The Epistle of James
The epistle of James was written to the twelve tribes of Israel. It was a general epistle rather than an epistle to any particular church. It is likely that the author was the one who was introduced as the Lord’s brother in Gal. 1:19. Few doubted his devotion to God, because as a priest, James spent days in the Temple, praying for the city of Jerusalem and its people. Because he knelt in prayer for such long stretches of time, some called James “the man with the callused knees”. When James continued to preach Jesus as the Messiah, he caught the attention of the authorities and on the Passover of A.D. 62, he was summoned to stand at the pinnacle of the Temple and publicly repudiate Jesus. James did the contrary – he glorified the Lord instead. Condemned for that act of defiance, James was hurled from the Temple’s parapet where he was standing and as he laid on the ground with his last breath, he was stoned to death. But the words of James the man who emulated the prayerful life of Jesus, remained through the generations to our times today. Though his epistle is not strong on doctrinal focus, they are however filled with imperatives and practical advice about living, which are critical to the growth and development of a believer. At present we see its unifying theme to be instructing Christians to accompany their doctrine with practice – "Be doers of the word and not hearers only" (Ja 1:22). This may disturb some of us who have been taught that it is faith that saves a man, and that good works does not add an ounce to a person’s claim to salvation. For that same reason, people have found it difficult to reconcile James’ emphasis on works and Paul’s underscore on faith. But if we can accept all of God’s Word to be the infallible truth, we can then see the unity of the two and balance the revelation.
We must now look at the purpose of James’ letter, why he wrote it. James was targeting Christian complacency as Paul targeted Christian unbelief. James was addressing the Jewish Christians, who for some reason or other (probably due to both external and internal factors) especially those undergoing trials and testing, are facing discouragement. So James wrote to encourage the Jewish Christians, to remind them of their goal ahead and redirect their focus there, to dispel the spiritual languor in their midst. In doing so, he touched on his main theme, that is, exhorting them to express their faith in practical acts of goodness.
Profiting From Trials and Temptations ( 1:2-8)
The very first thing James zoomed into was ‘trial management’. He taught Christians how to respond to trials and where they can find help to overcome them. Very wisely, James assumed that Christians would experience trials, for Jesus warned us of them (John 16:33) and so did Paul, who told Timothy “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim 3:12). Christians will usually suffer more persecution because in addition to the common trials that all human beings are subjected to e.g. trials in the form of sicknesses, physical incapacity, emotional disenchantments, mental stress, death etc, Christians are also exposed to trials that are actually spiritual attacks from the devil. Like what Jesus said “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake” (Matt. 10:22). You may have done nothing wrong, but because you are a Christian, and just because of that, people may hate you. However, because these trials may “kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matt. 10:28), James tells us not to fear them, but instead, to rejoice in them, like Jesus taught.
But how, we may ask, can one possibly rejoice at those times when all the odds are stacked against us and when it seems like all eternity before we see even paths again? Rejoicing in those dark moments may even sound insane to some of us, let alone live it out! But that’s God’s Word to us. He tells us that it can happen, and He tells us how. Firstly, we are to recognise that our trials are not just empty pits of darkness, which we will fall into every now and then. Instead, they are things God uses to test our faith, to give us an opportunity to cleave to God like branches to the vine even when the winds of trials are fiercely trying to blow us apart. Trials are capable of producing positive results, like how discipline chastens a child and how fire refines and purifies precious metal (Mal. 3:2-3). Effectively, while we suffer on earth, we will reap abundantly in heaven: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17). Hence, we have the reason to rejoice in our trials, because we know that we are able to reap benefits from them. Secondly, James also taught that faith that is tested produces patience, which must in turn be allowed to do “its perfect work” so that we mature holistically. What does this means? It means that patience is an indication of Christian maturity – the evidence of our faith in God. That being so, our attitude during trials should not be one of crying to the Lord to free us from the adversities, and remain down-trodden until that happens. Are we trying to run away from maturity? Rather, we ought to seek Him for guidance, and over time determine the value of our trials. And sometimes, we have to come to the point of living with ‘no answer’ from the Lord in regards to our trial and testing. For this is solid faith, believing God and trusting in His love despite all else.
