James 1.......perfection through endurance
The thought is not of sinless perfection but of maturity in the life of faith. James’ opening word is “greetings” which carries the idea of “be happy” or “be joyful” and this becomes the theme of this first chapter. Considering the suffering of these people, all of them displaced from their homes, most of them excommunicated from the synagogue, and some disowned by their families, this appears to be an insensitive form of greeting, but it sets the pattern for new testament teaching that no earthly circumstances can rob the Christian of the joy of salvation; indeed, as we shall see, we are to turn afflictions into assets, for it is in overcoming the trials our Christian virtues are enhanced. Chapter 1 v2 “Count it all joy.....”; chapter 1 v9 “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in his exaltation and the rich in his humbling....”; chapter 1 v12 “Blessed is the man that endures trials...”; chapter 1 v25 “...this man shall be blessed in his deed”.
He approaches this difficult subject in two ways:
Verses 2-12 Trials from without The words trials and temptations in the verses are interchangeable and come from the same root. The meaning is decided by the context. In the first of these sections he classifies these as trials we “fall into” (verse 2 “...when ye fall into divers temptations...”). These are circumstances that fall upon us or we fall into from outside sources over which we have no control. The idea is of the appearance of sudden, unexpected, and mostly unwanted, events which cause us real and stressful problems. These may come from God, from devils, from men, from the elements, or from turbulent world events. These are all facts of life and they come unannounced and cause us real troubles.
Verses 13-27 Temptations from within These are differentiated from the above by the phrase “drawn away” in verse 14 “...every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed...”. No longer a chance event over which we have no control but a wilful departure for which we are entirely responsible. We don’t fall into this we allow ourselves to be drawn away by something that attracts us other than God.
Verses 2-27 Trials without and temptations within
Verses 2-8 Do not doubt the goodness of God
The words used for trials and temptations refer to “putting faith to the test by experience” and the unexpected events of life do just that. Our faith will be put to the test, because faith that is mere profession is no faith at all. We are to count these testings as a positive sign that our faith is real and the test is for a reason, and a living proof that God is working in us. God always tests His people, not to see what level they have reached, for He knows that at all times, but to produce in us some spiritual progress. He may use different agencies, but ultimately it all comes from Him. A prime example is Abraham “And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt (put him to the test) Abraham.......take now thy son...” Genesis 22 vv1-2. This was the culmination of a number of tests, from the death of his father to famine to strife to war to personal failure, in a series of steps until he was ready for the greatest test of all. God was at work in his life and He will be at work in us, as James says here in verse 3 “...the trying of your faith worketh patience (endurance)”. We are to have a positive attitude to these trials...... ”count” “knowing” are the words he uses. In the language of accountancy we are to deem these apparent debits as credits, for their purpose is for our ultimate profit. However it is much more than just a positive mental attitude, we are to count it as “all joy”. This thought pervades the section (v2, v9,v12). Heaven’s “arithmetic” turns earthly values on their heads. Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount....”Blessed are the poor in spirit/they that mourn/those who are persecuted...”. True happiness is in understanding the ways of God and following in His pathway, even in difficult times. The test may last a while and we are to endure so as to “let endurance have her perfect work that we may be perfect (mature) and entire, lacking in nothing”. These trials are making us mature, well rounded Christians, they have a beneficial purpose, God is using them to better us.
“But if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given to him”. One thing we may lack is wisdom as to the purpose of the trial, and in that case we are to seek understanding from the Lord. He is a giving God, who wants us to know Him and he will give us wisdom in the matter. He does not give grudgingly but liberally, and does not cast reproach for our slowness of learning. There is one condition to this....”Let him ask in faith, nothing doubting...”. We dare not treat God as untrustworthy, or as mean, He is liberal in His giving. Some have said that James is light in doctrine, however his letter is bristling with theology as he unfolds the character of God as an incentive to our spiritual growth. Just as the plants and flowers reach up to the sun in the process of natural growth, so in matters of the spirit we take our health giving power from above. He will return to this in chapter 3 where he expands on the “wisdom from above”, and also in chapter 4 where he enlarges on the improper motives for asking things from God. Here the message is that God is a liberal giver and we must properly seek His generosity. The language is very severe if we approach Him flippantly “Let not that man think he shall receive anything from the Lord”. Such a man is unstable and “double minded”; God would have us be single minded and trusting in His goodness. One of the first ploys of Satan in the fall was to cast doubt on the goodness of God, suggesting to the woman, that God was withholding something good, and this lie is being perpetrated daily across the worldwide media even now; Christians must reject this and accept that everything He does is for our good. We must understand that He can do anything we ask, and that He will always act for our ultimate good.
