Category: James

James closes this letter in a sobering way. A genuine faith is an active faith that pierces every aspect of one’s life. Suffering reveals what we truly believe within.

He opens by giving a warning to the rich. He is not saying anything new though. He is simply reiterating what his brother Jesus said throughout His ministry about money (Luke 12, Matthew 6). Like few things do, money has a way of convincing us that we are in control and not reliant on anyone else. Jesus is not against His followers having money, He is against money having a grip on His followers. James is clear that many had spent their life building their kingdom at the expense of others and their consequences were inevitable.

James then proceeds to encourage the church to wait well. For the believer, this world is not our home. Suffering and disappointment are as sure as death. It is easy to lose hope in light of that reality but James offers a better way. He encourages his readers to establish their hearts in the coming of the Lord. Why would he say such a thing? It is the only way to wait well. The heart that knows how the story ends is able and willing to wait. James points us to Job who suffered the loss of resources, kids, and health however He was rooted in the Lord. In Job 19:25 Job says, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end, he will stand on the earth.” Followers of Christ today have the same expectation on the other side of Christ coming knowing that Jesus will return for His bride.

He closes this letter by inviting the readers to a deeper dependence on the Lord through prayer and confession. You can determine how one views God’s heart by their prayer life and their confessions. James is simply calling us to a life of prayer like he so vividly saw His brother Jesus live. If we commit to walking in the way that Jesus did, we will reap the fruit of the abundant life Jesus offers.

James is taking great care to caution his listeners against letting envy and bitterness take root among them, because he knows that this is the source of an anger that leads to great destruction. Right off the bat he explains that the wars between believers come from internal desires for pleasure and things of the world. As one commentator puts it, “It is self-evident that the Spirit of God does not create desire which issues in envying.” In other words, if a believer claims to have a good motive, but has a critical or contentious attitude, then his desires do not align with those of the Holy Spirit. 

Thankfully, when we let this happen, verse 5 reminds us that the Holy Spirit is jealous for a relationship with God. This jealousy leads to conviction when we are not in right relationship with Him. While translations of verse 5 may vary, James is merely reiterating many passages from the Old Testament that teach of a jealous God. He intentionally uses the phrase “adulterers and adulteresses” so that this jealousy can be more easily understood: the pain suffered by someone who has been betrayed by a spouse is the same pain we cause God when we forget that we are His bride. He has been ever faithful to us, but our desires for things of the world not only cause war among us, but cause Him horrible grief.  

So how do we keep our worldly desires in check? James gives us practical guidance in verses 7-10. Submit to God. Resist the devil. Lead a pure life. Have sincere sorrow for your sins and humble yourself before the Lord. When we do these things, James reminds us that we have a God who gives us unending grace when we submit to Him. 

Charles Spurgeon has various sermons on this passage filled with incredible explanations and words of wisdom. If we question whether it is worth it to do the hard work and humble ourselves and submit to God, consider this quote from Spurgeon: “I desire to whisper one little truth in your ear, and I pray that it may startle you: You are submitting even now. You say, ‘Not I; I am lord of myself.’ I know you think so, but all the while you are submitting to the devil. The verse before us hints at this. ‘Submit yourselves unto God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’ If you do not submit to God you never will resist the devil, and you will remain constantly under his tyrannical power. Which shall be your master, God or devil, for one of these must. No man is without a master.” 

We have two options: submit to God who loves us and created us or remain under the tyranny of the one who wants to destroy us. There is no in between. Let’s take that harrowing perspective with us today so that when even seemingly harmless decisions or situations confront us, we remember to ask the Holy Spirit within us for guidance. In doing so we can both prevent conflict and bring joy to the Father who loves us. 

In this chapter, James begins by giving several analogies to convey the power of the tongue. From a bit in the mouth of a horse (verse 3) to the rudder of a great ship (verse 4), we get the picture of two small things that have great power and are extremely important in guiding the direction of their vessels. Then James tells us in verse 5 “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.”

James goes on to explain that the tongue can be used for both good and evil. It has the potential to be both a blessing and a curse. Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” How do we make sure that our tongues are being used for good, blessing, and life? How do we steer clear of allowing things to come out of our mouths that are evil, curses, and lead to death?

