James - Chapter 1

Review: James was the brother of Jesus and was well respected among both Jews and those within the Christian Church. He wrote this letter around the yr 48 AD to the converted Jews to encourage them in their faith and teach them how Christians should act.

The main theme of this letter is ‘if we have real faith, we will show it by acting like Christians’. He gives practical advice on such things as anger, arguing, showing partiality, keeping the tongue under control, bragging, patience and prayer. If we could master all of these, just imagine the effect we could have on the world.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To
the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.

First James identifies himself – James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. As mentioned in the previous lesson, he did not call himself the brother of Jesus because he did not want to put himself on the same level as the Messiah. He made it clear that he was a servant of the Lord.

Then he identifies who he’s writing to – the 12 tribes of Israel, who have, by this time, been scattered throughout the different nations.

(These are the 12 tribes of Israel as shown in Genesis 49)
Sons of Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, Benjamin

What caused the 12 tribes to be spread out among the nations?
They had been persecuted and chased from place to place in search of safety and acceptance. There were thriving Jewish-Christian communities through Rome, Alexandria, Cyprus and cities in Greece and Asia Minor. But these communities did not have the support of established Christian churches, so James wrote to them to encourage them and explain to them the difference between ‘religion’ and ‘true faith’.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James addresses the readers as brothers 15 times during this letter – which shows how much he cares for them.

James explains the attitude we should have toward trials:

Notice he doesn’t say IF you face trials, but “WHENEVER YOU DO”.

We learn perseverance when our faith is tested which in turn causes us to mature as Christians.

We can’t really know the depth of our character until we see how we react under pressure. It’s easy to be kind to others when everything is going well, but what about when others are treating us unfairly?

It’s through trials and suffering we develop Christian character. So knowing that these trials are going to help us grow stronger as Christians, we should rejoice when we face these extra pressures in our lives.

The point is not to pretend to be happy about your pain and suffering, but to have a positive outlook about what will be gained by the experience. Look at it as an opportunity for growth.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

The ‘wisdom’ James is speaking of here is insight into God’s wisdom, not textbook learning.
We should seek sound judgment about the practical things of daily life so as to live as a Christian should. Prayer will help us attain such wisdom. When we have difficult decisions to make, we should pray for God’s wisdom to make the right choices.

God answers prayer generously. All you have to do is ask. God does not debate whether you are worthy of the wisdom, but gives to anyone who asks.

There is only ONE proviso or condition:

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

What effect does doubt have on a person when he or she prays? His words are empty and meaningless. He has no direction, but can be steered by a whim. His mind is changeable and his prayers are worthless because he still feels unsettled and restless, tossed about like the waves of the sea.

How often have you prayed for something, but then continued to worry about it. Then you felt the need to pray for it again later because you hadn’t been sincere in your belief the first time.

So the condition for God to answer your prayers is for you to not have doubts, but believe that He will answer in His wisdom and in His own time.

If you truly believe God will answer your prayers, you won’t worry anymore once you’ve prayed about something, because you will have the assurance that it is in God’s hands.

The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

On the surface it looks like James is simply saying, if you are poor, be glad because your poverty will cause you to face trials that will help you grow into a strong Christian.
But his deeper meaning is that you possess a position in God’s Kingdom that is not judged by your earthly wealth. Although you may be overlooked by earthly society, you will not be overlooked by God.

If you are rich, you should remember that you are no better in God’s Kingdom because of your earthly wealth. Remember, your riches will not save you from aging and dying. As the rich man concentrates on his earthly position and wealth, his soul could whither away. We find true wealth by developing our spiritual life, not by increasing our financial assets.

So this is a solemn reminder that our status in Eternity should be our main concern, not our status here on earth.

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

God promises life to persecuted Christians

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."
For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is
tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then,
after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

God never tempts us. He cannot be tempted because He in His very nature is Holy & there is nothing in Him for sin to appeal to – nor does He tempt anyone.

Temptation comes from our own evil desires. Temptation begins with an evil thought. It becomes sin when we dwell on that thought and allow it to become an action. (“temptation gives birth to sin and sin gives birth to death”). The wages of sin is death.

God might test us, but never tempt us. He only tests us to confirm our faith or prove our commitment. (see Deut. 8:2-5)

What is the difference between tempting and testing?
Temptation is an enticement to sin.
Testing is an examination to determine quality, value, or character.

God doesn’t place the temptation in front of us, but He WILL watch to see how we respond to it. We have free will to choose the sin or to choose righteousness. God will only step in to remove the temptation from us if we ask Him to.

Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Every good and perfect gift is from God. God is described here as the Father of lights (Creator of the heavenly bodies, which give light to the earth), but, unlike the shadows from these heavenly lights, God does not change.

God gives us birth through His Word of Truth, which is the Gospel. ‘Birth’ is not a reference to creation, but to regeneration, renewal or rebirth, as seen in John 3:3-8.

‘First fruits’ – Just as the first sheaf of harvest was an indication that the entire harvest was to follow, so the early Christians were an indication that a great number of people would eventually be born again.

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

First—‘Keep your ears open and your mouth shut’.

When we talk too much and listen too little, we are communicating to others that we think our ideas are more important than theirs. So we need to put a mental stopwatch on our conversations and keep track of how much we talk and listen. Don’t you find yourself drawn to people that are open to hearing your ideas rather than those that treat you as if what you say doesn’t matter?

Second—Keep your anger in check – anger does not encourage righteousness

A lot of our anger comes from selfishness. ‘I am hurt.’ Or ‘I’m being treated unjustly.’ We should become angry if others are being hurt, but not when we fail to win an argument or are offended or neglected. Selfish anger never helps anyone.

Next—Rid yourself of immorality and evil and
Accept the “Word” planted in you – “Word of God”.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

We develop our ‘identity as a Christian’ through obedience to the Word.

James compares it to looking into a mirror and then walking away and forgetting what you looked like. The Word is the mirror we should look into to see if we look like a Christian or not.

We can measure the effect of our Bible study time by how it changes our actions. If our behavior and attitudes haven’t changed, then we are not putting into action the things we’re studying.

“perfect law” – moral and ethical teachings of Christianity

“freedom” – the sinner is a slave to sin; obeying the moral law gives Christians the joyous freedom to be that which we were created to be.

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

“religious” refers to outward acts of religion

Once again, James warns us to keep our tongues under control. If we don’t, our other goodly acts will be worthless.

How could our tongue cancel out all our other good and moral acts?
The world will see us as hypocrits. Our witness for Christ is eclipsed, or blocked out, by our harsh or offensive words.

Acts that God accepts as pure and faultless are:

1. Looking after orphans and widows

In the first century, when this was written, orphans and widows had very little means of support. Unless a family member was willing to care for them, they had to resort to begging, selling themselves as slaves, or starving. By caring for these people, the church put God’s Word into practice. When we give without hope of receiving in return, we show what it means to serve others.

2. Keep yourself from being polluted by the world

The world measures worth by money, power and pleasure. True faith means nothing if our lives are contaminated with these values.

“Life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you respond to what happens to you”.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson. Check back in a couple of weeks for Chapter 2.

Thank you!