Chapter One-hundred-twelve
Epistle from James
INTRODUCTION and CHAPTER ONE
The following is taken from the NKJV Personal Study Edition,
Nelson Publishers, 1990,1995.
The Epistle of James is known as one of the General Epistles
of the New Testament. They are called general because they were
written as circular letters to be passed around and read in
several churches.
AUTHOR AND DATE
The writer identifies himself only as "James, a bondservant
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:1). The author was
probably the same James who led the church in Jerusalem (Acts
15:13). Paul refers to this James as "the Lord's brother," and
includes him among the "apostles" (Gal.1:19). He also
characterizes him as one of the "pillars" of the church (Gal.
2:9).
This James is mentioned twice in the Gospels (Matt.13:55;
Mark 6:3), both times as one of the brothers of Jesus. Although
he is not called a follower of the Lord until after the
Resurrection, he was probably among those early disciples who
obeyed Jesus' command to wait in the Upper Room, and who were
there filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14; 2:4). When Peter
left Palestine (Acts 12:17), James seems to have become the
leader of the Jerusalem church.
There is no word in the letter that tells us when it was
written. The important point, however, is not the exact year but
the period. James was martyred about A.D.63. Conservative
scholars therefore usually hold to a date somewhere between A.D.
45 and 62.
BACKGROUND
As leader of the very first church (the church in
Jerusalem), James would feel a responsibility for the spiritual
life of Christ's followers wherever they were. Thus he wrote this
book from pastoral concern to address needs and problems
widespread in the church.
CONTENTS
James is a pastoral letter of practical counsel concerning
attitudes and actions affecting the spiritual life of the church.
The themes follow closely Jesus' own teachings in the Sermon on
the Mount. In the epistle we find discussions of the Christian
attitude toward trials and temptations, of the right response to
poverty, and of the right use of riches. James writes about
discrimination, treating others as we would wish to be treated,
Christian use of the tongue, the responsibility of teachers,
godly wisdom, God's plan for a holy people, and His judgment on
selfish persons. The letter concludes with an appeal to the
Christian's hope in the Second Coming of Christ. Meanwhile God's
people are to continue in prayer, praise, and faithful Christian
living.
James's deep concern for the practical outcome of Christian
faith may seem to oppose Paul's emphasis on salvation by faith
alone. James's position, however, is not an attack on salvation
by faith; it is a protest against hypocrisy. He wants the world
to know that faith is a transforming force. Salvation by faith
results in holy living. This does not contradict Paul's teaching
- it complements it. The two emphases are the two facets of a
full-orbed Christian faith-redemption and holy living.
James is sure that serving God makes good sense. If you
believe what Scripture teaches and if you live by its guidelines,
you will come out better than following any alternative. For this
reason the book is often compared with the wisdom literature of
Old Testament: Job, Proverbs, some Psalms, and Ecclesiastes.
PURPOSE
The letter was written to encourage Christians who were
suffering cause of their faith. It was addressed "to the twelve
tribes which are scattered abroad (1:1)........
These Christians of the first century, whether Jews or
Gentiles, were always a small minority. They were, therefore,
subject to suspicion and sometimes to persecution James
recognizes these hazards, but encourages Christians to remain
faithful to Christ even when it is difficult or dangerous. He
followed his own counsel by dying as a martyr for the faith
around A.D. 63.
OUTLINE OF JAMES
1. Salutation 1:1
2. Steadfast in the faith 1:2-27
A. Facing tests 1:2-11
B. Overcoming temptation 1:12-18
C. Doers of the word 1:19-27
3. Christian standards of value 2:1-13
4. Works follow true faith 2:14-26
5. Christian speech 3:1-12
6. The wisdom of God 3:13-18
7. A call to Christian holiness 4:1-17
A. Cleansing, the solution to strife 4:1-10
B. Submitting to the law and will of God 4:11-17
8. Judgment on the ungodly rich 5:1-6
9. The Second Coming, a hope for Christians 5:7-12
10. Prayer, faith, and reclamation 5:13-20
.................
CHAPTER ONE
James says that he was a "bondservant" of the Lord Jesus,
not just a servant, but the Greek is "bond" servant, or slave
servant, one that is bought for a price. All Christians are
bought for a price, the price was the very blood of Jesus Christ.
He addresses his epistle to "the twelve tribes scattered
abroad." This is not some fanciful idea (put forth by some modern
scholars) of Jewish and maybe Gentile Christians here and there,
but it means what he said it to mean .... the TWELVE TRIBES OF
ISRAEL, scattered abroad. And they were indeed. The TEN TRIBES en
mass had not returned to Palestine after being deported from
Samaria by the Assyrians in 1745-718 B.C. Nor had many of the
Jews returned to Palestine after the 70 year captivity in
Babylon, which started about 604 B.C. Truly the twelve tribes of
Israel were scattered abroad in the Roman Empire.
A good percentage of the people he was writing to, were very
carnal in their nature, they had wars and fightings among
themselves (chapter 4). What religion they had was shallow
indeed, mixed up in some theological matters, and needed some
major over hauling. Some had only a form a godliness, but lacked
spiritual depth. All this would hold true that he was writing to
a far flung people that had traces of Christianity and God, but
needed much help to guide them into true deep roots of what
Christianity and being a child of God REALLY meant.
He wanted them to know that having trials and tests, was a
good thing, from time to time, for it produced patient endurance,
and letting patient endurance produce spiritual muscle, they
would become mature and complete, and would lack nothing in
fighting the spiritual battle against sin, the world, and the
Devil (verses 1-4).
Certainly no one wants trials, and tests, and troubles, to
be a daily way of life. Hopefully, for most, that will not be the
case. Paul had his times of trials and testings, but as he said,
he also had times of fullness and plenty. He just learnt to be
content with whichever way it was. Jesus taught us to pray (in
what is known as the Lord's Prayer) that the Father wound not
"lead us into (temptation) trials." Which means by looking at
the whole Bible, that we will be guidable, teachable, correctable
people, so God does not have to deal with us in a disciplinarian
manner. But sometimes the Lord allows certain trials and tests to
come our way. If we endure through them, we will build spiritual
muscle and have the mental and emotional tools to endure to the
end in our Christian walk.
