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1:1 [James was an Apostle, a natural brother of Jesus, and a pillar of the church in Jerusalem along with John and Peter. After Peter resigned as the head of the Apostles Council to preach the gospel, James became the council's head; the head of the church in Jerusalem. This letter is a plea against the false doctrines that were already beginning to take hold of Christendom in the Apostles' time. It is interesting to note that the founders of Protestantism, particularly Luther, had great disdain for this letter along with Revelation, Hebrews, Jude, and Esther because they did not support the theory of grace being instant salvation. Luther called this letter "an epistle of straw." (Luther also wrote of extreme hatred for the Jews, justifying the Nazi's later holocaust). In their arrogance, Luther and the founders of Protestantism never supposed that their theory of instant salvation and sainthood was flawed; nor that James, the natural brother of Jesus, and head of the miraculous, powerful early church in Jerusalem, might have more spiritual discernment than themselves. Like many unregenerated founders of sects in Christendom, Luther built a doctrine of salvation on subsets of the scriptures, ignoring or discounting scriptures that did not support his opinions. In effect, Luther created a new God and Christ from his selected subset of scriptures. In contrast, the early Quakers found all the scriptures to be wholly compatible with their understandings and beliefs.
All scriptures are compatible; if you have to disregard one scripture to maintain your understanding, then you don’t understand the other scriptures you think you do.
To everyone, from the voice of the Lord: "Ratify James." The Lord is telling us that this letter is key to understanding the requirements of becoming a true Christian. ]
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad, greetings.
1:2 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into many trials of any sort or into various temptations;
1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience.
1:4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,1 lacking nothing.
1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives to all men liberally and does not criticize, and it will be given to him.
1:6 But let him ask in faith, not wavering [in doubts]. For he who wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
1:7 For do not let that man think that he will receive anything from the Lord,
1:8 For a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
1:9 Let the brother of humble circumstances rejoice that he is exalted,
1:10 But let the rich [brother] rejoice that he is humbled, because like the flower of the grass he will pass away.
1:11 For the sun has no sooner risen with a burning heat, than it withers the grass; and the flower of it falls and its beautiful appearance perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in his pursuits.
1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation because when he is tried [and has stood the test], he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.
1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God;" because God cannot be tempted by evil, neither does he tempt anyone.
1:14 But every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lusts and evil desires.
1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.
1:16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,2 with whom there is no variableness, neither is there a shadow cast with his turning.
1:18 By his own will he fathered us by the word of truth, so that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
1:19 Therefore, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
1:20 For the anger of man does not lead to the righteousness of God.
1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and superfluity [excess] of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.3 [All your holy ones are in your power. And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words. Deu 33:3]
1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. [Note, James says, hearers of the word, not readers of the word; James is speaking about hearing the word that is in your heart that gives you personalized commands of what to deny and how to live.]
1:23 For if anyone is only a hearer of the word, and not a doer,4 he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror,
1:24 Who looks at himself and goes on his way, immediately forgetting what he looked like.
1:25 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues looking into it, if he does not forget what he heard, but he does the work [obeys],5 this man will be blessed in his deed.
1:26 If anyone among you considers himself to be religious but does not bridle [restrain] his tongue, he deceives his own heart [thinking to be religious], and this man's religion is worthless.6
1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit the orphans and the widows [and aged people, who cannot help themselves] in their need, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world [its lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eye, and pride of life]._________________________________________
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1 My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into many trials of any sort and various temptations; ... that you may be perfect and complete. Trials, tribulations, and afflictions from the hand of God are necessary to bring a man to perfection. God humbles a man, allowing the adversary, (Satan and his fallen angels), to sift and try a man, just like he did Peter and the disciples.
But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it. Mat 7:14 (Tribulation and suffering is the pressure; as you approach the gate, the pressure intensifies).
Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 1 Pet 4:1-2. Tribulation is not a hard day at the office, a car wreck, a death in the family, a divorce, or some natural difficulty; it is unmistakably, supernaturally imposed.
Jesus said to Peter: Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has asked excessively that [all of] you be given up to him, that he might sift you like grain. They were all turned over to Satan for testing. If you are a serious seeker of God, Satan will be allowed to test and sift you, (a slow process), as well as inflict suffering upon you to test, try, and develop patience, faith, and love within you. When you can suffer with faith that the suffering is your cross, but nowhere as painful as the cross of Jesus; your pain is far, far less. Remember, the Lord allows Satan to afflict you in order to chasten and scourge any son whom he accepts. If you think you are a son of God, without having suffered, having been chastened, and having been scourged, you are not; you are instead, illegitimate: For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom the father does not chasten? But if you are without chastisement [correcting rebuke], of which all must share, then are you illegitimate, and not sons. Heb 12:5-8.
