ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND HIS READERS Rather than relying upon his physical kinship with our Lord to get himself a hearing, James calls himself "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." The Greek word "doulos", which is translated servant, suggests the idea of one born into slavery. We are born in... [ Continue Reading ]
REASONS FOR HAVING JOY IN TRIALS James uses the word for "greetings" which means "joy to you." He then goes on to tell his readers they ought to be happy even in the presence of many and various kinds of outward hardships and trials (James 1:2). This is not a faked happiness, but a sincere joy beca... [ Continue Reading ]
ASK GOD FOR WISDOM Having said that patient endurance of trials will lead to spiritual maturity, James seems to anticipate his readers' thoughts. Some would probably wonder how they could approach their trials with joy. They would feel that a greater wisdom than they possessed was required to have t... [ Continue Reading ]
LESSONS FROM THE RICH AND POOR BROTHER In demonstrating the maturity brought by patient endurance of trials, James uses the example of the poor and the rich brothers. The Christian who is poor can rejoice in his poverty because he is rich in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). The rich man in Christ should be... [ Continue Reading ]
PUT THE BLAME ON SELF In the first part of James 1:1-27, trials, or external hardships are considered. Then, as Woods notes, James changes from the noun form to a verb in his consideration of temptation. Woods tells us the verb form means "solicit to do evil" and gives the example of Satan tempting... [ Continue Reading ]
SIN, AN UNWANTED OFFSPRING OF UNCONTROLLED LUST Lust is natural desire out of control. It is not wrong to be hungry and want to eat, but it is wrong to steal food to satisfy one's hunger. "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may h... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD IS THE SOURCE OF GOOD Do not make the mistake of believing that God tempts us to do evil. He would not give man two such unwanted offspring. Instead, God is the source of everything that is good (James 1:16-17). "So Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is God... [ Continue Reading ]
QUICK TO HEAR Because we are born of God's word, we ought to be quick to hear it (Matthew 11:15; Matthew 13:9). The Bereans show us how to do this (Acts 17:11) and Cornelius, with his friends and family, waited to hear the word (Acts 10:24; Acts 10:30-33). Our attitude toward God's word ought to be... [ Continue Reading ]
PREPARING HEARTS TO RECEIVE GOD'S WORD Instead of allowing anger to boil over uncontrolled from our hearts, we must prepare our hearts to receive God's word. We must put aside the clothing stained with the stinking dirt of sin, or filthiness. We also need to sweep clean the heart that has been bubb... [ Continue Reading ]
DOING WHAT WE HEAR The word is only able to save if we hear and do what we hear (Matthew 7:21-27; Romans 2:13). Woods says the verb tense here in the word "doers" is such that it denotes a continuous action. The same is true when Paul says Christ is going to take vengeance on those who "obey not the... [ Continue Reading ]
THINGS TRUE HEARERS OF THE WORD WILL DO James' first illustration of one who truly hears the word is in the area of the tongue. Some people outwardly practice religion by regular attendance, taking the Lord's Supper, singing, etc., yet are fooling themselves as is evidenced by their failure to cont... [ Continue Reading ]