Finally, James introduced wisdom into the picture of trials, and that is crucial, because it is wisdom from God that will enlighten a man as to the value of his trials and the things God can accomplish for him through those difficult times. When an uncontrolled man named Shimei started cursing king David hurling stones at him, the king’s servant wanted to put the offender away, but was stopped by the king, who by the wisdom of God, knew that the time of evil was appointed by the Lord, for a purpose. Though David then might not yet have a full comprehension of the persecution he was facing, he however, knew that the Lord wasn’t turning a blind eye to what was happening to him. Rather than focussing on his situation, he fixed his eyes on God and said “It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day.” (1 Sam. 16:12). And that’s what we ought to follow – fix our eyes on God and not on our trials and persecutions. “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (Ja 1:19). Before we retaliate in every adversity, before we get angry at what is happening, James says that we ought to “be swift to hear”, and how true, because we do need to hear from God as to His will in our trials! God will pay any price in order to mature us, and trials may just be one of His plans for that. We can learn from our trials, develop godly attributes from our experiences and grow as we overcome each trial. People will grow from our trials, too, like how we grow from what we learn and observe from others’ trials. Aren’t we learning something from Jesus’ shame on the cross, from Hosea’s obedience to the sacrificial call of marrying a harlot, from king David’s chastisement following his trespass involving a married woman? We have learnt several things from the trials that happened to these people. Likewise, others will also learn valuable lessons from the trials that happen to us. So, how do we want to educate the people who watch us? We need to decide on an appropriate response to our trials if we want people to pick up godly values from there.
The first thing we need in order to turn our trials into lessons the Lord can use, is to get our perspectives right. Why else do people turn to counselling if not to gain a correct perspective on their problems so as to gain a prescription for their cure? It has been preached over and over again in many churches, we believe, but we need to remind ourselves that God has reasons for every trial set in our way. We may not be able to see the reason immediately (most people usually don’t), but we ought to patiently endure trials and await God’s plans to be unveiled when the time is right, all the while seeking God’s wisdom and applying it to every trial to help put the pieces together and see God’s sovereign plan there. We should cultivate the confidence that we are not passively waiting but that our exercise of patience is adding to our spiritual fortitude because patience presents us whole when it’s done its complete work. Not all things that happen to us appear good at the time when they happen, but that “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom 8:28). God is supreme and He can orchestrate the comings and goings of our lives to mature us in His virtues. When we constantly remind ourselves of that, we can like what James exhorted, “count it all joy when (we) fall into various trials” (Ja 1:2).
Overcoming Trials and Temptations (1:13-16)
God, being a good God, has not left us to fight an aimless battle against trials and temptations. He has given us a spiritual formula to overcome them. But before that, we need to first uncover the source of trials and temptations and how they come about to invade our lives.
Train our desires
It is crucial that we do not wrongly conclude the source of our temptation. Otherwise, we lose the battle against the real enemy. James explained that temptations come from our own desires (Ja 1:14). It is when we desire something bad enough, though it may be forbidden us, that we try to reach for it, and thus end up falling into various trials and temptations each time (Ja 1:15). Since the fall begins from our desires, our desire is also the place where the correction work must start. We really need to change our desires and as far as possible align them with the will of God. Remember our identities in Christ: “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24), and that we are now to be “as obedient children, not conforming ourselves to the former lusts… but be holy in all our conduct” (1 Pet. 1:14-15). This shouldn’t be viewed as an impossible task for any Christian, because according to Paul, it is what we are expected to be doing anyway, in order that we may grow in Christ (Rom 12:1-2). How we do that, though, is a legitimate question for younger Christians who have not yet known. There may be more than a few ways mature and experienced Christians recommend to us, but first and foremost, we believe, is devoting ourselves to God’s Word that can help us grow out of worldly desires into godly ones. Respecting the Word of God as His spoken word, that’s one way to help us trim our desires. “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word…. Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:9-11). Constant meditation on the Word of God will chasten our desires and purify our hearts of evil inclinations. When Jesus prayed for His disciples He asked of Father God “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Because the word of God has the sanctifying influence on a man, it enables us to reject sin and embrace righteousness. People get entangled in their passions and desires because the word of God is not dwelling richly in them. Therefore we should put aside the folly of trying to get our actions right without first targeting the source of sin which is embedded in our desires. Because a good tree cannot produce bad fruits, so when our desires are cleansed, we will learn to reject the way that leads to unrighteousness. That is God’s grace helping us.
