James Peter John Jude

PART ONE

Greeting

(1:1)

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

Letter writers in the ancient world preferred to sign their letters at the beginning. This is not so strange—today we usually look to the end of a letter or to the return address to know the writer’s identity before we start reading. What is surprising, though, is how James identifies himself. Although he is the half brother of Jesus Christ himself, he prefers humbly to call himself Jesus’ servant (or even slave). His brother Jude showed the same modesty of self-identification in the first verse of his epistle. Perhaps they both were painfully aware of their early disbelief in Jesus’ true identity and their misunderstanding of his messianic claims (John 7:2–5).

In humility James does not wish to appear to be talking down to his readers but talking on their level, as to fellow servants, to men and women who have subordinated their will to God’s will. If James is to be anyone’s brother, he prefers to emphasize his relationship with his fellow believers (verse 2). He calls his readers brothers 15 times.

James provides no other information on his identity. He probably thought this unnecessary, since by the mid-40s A.D. he would have been very famous as one of the leaders of the mother church in Jerusalem (see the introduction for notes on the identity of James and the identity of his readers, the twelve tribes scattered among the nations).

James mentions his Savior’s name only twice, here and in 2:1. But that mighty, glorious name throws a long shadow over the entire letter. James is going to assume that his readers know the great works of their salvation—in chapter 2 he calls Jesus our glorious Lord. Everything he writes concerns the believer’s faith-based response to God’s forgiving love in Christ. And so the word greetings in verse 1, which literally means rejoice, sets the context for all that follows. This was also Jesus’ first word to Salome, Johanna, and Mary on Easter morning (Matthew 28:9). Our joyful gospel hope in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ leads us to pattern our lives after him.

The eight-part outline of the letter that follows is somewhat arbitrary. James prefers to write one-liners, individual pearls of sanctified wisdom that are then loosely strung together in general topics.

PART TWO

Trials and Temptations

(1:2–18)

James 1:2–8

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But 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. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

During his public ministry, Jesus often seized people’s attention with provocative, seemingly contradictory statements: The last shall be first, he said. Blessed are those who weep. James begins in the same way by inviting believers to think of the painful trials and testing in their lives as a joy. How is such an outrageous thought even possible? In two ways: first, experiencing suffering and trials matures us. Our faith grows when we have to sweat, be frustrated, wait, and persevere, just as our muscles need regular workouts to grow strong. Unused muscles stay weak and atrophy. Everyone knows the saying No pain, no gain. Our faith gets tougher when it feels resistance and overcomes.

Second, trouble can be good when it drives us to our knees to ask God for help. Our faith grows when we learn that God gives generously to all. It is arrogant to think that we are completely self-sufficient. As Paul said: [God’s] power is made perfect in weakness.… For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10).

It is heartening to pray to a God who gives generously to all without finding fault. When repentant sinners are forgiven by their loving Savior, they are really forgiven—God is no longer interested in accusing. The sin that once separated them has been nailed to the cross with Jesus and is gone. Gone! And so God’s forgiven children don’t have to feel stupid or guilty when they come to their Father for help, because he is interested in helping them, not in finding fault with them.

And don’t doubt, says James. Christian prayer expresses full confidence in God’s unlimited love, God’s unlimited power, and God’s unlimited wisdom. According to James, if we doubt any of those aspects of God, we are double-minded, spiritually schizophrenic, unstable, and unlikely to receive anything at all from the Lord. Prayer is all about relationships—Christian prayer is a celebration of being children of our Father in heaven. If you’re going to pray for rain, bring along an umbrella.

James 1:9–11

⁹The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. ¹⁰But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹For 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.

Here are several more provocative seeming contradictions from James. How can the lowly in society possibly take pride in their high position? In Luke 6:20–22 Jesus called believers who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated blessed, and he promised them the kingdom, satisfaction, laughter, and great reward in heaven. The point is not that people are saved through poverty or their own pain. The point is that people who have few earthly treasures and who have suffered a lot are less likely to view life on earth as paradise and more likely to be interested in the promises of the gospel. In Jesus’ story about Lazarus in Luke chapter 16, it was not Lazarus’ poverty that carried him to Abraham’s embrace but his faith; his suffering stripped away all the comfortable illusions about life on earth, all the illusions that money can buy. When Lazarus heard the testimony of Moses and the prophets, it sounded good to him.