Verses 9-12 Rejoice in the righteousness of God
The main thought behind righteousness is that of equity, God balancing things out, making things even. This brings us to the mighty doctrine of retribution and recompense in God’s dealings with the sons of men. He takes up the example of rich and poor; later he will condemn the excesses of the ungodly rich, but here he is thinking of the rich among the people of God. There are some who are materially rich, mostly, however God’s people are materially poor(chapter 2 v5). God has exalted the poor, and humbled the rich. The example from nature is that “the flower of the grass passes away”, that is riches are only for this life and have no value in eternity. Unlike this passing world, material riches do not define a man, and God has brought the poor and the rich to the same level in His sight. Indeed in the realm of spiritual gifts God has richly endowed the poor with His gifts. Paul makes this clear in 1st Corinthians 1 vv27-28 “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, and the things which are not (non entities) to bring to nought the things that are....”. The bible is clear, it is God who makes rich, and makes poor (1stSamuel 2 v7); earthly riches can be a disadvantage in spiritual life, tending to pride in achievement, rather than trust in God. James is dealing with the basics here, and God evens things out. The poor brother can be a leader/a teacher/a shepherd along with the rich brother. Some of the greatest gifts in the church were and are from the poor. Thus the “poor man is exalted” and he should rejoice, and “the rich man is laid low” in that his riches grant him no status, in this the rich should also rejoice in the justice of God. There is a special blessing for the man who endures the trial for “...when he is tried (approved) he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love Him”.
The question must be asked, what is “the crown of life” and is it present or future? It is distinguished from the other crowns of scripture, and is quoted again in Revelation 2 v10. In both cases it refers to the suffering of persecution for faith in God. There are two words used in the new testament for crown....stephanos, which is here and diadema which is used in three scriptures in Revelation (see 12 v3, 13 v1, and 19 v12). The diadem is a crown of inherent right such as is worn by a king, whereas “stephanos” is the garland, the wreath of excellence for victory at the games. It is a crown of reward, a victor’s crown, not worn as of inherent right but as of notable achievements. Therefore the crown of life is not referring to eternal life as will be experienced by all believers but is for endurance through a specific trial. There is no doubt a future aspect as the “approval” may refer to the judgment seat of Christ when all life and work will be assessed. However there may be a present aspect...it is simply “when he is approved”. The clue may be given in the latter part of verse 12 where it says “the crown of life which the Lord promised to them that love Him”. When did He promise this? Perhaps John chapter 14 vv21-23 is the answer, where He indicated that those who love Him in a special way will be rewarded with present manifestations. Again Job, who suffered more than most, declared “..when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold” Job 23 v10. The crown of life may be experienced now and the key is “those that love Him”. There will come a time when the trial ceases and Divine approval is given in the form of quality of spiritual life.
Verses 13-18 Do not misjudge God
“Let no man say when he is tempted “I am tempted of God...”. That is exactly what Adam said at the fall “...the woman whom thou gavest me to be with me she gave me of the tree and I did eat”. This is the classic case of blaming anyone else for our sin, and Adam stoops to blaming God. We, and we alone, are responsible for our sin, no one else, certainly not God! He gives two aspects of the holiness of God 1) “He cannot be tempted with evil” and 2) “...neither tempteth He any man”. He is apart from sin altogether and so he does not originate sin in anyone. Those who say, today, that their sin is just the way they have been “wired up” or programmed, protesting that sin is inevitable because of a quirk of nature, are wide of the mark for sin commences within us, because of strong inward desires. “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed...”. In other words we sin because we want to, because we allow ourselves to create situations that give opportunity to satisfy our craving, whatever it might be. We sometimes sin against our better judgment, not properly assessing the hurt on others, for sin is a power we cannot control. James develops this in verse 15 where he likens the power of sin to natural birth. “Lust when conceived, brings forth sin, and sin when it is finished brings forth death”. This is a very graphic picture of how we human beings function. We get hold of something we want, usually what we can’t have, and we allow this to take over. The figure of intimate sexual intercourse leading to birth indicates we are in love with the sin, that we want to consummate it, and nothing will prevent it from taking it’s full course. The final outcome is death, initially spiritual death, followed by physical death, then finally eternal death in the sense of ultimate separation from God. It all begins with a seemingly harmless thought, and, through an irreversible natural process destroys us. We are the problem, not God or anyone else. Jesus taught this when he said “For from within out of the heart of men proceeds evil...” Mark 7 v21. From within, from the seat of the will and of the desires (the heart) comes all evil. That is why only God can save us and He has provided a way. It is interesting in a letter which promotes perfection of growth in spiritual things, he uses the picture of sin coming to the fullness of birth.