If we need WISDOM, we are to ask for it, but we are to ask
in FAITH, not doubting that we shall have it. A doubting person
is like a wave of the sea, just tossed about by the wind. A
doubting or double-minded man is unstable in many of his ways,
and such a person should not deceive themselves into thinking God
can answer and give them what they desire. A person must have
FAITH that God will give them wisdom if they lack it and ask to
have it (verses 5-8).
The books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, are looked
upon as the WISDOM books. They contain great truths to make one
wise, then again all the Bible gives us great wisdom as to how to
live pleasing to God. Many examples of wisdom and the lack of
wisdom are presented to us throughout the Bible. We need to read
and meditate on all of it.
The Bible is not the sum total of all that can be thought of
as "wisdom." Our lives may cover many aspects of where wisdom is
needed to be used. There are people who specialize in various
skills of knowledge and wisdom. Going to the right school, taking
the right courses for your abilities and aptitudes, marrying the
right mate, buying a home, correctly managing your finances,
correctly rearing your children, getting correct advice on
plumbing, electrical, car repairs, dog training (if you decide to
have one) etc. etc.
It is a wise move to seek out wise and knowledgable people
on things that you may have little knowledge about. That is an
all important point in being wise, to acknowledge you are not the
sum total of wisdom, and that others have wisdom in different
areas of life that you need to gather from them.
Wisdom is a somewhat LARGE topic and certainly a large part
of what you will need in life as you live as a Christian and walk
through the day to day world. But the basic points above are your
overall outline of being a person of wisdom.
The lowly person in material wealth is to rejoice that God
has called them, that they are loved and precious in the sight of
the Lord. They have a calling that is FAR greater than what any
physical material wealth in this life can offer them. It is a
calling that truly blows your mind, when you know the truth about
the end result of that calling. The Christian's destiny is beyond
what the human mind can really comprehend. I have written about
it on my Website in a study called "A Christian's Destiny." It
will give you the technical truth of the matter, but to fully
understand what this means we shall have to wait till our
resurrection. Yet the technical truth God does want us to
understand and to know.
The physical rich person in this life, needs to know that
physical riches are not the important thing, they will fade away,
will go someday. That day may not be until your death, but as
they say, "You can't take it with you" - your physical riches
that is. This human life is relatively short, in terms of
eternity, somewhat like a blade of grass, it rises, the sun beams
down, and it is burnt up, gone. If your physical riches are your
whole life and mind, then your life will soon be over and you
will fade away.
The point is: if you are physically rich, use it to the
glory of God, serve others with it, and do not let those riches
dominate your life, remember that serving God IS the most
important of all. Some of God's children have been physically
wealthy in the past ages, but they first had their mind on God
and His way of life, and then they used their riches to help and
serve others (verses 9-11).
James says it is a blessing for a person to endure
temptation and trials. When he so endures a crown of life will be
given. Jesus said in the Gospels, "He that shall endure to the
end shall be saved." There is no such teaching in the Bible as
"once saved always saved." The Bible and certainly the New
Testament, teaches over and over again, that you must remain
faithful in your Christian walk right to the end of your life. We
have covered this basic and foundational truth many times in this
NT story, and in a number of in-depth articles I have written on
that subject. God has promised a crown of life to those who love
Him. What loving God means is certainly covered in a clear and
plain manner by the apostle John in all the books that bear his
name.
When trials and tests come, we must not think that God is
tempting us to do evil or sin. Now, sure, it is possible to sin
when such trials and tests come our way. But those trials and
tests are not sent or allowed by God to come upon us in order for
us to be tempted to sin. God is not sitting down in heaven,
scratching His head, meditating in deep thought, as to how to
tempt us to sin and do evil. God is not calling Jesus in, and all
the 24 elders around the His throne, and maybe some of the arch
angels, to figure out ways to get us to do evil or sin. In
sending or allowing trials and tests to come our way, God is not
wanting us to sin, He desires us not to sin. He allows those
trials and tests for another purpose altogether, and certainly
does not have in mind that we sin as we go through and face those
trials and tests. Trials and tests are to help us develop
stronger spiritual muscles, so we can have good strong godly
strength to endure to the end, no matter what life may throw at
us. As some have said, "Bad things can and do happen to good
people." As is written in the wisdom of Solomon in Ecclesiastes,
"Time and chance happen to all." God NEVER wants or intends us to
do evil or sin, when trials and tests come our way.
If during those times of trials and testing we do sin, it is
not anything that God can be blamed for. God is there to give us
the power, the strength, through His Holy Spirit to overcome sin
and evil, just as Jesus did when tempted by the Devil after
fasting for 40 days, and at other times tempted as we are, as
Paul wrote to the Hebrews, yet did not sin.
We are led into sin, when we meditate on sin, when we
dwell on it, when we allow it to stick around in our minds, when
we allow our own desires and lusts of carnal nature to entice us
to keep meditating on evil and sin. Then when desire has festered
in our minds, it finally gives birth to sin, and when sin has
developed itself, made growth, then spiritual death comes forth -
we have then sinned.
An example is always the best to illustrate this truth. God
made the physical body of a grown woman a thing of beauty to the
male mind. There is nothing sinful about the lovely body of a
lovely lady. You are perhaps on the beach, on a hot sunny day,
and there are many lovely bodied ladies on that beach also. True
enough some should not be wearing what they are wearing, the
least amount of swim wear you can without having the police take
them of the beach. You as a male, can see what is certainly a
lovely well formed figure of a lady. You can admit she is lovely
in form all over, a contender for the Miss Universe contest, for
sure. There is nothing so far wrong with this. But if you allow
your eyes and mind to dwell on her body, allow your mind to
wander into sexual lust, allow sexual fantasy to stick around and
grow, then sin has given birth and you have been drawn away by
your own desires and lusts and enticed to sin.