However, some believers are rich in worldly wealth (Abraham, David, Solomon). But they have a special burden, because money easily turns people’s heads, inflates their sense of self-importance, distracts them from godly priorities, and leads to a false sense of security. Wealth cannot much delay a sinner’s death nor give him what he needs in God’s court. A rich believer’s true treasure lies in recognizing his natural spiritual poverty and in utter reliance on the true righteousness that Christ gives.

James 1:12–18

¹²Blessed 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.

¹³When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ¹⁵Then, after sin has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. ¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

The rhythm of verse 12 reminds us of Psalm 1. To be blessed means that we are content, serene, and confident that our God is still managing the world’s business, confident that he manages everything for our ultimate good, and confident that our life’s story is guaranteed to have a happy ending. To be blessed means that we are aware that God intervenes in our lives to make good things happen for us. James praises perseverance—this is the same quality that our Lord praises and rewards in each of the seven letters in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 (to him who overcomes). All believers need to grow in this kind of spiritual toughness, because we are under daily assault from Satan. Satan will use his human and demonic allies to try to distract us, trade our spiritual treasures for trash, sell our future for immediate gratification, grow tired of the Word, chase illusions, or despair of any living communication or relationship with God. James says that those who persevere, who hold on to God’s Word and promises, will receive the crown of life.

James speaks now of the problem of temptation, that is, not the suffering that Christians experience but rather the evil suggestions to a believer’s heart and mind to rebel against God’s will. While God indeed allows, and sometimes even may send, hardships upon his children, his purpose in that is always good: to test their faith as genuine and to draw them closer to him, away from this sick and dying planet. God never, ever, wants his children to choose evil. Our temptation problem is not from God but really comes from within: cooking away in each person’s heart is a sinful self that will never be converted. It restlessly seeks to dominate our thinking and values. It will never submit to God.

James reminds us of these things so that we will not be fooled into thinking that the growth of our Christian self will mean that our evil self will just automatically wither away and disappear. We need to recognize, honestly and humbly, the enemy within our own hearts, an enemy that can and will conceive and give birth to evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds. We will humbly accept James’ warning and daily repent of our sins, so that an unrepentant attitude won’t cause our spiritual death. We need to submit to God’s law, which convicts and condemns our sinful hearts and crushes our sinful pride. We need to cling to Christ’s gospel, which alone can give us worth and hope before God. For it is only God’s verdict of not guilty that will spare us from the divine wrath that will fall upon Satan and all evil on the Last Day. So whatever hinders us from faith in Christ must go; the things that bind us to Christ—to his Word and sacraments—must be the center of our lives. As James says in verse 21, "Accept the word planted in you, which can save you." Christ’s obedient life and innocent death are shared with repentant sinners through the message of God’s Word.

In verses 16 and 17, James helps troubled and hurting Christians see that God doesn’t want to hurt his children. Everything in our lives that is truly good comes from God the Father, who dwells above the heavenly lights (the stars). He doesn’t change, loving us one minute and then turning on us. He is the Lord, the God of steadfast covenant-love, who does not change like shifting shadows. He gave us our physical lives, and then he gave us rebirth through his mighty Word into spiritual life so that we might be a kind of firstfruits, that is, the prime, prize part of all creation, the part that he is proudest of. This, not temptation into sin, is God’s gracious will for us. This comforting thought will help us trust our heavenly Father in everything.

PART THREE

Hearers and Doers

(1:19–27)

¹⁹My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ²¹Therefore, 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.

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But 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.

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion 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.

James hated hypocrisy in people’s worship and in their professed religion. His strong words on hypocrisy in this compact little section at the end of chapter 1 will re-echo later in the letter. One important aspect of real faith for real life is our willingness to listen, really listen, to God, to humbly accept his Word, and then to act on what we know to be the truth.

