5:12 So the people were scattered abroad
throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
Esther
3:8 And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus,
There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in
all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people;
neither keep they the king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to
suffer them.
Matthew
26:31 Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye
shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the
shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
John
11:52 And not for that nation only, but
that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were
scattered abroad.
Acts
8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his
death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which
was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of
Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles…4
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the
word.
There is a similar greeting in Peter’s first
letter.
1Peter
1:1 ¶ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia, 2 Elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and
peace, be multiplied.
It is
clear that while James is speaking to Jews, he must be, as we will see, be
speaking to the Christians of the predominantly Jewish church of the early
first century after Christ’s resurrection.
James
1:2 ¶ My brethren, count it all joy when
ye fall into divers temptations; 3
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her
perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of
God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall
be given him. 6 But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven
with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not
that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all
his ways. 9 Let the brother of low
degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10
But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass
he shall pass away. 11 For the sun is no
sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower
thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall
the rich man fade away in his ways. 12
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is
tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them
that love him.
Temptations
are things, events, and even people that can cause one to question their faith
and ultimately, God Himself. They can be temptations of the flesh like food,
sex, and power, or temptations of suffering like disease and persecution.
Note part
of my comments on Luke 4:1-13 to get a better handle on temptations.
Luke 4:1 ¶ And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost
returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in
those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou
be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. 4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is
written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an
high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of
time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All
this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto
me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7
If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee
behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy
God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9
And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the
temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from
hence: 10 For it is written, He shall
give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11 And in their
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a
stone. 12 And Jesus answering said unto
him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13 And when the devil had ended all the
temptation, he departed from him for a season.
An important point must be made about verse 2 in Luke 4. To tempt is to test or try.
Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my
patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
When Satan tempts one, tests one, the ultimate goal is to make
them fall. God never tempts anyone of His people for the purpose of making them
stumble as it says in James.
James
1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: [with evil, of course, as the verse is
to be understood]
God tempted Abraham but knew that Abraham’s faith would keep him
from disobeying.
Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that
God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered
up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
A temptation then is not merely a matter of whether you looked too
long at the magazine rack at the airport but a test of your faith, a trial.
Only who is it from; the Devil, Satan, to make you fall or God to prove your
position in Him, if only to yourself? Job’s entire ordeal can be called a
temptation. Early Christians were sometimes faced with a demand that they
reject Christ or die. This is also a tremendous temptation, an assault on one’s
faith, belief in God, and trust in God as can be an illness or pressure from
the world. Noteworthy scripture on temptations include;
Luke 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
1Corinthians 10:13 There
hath no temptation taken
you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able; but will with the temptation
also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Here, in James
1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:
for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath
promised to them that love him.
Satan wishes to have Jesus take the Crown before the Cross and
subvert His mission as Saviour of the world. He uses His human hunger to begin
demanding that He turn stones to bread but Jesus answers with Scripture.
Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to
hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy
fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread
only, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Then, Satan tempts Him with power and the glory of the kingdoms of
the world. God has given those over to Satan and the lowest of men rule over
nations through him as the god of this world system (2Corinthians 4:4). He
demands worship.
Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of
the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth
in the kingdom of men, and
giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
One day Jesus will seize these kingdoms.
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his
Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Christ replies with Biblical truth.
Deuteronomy 6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve
him, and shalt swear by his name.
Deuteronomy 10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt
thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
Satan then tries to tempt Him with presuming on God, to his sense
of self-preservation and tries to create a sense of needing to prove at this
time His relationship with God the Father. He quotes:
Psalm 91:11 For he shall give his angels charge over
thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12
They shall bear thee up in their
hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus replies by alluding to this Scripture.
Deuteronomy 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye
tempted him in Massah.
In these things, Satan tempted Christ with the lust of the flesh
regarding hunger [see Deuteronomy 12:15 for lust and hunger], the lust of the
eyes regarding power and glory of man’s kingdom, and the pride of life with the
temptation to display His supernatural power.
These are types of the temptation that disobedience to God put in
the hearts and minds, the spirits, of Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree
to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with
her; and he did eat.
It is what the Christian must face and oppose to truly love and
serve God.
1John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. 16 For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh
[good for food], and the lust of the eyes [pleasant
to the eyes] , and the pride of life [a tree to be desired to make one wise], is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the
lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
In
addition to James’ thoughts on the matter Paul gave us a promise as quoted
earlier.
1Corinthians
10:13 There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to
be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Such a
test of your faith is designed to create patience, the longsuffering attitude
that makes you useful for God, in the face of an evil world.
Verse 4
defines perfect as complete, lacking nothing.
2Chronicles 8:16 Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto
the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished.
So the house of the LORD was perfected.
Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of
Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye
may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
For verse
5, I always suggest that people pray for wisdom and understanding before
reading or studying God’s word as He promises to do that. That does not mean
that you can’t be in error in your interpretation but you will be amazed at how
God applies His word to your life and even to your immediate circumstances if
you care to hear from Him through your spirit from His Spirit.
