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Chapter 5
Focus on the Text… In this passage, James is correcting those who have the right ideas about God but who do not go beyond that. Their ideas are not translated into action. James seems to be using the two words faith and works in a specialized sense. Faith involves the whole trusting relationship between God and humans, but here James appears to be concentrating on faith as right ideas about God. Translating those ideas into action, he calls works. This passage of Scripture uses these two words several times. Perhaps we can get a better grasp of James’s message if we paraphrase the following verses this way: Verse 14: “What does it profit, my brothers and sisters, if people say they have ‘the right ideas about God’ but have not ‘translated those ideas into action’?” Verse 17: “So ‘the right idea about God’ by itself, if it ‘is not translated into action,’ is dead.” Verse 18c: “I by ‘translating my ideas about God into action’ will show you ‘what those ideas are.’” Verse 22: “You see that ‘the right idea about God’ was active along with one’s ‘translation of that idea into action,’ and that ‘the right idea about God’ was completed by ‘translating that idea into action.’” Verse 24: “You see that a person is justified by ‘translation of right ideas about God into action’ and not by ‘those right ideas’ alone.” Verse 26: “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so ‘right ideas about God’ apart from ‘translation of those ideas into action’ is dead.” Three examples are used in this scriptural passage to drive the point home. The first is in verses 15–16. If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of food, you may have a noble idea about his or her being warmed and fed, but unless you do something to make the noble idea a reality, it does no good. The second has to do with Abraham (verses 21–23) who put his right ideas about the trustworthy wisdom of God into action by following God’s directions to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice (Genesis 22:1–18). The third example is that of Rahab the harlot (verse 25) who believed that Israel’s God was all-powerful and put that belief into action by helping Israel conquer its native land for the sake of Israel’s God (Joshua 2). Focus on Us… This passage emphasizes that we please God by translating right ideas about him into a daily way of life. We do not please God merely by having the right ideas. But neither do we please him by merely doing all the right things without any inward commitment to God. (See what Paul in Romans 4:13–14 has to say about this part of the problem.) Paul is concerned about works without faith. James is concerned about faith without works. Therefore, we must be concerned about both because the New Testament is concerned about both. At this point, though, we are concentrating on James’ concern. God wants us to know what is right and then to do it. He wants us to know Christ as Savior and Lord and then to live under his lordship. He wants us to think wholesome thoughts and then to do wholesome deeds. The message of the Bible is to be lived. The ultimate goal is not merely to learn it, but to live it. Indeed, the task is not complete until learning results in living. Learning the biblical message without living it is to miss the point. The evangelical style of worship almost always includes an altar call, and with good reason. The gospel calls for response, including the opportunity for immediate response. I’m all for it (providing it is not used as a fetish or for the preacher’s ego needs). But what must be equally emphasized is that response to an altar call should not be the end of a person’s response to the biblical message. The call to prayer at the altar must be linked to God’s call to action in the world. The thing that thrills the heart of God is not so much how many respond to the call to prayer at the altar but rather how many respond to his call to action in the world. For instance, when the biblical message on honoring one’s parents in the Lord is preached what thrills God more than anything else are the changes that result in a persons actively honoring his or her parents daily. Or the biblical message on sharing one’s daily bread, or taking care of one’s body as the temple of the Holy Spirit, or loving one’s enemies—when these messages are heard, accepted, and then lived out—that is what pleases God. I am convinced that evangelical services of worship should include something more than a public altar call. They should also include opportunities for people to decide specific ways in which they are going to put into action the biblical message heard that day. One Church reserves a section of the Sunday bulletin for worshipers to write a message to themselves. That blank space was titled, “What I personally intend to do.” We misuse the biblical message when we merely learn it and know it without putting it into action. As a friend in the midst of a job change said to me: “Now is the time for me to put my faith in the providence of God into action.” That is what James is talking about. He makes it unmistakably clear that the right ideas we hear on Sunday are to be translated into our approach to life on Monday. Purpose of This Chapter: to introduce James