Fear none of those things which you shall suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life. Rev 2:10It is only when a person is besieged by a supernatural enemy, sent by God, which he is helpless to fight against, that the person discovers how he is so easily resentful, angry, impatient, doubtful [loss of faith], and profane. Under the pressure of the adversaries, a man discovers what a low, selfish, angry beast he really is. It is a necessary humbling process. It is a necessary suffering. A man must see over a significant period of time how low he is, how selfish he is, how profane he is, how evil he is — and he must learn this so that he never forgets it. A man must be humbled, and it is impossible for a man to voluntarily humble himself; any such voluntary attempts to humble one's self only increases a man's pride. Only the hand of God can truly humble a man. His only hope has to rest in God's mercy; there can be no other escape. His only objective must become to be rid of his selfish, cursing, profane, hating, resentful self; so when it is finally taken away, he hates evil so much, that he would never even consider drifting back into selfish behaviors again. A man must be broken by God: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise; Psalm 51:17; and then he accepts him: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; Luke 4:18, Isa 61:1.
After passing the Lord's test, to see if a man will return to sin, it is taken away; then the Lord in his mercy cleanses a man and rewards a man with the seal of the Holy Spirit, the down payment of the final reward to come, a measure of the Holy Spirit.
I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service and worship. Rom 12:1.2 comes down from the father of lights. While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. John 12:36. And: For you were once in darkness, but now are you light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Eph 5:8. And: You are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 1 Thes 5:5. And: if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7. When we start waiting silently on the Lord, we hear his voice. If we persist in hearing and obedience to what is heard, God will cause his light to shine in our hearts. We then walk in the light of God, as children of the light.
3 engraft - to cause to grow together, parts from two different plants; like grafting a plum branch onto a peach tree. The two parts to which this scripture refers are: 1) your heart, and 2) Christ's spirit.
receive the engrafted word, which is able to save you souls. Hear the word of God from within your heart spoken, remember the words heard, practice any teachings and obey any commands. Periodically review these commands and keep repenting. Keep repeating the hearing and obeying; the sin is removed, and his words become engrafted into your heart, to eventually produce the fruit of the Spirit, purifying you and changing you to be like Him. When the words are engrafted into your heart, the scripture is fulfilled: I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. Jer 31:33. All your holy ones are in your power. And they sit at your feet, each receiving your words. Deu 33:3
receive the engrafted word, which is able to save you souls. Mark! Unless you hear the spoken words from Christ within your heart, and keep them by practicing and obeying them, there is no saving of your soul. From the Voice of the Lord: "unless you hear from within and obey, there is no spiritual progress." So here we have scripture that says the words that are grafted into your heart are what saves your souls; not just believing Jesus is the Son of God. Belief is the prerequisite starting point, but not the end or vehicle to salvation; unless your belief sparks obedience. To them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe on his name, John 1:12; but not be one. Receiving the engrafted word is the exercise of that power to become a Son of God.
4 to be only a hearer of the word and not a doer of the word is to be shown by the Lord some aspect of your slavery to sin, and then to ignore it, continuing in your old way. When a man loves his ways, he cannot hear the Lord's gentle attempts to alert him to his errors. So he blithely continues on his chosen path, which, unless eventually forsaken, leads him to destruction. As Jesus said: But he who hears, and does not [practice my teachings], is like a man who built an house upon the earth without a foundation; against which the torrent struck violently, and immediately it collapsed; and the ruin of that house was great. Luke 6:49. Note "hearers of the word," not readers of the word; James is speaking about hearing the word that is in your heart.
5 whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues looking into it, if he is not a forgetful hearer. Note, after looking, don't forget what you heard. James is using a figure of speech, like looking into a mirror; but here you "look" at the Lord's teachings and commands, which show you things about yourself. By looking, you are hearing his voice, or sometimes seeing a vision with immediate, clear understanding of what he is showing you about yourself and why. If you remember what he has shown you, (keep his teachings), and then repent and obey, your works and deeds will be blessed to become free from the lusts and pride of the fleshly, old man.
6 If any man among you seems to be religious but does not bridle [restrain] his tongue, he deceives his own heart [thinking to be religious], and this man's religion is worthless.
Look at ships, which though they are so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, wherever the pilot wants to go.
Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. Consider how great a forest a little fire kindles!
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. It is set among our members, defiling the whole body, and setting on fire the course of our life; and it is set on fire by hell.
For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind.
But no man can tame the tongue, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:4-8. (Only the grace of God can tame a man's tongue.)
Even a fool, when he doesn't speak, is considered wise; and he who shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding. Pro 17:28.
A fool utters all his mind, but a wise man keeps it in until afterwards. Pro 29:11.
In a multitude of words there is no lack of sin; but he that refrains his lips is wise. Pro 10:19.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat its fruit. Pro 18:21.
But I say to you, For every idle word which men speak, they will give an account of the same in the day of judgment.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Mat 12:36-37.For we all err in many things; and if any man does not err in his words, he is a perfect man, James 3:2.
So if you are going to be condemned for speaking idle words, and if you cannot control your words until you are perfect,
then perfection is obviously required to be justified.Previous Chapter/Next Chapter
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