Now, I do not want to just pick on the male, I understand
from what females have told me, that the above example can work
just as well for the female if she sees on the beach some great
physical muscular hulk of a man. Sin knows no discrimination.
So it goes, there are all kinds of examples one could think
about, where it is not sin initially, but if the mind is allowed
to be enticed into wrong thoughts and then maybe wrong actions,
sin has been born and spiritual death has given birth (verses 12-
15).
No evil comes from God. He is not up there thinking about
ways to bring evil and sin to you or the world. Trials and tests
He may send or allow to come, but evil and sin, does not come
from Him. Only good is from God. He wants to give good and
perfect gifts to you and the world. He is the Father of LIGHT,
not darkness. He has no turning or clouding over of His light.
His light is always light, pure holy righteous truth and light.
It was His will to bring forth children to Himself, by and
through the WORD of TRUTH! We, His children, are FIRSTFRUITS to
His plan of salvation for all mankind. We, today, called to be
His children, are the FIRST of all those born in the past,
present, and future ages of mankind. I have covered this
wonderful truth in past chapters of this NT Bible Story and in
articles of study I have written on the subjects of being called
and chosen and having salvation, as well as the studies on the
overall PLAN of salvation for mankind.
God has a FIRST-fruits to salvation, and He has a SECOND-
fruits to His salvation. The firstfruits will be in the FIRST
resurrection at the coming of Christ in glory to establish the
Kingdom of God on earth. The others, the second-fruits to
salvation will be AFTER that first resurrection of the first-
fruits (verses 16-18).
With all this in mind, James tells us to be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not work
the righteousness of God (verse 19).
Oh, indeed, what the anger of man has done to bring evil and
sin upon himself and others. Think of the anger that led to
September 11th 2001 and the World Trade Centre. Think of the
anger that led to School and University killings of the past
(remember Virginia Tech. - April 2007).
Paul was inspired to say, "Be angry and SIN NOT." There is a
time for righteous anger (Jesus was angry at times), but NEVER
for SIN in that anger. The un-righteous anger of man does NOT
produce the righteousness of God (verse 20).
We are to lay aside all filthiness and wickedness, and with
meekness receive the implanted word of God, live by every word of
God, which will then save our lives (verse 21).
We are to not ONLY be HEARERS of the word, but DOERS of the
word. If we only hear but do not obey the word, it is like a man
looking at himself in the mirror, saying to himself, "Why, what a
dirty unshaved, grime looking face I have," but goes away
forgetting what he's looking like.
But he who looks into the LAW OF LIBERTY and CONTINUES
therein, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a DOER of the word,
he will be blessed in his doing (verses 22-25).
Ah, God's law is not evil, hard, something to hate,
something to avoid like the plague! It is a law of LIBERTY. Mark
that in your Bible! Color it yellow! God's law is LIBERTY, it
brings wonderful blessings to those who obey it. LOOK AT IT, read
Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5. If the whole world was obeying those
Ten Commandments, what a great place it would be. It would be a
place unrecognizable. Let your mind wander on how this world would
be if all nations and all people were obeying the Ten Commandments.
Frankly, the negative things you've heard from some parts of the
Christian religious world concerning the Ten Commandments, is
ONLY because of the FOURTH commandment! Those people just do not
want to observe the weekly Sabbath day! They have no problem with
the other nine, but they will not give up wanting to do their own
thing on the weekly 7th day Sabbath.
But even the Sabbath day command is a law of LIBERTY, and to
those who observe it, indeed what liberty it brings. There is
great liberty in putting the world, and our work and business to
one side for a whole day, and saturate ourselves in the word and
fellowship of the Lord. Without that command, many of us would
work 7 days a week, week after week, and month after month.
God's LAW is a law of LIBERTY!
Our tongue, what comes out of our mouth in words is more
important than many Christians think. James tells us that if we
do not bridle our words, our tongue, watch what we say in our
conversation with others, we deceive our own hearts and mind, our
religion is then useless and vain.
As I got older in the church I grew up in, and entered more
and more the adult world of those adults in my church, I was
shocked to find how their language was way different (in a bad
way) outside of the two hour church service. Our language and the
tone of our voice belays the depth of our Christianity. If we do
not control our tongue our religion is vain and useless (verse
26).
There are many things in the Bible that define for us what
true Christ-likeness and following God is all about. Here in
verse 27, James gives us two things that govern our spiritual
thermometer. I suspect these two criterion would not be the first
to come to a Christian's mind if asked what makes a true
Christian. James says to visit the orphans and widows in their
trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world, is pure
and undefiled religion before God the Father.
The Lord gave many laws to Israel under the Old Covenant
that regulated how orphans and widows would to be helped and
served. There are many prophetic warnings to Israel in the books
of the prophets, that condemn Israel for NOT looking after the
orphans and widows as they should have.
It is no light thing to God to forsake caring for the
orphans and widows. You should mediate on how you can serve the
orphans and widows in your community or inner circle of life.
To keep oneself unspotted from the world - well maybe that
would come to a Christina's mind when thinking about what is a
true Christian. But let me tell you it is way more than what some
religions say it is. It is way more than not playing cards,
entering a movie theatre, not dancing, not wearing make-up. Sure,
all of the aforementioned could entail sin in them, if used
wrongly. But being unspotted from the world is far more than JUST
some physical things, that some religions thinks is worldliness.
If you are following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ,
reading all the Bible, meditating on all the lives of all those
in the Bible who were godly, yes, seeing their mistakes and sins,
but also seeing their righteousness before God. If you are
studying to see WHAT and HOW our heavenly Father wants you to
live, if you are allowing the mind of Christ to be in your mind,
you will come to know what being unspotted from the world is all
about.
......................
Written April 2007
  Chapter One-hundred-thirteen:Epistle from James #2
Chapter One-hundred-thirteen
Epistle from James #2
Chapters Two and Three
CHAPTER TWO
Verses 1-9, show that James was writing to a general
population, as we have seen, in the first verse of chapter one,
to the twelve tribes of Israel scattered abroad. A general
population where synagogues would have been full of people from
the rich to the very poor, where many would not have a deep
profound relationship with God, and many even less with the Lord
Jesus Christ. It would vary from assembly to assembly of course.
