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Seeking Wisdom in Difficult Days A Study of James Getting Rid of Chaos in the Church James 4:1-10

Seeking Wisdom in Difficult Days
A Study of James
Getting Rid of Chaos in the Church
James 4:1-10

Introduction

James chapter 4 continues to discuss conflict and strife within the church, and ultimately where it comes from. The conflict is originating when the people and its’ leaders love the world while also saying they love God – worldliness and a love for God cannot co-exist at the same time. Something has to give, if not, then there will be constant conflict and chaos in the church.

Prayer

I. The Cause of the Chaos (vv. 1-3)

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

The Revised Standard Edition of the Bible translates verse one as “what causes wars [ESV says quarrels], and what causes fightings [ESV says fights] among you?” This helps us to see that wars are longs standing disagreements, or “chronic hostility.”[1] And fights or fightings are clashes or disputes that arise suddenly, or “[2]acute hostility.” So whether it’s the Hatfields and the McCoys or Wyatt Erpp and the brothers at the OK Carrol – church was a place to keep your head down.[3]

In this book so far, James has addressed several issues that are going on in various churches that have been scattered due to persecution (false teachers, hollow religion, empty words, empty actions, earthly or demonic wisdom, jealousy, and selfish ambition.) Because of these various sinful issues, the church seems to be embroiled in conflict and has come to a stop, a standstill. “Satan’s strategy is to get us fighting among ourselves instead of waring against him.”[4]

James says that we have passions, and that they wage war within us. “It is the passions, or more properly the decision to cultivate rather than control the passions, that have contributed to the problems within the church.”[5] Whenever we decide to feed the wolf instead of starve the wolf then there will inevitably be problems.

But even when we decide not to retrain our passions, they will never be satisfied because they are sinful and separate from God. James has identified several items that people say they desire (power, prestige, position) ultimately a higher status in life – but this is not what they really want. “When one’s body, mind, and spirit are not fully yielded to God, life become one vicious circle of seeking but never satisfying.”[6]

What all of us ultimately want is what we think these things will bring us (wholeness, joy, purpose, to be fully known, peace). Seeking things that we think will bring us wholeness, apart from God’s will and direction only leave us wanting more, because only God can satisfy that longing within us.

“You desire and do not have, so you murder”— The first murder took place when Cain wanted what Abel had – to be accepted by God, which led to a fight and eventual murder. Genesis 4:6-8 Cain’s offering the Lord was rejected, so “The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.”

He couldn’t have what he wanted, so he fueled that passion instead of controlling it, which led to him kill his brother. You can’t have what you want, so you fuel the passion, and you take the ultimate measure to get what you want. People are willing to take the ultimate step because they believe that it is this final ultimate step that will give them what they desire (but it never does).

“There is a sort of chain reaction within man’s soul, just as James describes here: lust, incapable of satisfaction, leads to sadistic impulses, which, heated by a vision of pleasures beyond reach, turn to violence, cruelty, and murder.”[7]

Often times, when a person in the church is seeking to satisfy this desire (power, prestige, position) people become means to an end – we all desperately need genuine friendships and authentic relationships with other people.

But if we follow the ways of the world, then people become disposable means to get what we want, and then discarded when we are done. “His deepest satisfaction come in interdependence of friendships and fellowship. Loneliness is hell. But these satisfactions cannot be enjoyed by one who is willing to collaborate with others only so long as they can use them for his own personal ends.”[8]

“You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive” So we have this craving to fulfill the passions in our hearts, and James gives two answers why God is not answering our prayers to have it fulfilled: 1) we simply don’t ask, we aren’t praying or talking with God about it.

This may be because in our hearts we know that it goes against God’s ways, His will for our lives. When you pray try telling God what you want, and the reason why you want – then ask the Holy Spirit to test what you are saying is true, to reveal to you your true motive.

Or 2) The second reason we may pray but not get the answer we want is because we would use the answer toward our selfish Luke 15:13-14 is the story of the prodigal son who demanded his share of his inheritance before his father was even dead, and left the family home where he then wasted his inheritance “Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.”