“Do not err my beloved brethren....” Don’t get this wrong my beloved. Do not misjudge God, do not characterise Him as evil, nor with promoting evil in us. We must have right thoughts about the Lord. Nothing but good comes from Him, no evil, only good. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.... “. All the sin is from within, all the good is from above! The good gift refers to the source, that is the goodness of God; the perfect gift refers to the specific gift given, He only gives that which perfectly suits each one of us. In Ephesians chapter 2 v21 Paul speaks of “every building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord”. He gives exactly what suits us, and He fits us together in the marvellous structure. The Giver is only good and the gifts are just perfect for us all. He refers again in chapter 3 v17 to “the wisdom which is above”; again only what is good and perfect from above. He gives constantly “cometh down from the Father of lights”, unceasing steams of goodness to His beloved people. He is “The Father of lights..”, He is the source and emanence of all that is light, He dispels all darkness, He alone brings warmth and growth and light to all. The theology of James is immense and he wants us to understand our God in all that He is. He never changes, not capricious like all the false gods, there is not even the hint of change, as of a shadow cast by turning, not a vestige of change, He remains the same loving God who only ever seeks our good. He is the one Absolute source of all that is good and we should never doubt it.
It was out of His benign will, without reference to any external source, He begat us (brought us to the birth)- note the link with sin giving birth to death in verse 15. He begat us “by the word of truth”...the agency through which He brought us forth in new birth; the word of truth is prominent at new birth and this agrees with 1st Peter 1 v23 “...being born again....by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever”. He begat us to be “...a kind of firstfruits of His creatures”, in essence to be like Himself. The concept of firstfruits in the scriptures is they are evidence of a greater harvest to follow. These being the first living believers are promise of a greater number in the future. No wonder he inserts “Do not err...”. Do not be mistaken in your thoughts of the God who is apart from all evil, who is the source of all light, who is the giver of every perfect gift, who gives incessantly, who never changes, and who independently brought us to new birth, and worked a miracle within us to make us His new creatures!!
Verses 19-27 Do not misrepresent God
He gave us new life, because the old life was sinful and issued only in death. In doing so He intended we should live anew, that there would be transforming changes under His guidance. This is the very essence of new birth. In that great chapter where Paul outlines the panorama of the new life in Christ, He says the reason God predestined us was that we should be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8 v29). He saved us to change us and this is the gist of these verses. At our new birth, He changed our destiny, but there was no moral change; now He wants us to truly represent Him as His children and deal with the indwelling sins still present, He seeks now a change of behaviour in His people. Overall he points to the word of God as the transforming instrument. We were born anew “by the word of truth” (verse 18); we are to progress by receiving “the engrafted word”(verse21); we are to be “doers of the word and not hearers only”(verse 22); we are to look into “the perfect law of liberty”(verse 25). There can be nothing clearer than this, that if we would change our character in conformity to our Father we must study and understand and walk in the ways of the word, the same word that saved us. A warning is sounded against self-deception in verses 22 and 26 and there is an exposure of false religion at the end of the chapter.
Receive the word (1 verses19-21) He begins with a series of wise sayings gleaned from the word of truth. This is how we should live....”Swift to hear slow to speak slow to wrath”; this challenges our personal demeanour. These epithets are rather personal involving the ears, the tongue and the temperament. These three proverbs sum up the practical teaching of the letter. “Swift to hear...chapter 1; “Slow to speak....chapter 3; “Slow to wrath....chapter 4.
Swift to hear/slow to speak: Jesus emphasised the need to hear the word of God “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13 v9). No less than nine times to His apostles and seven times to the churches did He repeat the proverb. We were given two ears and one mouth and God intended in our makeup to be more ready to hear than to speak. There is a solemn challenge from the wise man in Ecclesiastes 5 vv1-3 which sums this up perfectly “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven and thou on earth, therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words”. He will expand this thought in chapter 3 v1, where he condemns the clamour for teaching, since failure to match up will only bring condemnation. We are to open our ears and bridle our tongues.