But it would be to some extent as Paul was to write about the
"last days" - having a form of godliness but denying the power
thereof." For many in the scattered synagogues of scattered
Israel, their religion would be a "form" only - a few hours a
week only religion, after those few hours they would pretty well
do as they pleased. Which would, for the physically rich, mean
they would drag poor people before the judgment seats of the
land, if it was to their advantage.
It is a fact of recorded Jewish history that Christians did
worship in the synagogues for a number of decades after the
Christian faith was fully started in 30 A.D. And sure enough
within many of those scattered Jewish synagogues, were a large
mixture of people from the very poor to the very wealthy. In the
main the majority of Christians in those assemblies were of
the former class - relatively in the poor strata of society, as
James mentions in verse 5, and Paul also affirmed in 1
Corinthians 1:26,27.
There would be in those assemblies, some class distinction
and class prejudice. Not all would be of the Christian faith, and
not all would be very godly in their basic way of living. The
rich would certainly have the power to bring people before the
courts and judgment seats of the world.
For those assemblies that were more "Christian" than Jewish,
or shall we say assemblies run by the Christians, rather than run
by the Jews (and Christians assemblies would have been "open" to
anyone wanting to worship with them on the Sabbath and Festivals,
where it was safe to be open, and many parts of the Roman Empire
were safe places for open worship, the Romans allowed the Jews
freedom of worship, as long as they were "good" citizens of
Rome), James was addressing the human problem of "respect of
persons."
There should be no respect of persons in the manner and way
you treat either the wealthy of the poor in your assembly. Rich
expensive clothes and costly jewelry or the lack of, does not
make the person. Outward dress is not a part of the real
spiritual character of a person. If we bend over backwards to be
nice to the wealthy and give them the best seats in the
assembly, and talk and act the exact opposite with the poor, then
James says we have become partial in ourselves and have also
become judges with evil thoughts (verse 4).
He goes on to say that by and large, God has called and
chosen today the poor of this world, ones rich in faith, though
relatively poor in physical wealth. Paul was inspired to say the
same thing, that not many physical wealthy people are called to
the Kingdom of God in this age. How many millionaires do you know
in your assembly, oh, there may be some, but for the most part,
most assemblies are made up of the average to lower income
bracket of the work-a-day world.
In James' time, I guess from what he said in verse 6, it was
common practice for the rich to drag the poor before the
judgments seats of the land. James wanted Christians to live and
act with no respect of persons in their attitude of mind. They
were to fulfil the ROYAL LAW of God that could be often summed up
as "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." And we know from
the words of Jesus that our neighbor is ANY other fellow human
being. Jesus clearly taught that, in His ministry, as we have
previously seen in the four Gospels.
It is a very important point and subjec, is the one
regarding "respect of persons" - so much so that James said in
verse 9, "But if you have respect of persons, you commit SIN, and
are convinced of the LAW as TRANSGRESSORS!
We as Christians are to have the attitude of mind towards
any other, that we wish they would have towards us, it is indeed,
"Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you."
All of what James is expressing is found in the LAW of God.
The law of God is not just a narrow 10 points, as people know as
the famous TEN COMMANDMENTS, found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy
5. The law of God is much broader than that. The Ten Commandments
are just the high-light of all that is holy and righteous - that
makes up the whole character of God, and the way of life that He
would want His children to live in this physical life on this
physical earth.
There is no specific point in the Ten Commandments that
says, "You shall not have respect of persons with each other."
But James has already said that living a life with respect of
persons is SIN, and you are convinced, convicted by the law as a
transgressor of that holy law of Godlyf you have respect of persons.
This section of New Testament Scripture is one proof that
the Ten Commandments are MUCH BROADER in intent and application,
than just the literal words they contain. We saw in the famous
so-called "Sermon on the Mount" of Matthew 5,6,7, that Jesus came
to MAGNIFY the law of God. He did not come to make it smaller, or
do away with one or more of the Ten Commandments. He came as
Isaiah the prophet wrote, to MAGNIFY THE LAW (see Isaiah 42: 21).
This section of James chapter 2, does just that also, it
MAGNIFIES the ROYAL law (verse 8) - the law of LIBERTY! (verse
12).
Sin is sin, and sin is defined by the Word of the Lord. You
may not sin in a number of ways, but sin only in one sin and you
have still sinned. Or to put it the way James did, you can keep
correctly all the laws of God, but offend, or sin in just one of
those laws and you have stilled sinned, or in the long and short
of it all, you have offended in all. It only takes ONE sin or
offence in ONE point of God's law, that is not repented of, where
you will just not REPENT of breaking that point of His royal law,
and you are standing on the ground of the unpardonable sin. Remain
UN-repented towards that law of God and you will be condemned to
eternal death.
What James quotes in verse 11 is obviously from the Ten
Commandments - adultery - murder. It does not matter which you
sin in, he just named "respect of persons" as sin - if you are
unrepented of any sin, you are a transgressor of the royal law,
the law of liberty.
The LAWS of God are classified as LIBERTY, not bondage! And
it is that law of liberty (just think what liberty from evil it
would bring this world if all nations and people lived by the Ten
Commandments, and the magnifying of them through the teachings of
the whole Bible) that we shall be judged by.
If we are a person filled with MERCY - compassion -
forgiveness towards others, when others fail to live up to the
perfection of God, as they interact with us. Then God can have
mercy upon us when we fail to live up to His perfection towards
Him and towards others. It is as Jesus said, "If you have mercy
upon others, God will have mercy upon you." It is indeed, "For-
give us our sins Father, as we forgive those who sin against us."