Restrict the Risks of Sin
While we work on purifying our desires, we must not forget to restrict the risks of us falling into sin. It would be foolish for someone to practice purity of thought and desires but at the same time position himself in situations where the temptation to sin is raging around him! The Lord’s prayer teaches us to ask for God to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Mt. 6:13). Therefore, this is what we ought to pray for. And having prayed that, we need to make conscious efforts to cooperate with God in this matter. While we expect God to hear our prayer and lead us away from temptation, do we on the other hand work against Him by getting into situations where we are likely to be tempted to sin? Everyone may answer no to this, yet we have seen many people defaulting on their own word. They seem to have great faith that their flesh wouldn’t fall for temptation, and they end up paying a high price for that. The Lord Jesus did not teach us to merely pray that we will not fall into temptation, but He tells us to “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Mt. 26:41). At the same time, Jesus also warned that, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”. We need to incline our spirit to the holiness of God. Along with that, we need to guard our flesh against the temptations of the world. One way is to examine our present company of friends. Are they a negative influence on us? We must be wise enough to realise the possibility that some of the people around us are likely to lead us into sin, because of their personal values and lifestyles. It is futile to train our hearts and minds in righteousness yet at the same time keep contrary people as our constant companions. We must not think to ourselves that we will be able to influence them because the influencing usually takes place the other way round i.e. the bad corrupts the good. There is nothing that goes against God’s wisdom and He tells us, “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33). Will we take heed of the Lord’s counsel?
Reliance on the Holy Spirit
It would be peace on earth if everyone could eradicate the lures of temptations in our lives just by doing the two things mentioned above – training our desires in righteousness and restricting the risks of sin. Unfortunately, it cannot be done. It is just not possible to remove every sin and its temptation from this world just by human effort, we need God to intervene and impart His grace to us. We can fight as diligently as we can, but unless God’s Spirit empowers us, we are powerless against sin. Paul tells us: “by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body” (Rom. 8:13). We can think however highly we like of our inner resolve and determination to resist temptation, but ultimately we must realise that it is Christ who strengthens us by the power of the Holy Spirit, to conquer the power of sin that attacks every Christian. Therefore, to be successful in our battle against temptation, Jesus advised “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4). We encourage you to pray for this divine help, as Paul did in Eph. 3:16 – asking for God to “strengthen (us) with might through His Spirit in (our) inner man.”
God’s Promise of Forgiveness
Now that we have established how we can try to overcome temptations, the next question is, what if we don’t succeed every time? And chances are, we won’t succeed on every occasion until such time as we are declared perfect before the Lord. When we fall, however, it doesn’t mean that we have lost out to the power of sin. Sin cannot declare itself victorious over us until we are punished for it. If we fall, but quickly repent and seek God for His pardon and cleansing, then that sin has no hold over us, and it cannot overcome us. Hence, we do not need to fear the devil and hide from God when we fail to overcome temptation. God’s promise to us is, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Important thing is that we need to seek God for His forgiveness when we fall otherwise we are left to be ensnared by it.
Anchoring Our Perspective On Riches And Poverty (2:1-13)
Having taught us how to deal with trials, James went on to concentrate on how we should deal with the trials involving riches and poverty. While the poor man may think that the rich has nothing to want, the rich may be thinking that the poor man has nothing to lose (since the poor man has so little anyway). But there are trials for the poor and trials for the rich, both equally treacherous. A poor man is tempted to resent God (for not prospering him) while a rich man is tempted to reject God (because he is so rich he thinks he doesn’t really need God). So, one may curse God and the other may forget Him. The consequence for either case is alienation from God, which is exactly what the devil is after us for. Therefore, if we are poor, then we ought to (as James advised) “glory in our exaltation” because “God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (Ja 2:5). If we are rich let us glory in that we are privileged enough to be “Christ’s slaves” (1 Cor. 7:22). In the eyes of a God who is no respecter of persons, the rich and poor are neither advantaged nor disadvantaged, because Christ places no preference for people based on their wealth (Gal. 3:28). Ultimately, it is not how rich one is, but how much of Christ one has. Even Paul teaches us to be contented, having Christ in us which is more than all the riches of this world added together: “I have learned in whatever state I am to be content…” (Phil 4:11). In the light of this, let us remember not to show partiality to anyone based on his material or financial situation. The Lord is firmly against this so James warns us not to practice the ungodly act of partiality. “…if you show partiality, you commit sin” (Ja 2:9). Even if people do not usually refer to the act of showing partiality as sin, let us not be deceived. God has made His mind known in this area.