Slow to wrath: This would be a failing in most of us we are quick tempered and especially when defending our perceived honour. Anger against God for the trials, anger against fellow believers for injustices, anger to protect selfish interest. “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God”. There is a righteous anger which is an abhorrence of evil, especially when the truth of God is being overturned. Mostly it is a selfish anger against perceived injustice. It is born out of an attitude of superiority, which this letter says God resists. Psalm 76 v10 says “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain”. There is no point in our anger over things not in our control. As a consequence we are to lay apart all excesses of the flesh....all filthiness, all personal sinfulness, for we have no right to vilify others when we ourselves are living with evil; we are to lay apart all “superfluity of naughtiness”, that is the abundance of badness toward others, the quest for one upmanship to the detriment of others. It is the classic scenario of the hypocrite, soft on self, sore on others. Instead of venting anger we are to “receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls”(not eternal salvation but salvation of our lives for the service of God). Notice how he places anger and meekness in sharp contrast. Anger is the aggressive assertion of personal rights; meekness is the humble acceptance of Divine correction. Not only did He bring us to the birth by the word of truth, but He has implanted His word within us, the incorruptible seed which produces Divine fruit.
Practice the word (1 verses 22-25) We must develop a correct attitude to the word of God implanted within us. “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” The Lord repeatedly urged “...who hath ears to hear let him hear.” That is, allow the word to penetrate you inner man to heed the word and turn it into practical living. What you receive in your mind is to work it’s way down to your feet. This means that we read and study the word, not for others but for ourselves. It is a matter of gross self deception to treat the word as an intellectual exercise only. There is a danger of becoming “sermon tasters”. The true response is, as he says in verse 25, to become a “doer of work”, that is there will be a visible life changing work, and the man will be blessed in his doing. There will be blessing to himself and blessing to others. He characterises the word of God as a mirror into which we can look to see what manner of persons we are and to make improvements where necessary. It is interesting that the laver, the vessel of cleansing in the tabernacle, was made of the mirrors of the ladies of Israel! What was in common use as personal vanity became useful as a revelation of self as they approached God. So we are to “look into the perfect law of liberty” to assess ourselves to make life changing adjustments. The word for looking is “looking intently”, scrutinising, searching. The word of truth must be closely inspected, not treated lightly or as a secondary occupation. The word as “the perfect law of liberty” is interesting. This is saying that the only pathway to freedom from the power of indwelling sin is the word of God. Psalm 119 v9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way, but by taking heed thereto according to thy word”?!; Psalm 119 v11 “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.”; Psalm 119 vv43-45 “...for I hoped in thy judgments, so shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever and I will walk at liberty, for I seek thy precepts.” The perfect law of liberty is the word of God in all it’s varied aspects which sets us free from the power of sin. Only by obeying it, “doing” it, are we truly free!
True religion (1 vv26-27) Religion is used three times in these verses and refers to external public shows pertaining to the worship of gods. The writer wishes to express true religion, where visible public ceremonies or feasts or prayers or seminars play little part and focus is on the internal invisible aspects of worship, seen only by the eye of God. This is akin to the teaching of Matthew chapter 6, where the disciples of Jesus were told to perform their alms in secret and before the eye of the Father. Everything else is false and empty and for show and for the ego. He defines it in three stages:
a) Control of self......bridling the tongue Self control in our words, a task he will later reveal is not easy to do for “the tongue can no man tame”, it is unruly, it runs away with itself out of control. Failure to do this renders any public service we may do as vanity-emptiness. Evil talk and holy walk just don’t go together. The metaphor is from the practice of restraining a horse, an everyday event when horses were used in business and in war and in sport.
b) Compassion on others......visiting the afflicted Specifically he names the widows and the fatherless. There can be no motivation for this other than true compassion, pure religion, as he calls it. We do good at the point of need to those who by no fault of their own are disadvantaged and who can little afford to give us recompense. The fatherless and the widow were always linked and the bible has much to say about this tragic lonely condition. No less than fourteen times in the old testament are these mentioned; God is very concerned about their need in terms of loneliness and possible destitution. Exodus 22 v22 is very relevant as is Psalm146 v9, “The Lord....He relieveth the fatherless and the widow”. If we would act like our Father as James says we ought, we will follow His example. In Psalm 68 vv4-5 it is recorded “...Him that rideth upon the heavens by His name Jah...a father of the fatherless and a judge of the widow, is God in His holy habitation”.”( a judge in the sense of making up her lack). If the great God who bestrides the vast expanses of the universe has time and care to spend with the afflicted, then so must we!
c) Cleansing of the soul.....keeping yourself unspotted from the world. We are slow to realise the character of the world around us, and the defilement we can pick up and James will spell it out in chapter 4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God...”. We must live in this world, we must testify to this world, but we do not need to befriend it. The Psalmist makes it clear that the godly do not “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, “nor stand in the way of sinners”, nor sit in the seat of the scornful”. These three expressions describe the world “ungodly”, “sinners”, “scornful”. If we befriend it we become tainted with it’s defilement.