2:14–26; Chapter 6 Focus on the Text… This passage of Scripture says several important things about the tongue: First, we need the tongue for the teaching ministry of the Church. In fact, verse 1 points out that the ability to use the tongue properly in the teaching ministry of the church is so crucial that one should not rush into that ministry without adequate preparation. Second, the Scripture speaks about the power of the tongue. Even though it is small, it has a powerful influence, even as the bit in the mouth of a horse (verse 3) or the rudder of a ship (verse 4) or a small blaze that ignites a whole forest (verse 5) has a powerful influence—each in its own way. Third, James points out the destructiveness of the tongue. Even as a small blaze can destroy a whole forest, even so the tongue can tear apart the whole fabric of human life. That is what is meant by the phrase in verse 6, “staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature.” The beauty of human life is stained; the orderliness of life as created and controlled by God is destroyed. And the culprit is a tongue “set on fire by hell.” Any tongue controlled by Satan is thereby “set on fire by hell.” Fourth, in verses 9 and 10, the “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” nature of the tongue is pointed out. “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.” Fifth, the tongue needs God’s redemption. In verse 6, the tongue is called “an unrighteous world among our members.” William Barclay translates this phrase: “In the midst of our members the tongue stands for the whole wicked world.” For a Christian to have an unredeemed tongue doesn’t fit into the idea of Christ’s redemption of the whole person. To be redeemed by Jesus Christ includes, therefore, the redemption of the tongue. And so, just as we cannot redeem ourselves, even so we cannot redeem any one part of ourselves, namely, the tongue. Verse 8 declares, “No human being can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” What, then, shall we do? Shall we just learn to live with this tongue problem and forget about it? James says no. When in verse 10 he speaks of the double nature of the tongue, he goes on to say, “My brethren, this ought not to be so.” He then asks two rhetorical questions, one of which is: “Does a spring pour forth from the same opening fresh water and brackish?” Redeemed people ought to have redeemed tongues that are used only for good and not for ill. But how? The secret is found later in this epistle, chapter 4, verse 7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” As redeemed people submit themselves to God, they submit their tongues to him. Outside of that, there is no redemption for the tongue. Focus on Us… A submitted tongue will praise the Lord. Revelation 19:5 says: “And from the throne came a voice crying, ‘Praise our God, all you his servants.’” The Book of Revelation is a drama of the praise of the redeemed, in both heaven and earth. Redeemed people have redeemed tongues and those tongues are praising tongues. God’s church must be a praising church. Those who have been truly redeemed by the blood of the Lamb will either explode or shrivel up if their praise is squelched. In the Church we squelch authentic praise in numerous ways. For instance, have you ever been in a service in which the worship leader was insensitive to the needs of the people of God and, because of that, unknowingly squelched praise? Or what about the “person up front” who may be merely acting as a master of religious ceremonies rather than as a sensitive leader of worship? Such a “person up front” may be a manipulator of people who gives out such manipulative instructions as “Everybody smile on this stanza,” as though turned-on smiles were pleasing to God. The people of God must be allowed and encouraged to praise their Lord in a way that is worthy of the world’s only Redeemer. They need sensitive leaders of corporate praise. They do not need masters of religious ceremonies or emotion manipulators or directors of professional productions. They need leaders who are sensitized to the Holy Spirit and to the need of the people to praise their Lord. But a tongue submitted to God will not only praise the Lord, but it will also bless people. To do otherwise is to have a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in one’s mouth. Verses 9 and 10 say, “With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God .... This ought not to be so.” A truly submitted tongue will both praise God and bless people. Here are some of the ways submitted tongues bless people: 1. They witness to the world that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says to his disciples, “You shall be my witnesses.” 