The same word for spend in James “spend it on your passions” is used in the prodigal son story as squander. James says that you have asked God for certain things, but those prayers have not been answered because you would then squander it on the passions that you are feeding. “Our fault is rather that we try to gain by evil means what God would give us if we asked him for it in prayer.”

You are asking for abiding satisfaction, found in the world, but you will never get an answer because an abiding satisfaction is only found in a relationship with God – squandering your life on this pursuit only leads to conflict and strife, especially within the church. “wars without come from wars within.”[9] Until we seek peace with God, the war will rage within our hearts.

When they do pray, they are praying “to further their own interests and not to deepen their relation with God or to accomplish his will in the world.” They said outwardly that they wanted to follow God, but their passions and desires on the inside were controlling them.

II. The Course of Chaos (vv. 4-6)

4 You adulterous people! 3 Do you not know that friendship with the world[10] is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?[11] 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

In the Old Testament there were several times over the course of God’s people’s history that they would depart from genuinely worshipping the one true God, and begin to worship false gods. God would then call His people an adulterous[12]

So we may not be bowing down to a stone statue, or giving an offering to a golden calf, but we have a “friendship with the world”[13] The term world here is not a reference to people, John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world.” But the “way of life or style of life of person that is apart from God.

“This present world-system, or present age, has Satan as it’s “god” (2 Cor. 4:4) and “prince” (John 14:30); hence it is declared “evil” (Gal. 1:4). “The whole earth lies in wickedness (1 John 15:19), hating Christ and all who follow Him (John 15:18,19).”[14]

It is when we want that kind of life, that we have departed from the desire to be loyal to God.”[15] When we attempt to live in both worlds, the keep both options alive in be unfaithful.

The world then is the whole human systems, institutions, and traditions that knowingly or not are set against God. “Many people choose friendship with the world without realizing that it means enmity with God.”[16] So James calls them, “You adulterous people!”

The adultery of the church is worldiness.

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

It is our deep longings for pleasure that is directly opposed to our Christian commitments – if we try to live in both worlds, it will tear us apart. “James’ strong plea should [encourage] each of us to look carefully at ourselves, seeking to uncover any hint of love for the world that is competing with our love for God.”[17]

But even when our hearts wage war within us, and we are led astray by our passions, God still “yearns jealously” for us by “the spirit that he has made to dwell in us” and therefore “he gives more grace” so that the Christian may overcome the desire for pleasure that is so destructive (in their own lives and in the church). The Holy Spirit resides within us, and “seeks to make us wholly Christ’s, to bring us to the place where we have no divided allegiance.”[18]

God is just in His jealousy just as a husband is just in his jealousy if his wife was showing some other man devotion that is his. But we should not presuppose upon the Lord’s grace – we approach him with humbleness. Because God “gives grace to the humble.”

III. Commands that Counter the Chaos (vv. 7-10)

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Verse seven opens a series of ten imperatives or commands. This is James’ way to humble yourself before the Lord and to bring your loyalty back to Him. Along with these ten commands are also three promises: 1) that the devil will flee from you, 2) God will draw near to you, 3) God will help you.[19]

Our return from worldliness to the grace of God and overcoming the passions that we have been feeding begins with “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” There has to be a giving up of our will and submission to God and His love and “divine law.”[20] There has to be a recognition that God’s ways are best, and the world with its’ allure is destructive.

Then we are to “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” – our natural bent is to resist God, and submit to the devil. Satan flees from us because of the one who draws near to us. God is with us, and will never forsake us (despite our cravings for power, prestige, and to replace Him on the thrones of our heart) still in spite of all the sin, His grace abounds.

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” – This is a promise that when we submit and seek to come into God’s presence through our relationship with Christ, that He will move toward us (ex. the Prodigal Son).

“Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” – James calls Christians to transform their outward behavior (“hands”) and their inner attitude (“hearts”). The hands are what other people see, our behavior. The heart is what only God can see. Growing up there was the phrase, “keep short accounts.” If you know of a sin that needs to be confessed, a relationship that needs to be made right, if the Holy Spirit convicts you are something, deal with it quickly.