The thought is not of sinless perfection but of maturity in the life of faith. James’ opening word is “greetings” which carries the idea of “be happy” or “be joyful” and this becomes the theme of this first chapter. Considering the suffering of these people, all of them displaced from their homes, most of them excommunicated from the synagogue, and some disowned by their families, this appears to be an insensitive form of greeting, but it sets the pattern for new testament teaching that no earthly circumstances can rob the Christian of the joy of salvation; indeed, as we shall see, we are to turn afflictions into assets, for it is in overcoming the trials our Christian virtues are enhanced. Chapter 1 v2 “Count it all joy.....”; chapter 1 v9 “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in his exaltation and the rich in his humbling....”; chapter 1 v12 “Blessed is the man that endures trials...”; chapter 1 v25 “...this man shall be blessed in his deed”.
He approaches this difficult subject in two ways:
Verses 2-12 Trials from without The words trials and temptations in the verses are interchangeable and come from the same root. The meaning is decided by the context. In the first of these sections he classifies these as trials we “fall into” (verse 2 “...when ye fall into divers temptations...”). These are circumstances that fall upon us or we fall into from outside sources over which we have no control. The idea is of the appearance of sudden, unexpected, and mostly unwanted, events which cause us real and stressful problems. These may come from God, from devils, from men, from the elements, or from turbulent world events. These are all facts of life and they come unannounced and cause us real troubles.
Verses 13-27 Temptations from within These are differentiated from the above by the phrase “drawn away” in verse 14 “...every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed...”. No longer a chance event over which we have no control but a wilful departure for which we are entirely responsible. We don’t fall into this we allow ourselves to be drawn away by something that attracts us other than God.
Verses 2-27 Trials without and temptations within
Verses 2-8 Do not doubt the goodness of God
The words used for trials and temptations refer to “putting faith to the test by experience” and the unexpected events of life do just that. Our faith will be put to the test, because faith that is mere profession is no faith at all. We are to count these testings as a positive sign that our faith is real and the test is for a reason, and a living proof that God is working in us. God always tests His people, not to see what level they have reached, for He knows that at all times, but to produce in us some spiritual progress. He may use different agencies, but ultimately it all comes from Him. A prime example is Abraham “And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt (put him to the test) Abraham.......take now thy son...” Genesis 22 vv1-2. This was the culmination of a number of tests, from the death of his father to famine to strife to war to personal failure, in a series of steps until he was ready for the greatest test of all. God was at work in his life and He will be at work in us, as James says here in verse 3 “...the trying of your faith worketh patience (endurance)”. We are to have a positive attitude to these trials...... ”count” “knowing” are the words he uses. In the language of accountancy we are to deem these apparent debits as credits, for their purpose is for our ultimate profit. However it is much more than just a positive mental attitude, we are to count it as “all joy”. This thought pervades the section (v2, v9,v12). Heaven’s “arithmetic” turns earthly values on their heads. Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount....”Blessed are the poor in spirit/they that mourn/those who are persecuted...”. True happiness is in understanding the ways of God and following in His pathway, even in difficult times. The test may last a while and we are to endure so as to “let endurance have her perfect work that we may be perfect (mature) and entire, lacking in nothing”. These trials are making us mature, well rounded Christians, they have a beneficial purpose, God is using them to better us.
“But if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given to him”. One thing we may lack is wisdom as to the purpose of the trial, and in that case we are to seek understanding from the Lord. He is a giving God, who wants us to know Him and he will give us wisdom in the matter. He does not give grudgingly but liberally, and does not cast reproach for our slowness of learning. There is one condition to this....”Let him ask in faith, nothing doubting...”. We dare not treat God as untrustworthy, or as mean, He is liberal in His giving. Some have said that James is light in doctrine, however his letter is bristling with theology as he unfolds the character of God as an incentive to our spiritual growth. Just as the plants and flowers reach up to the sun in the process of natural growth, so in matters of the spirit we take our health giving power from above. He will return to this in chapter 3 where he expands on the “wisdom from above”, and also in chapter 4 where he enlarges on the improper motives for asking things from God. Here the message is that God is a liberal giver and we must properly seek His generosity. The language is very severe if we approach Him flippantly “Let not that man think he shall receive anything from the Lord”. Such a man is unstable and “double minded”; God would have us be single minded and trusting in His goodness. One of the first ploys of Satan in the fall was to cast doubt on the goodness of God, suggesting to the woman, that God was withholding something good, and this lie is being perpetrated daily across the worldwide media even now; Christians must reject this and accept that everything He does is for our good. We must understand that He can do anything we ask, and that He will always act for our ultimate good.