We need to be of a tender merciful attitude. All sins can be
forgiven by the Father, if we have an attitude of repentance, if
we accept the work of Jesus today as our High Priest, interceding
for us. If we are showing mercy towards others, when we have the
opportunity to be merciful, if we are humble, lowly in attitude
of mind, if we admit we do sin, that we are still sinners (see 1
John 1) ............ then MERCY from God rejoices against
justice. We may deserve death, but MERCY will be shown. Justice
will not play itself out in our life, mercy will triumph and
rejoice over justice. By GRACE (mercy) through FAITH we shall be
saved (Ephesians 2:8) to eternal life in the very family of God.
You need to read carefully the study on my Website called
"Saved by Grace." It will show you the true and only way to
salvation.
We now come to the verses (14-26) that many think are a
complete contradiction to the argument of Paul. Many think that
James and Paul are NOT agreeing. The famous Martin Luther of the
Protestant Revolution called the epistle of James, "an epistle of
straw" - probably because he could not reconcile the teaching
here of James with the teaching of Paul.
The answer can be found in looking at this saving by grace
through faith as a two sided coin. You cannot try to chalk up
more "good points" than "bad points" and turn to God and say,
"Okay, because of my more good points you have to give me eternal
life, I have earned it." Many Jews had a religion of just that -
working at collecting more good marks than bad marks, so getting
saved by works. Paul argued that just was not the way to eternal
life. You could only be saved by being forgiven your sins, and
that only through the life and blood of Jesus Christ.
On the other side, to accept Jesus as Savior, but to say
that faith in Him then made it possible to continue to sin at
will, just live any kind of life style, including having a
respect of persons attitude (first part of James 2), was not the
true faith of God at all. And God would not accept that kind of
faith. The true faith in God and Christ, as Abraham had, LED to a
CHANGE in living, led to a change in mind and attitude, of
wanting to do the will and works of God. Believing in God is not
just a mental throwing of the switch in the mind that says, "Yes,
I believe the creation around proves there is a God." The demons
and the Devil himself, KNOW there is a God in heaven, and Jesus
is at His right hand. But their minds are not changed to DO THE
WILL AND WORKS OF GOD! Such a faith in God is a DEAD faith. A
technicality of the mind, admitting there is a God, but not
willing to go any further, this is NOT a faith that God will recognize
and honor and show mercy to.
You are not saved by collecting more good works than bad
works, earning your salvation. You are saved by God forgiving you
your sins through Christ Jesus' sacrifice and work as High
Priest, but your faith in that only way to be saved, must have an
attitude of mind with it that WANTS, DESIRES, is WILLING to WALK
in the ways of the Lord. It is a FAITH that produces works, the
works of God. It is an attitude of mind that is HUMBLE,
SUBMISSIVE, to God, an attitude of mind that is willing to be LED
by the Spirit of God, willing to be CORRECTED, and just wanting
to live as God wants all of His children to live.
Works cannot save you. Grace through faith saves you, but
faith must go FORWARD from there and produce the works of Jesus.
We must live by the faith OF Jesus (Galatians 2:20), we must have
the MIND of Christ in us (Philippians 2:5). Faith in God
AUTOMATICALLY brings with it the righteous works of God. The
faith of Christ in us, cannot be any other way than living
as Christ lived while walking this earth for 33 years. Jesus said
it was His will to do the Father's will.
God will not JUSTIFY any person - God will not FORGIVE, show
mercy to anyone, who will not REPENT and BE WILLING to live His
holy and righteous way of life. That in a nut-shell is what James
is teaching here in verses 14-26. To believe God exists but to
go no further in living God's way of life, as amplified in His
holy Word the Bible, will not justify your position with Him, for
you to be granted forgiveness and be given eternal life.
Once more I ask the reader to study and mediate on my
article "Saved by Grace."
CHAPTER THREE
Sad to say, but far too many people of themselves, decide to
be a teacher of God's word. They sit down at some point in their
lives, and say, "I think I will go to Theological School and
become a minster." Or they may not go that far, but simply say,
"I will teach the word of God. I will set myself up as a
Theological teacher of the Bible."
Sorry to say, way too many people do exactly that. They may
have a "knack" to converse with people, to "lead" people, to
"sermonize" - they may have the "gift of the gab" as they say,
and yes, they are able to get people flocking to hear them. Many
are paid for their efforts, groups here and there bringing them
in to speak to them. People praise them, give them applause,
stand in awe of them, and sometimes even the world at large, will
praise them for their religious preaching and teaching, giving
them an "honourary" this or "honourary" that.
The chilling words of Jesus are still recorded in the
Gospels. Talking to His followers, He said, "Beware when men
speak well of you, for so they did unto the false prophets of
old."
Frankly, the person who stands on the very truth of God's
word, who is not afraid to tell it as it is, to call a spade a
spade, who will at times cry aloud and spare not, and tell my
people their sins, who will openly teach and preach ALL that is
written in the word of the Lord, that person, OFTEN, will
not be liked by the masses, not be liked by the majority of the
Christian world, and will certainly not be endorsed by the world
at large.
James in the opening verse of chapter three, pointedly and
bluntly says, "My brethren, do not many of you become teachers,
knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment."
It is a SERIOUS MATTER to decide you will teach the WORD of
God. You better know what you are doing, and what judgment you
will be under. You better be a serious student all of your life,
in the word of God, you better be willing to be CORRECTED, to
GROW IN GRACE AND KNOWLEDGE!
I personally, in my many years with the Lord, and rubbing
sleeves with other religious teachers, and those who would be
teachers, have found very few who are willing to stand alone,
willing to be corrected, who love to grow in grace and knowledge.
Very few will step away from their "organization" and from the
praise of men.
And in all of this is the MOUTH! Some people love to talk,
love to stand and talk to others, love the up-front-ism of it
all, love the praise of men. A little member of the body is the
tongue, but as James points out, what a FIRE it can kindle. It
can indeed be a world of iniquity. Oh, it does not have to be an
out right plain diatribe of evil words. It can be sweet, and
have pleasant phrases, eloquence of the English language (or any
other language). We can bless the heavenly Father, with our
words, sound real good to the ears of people listening, but then
teach false lies of theology and bring deception and evil to
many.
James says the tongue can be an unruly evil, full of deadly
poison, that mankind of themselves cannot tame. It takes the
power and Spirit of God to tame and control the tongue and words
that come from us.