2. They preach the good news of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14–15; 3:14). 3. They teach the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16–17). 4. James 5:15 points out that praying tongues are a blessing to people: “The prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” 5. Confessing tongues are also a blessing: “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). 6. Tongues used to encourage people are a blessing. Paul, for instance, in Colossians 4:17 tells the Colossian church to encourage Archippus in his ministry. Paul blessed Archippus by uttering words of encouragement. 7, 8. Colossians, indeed, says much about redeemed tongues: They are to be gracious (4:6) and they are to be used to “admonish one another in all wisdom” (3:16). 9. And, finally, we should note that the tongue submitted to God comforts Christians with the hope of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:18). A submitted tongue, as we have seen, praises the Lord and blesses people by witnessing, by preaching, by teaching, by praying, by confessing, by encouraging, by being gracious, by admonishing, and by comforting. Perhaps someone will say: “It is easier for me to keep quiet than to do all those things.” First of all, to be quiet in our culture is not much of an option. Second, our Lord doesn’t want us to be altogether quiet. He gave us tongues for the purpose of praise and blessing. But we need to remember that to use our tongues for this twofold purpose before we submit them to God is to get the cart before the horse. It won’t work. Once we submit our tongues to God, the Redeemer begins redeeming our tongues and making them fit for his use. Submitted tongues become redeemed tongues. Without submission there is no redemption. Purpose of This Chapter… to introduce James
3:1–12; Chapter 7 Focus on the Text… This passage draws a dear distinction between earthly wisdom on the one hand and the “wisdom from above” on the other. Wisdom as used here refers to the use of practical knowledge for the guidance of the Christian community. Just as earthly wisdom, according to verse 16, leads to “disorder and every vile practice,” even so heavenly wisdom, according to verse 18, results in agreeable relationships between Christians. That is called peace. Wisdom, then, is the practical knowledge that leads either to disorder (if it is earthly wisdom) or to agreeable relationships (if it is heavenly wisdom) within the Christian community. Whether wisdom is earthly or heavenly determines the quality of life in the Church. First, let us focus on how James characterizes earthly wisdom in verse 15. By calling it earthly, he indicates that it is lacking in divine quality. By calling it unspiritual, he means to speak of its mere animal-like quality. In biblical thought, it is the divinely given spirit that sets us apart from animals. Earthly wisdom is animal-like because it is devoid of directions from the divinely given spirit. And by calling it devilish, he calls attention to the fact that such wisdom provides Satan opportunity to bring disruption into the church. This kind of wisdom arises out of hearts that have not been closely attuned to God. Instead, these hearts have “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” in them (verse 14). This kind of wisdom tears the soul out of the Christian community. Little wonder, then, that redeemed people are urged to use heavenly wisdom, which is described in verse 17. 1. It is pure, free from all ulterior motive such as the “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” mentioned in verse 14. 2. It is peaceable. It helps to establish and to maintain agreeable relationships between individual members of the Church and between Christians and God. 3. It is gentle. The Greek word that in the Revised Standard Version is translated “gentle” actually means “equitable” or “fair.” The New International Version translates it “considerate.” The Jerusalem Bible uses two words to get at the meaning: “kindly and considerate.” William Barclay, in his Daily Study Bible Series, says, “Of all Greek words in the New Testament this is the most untranslatable.” The general idea, however, is that the person with heavenly wisdom is always gracious with one whose understanding may differ in some slight degree. Heavenly wisdom looks beyond insignificant differences instead of blowing them up into large issues. 4. Heavenly wisdom is open to reason. It is not arrogant advice. It is understandable, subject to dialogue, and available to the scrutiny of questions. 5. It is full of mercy and good fruits. It exhibits loving concern for those who have gone wrong and seeks to restore them to the life of the Church in such a way that they can function and develop as Christians. That is the good fruit of such wisdom. 