Verses 9-12 Rejoice in the righteousness of God
The main thought behind righteousness is that of equity, God balancing things out, making things even. This brings us to the mighty doctrine of retribution and recompense in God’s dealings with the sons of men. He takes up the example of rich and poor; later he will condemn the excesses of the ungodly rich, but here he is thinking of the rich among the people of God. There are some who are materially rich, mostly, however God’s people are materially poor(chapter 2 v5). God has exalted the poor, and humbled the rich. The example from nature is that “the flower of the grass passes away”, that is riches are only for this life and have no value in eternity. Unlike this passing world, material riches do not define a man, and God has brought the poor and the rich to the same level in His sight. Indeed in the realm of spiritual gifts God has richly endowed the poor with His gifts. Paul makes this clear in 1st Corinthians 1 vv27-28 “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, and the things which are not (non entities) to bring to nought the things that are....”. The bible is clear, it is God who makes rich, and makes poor (1stSamuel 2 v7); earthly riches can be a disadvantage in spiritual life, tending to pride in achievement, rather than trust in God. James is dealing with the basics here, and God evens things out. The poor brother can be a leader/a teacher/a shepherd along with the rich brother. Some of the greatest gifts in the church were and are from the poor. Thus the “poor man is exalted” and he should rejoice, and “the rich man is laid low” in that his riches grant him no status, in this the rich should also rejoice in the justice of God. There is a special blessing for the man who endures the trial for “...when he is tried (approved) he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love Him”.
The question must be asked, what is “the crown of life” and is it present or future? It is distinguished from the other crowns of scripture, and is quoted again in Revelation 2 v10. In both cases it refers to the suffering of persecution for faith in God. There are two words used in the new testament for crown....stephanos, which is here and diadema which is used in three scriptures in Revelation (see 12 v3, 13 v1, and 19 v12). The diadem is a crown of inherent right such as is worn by a king, whereas “stephanos” is the garland, the wreath of excellence for victory at the games. It is a crown of reward, a victor’s crown, not worn as of inherent right but as of notable achievements. Therefore the crown of life is not referring to eternal life as will be experienced by all believers but is for endurance through a specific trial. There is no doubt a future aspect as the “approval” may refer to the judgment seat of Christ when all life and work will be assessed. However there may be a present aspect...it is simply “when he is approved”. The clue may be given in the latter part of verse 12 where it says “the crown of life which the Lord promised to them that love Him”. When did He promise this? Perhaps John chapter 14 vv21-23 is the answer, where He indicated that those who love Him in a special way will be rewarded with present manifestations. Again Job, who suffered more than most, declared “..when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold” Job 23 v10. The crown of life may be experienced now and the key is “those that love Him”. There will come a time when the trial ceases and Divine approval is given in the form of quality of spiritual life.
Verses 13-18 Do not misjudge God
“Let no man say when he is tempted “I am tempted of God...”. That is exactly what Adam said at the fall “...the woman whom thou gavest me to be with me she gave me of the tree and I did eat”. This is the classic case of blaming anyone else for our sin, and Adam stoops to blaming God. We, and we alone, are responsible for our sin, no one else, certainly not God! He gives two aspects of the holiness of God 1) “He cannot be tempted with evil” and 2) “...neither tempteth He any man”. He is apart from sin altogether and so he does not originate sin in anyone. Those who say, today, that their sin is just the way they have been “wired up” or programmed, protesting that sin is inevitable because of a quirk of nature, are wide of the mark for sin commences within us, because of strong inward desires. “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed...”. In other words we sin because we want to, because we allow ourselves to create situations that give opportunity to satisfy our craving, whatever it might be. We sometimes sin against our better judgment, not properly assessing the hurt on others, for sin is a power we cannot control. James develops this in verse 15 where he likens the power of sin to natural birth. “Lust when conceived, brings forth sin, and sin when it is finished brings forth death”. This is a very graphic picture of how we human beings function. We get hold of something we want, usually what we can’t have, and we allow this to take over. The figure of intimate sexual intercourse leading to birth indicates we are in love with the sin, that we want to consummate it, and nothing will prevent it from taking it’s full course. The final outcome is death, initially spiritual death, followed by physical death, then finally eternal death in the sense of ultimate separation from God. It all begins with a seemingly harmless thought, and, through an irreversible natural process destroys us. We are the problem, not God or anyone else. Jesus taught this when he said “For from within out of the heart of men proceeds evil...” Mark 7 v21. From within, from the seat of the will and of the desires (the heart) comes all evil. That is why only God can save us and He has provided a way. It is interesting in a letter which promotes perfection of growth in spiritual things, he uses the picture of sin coming to the fullness of birth.