Also, you need to remember, that words you read in a book or
article, are really the words of the tongue of that individual.
Again, some words can be very sweet as you read. The person
writing can have a way with words that would get them an award
for English literature. If it's in the religious world they can
sooth or transport you into warm sunny sand beach resorts
of deception.
I have nothing per se against the use of English prose, but
overall, as one writer did note, Jesus' words were uncomplicated
and down to earth clear. As Paul told the church at Corinth,
"And brethren, when I came to you, I came not with excellency of
speech .... my speech and my preaching, was not with enticing
words of man's wisdom...." ( 1 Corinthians 2:1,4).
So, we must evaluate the words of men, by not only their
actions, the follow-up on their words, but what they say and what
they write, if on theological matters, must be according to the
law and the testimony - God's word (see Isaiah 8:20).
You are never off the hook, as to the correctness, good or
evil, that comes from the mouth and tongue of people. You are
never off the hook as to the good or evil that comes from your
mouth or your pen (verses 2-12).
James ends his thought in this chapter, by taking us to what
is the wisdom in it all, the end of it all is having the correct
and right wisdom, that will show forth a good conduct in life,
which will be coupled with meekness. If there is bitter envyings
and strife in your hearts, you better not glory, for you will
only continue to deceive yourselves about the truth. That kind of
wisdom is only from the world, even could be from the demons
James adds. Where there is envy and strife, there is confusion
and all kinds of evil work.
True wisdom James says, is from ABOVE, it is PURE,
PEACEABLE, GENTLE, EASY TO BE ENTREATED, FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD
FRUITS. It is without WRANGLING, and without any HYPOCRISY - play
acting.
Over it all as like a roof over a house or building, is
righteousness, but the fruit of righteousness is sown in PEACE of
them that make peace (verses 13-18).
Jesus said, "Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be
called the CHILDREN OF GOD" (Matthew 5:9).
Jesus was in the main a loving, PEACEFUL man. He got tough
at times to those He needed to get tough with. But He was a man
of Peace - He was living in peace and harmony with the Father, He
wanted people to have peace, to feel peace in their heart and
mind. His whole life was about PEACE, the peace of knowing the
true God, finding salvation, and living then for eternity in the
PEACEFUL family of God.
I have a full in-depth study for you called "BEING A
PEACEMAKER." Look it up and see how important it is for your
Christian life.
...........................
Written April 2007
  Chapter One-hundred-fourteen:Epistle from James #3
Chapter One-hundred-fourteen
Epistle from James #3
Chapters Four and Five
CHAPTER FOUR
The Greek word "war" in verses one and two, also
proves James was writing to a large general population of
the scattered twelve tribes of Israel (chap.1:1) -
scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
The word "war" in verse one is "polemos" - number
4171 in Strong's Concordance. The ENGLISHMAN'S GREEK
CONCORDANCE shows this word as used everywhere in the NT.
It is used in Mat.24:6; Mark 13:7; Luke 14:31; 21:9; 1
Cor.14:8; Heb.11:34; Rev.9:7;,9; 11:7; 12:7,17; 13:7;
16:14; 19:19; 20:8. It is translated as "war" - "fight"
- "battle." in the KJV. In every case in the NT, it is
used as meaning the literal fighting, battles, warfare,
among armies. There should be therefore no reason to try
and make it mean something else in James 4:1.
The Greek for "war" in verse 2 is akin to "polemos"
- it is "polemeo" number 4170 in Strong's Concordance -
and is used in the NT in only these places: Rev.2:16;
12:7; 13:4; 17:14; 19:11. Once more it means the literal
war, fight, fought, as armies warring against each other.
There should be no reason to try and say it means
something else here in James 4:2.
Using only the NT to interpret itself, the NT uses
the words to literally mean warfare as we think of it in
the normal sense - groups of people or angels or God
against man, in literal battles and warfare.
All of verses one to ten prove James was now
addressing a majority people of the tribes of Israel, who
were at times, fighting, warring, and battling, either
each other or other nations around them where they were
scattered. They had a form of religion only, but no real
substance, their fightings were from their basic lustful
nature. They maybe asked God this or that, but it was an
asking based on their lusts. They were asking amiss, they
didn't receive, and so their lustful desires led them to
warfare. James says they were part and parcel of the
world around them, they were a friend of the world, they
walked in the ways of the world, hence they did what the
world does - get what you think you need even if it means
going to war over it. They were allowing the bad side of
our natural spirit in us, to lead them off into wars,
fighting, and battles. There religion led them to ask,
but they were asking for the wrong things.
A whole new mental attitude was need on their part.
They needed HUMILITY! They needed to get rid of their
vain proudness, and if they were to receive the grace of
God, meekness and humility was surely needed from their
hearts and minds. It was just a fact of recorded
Scripture that God resists the PROUD, but gives GRACE to
the HUMBLE (verses 1-6; and see Job 22:29; Ps.138:6;
Prov.3:34; Matt.23:12).
According to James through the next verses those
Israelites needed DEEP repentance, mourning, weeping, and
humility. He pulls no punches, puts the cards on the
table, calls it like it clearly was, and gives them the
changes they needed to make in their lives.
"SUBMIT yourselves therefore to God. RESIST the
Devil, and he will flee from you. DRAW NIGH to God,
and He will draw nigh to you. CLEANSE your hands, you
SINNERS; and PURIFY your hearts, you double-minded.
BE AFFLICTED, and MOURN and WEEP, let your laughter
be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
HUMBLE yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He
shall lift you up (verses 7-10, KJV).
Truly James' words are a call to DEEP REPENTANCE.
Truly many in scattered Israel needed to hear that call.
Indeed sometimes the servants of the Most High have to
cry aloud and spare not, and have to show the people of
God their sins.