Faith and Works (2:14-26)
Now we come to the part where we must harmonise God’s word in James’ letter to His word in Paul’s letters. It has been correctly observed that Paul’s focus was on a believer’s faith, while James seemed very concerned about a believer’s life, conduct, and works. Thus, the occasional confusion as to the priority between the two, and in some cases, the apparent contradiction between them. Our understanding, however, is that faith and works as preached by Paul and James are not contrary to each other. In fact they complement each other as separate components in the unity of a believer’s body, soul and spirit.
Like the roots to a plant and flowers to it, are faith to a Christian’s justification and works to his vindication. We don’t see the roots of a plant, but we see its flowers or leaves, which tell us what plant it is. Likewise, people cannot see our faith because it is invisible, but through our works they will be able to tell if we are Christians or not. Even the Lord Jesus taught so, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Jesus Himself said that the way to convince others that we are His disciples is for us to demonstrate our love.
We believe that the entirety of God’s word is perfect and therefore there is no contradiction between what James wrote and what Paul preached. They are but like two sides of a coin. Paul’s context is between the Christian and God while James’ context is between the Christian and the rest of the world. God sees our faith, and we are justified, but our friend or family who see and are blessed by our works will then glorify God instead of imputing shame to His name. Paul tells us how to get to heaven, James tells us how to live while we are still on earth. We need to know what saves us, but we also need to find out what sanctifies us. Faith justifies the man before God, and works justify his faith before men.
It is not possible to detail all the works and examples that a Christian has to do and be, but James highlighted some of the more important ones, or frequently observed ones that testify to the faith we profess.
Taming our Tongue (3:1-12)
Though his writing is dated several ages before us, James pointed out some very up-to-date problems in our society today. His concerns about people abusing the use of the tongue i.e. using it to curse, to cause division and stir dissension among Christian members… aren’t they problems that we are facing today? Which church today does not have members who cannot control their tongues? Every church faces this problem, and some of the things said by people so far have caused much damage to the unity of the church. Therefore, James says that we ought to tame our tongues and keep if from saying things that are not edifying to the body of Christ. Do not let our words jeopardise someone else’s reputation or lead to the division of church congregations. It is for our good that we do not neglect the sanctification of our speech. Like how a bit controls a horse, so our tongue can control us. If we continue speaking lewdly, it won’t be long before we start behaving immorally! Likewise, a person who constantly speaks violence shouldn’t be surprised when he one day starts to act like a violent man. Linking this back to the main theme of justifying our faith through our works, we need to ask ourselves this: what kind of testimony and witness does our speech present? Jesus said that ”a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Lk. 6:45). We can do all the right things and keep up just the right appearance, but others will immediately know what’s in us when they hear the things we say.
Heavenly wisdom vs. Earthly Wisdom (3:13-18)
All throughout God’s Word, we have been encouraged to pursue wisdom. Proverbs tells us to seek after wisdom (Prov. 4:5) and Paul tells us to walk with wisdom (Eph. 5:15). Then, James tells us that there are two kinds of wisdom in this world – worldly wisdom and godly wisdom. Worldly wisdom is measured by the world’s standards, and according to James it is sensual, appealing to the senses, the emotions, and the passions, of a man. It is wisdom according to what feels right, yet may not make anything right. Godly wisdom, on the other hand, produces fruits of peace and righteousness. It is easy to differentiate those who possess worldly wisdom and those who have godly wisdom. James tells us that those of worldly wisdom boast of that (Ja 3:14) while those who have wisdom from above will demonstrate it by their good works and righteous conduct before men (Ja 3:13). So, what kind of wisdom is it that resides in us? Let us not be impressed and led away by the wisdom of the world, for it is worth nothing in the eyes of God. Even Paul plainly says, “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Cor. 3:19). Christ, Himself, is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24) and if we follow Him, we will inherit the wisdom from above.