“Do not err my beloved brethren....” Don’t get this wrong my beloved. Do not misjudge God, do not characterise Him as evil, nor with promoting evil in us. We must have right thoughts about the Lord. Nothing but good comes from Him, no evil, only good. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.... “. All the sin is from within, all the good is from above! The good gift refers to the source, that is the goodness of God; the perfect gift refers to the specific gift given, He only gives that which perfectly suits each one of us. In Ephesians chapter 2 v21 Paul speaks of “every building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord”. He gives exactly what suits us, and He fits us together in the marvellous structure. The Giver is only good and the gifts are just perfect for us all. He refers again in chapter 3 v17 to “the wisdom which is above”; again only what is good and perfect from above. He gives constantly “cometh down from the Father of lights”, unceasing steams of goodness to His beloved people. He is “The Father of lights..”, He is the source and emanence of all that is light, He dispels all darkness, He alone brings warmth and growth and light to all. The theology of James is immense and he wants us to understand our God in all that He is. He never changes, not capricious like all the false gods, there is not even the hint of change, as of a shadow cast by turning, not a vestige of change, He remains the same loving God who only ever seeks our good. He is the one Absolute source of all that is good and we should never doubt it.
It was out of His benign will, without reference to any external source, He begat us (brought us to the birth)- note the link with sin giving birth to death in verse 15. He begat us “by the word of truth”...the agency through which He brought us forth in new birth; the word of truth is prominent at new birth and this agrees with 1st Peter 1 v23 “...being born again....by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever”. He begat us to be “...a kind of firstfruits of His creatures”, in essence to be like Himself. The concept of firstfruits in the scriptures is they are evidence of a greater harvest to follow. These being the first living believers are promise of a greater number in the future. No wonder he inserts “Do not err...”. Do not be mistaken in your thoughts of the God who is apart from all evil, who is the source of all light, who is the giver of every perfect gift, who gives incessantly, who never changes, and who independently brought us to new birth, and worked a miracle within us to make us His new creatures!!
Verses 19-27 Do not misrepresent God
He gave us new life, because the old life was sinful and issued only in death. In doing so He intended we should live anew, that there would be transforming changes under His guidance. This is the very essence of new birth. In that great chapter where Paul outlines the panorama of the new life in Christ, He says the reason God predestined us was that we should be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8 v29). He saved us to change us and this is the gist of these verses. At our new birth, He changed our destiny, but there was no moral change; now He wants us to truly represent Him as His children and deal with the indwelling sins still present, He seeks now a change of behaviour in His people. Overall he points to the word of God as the transforming instrument. We were born anew “by the word of truth” (verse 18); we are to progress by receiving “the engrafted word”(verse21); we are to be “doers of the word and not hearers only”(verse 22); we are to look into “the perfect law of liberty”(verse 25). There can be nothing clearer than this, that if we would change our character in conformity to our Father we must study and understand and walk in the ways of the word, the same word that saved us. A warning is sounded against self-deception in verses 22 and 26 and there is an exposure of false religion at the end of the chapter.
Receive the word (1 verses19-21) He begins with a series of wise sayings gleaned from the word of truth. This is how we should live....”Swift to hear slow to speak slow to wrath”; this challenges our personal demeanour. These epithets are rather personal involving the ears, the tongue and the temperament. These three proverbs sum up the practical teaching of the letter. “Swift to hear...chapter 1; “Slow to speak....chapter 3; “Slow to wrath....chapter 4.
Swift to hear/slow to speak: Jesus emphasised the need to hear the word of God “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13 v9). No less than nine times to His apostles and seven times to the churches did He repeat the proverb. We were given two ears and one mouth and God intended in our makeup to be more ready to hear than to speak. There is a solemn challenge from the wise man in Ecclesiastes 5 vv1-3 which sums this up perfectly “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven and thou on earth, therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words”. He will expand this thought in chapter 3 v1, where he condemns the clamour for teaching, since failure to match up will only bring condemnation. We are to open our ears and bridle our tongues.