6. It is without uncertainty. While it is open to reason, it is not spineless. You can be certain that you are right without being arrogant. The certainty of earthly wisdom is clothed in arrogance. The certainty of heavenly wisdom should be clothed in humble sincerity in the truth. 7. Heavenly wisdom is without insincerity. This harks back to what James says in verse 13: “By his good life let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” Heavenly wisdom expressed in a manner pleasing to God is accompanied by an upstanding moral life and is shared with modesty. One should neither brag about such wisdom nor be flippant about it. Focus on Us… Earlier in this century, doctrinal debates were rather common. For instance, in my birthplace of Portageville, Missouri, a debater representing the Church of God and another representing the Baptists once debated doctrinal differences. My grandmother tells of one debate lasting four or five nights and bringing out large crowds. According to her evaluation the debate routine finally ceased simply because it never did any good. In the light of our text, they did so little good probably because they were done with earthly wisdom instead of heavenly wisdom. Very often they lacked in purity of motive, led to further discord within the Christian community, and treated honest questions with ridicule instead of reason. The use of ridicule toward theological opponents still influences the style of some preachers today. How easily we forget that the purpose of preaching or teaching or conversing about the Christian faith is not to win an argument or to make someone else look silly. Instead, the purpose is to talk reasonably about the truth revealed in the Bible in such a way that God’s universal church is built up and not torn down. For instance, to base ones objections to the Roman Catholic papacy merely on the fact that Peter had a mother-in-law and to use that as an argument of embarrassment to Roman Catholics is to “theologize” with earthly wisdom instead of heavenly wisdom. To label an opponent with a word you don’t like or with a word to which you give an unfavorable voice inflection is to use earthly wisdom instead of heavenly wisdom. Some of the tags we throw around to discredit fellow Christians include: radical, liberal, fundamentalist, pentecostalist, charismatic, sectarian, emotional, literalist, formal. When I was thirteen years old I heard a well-known preacher at an international youth convention who very much helped me. A few days later, however, someone told me with a certain discrediting voice inflection that he was a “liberal.” The person meant, “Watch out, or he’ll destroy you.” After I grew into adulthood, I learned that the real objection to the man was that he had more formal education than the one who had tagged him. I had been given earthly wisdom about a man. It was “wisdom” not based on fact but motivated by jealousy. Or let us look at the “sectarian” tag. Earthly wisdom glibly proclaims that all Christians not in our particular camp of God’s church are sectarians and that our camp is especially free from the sectarian mentality. Heavenly wisdom, however, which is open to reason, knows that the spirit of sectarianism is as much a danger for us Christians as it is for those Christians in other groups. Also, we too often use earthly wisdom instead of wisdom from above when we write off a church as “formal” when we really mean that its style is different from our own. A church that uses classical hymns, processionals, and “Amens” after its hymns is not automatically devoid of the lively presence of the Holy Spirit. Nor, on the other hand, is a church automatically “spiritual” if it sings “Heavenly Sunlight” every other Sunday and “He Lives” on each intervening Sunday, never sings an “Amen, “ and often lifts hands in personal testimony. God wants us to talk to one another in the Church with wisdom from above. And he wants one church group to talk to another church group with wisdom from above. Furthermore, he wants those of us who preach and teach and talk about Christians in other church groups to do it with wisdom from above. James 3:17 is a good scripture to commit to memory. It is an excellent guide as we talk to and about one another concerning doctrine and practice life and work, faith and mission. Verse 18 is a promise to those who will take verse 17 seriously. The new International Version translates it thus: “Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” Purpose of This Chapter: to introduce James