Covetousness & Right attitude of the rich (4:1-5:6)
Going on to James chapter 4, we now find a warning against covetousness. Most people might know what covetousness is. It means harbouring a strong desire for material things, and it is strongly condemned by God, because it is defies the love of God (1 John 2:15-16). Why do you think there are so many broken families, disgruntled people, divided churches in this supposed civilised humanity? Isn’t it because inherent in the fallen nature of men is the lust for material possession, the crave for pleasure, and the drive for prestige? The unfulfilled yearnings become so strong that it leads us to bring down people who seem to be hindering us in getting what we want. James called it “murder” (Ja 4:2). Is it not? We don’t literally kill, but the rage, envy, and bitterness covetousness generate are the very things that give rise to murderous acts. That is why the penalty for covetousness is grave. It is idolatry, Paul described (Col. 3:5). And he also warned that people who are covetous would not enter the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10). God offers two solutions to this ill – prayer and contentment. James says “You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask” (Ja 4:2). According to him, when we want something, instead of fighting for it, going out of our way to reach it, we should ask God for it. But if God doesn’t give them to us, then possibly it is because God knows it is no good for us in having what we asked for. Or, there are times when we “ask amiss, that (we) may spend it on (our) pleasures” (Ja 2:3). God wouldn’t give His children things that He foresees a danger in so doing. That’s when we must learn to be contented with whatever the Lord chooses to give us and withhold from us: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have” (Heb 13:5). What does it mean to be “content”? It means to desire no more than what you have. It means to be satisfied with what you’ve got, not craving for more. It is an important virtue for Christians to have, because even our practice of godliness apart from that is of no value to God (1 Tim 6:6). If we do not learn this lesson soon, covetousness is an ill that will lead to many sorrows and destructions for us.
Healing the saints (5:13-16)
James now takes a look at the people who are suffering in their emotions and bodies. While sickness may not always be a consequence of sin, James makes it clear that the sick should confess their sins if they are harbouring any, for there are times when sicknesses are a result of unconfessed sins. For example, many diseases today are linked to an immoral lifestyle. Paul says in 1 Cor.6:18, “Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body”. Also in 1 Cor.11:27-30, in teaching them the institution of the Lord’s supper, he warned them to examine themselves “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgement to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among them you, and many sleep”. And when James urged, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (Ja 5:16), don’t we see that sicknesses may be one of God’s means of chastisement for sin, in an effort to turn us back to Him? We should not try to understand or judge this with our fallible and imperfect human minds lest we make God out to be a cruel master that He isn’t. Let us just face it: whether sick or not, sins need to be confessed and God’s pardon needs to be sought before He hears our prayers for other things. Rather than see sicknesses as a punishment from God, treat them as God’s loving reminder for sinning Christians to repent and be healed of their iniquities.
As James comes to the close of his letter, his love led him to urge everyone to seek out his fallen brother or sister and restore him to the Lord. We ought to take this seriously because more and more, we are seeing fallen saints being left to remain in their fallen state. Healthy members are more concerned improving their health than saving those who are in risk of losing theirs permanently. Peter tells us that it is a terrible thing for a saint to fall after he or she has come to taste and experience God’s glory: “It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2 Pet. 2:21). Those people are in danger of risking more serious punishment and God’s righteous indignation, which the Scriptures say no man can bear. Therefore, if we have truly assessed the condition of our brothers or sisters who have strayed from God and His truth, it should move us to reach out to them and bring them back to the Father’s side.
In closing, we would like to say that God has called every Christian to be on mission with Him (we are not aware of any exception so far). Just as we cannot escape His Kingdom’s inevitability, we also cannot avoid His kingdom’s call. To be granted to behold His glory, to benefit from His blessing and to partake in His goodness, it calls for a lifelong commitment to His purpose. God will not show His power in a person’s life if what He’s going to get out of that is that person bringing disgrace to His name through contempt, indifference or complaint. James has given us a most valuable lesson on how to live worthy of God’s calling, that we might, at the end of it all, receive all the promises that He’s reserved for us in Christ.