Slow to wrath: This would be a failing in most of us we are quick tempered and especially when defending our perceived honour. Anger against God for the trials, anger against fellow believers for injustices, anger to protect selfish interest. “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God”. There is a righteous anger which is an abhorrence of evil, especially when the truth of God is being overturned. Mostly it is a selfish anger against perceived injustice. It is born out of an attitude of superiority, which this letter says God resists. Psalm 76 v10 says “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain”. There is no point in our anger over things not in our control. As a consequence we are to lay apart all excesses of the flesh....all filthiness, all personal sinfulness, for we have no right to vilify others when we ourselves are living with evil; we are to lay apart all “superfluity of naughtiness”, that is the abundance of badness toward others, the quest for one upmanship to the detriment of others. It is the classic scenario of the hypocrite, soft on self, sore on others. Instead of venting anger we are to “receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls”(not eternal salvation but salvation of our lives for the service of God). Notice how he places anger and meekness in sharp contrast. Anger is the aggressive assertion of personal rights; meekness is the humble acceptance of Divine correction. Not only did He bring us to the birth by the word of truth, but He has implanted His word within us, the incorruptible seed which produces Divine fruit.
Practice the word (1 verses 22-25) We must develop a correct attitude to the word of God implanted within us. “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” The Lord repeatedly urged “...who hath ears to hear let him hear.” That is, allow the word to penetrate you inner man to heed the word and turn it into practical living. What you receive in your mind is to work it’s way down to your feet. This means that we read and study the word, not for others but for ourselves. It is a matter of gross self deception to treat the word as an intellectual exercise only. There is a danger of becoming “sermon tasters”. The true response is, as he says in verse 25, to become a “doer of work”, that is there will be a visible life changing work, and the man will be blessed in his doing. There will be blessing to himself and blessing to others. He characterises the word of God as a mirror into which we can look to see what manner of persons we are and to make improvements where necessary. It is interesting that the laver, the vessel of cleansing in the tabernacle, was made of the mirrors of the ladies of Israel! What was in common use as personal vanity became useful as a revelation of self as they approached God. So we are to “look into the perfect law of liberty” to assess ourselves to make life changing adjustments. The word for looking is “looking intently”, scrutinising, searching. The word of truth must be closely inspected, not treated lightly or as a secondary occupation. The word as “the perfect law of liberty” is interesting. This is saying that the only pathway to freedom from the power of indwelling sin is the word of God. Psalm 119 v9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way, but by taking heed thereto according to thy word”?!; Psalm 119 v11 “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.”; Psalm 119 vv43-45 “...for I hoped in thy judgments, so shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever and I will walk at liberty, for I seek thy precepts.” The perfect law of liberty is the word of God in all it’s varied aspects which sets us free from the power of sin. Only by obeying it, “doing” it, are we truly free!
True religion (1 vv26-27) Religion is used three times in these verses and refers to external public shows pertaining to the worship of gods. The writer wishes to express true religion, where visible public ceremonies or feasts or prayers or seminars play little part and focus is on the internal invisible aspects of worship, seen only by the eye of God. This is akin to the teaching of Matthew chapter 6, where the disciples of Jesus were told to perform their alms in secret and before the eye of the Father. Everything else is false and empty and for show and for the ego. He defines it in three stages:
a) Control of self......bridling the tongue Self control in our words, a task he will later reveal is not easy to do for “the tongue can no man tame”, it is unruly, it runs away with itself out of control. Failure to do this renders any public service we may do as vanity-emptiness. Evil talk and holy walk just don’t go together. The metaphor is from the practice of restraining a horse, an everyday event when horses were used in business and in war and in sport.
b) Compassion on others......visiting the afflicted Specifically he names the widows and the fatherless. There can be no motivation for this other than true compassion, pure religion, as he calls it. We do good at the point of need to those who by no fault of their own are disadvantaged and who can little afford to give us recompense. The fatherless and the widow were always linked and the bible has much to say about this tragic lonely condition. No less than fourteen times in the old testament are these mentioned; God is very concerned about their need in terms of loneliness and possible destitution. Exodus 22 v22 is very relevant as is Psalm146 v9, “The Lord....He relieveth the fatherless and the widow”. If we would act like our Father as James says we ought, we will follow His example. In Psalm 68 vv4-5 it is recorded “...Him that rideth upon the heavens by His name Jah...a father of the fatherless and a judge of the widow, is God in His holy habitation”.”( a judge in the sense of making up her lack). If the great God who bestrides the vast expanses of the universe has time and care to spend with the afflicted, then so must we!
c) Cleansing of the soul.....keeping yourself unspotted from the world. We are slow to realise the character of the world around us, and the defilement we can pick up and James will spell it out in chapter 4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God...”. We must live in this world, we must testify to this world, but we do not need to befriend it. The Psalmist makes it clear that the godly do not “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, “nor stand in the way of sinners”, nor sit in the seat of the scornful”. These three expressions describe the world “ungodly”, “sinners”, “scornful”. If we befriend it we become tainted with it’s defilement.
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