Many of those Israelites were also speaking evil
against one another. This is the evil of malice, gossip,
hurtful words, words that edified no one. There is a kind
of talk that Christians should not partake in. When
talking about someone is done to cut them to pieces, to
trample them into the dust, to falsely accuse, to blame
of sinning against the law of God, when there is no clear
evidence .... such evil talk, is condemning, and you are
being judge over someone, when you have no right to be
their judge. There are some situations that you should
have nothing to do with or nothing to say about, because
you simply do not have the facts. You should be busy
doing the law, and not being a judge using the law to
speak against someone in a wrong way.
There are times to judge. Paul did so in 1
Corinthians 5, which we have looked at already, when we
went through that epistle of Paul's. Jesus said we are to
judge RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT. It is an important topic, that
of judging. I have written an in-depth study on the
matter. Please look it up and take the time to fully
study the matter.
God is the final judge of everyone. He is the one who
gave the law - He is the GREAT lawgiver. He is the one to
save or destroy. James is addressing people who were
judging and condemning incorrectly and un-righteously.
Yes, this matter of judging is a serious and
important issue that the Bible has much to say about, so
please take the time to read and study my article
covering this subject (verses 11-12).
To finish this chapter James addresses those
individuals who are self-pompous, overly self-confident,
arrogantly proud, who think the world revolves around
them. They think and plan as if they are immortal flesh,
the attitude they have is what is to be blamed here. Of
course it is not wrong to look ahead, and have some basic
outline of what you want to accomplish in life, but it
should all be in a humble frame of mind, with an attitude
of "God willing" I would like to do this or that. We are
to remember our life is like a vapour, we are only here
for a relatively short span of time in the eternity of
God.
Some, James knew, were rejoicing in their cocky mind-
set concerning life, they were in a wrong boastful
attitude, and James said that kind of living was evil
(verses 13-16).
He also knew that many he was writing to, KNEW
BETTER! And when a person has been enlightened, then to
turn from the light and carelessly ignore it or throw it
away, or set your mind to NOT walk in the light, then it
is SIN indeed for that person. As Jesus said, "To whom
much is given much is required."
It is a wonderful prize to have, is the prize of
having more light revealed to you, having more "good"
manifested to you, but once it is given it is your grave
responsibility to DO that which is right. To NOT do so is
sin, and as we have heard from James, sin, when it is
finished, brings forth DEATH (verse 17 with chapter
1:15).
CHAPTER FIVE
Verses 1-6 of this chapter are also proof that James
is writing to a large population - the twelve tribes of
Israel scattered. His scathing remarks towards the
physically wealthy are blunt and pointed. We would hope
that they are addressed towards un-Godly and un-Christian
people. Although Paul had to pointedly address the sins
of some Christians in his epistles, James here gives no
hint that he is talking to some in the Christian church.
It is best to conclude James is talking to the general
"wealthy" population of the twelve tribes, many or most,
of which were not following godly principles of living.
It would seem that there was a major "task-master"
attitude by the rich to take advantage of the poor, many
of which were Christians.
Look at how James starts: "Come now, you rich, WEEP
and HOWL for your miseries that are coming upon you."
Then he proceeds to tell them their riches have rotted,
and their garments moth-eaten, their gold and silver is
corroded. Now it really takes something mighty drastic to
corrode gold, but I suspect it is a figure of speech
James uses to nail home how bad things are with the rich,
and the corrosion within their heaped up treasures, will
be their witness against them, of their attitude towards
their riches and the abuse of the poor that made them
rich.
These greedy task-masters of the poor, had not done
what was right and proper concerning the wages to be paid
to their poor workers. Whatever the fraud was that they
enacted as they manipulated the wages of those they
employed, that fraudulent sin had reached up to heaven,
along with the cries of the poor who were being
monetarily abused.
James tells them that they have lived on earth in
pleasure and luxury (margin - indulgence). They lived
lives of continual feasting, maybe literally, but
figuratively for certain. What they have done towards the
poor amounted to the likes of condemning and murder, yet
those just and righteous ones did not resist them (verses
1-6).
Obviously there was a large problem out there among
the scattered twelve tribes of Israel. The rich by and
large were taking great advantage of the relatively poor
people that they employed.
James admonishes those Christians employed by the
rich: "Therefore be patient , brethren, until the coming
of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious
fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it
receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient.
Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at
hand" (verses 7-8).
At the time of James' writing the early apostles
thought the coming of the Lord in glory to establish the
Kingdom of God on earth, was not far away. By the time
Paul wrote some of his epistles certain prophetic
passages had been revealed to him and they knew some
events had to yet take place before Jesus was to return.
But still, I doubt any of them would have expected the
past two thousand years to have gone by, and still we
expect the coming of the Lord is at hand. Such is the
nature of time in the presence of God, two thousand years
to Him is but a twinkling of an eye in endlessness
eternity.
The Christians were not to complain and grumble
against one another. When you are being mistreated by
rich employers, it is easy to complain and grumble, even
to the point of grumbling between each other, finding
fault in this way or that way with each other. We are not
to get into that bad attitude with one another because we
shall be judged by THE judge of the universe who is
standing at the door, a way of saying He is standing near
by.
James points them to the prophets of old, who came in
the name of the Lord. He points them to the suffering
they had to endure at times, and how they patiently bore
it all. He reminds them that we counted them very
blessed, those who set us that example of patient
endurance. We think of the great Job and his endurance
under mighty trials, and we have seen the end intended,
the finished product, of the Lord - that the Lord is very
compassionate and great in mercy (verses 9-11).
It was Paul who wrote that the Lord will not allow
trials and tests to come upon us that we cannot endure,
but will with those trials and troubles, make a way of
escape, give us the strength to bear with them. Again the
classic example is that of Job. I ask the reader to read
the book of Job in a modern translation, which will bring
to light that book in a much more revealing way than the
old KJV.
James gives instructions as Jesus did, about
"swearing" and "oaths" (verse 12). Under the New
Testament swearing by oaths for Christians has indeed
been "done away with." Some people like to think that
just about everything under the Old Covenant has been
"done away with" under the New Covenant. That is of
course far from the truth, but on the other hand SOME
things under the Old have been abolished under the New.