What causes spiritual breakdown in Christian people’s thoughts and actions? How can reborn Christians become hypocrites? James has three answers: (1) We don’t listen, either to God or one another, well or enough. This is serious—we all need regular exhortation to pay attention to the Word, which can save you. (2) We talk too much. No one ever learns anything by talking. (3) We don’t always deal very well with anger and often let it fill our hearts. Anger poisons all relationships. It never goes away by itself but accumulates daily, leaving less and less room for patience, kindness, understanding, and forgiveness.

Notice how James holds Christians accountable for their lives. Notice how he teaches that reborn Christians have willpower, understanding, and the ability (with the help of the Holy Spirit) to change their lives. Get rid of all moral filth, he says. Getting comfortable with a sinful lifestyle and getting apathetic about God’s hatred for sin leads to spiritual death. Listen to God; humbly accept the word planted in you.

And then do it! The law of God is bad news for unrepentant sinners, for its pure and holy demands convict and condemn them. But for believers, for God’s repentant and forgiven children, the law is good news, for it gives clear information on how reborn people can worship and honor their Father with delight. Obedience to God’s law is not slavery but freedom—he will be blessed in what he does. Our lives really are better when we worship God, get rid of idols, honor our parents, respect marriage, flee adultery, tell the truth about people, and respect other people’s property. Humbly accept the word planted in you.

And then do it! Real faith becomes evident in real life. James gives three examples:

•   A mouth that curses, lies, swears falsely, abuses other people, and ruins reputations is a disgrace to God and erodes faith. Put reins on your tongue! Control your mouth!

•   Looking out only for yourself, for your own comfort and security, and leaving the weak to fend for themselves, is an insult to God. Look after orphans and widows in their distress.

•   Living like unrepentant unbelievers—in drunkenness, sexual immorality, selfish disregard for family, greed, disrespect, and violence—this insults God, makes the Christian faith look bad, and will endanger our relationship with our Father. Keep [yourself] from being polluted by the world.

PART FOUR

Favoritism and Love

(2:1–13)

James 2:1–9

2 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. ²Suppose a man comes into your meeting [synagogue] wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. ³If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, Here’s a good seat for you, but say to the poor man, You stand there or Sit on the floor by my feet, ⁴have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

⁵Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? ⁶But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? ⁷Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?

⁸If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. ⁹But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.

The next part of James’ letter gives some good examples of hearing and doing. God’s Word shows that he is no respecter of persons, that he shows no favoritism, no partiality, no bias, no preferences. His loving gospel invitation embraces all nations, tribes, races, languages, social classes, economic classes, and both genders alike—and so should Christian congregations.

James zeroes in particularly on the sin of money favoritism, that is, in the way that Christian congregations might shower wealthy members (or wealthy potential members) with attention, flattery, and perks, while treating the poor with contempt. The way of the world is to be nice to the nice, to people who can do things for you, and to brush off and ignore people who need your help. Congregations are particularly vulnerable to this sin of favoritism: since organizations always need money, people who have it get extra attention and clout. Mission boards are not eager to plant churches in poor neighborhoods because the mission won’t be self-supporting in the allotted timetable. City congregations in changing neighborhoods dream of moving to more affluent suburbs.

James stings such thinking with two reminders. First, the spiritual condition of the rich is often poor—just look at how they often exploit their workers. Look at how they lay off lower level employees and award themselves fat bonuses and perks. Look at how they manipulate the rules to squeeze money out of people. These verses are reminiscent of Amos 5:11, 12 and 6:1–7:

You oppress the righteous and take bribes

and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.

(Amos 5:12)

You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions,

but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;

your feasting and lounging will end.

(Amos 6:6, 7)

A second reminder (verse 5): God shows special honor to the lowly of the world to make his name great. Saint Paul agrees! First Corinthians 1:27–29 says: God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. The point is that our salvation is based not on any human achievement, human wealth, or human power but on God’s grace and mercy in the blood of Jesus. Look at Jesus himself: he was born to poor parents, born in a barn, spent the years of his ministry without a bed of his own, and died without even the clothes he wore to his trial.