James goes
on to say to have confidence in the knowledge that God gives you and don’t fail
to believe because a person of two minds who is never sure can’t expect to
receive anything from God. Having humility in what you think God has given you
and being uncertain and constantly wavering are two different things. The latter person is inconstant in their ways
and not knowing God’s word is unsure if what they feel that God has given them,
that spiritual wisdom and understanding, is true or a figment of their own
imagination.
Matthew
7:7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son
ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10
Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good
gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven
give good things to them that ask him?
John
14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will
do it.
Let the
poor man rejoice when he is lifted up and let the rich man rejoice when he is
brought low as our physical bodies are all events in space-time and like the
grass we wither away.
To
reinforce a doctrine, again, temptations have been mentioned on many occasions.
The word temptations
here is not a reference to our modern notion of being tempted by something
like gazing at the air-brushed images on the magazine rack in the grocery store
or gossiping. This, in context, is about the traps that are out there that
encourage us, attempt to trick us even, to defile our worship of God. A temptation urges us to worship it rather
than God. It is also a trial, suffering, and grief that causes us to doubt our
faith. In fact, it is anything that damages our faith and trust in God.
A personal disaster and grief, persecution for one’s faith,
elevating something like sex, education, employment, or material possessions
above God, and sin itself are temptations to turn away from the faith. But Paul
comforted us with this in reference to worshipping idols but, I think,
applicable to all temptations.
Again; 1Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
it. 14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved,
flee from idolatry.
The crown
of life mentioned here is one of several crowns mentioned in the New
Testament. Modern fundamentalists often refer to these as physical crowns the
believers receive while older commentators like John Gill insist that these are
symbolic of eternal life and eternal happiness in Christ’s presence, not
physical headpieces.
1Corinthians
9:25 And every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown; but we an incorruptible.
John
writes about crowns.
Revelation
3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that
fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Paul,
James, and Peter talk about crowns.
Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and
longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
1Thessalonians
2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or
crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at
his coming?
2Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day:
and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
1Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Are
these crowns figurative, metaphors for the glory we await or are they literal
crowns that can be removed as in the following verse?
Revelation 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before
him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and
cast their crowns before the throne…
Or is it
just these elders who have physical crowns of authority and rule?
James
1:13 ¶ Let no man say when he is
tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither
tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is
tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a
kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
I’ve
already spoken of how to take the meaning of verse 13. Again, though;
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: [with evil, of course, as the verse is to be understood].
We are tested and tempted when we
ourselves are drawn away from God by our own lusts, enticing as bait for a fish.
Lust births sin and sin, when it completes its work, leads to death. James
warns us that good comes from God, that which leads us in our walk with Him,
showing that what our lusts produces is the opposite of what God faithfully
offers us without fail. We are His offspring and a sort of firstfruits of all
of His creatures. Consider these verses.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1Corinthians
10:13 There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to
be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Colossians
1:18 And he is the head of the body, the
church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things
he might have the preeminence.
We are
born again by the will of God Himself.
John
1:12 But as many as received him, to
them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name: 13 Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
We are not
tried or tested by God with the expected and desired result of watching us fall
but we are tempted by our own lusts and God is not the author of such. Do not
accuse God of sin, as one commentator said. God tests us to prove us, to
strengthen us, and to give us more resolve, not to destroy us.
Hebrews 11:17
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had
received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy
seed be called: 19 Accounting that God
was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him
in a figure.
James
1:19 ¶ Wherefore, my beloved brethren,
let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the
righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay
apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness
the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For
if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding
his natural face in a glass: 24 For he
beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of
man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into
the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a
forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his
deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be
religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s
religion is vain. 27 Pure
religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the
fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted
from the world.
Good
commonsense advice is given here. Engage your ears before your mouth and think
carefully before you respond, be longsuffering, and slow to loosing your
temper. Throughout Proverbs Solomon gave similar advice. Our wrath, our abiding
anger, is from our flesh and not from God. So, in this chapter we’ve noted how
sin and wrath are not “gifts from God,” but from our own flesh and do not lead
us in the way God would want us to go but away from God.
In verse
21 James refers to removing filthy sin from your life and John Gill says that
it is like a reference to being circumcised, removing that skin. Naughty and
naughtiness have changed meaning over the centuries to mean something less than
what they mean in the Bible, which is corrupt and worthless. Notice how James
refers to the saving power of God’s word.
Ephesians
5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word, 27 That he
might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or
any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
When the
word of God is received it becomes a part of our spiritual heart and has power
over our sin.
Psalm
119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against thee.
A
recurrent theme of James is that he is telling believers to walk the walk and
not just talk the talk. This is a very important idea presented in James, to be
true to Christ in all you do, not just all you say. He says it’s like looking
in a mirror and then forgetting what you look like, the attractive and the ugly
parts.
The person
who claims to be a Christian, believes God’s word, and who obeys Christ is
blessed indeed. In spite of his focus on actions he does underscore the
importance of controlling our speech. The way Christians speak and what they
say is also an important topic to James; not boasting of yourself, not gossiping,
not backbiting, not causing harm to other Christians, etc. as John Gill pointed
out.
Then,
James defines pure religion, as he calls it, as actions you do, in
particular caring for the widows and orphans in the church and keeping oneself
from the filth of the world’s ways. This is not necessarily about a works
religion but your faith being expressed in more than just your words and
declarations. This is a very important point for James.