This one of them (swearing and taking oaths by this
method or that method) - oath swearing should not be
practiced by Christians. You can "affirm" - say YES or
say NO, but things like swearing on the Bible should not
be done by Christians. Many of you may be surprised that
our laws of the Western world allow for "affirmations" in
the courts of the land.
I once needed to be in court as a witness (nothing
drastically serious, I've even forgotten what it was all
about now), and whoever they are, handed me the Bible to
put my hand on and swear that I would tell the truth and
nothing but the truth so help me God. I told the person
I would affirm, but not with any hand on the Bible. They
blinked their eyes, and repeated their words again as
they handed me a Bible. I said the same thing, that I
would affirm. The person hesitated for a moment this
time, looked a little puzzled, and then again started to
repeat their speech as they hand me the Bible once more.
I again told them I would affirm ..... this time they
really were confused, looked down, looked up, and looked
over at the Judge. With a sigh from the Judge like "Don't
you know he is allowed to affirm and not swear on the
Bible" the Judge said out loud, "He will AFFIRM, he's
allowed to do this."
Oh, interestingly, the Judge did ask me where I got
this from, not swearing on the Bible. I was able to tell
all present the passages of James and of Jesus (Jesus
instructed it in Matthew 5:34-37).
Kind of simple really, but many Christians just do
not take the words of Jesus and James in any serious
practical daily manner. I'm not sure what they think
Jesus and James were teaching, if it was not plainly DO
NOT SWEAR OR TAKE OATHS, PERIOD!
Some things HAVE CHANGED from the Old Covenant to the
New Covenant, but you need to be very careful about WHAT.
I have an in-depth study called "LIVING BY EVERY WORD OF
GOD - HOW?" You need to look it up and study it
carefully.
If we are suffering from anything, James tells us to
pray about it. If we are cheerful, to sing psalms or
songs of praise. A psalm is words of praise, a way of
telling god you are thankful. This can be done with many
types of songs, they do not have to be so-called
"religious songs" - many songs can have words of praise
and joy and thankfulness in them. It is much harder today
find those songs outside of the religious world, as so
many of today's songs are full of this trash and that
trash, this moaning and this bad experience or
heartbreak, "She done left me, and my dog ran away and
I'm now so blue, so blue, as I cry in my bear, away from
you."
If people are sick, they are to call for the ElderS
(note the plural) of the church and they are to come and
anoint them with oil and pray for them. Again, kind of
simple, but few churches practice this admonishing
teaching today (verses 13-14).
Verse 15 has given some people a hard time, they are
practically smashed to bits when God does not heal, and
let's the person die. The words say, "And the prayer of
faith WILL save the sick, and the Lord WILL raise him up,
and if he has committed sins, he WILL be forgiven."
Looking at the whole Bible, if we are reading ALL of
it, we shall see that at times people are not healed,
they must endure with their sickness of what ever sort it
is, or they may not be raised up but do indeed die. Paul
had a thorn in the flesh that he asked the Lord three
times to remove, but God did not remove it, and told him
that His grace was sufficient for him - God would give
Paul the strength to endure his thorn in the flesh.
The answer to this verse in James is understanding
the Bible uses, over and over again, GENERAL STATEMENTS!
We use this language even today in our speech. "What a
lovely day it has been" we may say at the end of the day,
even though there was a few times a dark cloud came over
and dumped a good rain shower on us, while enjoying a
family picnic.
I refer the reader to my in-depth study called
"General Statements" which will show you how the Bible
uses the speech tool known as general statements.
James is using a general statement here. Quite often,
probably most of the time, God does heal after anointing
with oil and prayer, BUT NOT EVERY TIME. For whatever
reasons God may choose not to heal that person, they may
have to live with their sickness, as Paul had to live
with his thorn in the flesh, or they may even die! We do
look to God in faith, that He will answer in the way He
decided to answer our prayer.
All this does not say we should not fervently pray,
for James in the next verse (verse 16) says we should
talk to each other about our weakness and sickness and
pray for each other that we will be healed. The effectual
fervent pray of a righteous man does avail much.
You will notice the confessing of our faults and sins
to each other here mentioned, is in the CONTEXT of
physical sickness - James is not teaching the spiritual
"confessing box" to a church priest, that one particular
denomination once used (and maybe still does in some
parts of the world).
The example James gives is that of the prophet
Elijah. He was a human man, as we are, with the same
pulls of the flesh as we have. But he EARNESTLY prayed
that it would not rain in Israel, and it did not rain for
three and one half years (1 Kings 17:1; 18:1). And he
prayed again and the heavens gave rain (1 Kings 18:1,42).
So, fervent prayer can bring mighty results. We
should use earnest heartfelt prayer, but remember God is
the one to give His answer WHEN and HOW he sees fit
(verses 17-18).
James end his epistle with a reminder of TWO things.
One, it is possible for someone to TURN FROM the truth.
They had the truth, but they have now wandered from it.
And it is good for someone to try and bring them back to
that truth, to save their lives once more, to help them
re-direct their way of life BACK AGAIN to the truth of
God.
Paul talked about this in Galatians 6:1-3. The person
trying to restore someone back to the faith should be
doing it all in MEEKNESS, HUMILITY, and not in some vain,
arrogant, self-righteous mind-set.
Yes, at all times we need to NOT think of ourselves
MORE than we should, we need to live and walk, and act in
words and deeds with HUMILITY, and if we do, then God can
use us to serve and help people, bring salvation to
people, and what greater work can there be than to help
people find eternal truth and salvation. May it be what
we are all about (verse 19-20).
......................
Written May 2007
MARTIN LUTHER OF THE REFORMATION CALLED THE BOOK OF JAMES "AN EPISTLES OF STRAW" SO MUCH FOR MARTIN LUTHER— I CALL HIM A MAN OF STRAW, WHOM THE SATANIC FORCES USED TO TWIST AND PERVERT THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. HOW HE ATTACKED HIS OPPONENTS AND THE JEWS IS AN "R" RATED MANUSCRIPT. IT IS ALL ON MY WEBSITE. |
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