Just as poor Lazarus showed a greater interest in the gospel than the rich man did, there is today a rich harvest of souls among the poor. Who better can love them than the Christian church? Who better can give them respect and a feeling of worth and value? Who better can reap and use the talents and treasures they bring than a congregational family of believers?

James calls partiality, prejudice, class arrogance, racism, and favoritism sins against the royal law of Scripture, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. These aren’t just understandable attitudes and justifiable personal opinions but evil, sin. These attitudes infuriate the God who fashioned the entire human race from one couple, who redeemed the whole world with the blood of his Son, who wants all nations discipled. Stop the favoritism!

James 2:10–13

¹⁰For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. ¹¹For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

¹²Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

James does not want anyone taking comfort in supposing that favoritism or partiality are just minor, tolerable quirks. They are offenses against God’s royal law and make people guilty before God. James also does not want anyone to take comfort in supposing that if we keep other commandments, God will wink at a little favoritism and prejudicial treatment here and there. Jesus said, Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 when he writes in Galatians 3:10, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." Partial adherence to God’s commandments is not acceptable to a God who wants it all.

James has two motivators: first, God’s promises of blessing to those who do his will. It will go well with you, God promises to parent-respecters. God’s law that gives freedom really does bring great joy, satisfaction, and blessing to Spirit-powered, Word-guided Christians who do God’s will. Second, as a rebuke to our sinful nature, James provides this motivation: fear. Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. As Jesus said right after teaching his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, If you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:15). Let mercy triumph over judgment! In other words, let your actions invite God’s blessings instead of his anger.

PART FIVE

Dead Faith and Real Faith

(2:14–26)

James 2:14–17

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

This brings James to the core of his message to the scattered Jewish Christians: real faith for real life. Here he moves away from a writing style of semiconnected one-liners and gives a longer, focused, intense blast against fruitless faith. There have been readers over the centuries who were offended by the great emphasis James lays on the importance of good works, supposing that this contradicted Paul’s clear teaching of justification by faith alone, not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:9). Even Martin Luther himself at times had doubts about whether or not James even belonged in the Bible. A deeper and more careful and sympathetic reading, however, reveals no conflict between James and Paul.

Sometimes when people hear the gospel for the first time, the good news that Jesus Christ gives comfort, forgiveness, spiritual life, and a place in heaven to all who repent and believe in him sounds too easy. You mean, they say, all you have to do is say the Apostles’ Creed and then you can live any way you want? It is to this false notion that James speaks.

Our own attempts at good works are worthless in God’s court in order to gain forgiveness of our sins and his verdict of not guilty. Only the righteous life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (grace) can do that. And we who believe it have it (faith). Now—here is where the works come in. As I come to faith in my Savior, I am justified, I am born again, I begin to understand God’s will for me, and the Spirit helps me to want God’s will and gives me the power to do God’s will. Real faith inevitably yields good works. And if the works are absent, the faith claimed must be phony. Paul says, We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). James gives the example of a cold and heartless attitude toward a brother or sister without clothes or food, all talk and no action. Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:18–26

¹⁸But someone will say, You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do. ¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

In verse 18 James will not allow the notion that real faith and good deeds can have a separate existence. They are bound together. Real faith always produces good works; works that are good in God’s eyes always come from real faith. Faith without deeds is only intellectual knowledge, not real faith. No one should take comfort in that kind of faith—that is the faith of demons in hell. They accept the idea of the existence of God—and shudder. Their head knowledge is not connected to their will or actions, and that knowledge scares them to death, for they know that they too face judgment day.

Another example is Abraham. Abraham is often called the father of believers, not because he was the first believer but because the Bible speaks of his splendid example of faith in God. Genesis 15:6 says, Abraham believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. It is good to be reminded that our relationship with our God comes through faith in Christ’s wonderful works, not our own. When you are talking only about how God accepts sinners, it is appropriate to speak of faith alone, without mentioning good works.