Priests in the Old Testament would have to go through a purification process in order to administer the things of God – We who seek to serve the Lord, especially in the church, must keep our whole person clean, and be aware of the whole of life. Psalm 24:3-4 says “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,”

Then we turn to a radical repentance, “Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom”[21] Our sin is a serious thing before the Lord, and therefore we should not laugh at or snicker at sin in our lives. When it is before us, it should bring cause us deep sorrow. It is not that we walk around weeping in sackcloth all the time – but we mourn, weep, repent before the Lord and then . . .

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” – When we humble ourselves before the Lord, He lifts us up. When we try to grab position, and wrestle for earthly power, and seek our worldly prestige, the height that we get to is a poor counterfeit for where God places us when He lifts us up.

_____________________

[1] Clifton J. Allen, The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 12 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1972) 127.

[2] Ibid.

[3] “The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud, with outlaw Cowboys Billy Claiborne, Ike and Billy Clanton, and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side; and Town Marshal Virgil Earp, Special Policemen Morgan and Wyatt Earp, and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on the other side.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral

[4] John Phillips, Exploring the Epistle of James (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Kregel Publications, 2004) 129.

[5] David Nystrom, The NIV Application Commentary, James (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1997) 224.

[6] Lehman Strauss, James, Your Brother (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers, 1980) 152.

[7] George Arthur Buttrick, Gen. Ed., The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 12 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1957) 54.

[8] Buttrick, 55.

[10] “No thoroughly selfish person ever had a friend. He may ask for friendship, but he can never obtain it; for he asks wrongly to use it for his selfish pleasures.” Buttrick, 55.

[11] “Although described as scripture, there is no such text in the O.T., the Apoc., or in any Jewish writing that has survived; nor does rabbinical literature contain any parallel.” Buttrick 56.

[12] Jer. 3:20

[13] Matt. 6:24

[14] Strauss, 156.

[15] Allen, 128.

[16] Nystrom, 227.

[17] Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Volume 4 (Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2001) 108.

[18] Strauss, 157.

[19] Allen, 128.

[20] Strauss, 161.

[21] Prov. 14:9

The Chapter Book

I don’t know what your typical Wal-Mart routine involves, but mine includes roaming the electronics section, looking at the hardware section, then camping and outdoors, and lastly the books section. Don’t be decadent and say that you never go to Wal-Mart or how you hate to go to Wal-Mart. Everyone, eventually ends up at Wal-Mart. Everyone has to buy deodorant, underwear, or have their oil changed. On the occasion that I am writing to you today, it involved an oil change. Depending on the time of day that I endure this necessary procedure, it on average takes about an hour. I am typically able to follow the above-mentioned route in about fifteen minutes, leaving a hefty sum of time to contemplate and peruse the books.

For well over a decade this ritual ended with me getting my keys back, along with a new DVD Disney or Pixar release, and a chapter book. I quit buying DVDs two years ago (before the pandemic) with the advent of Disney +. You can now just pull up the movie you want watch, even the most recent, and stream it to your tv. Honestly, this was not a hard thing to let go of, since it usually involved me shelling out over twenty dollars for a movie we would watch one time (maybe two if it was really good). It’s this next part that was not easy.

Every time I go to a Books-A-Million, Wal-Mart, or even Cracker Barrel I usually end up looking over their hard bound children’s chapter books. There is a sense of nostalgia that they bring to me. The smell of the ink on the page, the artwork, and the simple story telling, all for some reason bring me joy. On the above-mentioned trip, the book was I’m Sticking With You, by Smriti Prasadam-Halls with illustrations by Steve Small. I read though it as I always do. I put it in the cart as I always do, and was about to go on my way – but then I realized, “Drew, why are you buying this book?”

You see, in my mind, there will be a moment when my four kids and I will cuddle up, before they go to bed and I will read the story to them (maybe after the movie). As I read the book, I can see the smiles on their faces when the characters are funny, or hear their laughs as I make funny voices. I can smell the fresh shampoo in their still wet hair, and see their toes sticking out from their too small pajamas.

But here’s the thing, all of my children are over 14 years of age (my oldest are in their second year of college). There will never be a time (again) when I will read to them simple stories, make funny voices, or tuck them in.

