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INTRODUCTION
The author of this Epistle was probably the Lord’s brother, mentioned with Joses, Simon and Judah, and often in the Acts of the Apostles. See Mar_6:3; Act_12:17; Act_15:13; Act_21:18. He was bishop, or president, of the church at Jerusalem, and this letter was probably written from that city. The emphasis laid on the nearness of our Lord’s advent points to a date near A.D. 70. The Epistle may have been written in Hebrew, and was addressed to the Hebrew section of the Church. It lays great emphasis on the sublime ideal of character which Christianity had raised, and to maintain which demanded the constant diligence of all professing Christians.
Testing of Your Faith
Jas 1:2 Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials.
Jas 1:3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].
Jas 1:4 And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.
Jas 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him.
Jas 1:6 But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God's willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind.
Jas 1:7 For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord,
Jas 1:8 being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].
Jas 1:9 Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position [as a born-again believer, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God];
Jas 1:10 and the rich man is to glory in being humbled [by trials revealing human frailty, knowing true riches are found in the grace of God], for like the flower of the grass he will pass away.
Jas 1:11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away; so too will the rich man, in the midst of his pursuits, fade away. [Isa_40:6-7]
Jas 1:12 Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor's] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Jas 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God" [for temptation does not originate from God, but from our own flaws]; for God cannot be tempted by [what is] evil, and He Himself tempts no one.
Jas 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion).
Jas 1:15 Then when the illicit desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin has run its course, it gives birth to death.
Jas 1:16 Do not be misled, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Jas 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].
Jas 1:18 It was of His own will that He gave us birth [as His children] by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits of His creatures [a prime example of what He created to be set apart to Himself--sanctified, made holy for His divine purposes].
James 1:1-11
STEADFAST FAITH
This Epistle is marked by the austere features of the Jerusalem church, which refused to be affected by that wider contact with the Gentile world, by which the life and teachings of St. Paul were so powerfully influenced. “Brother to Jesus” was the designation that James might have used, but he preferred the more modest title of bond-servant. The slaves of such a king are nobles! The times were full of severe testing. Each believer had to face ignominy, loss and death for his testimony to Jesus and His saving power. But James encourages these harried souls by the immense revenues that would accrue, more especially in the acquisition of patience. While patience is drawn out almost to the breaking-point, God is developing our characters with perfect beauty, so that no side is incomplete.
There are three urgent requirements for us all: (1) Wisdom to act and speak wisely in the hour of trial; (2) faith that refuses to respond to the surging billows of doubt; (3) humility and contentment with God’s dealings.
James 1:12-18
GOD REWARDS, NOT TEMPTS
The word temptation may stand for trial and testing, without implying that there is any necessary impulse toward evil; or it may stand for the direct impulse of the evil one. Here, however, it is used in this latter sense. But of whatever kind the temptation is, whether upward or downward, whether of pain and sorrow at the permission of God, or of direct solicitation to evil at the suggestion of Satan, those who refuse to swerve from their high quest of nobility attain to higher levels of life. In the words of this paragraph, they receive the crown of life “here” and hereafter.
Notice the genealogy of sin, Jas_1:15. Lust is the parent of sin, and sin when matured is the parent of death. How different to the blackness of this dark picture is the light and glory of our Father’s home and realm! All the good things of our lives are from His good hand. He is not fickle and changeable. Even our sin cannot make Him turn away. His sun still shines on the evil and the good, and His rain descends on the just and the unjust. See Mat_5:45. We are His children; let us be sweet to the taste as the grapes of Eschol!
James 1
Overview
Jas_1:1, We are to rejoice under the cross; Jas_1:5, to ask patience of God; Jas_1:13, and in our trials not to impute our weakness, or sins, to him, Jas_1:19. but rather to hearken to the word, to meditate on it, and to do thereafter; Jas_1:26, Otherwise men may seem, but never be, truly religious.
REVIEW QUESTIONS ON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES
Outline
(a) What is the theme of the Epistle?
(b) How is it developed?
Introduction
(c) What information does the New Testament afford with regard to the author of this Epistle?
(d) When was the Epistle written?
(e) To whom was it addressed?
James 1-5
Each question applies to the paragraph of corresponding number in the Comments.
1. How may our need of wisdom be supplied?
2. What is the source of temptation?
3. How does pure religion find expression?
4. What is the royal law?
5. What is the relation between faith and works?
6. Why is there special need of controlling the tongue?
7. What is the character of heavenly wisdom?
8. Why are our prayers often unanswered?
9. To what extent are our lives under providential control?
10. Why are dishonest gains a curse? What is the reward of patience?
11. What is recommended for the joyful? For the sick? What did Elijah accomplish through prayer? What great opportunity for service is open to the Christian?