But if the works do not follow that faith, then that faith must be phony. James wants us to see Abraham not only as a believer but also as a doer. Hebrews 11:8–19 shows how Abraham’s faith and actions were working together. By faith he answered God’s call and moved his family hundreds of miles west to live among a strange people. By faith he became the father of a miracle son long after his and his wife’s reproductive systems had ceased the functioning needed for conception. By faith he was willing to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. James’ point: Don’t ever quote Abraham’s example to make people think that good deeds are irrelevant or unnecessary in a Christian’s life.

God’s approval is given freely and fully through the merits of Jesus Christ to all who believe in him. But as James wrote in verse 24, it is appropriate to say that God’s approval rests upon us also as we do his will, thus giving evidence that we are spiritually alive, that our saving faith is functioning. Intellectual knowledge masquerading as faith does nothing. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

James gives one more example: Rahab the ex-prostitute. This is no endorsement of her (former) profession but a vivid example of how a woman believed God’s Word and then acted on it (see Joshua 2 and Hebrews 11:31). She risked her life to save the lives of two Israelite scouts. God in turn richly blessed her and her family, sparing them from Jericho’s destruction and welcoming them into the Israelite nation and its covenant promises. Her marriage to Salmon, one of the leaders of the tribe of Judah, made her an ancestress of King David and thus also of Jesus himself.

PART SIX

The Tongue and Wisdom

(3:1–18)

James 3:1–8

3 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. ²We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

James was a great teacher of the faith. But perhaps he did not always think that the difficulty of his teaching work was respected. Perhaps teachers were not getting much respect because people thought, All they really do is talk—it’s not like they do any real (physical) work. Perhaps this sarcastic saying of today was believed back then: Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Perhaps the idea was floating around that teaching, especially teaching in the church, which often receives lowly or nonexistent monetary compensation, was easy, that anyone could do it or that it was of no great importance.

Not so, says James. Teaching in the church is not for everyone, for two reasons: first, God holds those who work daily in the Word to higher standards. To whom much has been given, from him shall much be expected. Second, controlling the tongue and using it wisely is neither simple nor easy. Controlling our mouths is not on the edges of Christian life, just one small detail among many other minor matters, but it is the key to controlling the whole self. Someone who is careful with words, and thus has learned to exercise self-control, has earned the right to be listened to. He is perfect, not in the sense that he has never sinned, but in the sense that he has achieved an important goal set by God and that control over the rest of his life will fall into place too.

We need to respect the mighty power of the words we speak. Talk is cheap, people say. Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you. Au contraire, according to James. Although words seem to be merely moving air, although the tongue is just a three-inch muscle, wet, floppy, and only partially visible, it is tremendously powerful. Like a tail that wags the dog, the tongue drives our lives. James gives the following examples of little things that have big effects:

•   the bits in horses’ mouths. That little piece of steel in a horse’s mouth, when managed properly, can control a two thousand-pound animal.

•   the rudder on a ship. That little shaped plank, mostly invisible beneath the waterline, enables a captain to control the course of an immense ship filled with cargo, crew, and passengers.

•   a spark in a forest. Under control, a spark can make a small fire to warm cold travelers and cook their food. Out of control, a spark can cause a conflagration that can reduce thousands of acres of mighty trees to blackened, smoking stumps.

James thinks it urgent that people learn to control their mouths, not only to avoid hurting other people emotionally and spiritually. But an uncontrolled tongue can also turn on the uncontrolled talker, corrupting the whole person (verse 7), poisoning his or her mind, and plunging the body into the dangers of the fires of hell.

The tongue, of course, does not operate itself. What James is really getting at is the brain that regulates the tongue. Here is another example of real faith for real life—people who claim to be believers must not let their mouths get out of control. Real faith in the Savior welcomes the power of the Spirit to bite back lies, sarcasm, ridicule, gossip, evil suggestions, and praise for evil deeds. Real faith uses the Spirit’s real power to build up other people, speak the truth, compliment, forgive, and comfort. Real faith also knows when to command the tongue to be silent.

Talk is not cheap. Words do wound. Words can build up or destroy a person’s self-confidence. Words can turn someone’s proud achievement into humiliation. Words can create or destroy relationships. Words can spread hate or love. Words can spread truth or plant lies. Words can cause suspicion or build trust.