As I placed the book back, it was a heavy-hearted recognition that a season of life had passed. It made no sense to buy a book that I would never read. As parents, there are seasons (some that we desperately want to hold on to). All of life’s stages have joy and struggles. For me, as a parent, I have pushed them to grow wings and fly, while trying to guide them in life.

I think the books symbolize an innocence, before the world began its’ influence. A time of Mario Cart marathons and nerf battles. A time when little girls dressed as princesses and boys their super heroes. Before girlfriends and boyfriends, and the first real heartache. When you are the hero and they want to hold your hand and they run for you when you get home. The costumes are gone, the toys have made their way to other younger children, and all that remains of a childhood are Frog and Toad Treasury, Magic Tree House, and a shelf full of evenings spent reading and laughing.

Maybe, the chapter book reminds me of when I didn’t have to let go. Now, this seems to be all that I do, and it really sucks. You raise them their whole lives to be able to launch, but when it happens, there is pain in the offering. Thank goodness it doesn’t happen overnight. It is an eighteen-year process of lovingly pushing them, but eventually the day comes when you don’t have to push anymore and the temptation is to grab and pull them back – but you have to let them go.

I think I am going to go back and get the book.

Seeking Wisdom in Difficult Days A Study of James The Power of A Life Lived With Wisdom James 3:13-18

Seeking Wisdom in Difficult Days

A Study of James

The Power of A Life Lived With Wisdom

James 3:13-18

Introduction

Solomon and his wisdom

Prayer

The Influence of a Wise Person (v. 13)

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.

James transitions from the power of our words in James 3:1-12, and now speaks to the powerful example of life lived with wisdom. James asks the question, “Who is wise amongst you?” If you are seeking to hold an office within the church and are doing out of selfish ambition and pride, he is going to call you out. James’ answer to this question will expose them.

If you are truly seeking wisdom, then the question becomes an invitation – you have a desire in your heart – so you set out to attain that aspiration. What that desire is and how you obtain it reveals if you are a wise person. So before we go any further, we have to ask, “Do you really want to be wise?”[1]

So with the question, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” Job asks a similar question “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12) and Proverbs 4:7 says it again, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.”[2] This is the only time these words are used together in the New Testament – so they point back to their use again and again in the Old Testament.

To be wise according to Clement of Alexandria is “the understanding of things human and divine, and their causes.” It implies thoughtfulness, penetration, grasp of the relations of things, and the right use of knowledge for the highest ends.

The second word (understanding) is used of a skilled person who has gained technical knowledge of a subject. “It implies personal acquaintance and experience, not merely abstract knowledge or intellectual apprehension of the theory of a thing.”[3] It is book learning and applied experience.

James is still going after teachers who are full of empty words and worthless religion. Not only do the words of the teacher (James 3:1-12) have a great impact, so does the life they live. “To be endued with the knowledge of God’s Word is commendable, but such knowledge must be practical in our daily lives; else we are not wise.”[4]

Elders and Teachers were primarily examples, and secondarily teachers. in 1 Timothy and Titus the requirements to hold office are outlined focusing on their character and the ability to teach is one in a list of qualifications.[5]

How do you determine if a person is wise and has understanding among you? You can hear it in their words and you can see it in their lives. “For James, the spiritual and ethical character of the leaders in the church was primary. The status of an official would not compensate for moral defects.”[6] To be a preacher is not enough, he must practice what he preaches.

Lincoln said, “a man may fool all the people part of the time, and some of the people all the time, but not all the people all the time.” People have a right to hold the preacher, teacher, or leader to the standard of the gospel – here is no room for hypocrisy.

“By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” James also says that it’s not just about words and deeds, but gentleness and modesty you exhibit verses “arrogance and passion.”[7] So a person may be doing the work of God, but they are going about it in a sinful manner.