3:13–18; Chapter 8 Focus on the Text… The message of the whole fourth chapter of James is summarized in verse 7: “Submit yourselves … to God.” With that as the general theme, the fourth chapter spells out some particulars. First, the passions of redeemed people are to be in submission to God. James does not say that passions are wrong but that they cause a great deal of pain and heartache when not submitted to God. When in verse 1 he asks, “Is it not your passions that are at war in your members?” he is referring to reactions like the anger or hatred that can cause ulcers. The passions thus can be said to be at war within the person. He then gives two illustrations of unsubmitted passions in verse 2: unfulfilled desires and overt covetousness for something that one has failed to obtain. The problem is not the existence of such passions, but the fact that they aren’t submitted to God. Verse 2 says: “You do not have, because you do not ask.” Does that means that we should ask that our passions be satisfied? No, because that very thing is condemned in verse 3. What Christians are to do is to ask God to fulfill their needs. And passions? Admit that you have them and submit them to God. To concentrate on the fulfillment of passions is to rob one’s life of the joy of having God meet one’s needs. Second, the spirits of redeemed people are to be in submission to God. Verse 5 says that God “yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us.” That spirit is the “breath of life” which Genesis 2:7 says God breathed into the first human being. That breath belongs to God and is merely loaned to each of us so that we can fulfill God’s mission on the earth. That is why he “yearns jealously” over it. Third, redeemed people are to submit others and their actions to God. Verse 12 asks, “Who are you that you judge your neighbor?” God is both the lawgiver and the judge. While Scripture makes clear that redeemed people are to love the divine law, uphold it, teach it, and live it; they are nevertheless to submit to God what others do with it. Redeemed people are not to force others to follow it, nor are they to usurp God’s work of determining who is a law breaker. That work must be submitted to God. Fourth, redeemed people are to submit the future to God. Since it is not ours to know God’s future for us, we are called upon to make plans tentatively, “if the Lord wills” (verse 15). Our future belongs not to us but to God. Therefore, we are to submit what is God’s to God. Focus on Us… James 4:7–10 gives us a pattern for life inter-woven with three elements: our will, God’s action, and Satan’s s reaction. The pattern looks like this: Our Will… to submit to God (verse
7) God’s Action… He will draw near to us
(verse 8) Satan’s Reaction… He will flee from us (verse 7) God’s action and Satan’s reaction are inevitable. The variable has to do with the exercise of our wills. That is not inevitable. Weakness of the will is at an epidemic stage in our society. Much misery on the contemporary scene is the result. Weakness of the will is one of the factors in the rising divorce rate—many do not will to keep the covenant of marriage. It is a factor in increased sexual promiscuity—we think that we can’t control our emotions. It is part of the reason for disastrous health problems such as overeating—we think we just can’t stop eating. Likewise, the lethargy of the will contributes to spiritual sickness. Indeed, God’s forgiving grace is free, unearnable, and unmerited. But that special grace is inoperative in our lives unless we will to accept it. I have a friend who has attended worship services regularly for decades. He knows about the saving grace of God and has no objections to it. Nevertheless, he has never deliberately exercised belief, faith, and trust. He is unredeemed because he has not willed to place his life in the loving hands of Christ. Even as the prodigal son in Luke 15:18 said, “I will arise and go to my father,” even so each of us must say, “I will arise and go.” But what about those of us who have already exercised that initial, deliberate belief, faith, and trust in Christ? We need to continue to exercise our wills daily: I will submit the future to God. I will resist this temptation to sexual sin. I will turn my thoughts toward God and his Word. I will repent of this act of greed. I will turn my eyes upon Jesus so that the things of this world “may grow strangely dim.” Is anything quite so disconcerting as a Christian who is not exercising his or her will to submit to God? That was certainly disconcerting to James. Chapter 4 is evidence of that. As James sees it, being a Christian involves a conscious decision to submit and to continue submitting oneself to God. In the personal evangelism program of our church, two other persons and I had led several people to the Lord, or so we thought. They gave evidence of genuinely accepting God’s free gift of salvation. But that was all. They consistently refused to study the biblical word, to worship corporately, to learn more about the Christian life. What was wrong? Our conclusion was that they had met Jesus as Savior without knowing him as Lord. They were willing to accept this free gift of forgiveness but unwilling to submit their lives to his lordship. We were reminded by these frustrating experiences that Jesus is both Savior and Lord and that you cannot have part of him without all of him. Redeemed people accept his salvation by faith and live in submission to his will. Purpose of This Chapter: to introduce James
4:1–17;
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