The author of this Epistle was probably the Lord’s brother, mentioned with Joses, Simon and Judah, and often in the Acts of the Apostles. See Mar_6:3; Act_12:17; Act_15:13; Act_21:18. He was bishop, or president, of the church at Jerusalem, and this letter was probably written from that city. The emphasis laid on the nearness of our Lord’s advent points to a date near A.D. 70. The Epistle may have been written in Hebrew, and was addressed to the Hebrew section of the Church. It lays great emphasis on the sublime ideal of character which Christianity had raised, and to maintain which demanded the constant diligence of all professing Christians.
Testing of Your Faith
Jas 1:2 Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials.
Jas 1:3 Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].
Jas 1:4 And let endurance have its perfect result and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfect and completely developed [in your faith], lacking in nothing.
Jas 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him.
Jas 1:6 But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God's willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind.
Jas 1:7 For such a person ought not to think or expect that he will receive anything [at all] from the Lord,
Jas 1:8 being a double-minded man, unstable and restless in all his ways [in everything he thinks, feels, or decides].
Jas 1:9 Let the brother in humble circumstances glory in his high position [as a born-again believer, called to the true riches and to be an heir of God];
Jas 1:10 and the rich man is to glory in being humbled [by trials revealing human frailty, knowing true riches are found in the grace of God], for like the flower of the grass he will pass away.
Jas 1:11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; its flower falls off and its beauty fades away; so too will the rich man, in the midst of his pursuits, fade away. [Isa_40:6-7]
Jas 1:12 Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor's] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Jas 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God" [for temptation does not originate from God, but from our own flaws]; for God cannot be tempted by [what is] evil, and He Himself tempts no one.
Jas 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited [to commit sin] by his own [worldly] desire (lust, passion).
Jas 1:15 Then when the illicit desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin has run its course, it gives birth to death.
Jas 1:16 Do not be misled, my beloved brothers and sisters.
Jas 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].
Jas 1:18 It was of His own will that He gave us birth [as His children] by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits of His creatures [a prime example of what He created to be set apart to Himself--sanctified, made holy for His divine purposes].
James 1:1-11
STEADFAST FAITH
This Epistle is marked by the austere features of the Jerusalem church, which refused to be affected by that wider contact with the Gentile world, by which the life and teachings of St. Paul were so powerfully influenced. “Brother to Jesus” was the designation that James might have used, but he preferred the more modest title of bond-servant. The slaves of such a king are nobles! The times were full of severe testing. Each believer had to face ignominy, loss and death for his testimony to Jesus and His saving power. But James encourages these harried souls by the immense revenues that would accrue, more especially in the acquisition of patience. While patience is drawn out almost to the breaking-point, God is developing our characters with perfect beauty, so that no side is incomplete.
There are three urgent requirements for us all: (1) Wisdom to act and speak wisely in the hour of trial; (2) faith that refuses to respond to the surging billows of doubt; (3) humility and contentment with God’s dealings.
James 1:12-18
GOD REWARDS, NOT TEMPTS
The word temptation may stand for trial and testing, without implying that there is any necessary impulse toward evil; or it may stand for the direct impulse of the evil one. Here, however, it is used in this latter sense. But of whatever kind the temptation is, whether upward or downward, whether of pain and sorrow at the permission of God, or of direct solicitation to evil at the suggestion of Satan, those who refuse to swerve from their high quest of nobility attain to higher levels of life. In the words of this paragraph, they receive the crown of life “here” and hereafter.
Notice the genealogy of sin, Jas_1:15. Lust is the parent of sin, and sin when matured is the parent of death. How different to the blackness of this dark picture is the light and glory of our Father’s home and realm! All the good things of our lives are from His good hand. He is not fickle and changeable. Even our sin cannot make Him turn away. His sun still shines on the evil and the good, and His rain descends on the just and the unjust. See Mat_5:45. We are His children; let us be sweet to the taste as the grapes of Eschol!
James 1
Overview
Jas_1:1, We are to rejoice under the cross; Jas_1:5, to ask patience of God; Jas_1:13, and in our trials not to impute our weakness, or sins, to him, Jas_1:19. but rather to hearken to the word, to meditate on it, and to do thereafter; Jas_1:26, Otherwise men may seem, but never be, truly religious.
REVIEW QUESTIONS ON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES
Outline
(a) What is the theme of the Epistle?
(b) How is it developed?
Introduction
(c) What information does the New Testament afford with regard to the author of this Epistle?
(d) When was the Epistle written?
(e) To whom was it addressed?
James 1-5
Each question applies to the paragraph of corresponding number in the Comments.
1. How may our need of wisdom be supplied?
2. What is the source of temptation?
3. How does pure religion find expression?
4. What is the royal law?
5. What is the relation between faith and works?
6. Why is there special need of controlling the tongue?
7. What is the character of heavenly wisdom?
8. Why are our prayers often unanswered?
9. To what extent are our lives under providential control?
10. Why are dishonest gains a curse? What is the reward of patience?
11. What is recommended for the joyful? For the sick? What did Elijah accomplish through prayer? What great opportunity for service is open to the Christian?
