James 1

James introduced himself as a bondservant of God and Jesus, which means that he was committed to doing the will of his Master and had died to his own will. He could have introduced himself as the brother of Jesus, but he obviously recognized that Jesus is not a mere man, and rightfully placed himself under His authority, something he may have previously struggled with. John 7:5 tells us of a time when his brothers did not believe He was God and able to perform miracles. James writes this letter to the "12 tribes" which represent the Jews who are now scattered in different regions.  Verses 2-4, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  No one likes trials, but if you refrain from resisting against them and allow the work that God wants to do in you through the trial, you will be perfected in the faith and develop endurance for your walk. Many people think that trials will increase your faith, when actually they show you where your faith is lacking. Trials actually produce patience not faith, which comes from the Greek word hypomonē, meaning steadfastness, endurance, and perseverance. All of which we need if we are going to finish the race strong.

Faith comes by hearing the word, but not listening with deaf ears. If your heart is too hard, any good seed sown will bounce right off, never becoming rooted, and never producing any fruit of righteousness. Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Do not expect to increase in faith if you are not consistently reading and being taught the word, and observing what it says to do. It should be your daily spiritual food. You wouldn't be very strong or healthy if you frequently skipped meals. Many Christians today are spiritually anorexic, yet have convinced themselves that they are in great shape. Sometimes we are humbled by God through trials, so that we realize how bad we actually are, just as the Jews were allowed to experience hunger in the wilderness in order to get their attention. Deuteronomy 8:3, “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.”

Lacking faith can be very problematic for us if we profess to be believers, because without faith it is not just difficult to please God...it is impossible! You cannot be His child and receive His blessings if you lack faith, but will be chastened and eventually cast out.  Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”  Many professing Christians are double-minded, saying thet trust in God, but doubting Him as soon as a trial hits. They reject His commands through any godly counsel spoken to them, yet wonder why their life is such a mess and they have no peace. Even if they go to God on occasion and ask for His help, it is only to rescue them from the consequences of their bad choices, rather than genuinely repenting of their sin. They are not rewarded, because God rewards those who diligently seek Him and have faith that He IS God. Then when they do not receive any wisdom from God, they follow the wisdom of the world, which is demonic. Not only that, but because they are not firmly planted on the Rock Jesus, their footing is not firm, causing instability in ALL aspects of their life...confusion rather than peace. You would think that this would be enough to humble them back into submission, but sadly it is not always the case.

Verses 5-8, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Thankfully, God is not unstable like us, and remains the same continually. He does not love us one minute and then hate us the next. He parents us with consistency and love, which is the model for how we should parent our own children. Inconsistent parenting breeds lawlessness, and is not hard to see the result.  Verse 17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  Keep in mind that there is no goodness in us that doesn't come from Him, and we already have received the best gift from Him while we were still in sin. Therefore, we cannot act as though we didn't receive it from Him, and should gladly sacrifice anything that we have to Him...our prosperity, our will, our lives.

Verse 21, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”  In light of who God is and what He has done for us, we need to lay aside our sinful desires of the flesh and allow His word to transform us from the inside out. Remember from Titus 2 that the kind of grace that actually saves will teach us to do this. If you knowingly sin with the expectation that His grace will cover it, you likely have received the grace in vain, and will not be saved unless you repent quickly. Allowing sin to persist in your life will produce death, no matter how much you believe otherwise. Verses 15-16, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”  Unfortunately many so-called Christians today won't even receive (hearing and doing) the truth of the word anymore, or they will change the meaning of the word to allow them to continue fulfilling the lusts of their flesh. 2 Timothy 4:3-5, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Verse 27, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Although helping widows and orphans in their need is admirable, we cannot ignore the second part of this verse: keeping yourself unspotted from the world!  We are not called to look and act like the world, but to be separate and different. Where is our witness when we look like the world? Salt and light make an impact and so should we, by aiming for purity. 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” We know from the Jews' example that when they posessed new land and lived among the natives, they were soon corrupted and began worshiping false gods. Living in America can corrupt us causing us to worship idols like money, power, careers, relationships and social media, entertainment, sports, etc., rather than God being our first love. We also have to deal with lewdness...the shameless flaunting of sins, such as sexual immorality and perversions, drug and alcohol abuse, addictions, covetousness, despising authority, etc. You need to keep yourself clean from these things, and not become desensitized to the point of joining in with those going to hell, either by participating or just approving and overlooking their behavior. You can start by keeping yourself anchored in the word, receiving it in meekness, in order to prevent yourself from drifting away from the truth. Then lay aside all wickedness, filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and choose your friends wisely. The way of the wicked WILL lead you astray!

Proverbs 4:14‭-‬27, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble. My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.”