James 3:9–12

⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Words are also God’s means to rescue people from hell. A sermon, a Bible study, a catechism lesson, or an evangelism visit over coffee all look tame and ineffectual. But God’s power to save people, to create and sustain saving faith, rides with words. And so the believability of the church’s word—its people and teachers—will have an enormous impact on the believability of the church’s message.

It is vitally important for all Christians, and especially for those who speak in the church’s name, to let their faith control their words. People hate hypocrisy. Double-minded Christians with forked tongues, praising God and cursing one another, drive people away from the Savior. James will not let Christians get comfortable with that double standard. Springs don’t yield fresh water and salt water! Fig trees don’t bear olives! Grapevines don’t bear figs! Christlike minds and Christlike hearts direct the mouth to utter Christlike words!

James 3:13–18

¹³Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. ¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

James has been hammering on phony faith; now he directs his criticism at phony wisdom. Apparently what he was seeing and hearing from the scattered Christian synagogues was not good. Some people were setting themselves up as wise and learned, perhaps because they knew a lot of historical facts, could quote many Bible passages, had a lot of books, knew lots of theories, and, in short, could really talk the talk.

But if all that theoretical wisdom is yielding a life full of bitterness, envy, and selfish ambition, it is no wisdom at all but pompous gas. It is not heavenbound but earthbound, not of God but of Satan, not of the Spirit but unspiritual. When a teacher is truly wise, it shows in good deeds and in humility. Bitter, envious, selfish, ambitious leaders grow a crop of bitter, envious, selfish, ambitious students. This results in disorder and every kind of evil deed.

Truly wise teachers are pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, impartial, and sincere, and that kind of leadership and teaching bears a wonderful harvest: many more new Christians who are like that.

PART SEVEN

Submission and Humility

(4:1–12)

James 4:1–6

4 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ²You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? ⁶But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

"God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble."

When someone has an out-of-control mouth, you can trace the problem back to a heart that has no peace or contentment and to a mind full of bitterness and selfishness. It is the same with people who fight and quarrel, and apparently James had been hearing that such things were going on in some of the congregations of the scattered brothers and sisters. This is outrageous! Such behavior has no place in Christian congregations, Christian families, or Christian hearts. Trace these evil deeds back to the source and you will find coveting, evil desires, and hatred (which James, like John in 1 John 3:15, calls the equivalent of murder). A selfish and covetous mind also ruins prayer—God feels no obligation to give people things that they will just squander to gratify their own sinful cravings. Actually, the reverse is true—he loves to do good things for people who are humble.

Does James have your attention yet? Does his stern law-preaching hit home? There’s more: in verse 4 he refers to his readers as adulterous people. James may be indicting Sixth Commandment sinners or he may be referring to spiritual adultery, that is, giving love and attention first to something other than the Lord. In the Old Testament Scriptures, God often lamented the way faithless Israel despised his love and chased after the Canaanite gods Baal and Asherah.

James’ readers were probably no longer tempted by Baal worship, but Satan arranged that there would be plenty of new idols to take Baal’s place. Martin Luther once said that the human heart is an idol factory. Friendship with the world is hatred toward God, says James. This doesn’t mean that Christians can’t have friends or similar things in their lives. This does mean that loving evil things, or loving good things more than God, infuriates God.

Why is there quarreling in Christian homes? Because people are letting selfishness rule their wants and their words. Why do husbands and wives fight? Because their hearts are not right with God. Because they like being proud more than being humble. Because self-pity is a powerful narcotic. Because loving themselves seems more satisfying than loving their partner. Because they feel more powerful by criticizing their partner’s faults than by confessing their own. Because they grow to like the adrenaline rush of anger.

Verse 5 is a difficult verse. There doesn’t seem to be any other Bible passage that says those things in those words. James’ point is that the Holy Spirit, who lives in us as his temple, cares passionately about our jobs, dreams, priorities, and words. Another way to read the verse is to see it really as two questions (the original Greek text does not have punctuation as precise as ours, and verse 5 could well be two questions): Or do you think Scripture speaks without reason? Does the Spirit he caused to live in