Romans 6:13 says “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” The Bible commands us to give every single part of our bodies to God to be used as instruments of righteousness! The way that we use our tongues to speak life is by giving the control of it to the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind that both the bridle of the horse and the rudder of the ship can do tremendous good when they are properly controlled.

James 3:8 says “but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison.” Scripture explicitly tells us here that it is not within our human capacity to tame the tongue. As believers in Jesus, we should constantly ask ourselves: Who or what is directing the reins of our tongues? Who or what is controlling the rudder? A tongue controlled by the Holy Spirit will consistently speak words filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control (Galatians 5:22-23). If our words are more consistently categorized as criticism, gossip, slander, cruelty, anger, or insincere than we need to heed James’ warning from this passage and hand over the reins.

The book of James is all about faith that works. He is saying “if you are going to talk the talk of Christianity, you better walk the walk.” This means that the actions of Christians should match the faith they claim with their words. James begins this chapter talking about the sin of partiality, or favoritism. He says, “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism” (v. 1). Favoritism can be defined as having unfair love or preferential treatment towards some at the expense of others. It is treating someone based on external factors. 

James illustrates this in a church meeting with those favoring the rich over the poor (v. 3-4). God is impartial, meaning He shows no favoritism. He sees all people the same and all are held to the same standard. We also know that God does not look at the outward appearance, He looks at the heart. For many of us, there are various reasons why we would treat people differently. This could be their wealth, race, political party, job title, gender, intelligence, etc. When we receive the goodness of God in our heart, we reflect the goodness of God in our lives. This looks like treating people according to their value and worth in God’s eyes, regardless of what they physically look like or what their worldly status is. 

James continues in this passage asking the question: How do you know if you have real faith? Look at the fruit. James says, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (v. 17). Our works are the fruit of our faith. Faith without action is a useless faith. Martin Luther once said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” We do not have to work for our salvation, we work from our salvation.

People say what they think, but they do what they truly believe. In Matthew 7, Jesus tells us “By their fruit you will recognize them” (v. 20). This idea is also demonstrated in Matthew 25. Jesus is describing future events to His disciples telling them that He will separate the sheep from the goats. Jesus says about His true disciples, the sheep, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Jesus continues saying, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (v. 40).

What He is communicating here is that if we ignore those in need, we are essentially ignoring Christ. When we serve those in need, we are serving Christ. The gospel changes the way we live and the way that we radically love others. No, we are not saved by our good deeds, but our good deeds prove we have a saving faith. When Jesus is in our hearts, acts of mercy will flow from us. 

This chapter, like each chapter in the book of James, has several different movements and topics that are discussed. Because of the nature of this book, scholars have considered it to be like a New Testament version of Proverbs and a commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, which Jesus preached in Matthew 5-7. In this chapter, James covers everything from withstanding suffering, resisting temptation, the importance of being slow to speak and become angry, why we should do what the Word of God says, and the importance of caring for widows and orphans. If that feels like a lot to keep up with, you’re not wrong! 

This chapter could be best summed up by re-reading verse 22: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” The original audience James was writing to had grown up under the Law of the Old Testament. They would have heard the Scriptures and learned them. They would have sat under the teachings of a rabbi. All of the temptations were there for them to go through the religious motions and regurgitate the “right answers” when they needed to. But that is not authentic Christianity.

Pastor David Guzik of the Enduring Word commentary says this about the point James is making: 

“It was common in the ancient world for people to hear a teacher. If you followed the teacher and tried to live what he said, you were called a disciple of that teacher. We may say that Jesus is looking for disciples: doers, not mere hearers. Jesus used this same point to conclude His great Sermon on the Mount. He said that the one who heard the word without doing it was like a man who built his house on the sand, but the one who heard God’s word and did it was like a man whose house was built on a rock. The one who both heard and did God’s word could withstand the inevitable storms of life and the judgment of eternity.”

As we read this today, why are we to live in the way that James calls us to? There is nothing compelling about something fraudulent or inauthentic, but a genuine Christian who lives in a way that’s different and counter-cultural stands out. They’re no longer a consumer or someone going through religious motions, but instead are a person living by faith. As we go about our day to day, let’s do it with a clean slate and the freedom to live as a devoted follower of Jesus.