“The problem James is addressing, then, is not that there are teachers spreading false doctrine (as would be the concern in Paul’s letters). James is addressing the problem of arrogance, which can be present even when the correct doctrine is being taught.”[8]

The commentator George Sulac said, “I can be correct in my doctrine down to the most esoteric details; I can attain a consistency in my orthodoxy which surpasses others’; I can gain a reputation for my thorough grasp of theology and be regarded as a protector of the faith; and my teaching may still be earthly, unspiritual, of the devil, resulting in disorder and every evil practice by stirring up suspicion, slander, distrust and contention within the Christian community.”[9]

We are to go about the work of God “in the meekness of wisdom” – We typically don’t like the word meek because in our day it tends to hold the meaning of weak. But when James uses the word he wants us to think of humility. We are to live at peace with others, our deeds that we do resulting from a following of Christ are to be done in humility. The opposite of humility is “jealousy and selfish ambition.”

There are two ways of life, shown as two types of wisdom, and they are shown in contrast to each other. The meekness of wisdom, or wisdom from above compared to “demonic or earthly wisdom.”[10] “the man who is genuinely wise remembers his moral responsibilities toward others.”[11]

Wisdom From Below (vv. 14-16)

14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

The first time the word “wise” is used in the Bile it is in connection with Satan tempting Eve. He directed her attention to the forbidden fruit in Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate . . .” Satan has always, since the beginning, offered a false wisdom.[12]

If one follows the wisdom from below, then this wisdom is expressed in “jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts” jealousy is “a devotion to one’s position coupled with an insensitivity toward the views of others.”

Selfish ambition “refers to using any means to support one’s cause or program; it involves pride and personal ambition which will go to any length to be fulfilled.”[13] Aristotle uses the word (self-ambition) to mean, “the self-seeking pursuit of political power by unjust means.”[14]

“unspiritual” is drawn from Genesis 2:7 where God breathed the breath of life into Adam, and he becomes a living psyche. There is the appearance of life, but not the presence of the spirit of God in the person (or at least their argument). James is saying that a person may argue for what they say is right, but in the end they are being, “self-righteous, natural, base, and they have an unspiritual desire for personal status and prestige.”[15]

Whenever people are pushing for their opinion, combined with an uncaring attitude toward others, and wanting to succeed, no matter what then, “there will be disorder and every vile practice.” The results of wisdom from below is unrest and strife. The word for evil here in the original Greek carries the idea of something being blown around by the wind and being worthless. The end result are actions that have no worth.

This wisdom from below has not added to the church, instead it has caused the church to question its direction, and its purpose. When the church doesn’t know where its going, or why it exists, disorder and all types of vile practices” rise to the surface.

This type of wisdom is described as “earthly, unspiritual, demonic.” This is man’s condition apart from God, unregenerate. 1 Corinthians 2:14 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

Again, we are looking at a person (specifically as leader) whose life is being expressed. Lived out in front of you – In their wisdom of life, there is jealousy, selfish ambition, uncaring, unspiritual, evil – this example should be abandoned and left behind. “It is wisdom such as that which demons have, not such as God gives (James 1:5)”[16]

Satan, when he was created is described in Ezekiel 28:12 “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” But pride came into his heart and his wisdom transitioned from being full of wisdom to a demonic wisdom, full of “bitter jealousy (of God) and selfish ambition” (he wanted to be in God’s place.)[17]

We also must be careful to discern between earthly knowledge and earthly wisdom. We all benefit from the knowledge of mankind[18] – medicine, science, exploration, technology, etc. but this is not wisdom. Wisdom is what we do with the knowledge. Mankind can unlock the secrets of the universe, but when he opens the door he doesn’t know what to do with it.

Paul gives two passages that help us see these two wisdoms Galatians 5:19-21 is the earthly wisdom list, and Galatians 2:22-23 is the list of the wisdom from above.

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.”[19]

Wisdom From Above (vv. 17-18)

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The wisdom that is from above is described in Galatians 5:22-23 as the Fruit of the Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;”

James is careful in the order that he gives his list of wisdom from above. First it is pure, then it is peaceable – the leader who expresses wisdom from above does not sacrifice purity for the sake of peace. It is not a compromise on the godly standards so that we have peace – because peace without godly standard ultimately leads to destruction and chaos.

In fact, godly men may cause a disruption in the supposed peace because a sin needs to be addressed, or a compromise adjusted. These conversations are never fun, or peaceful.

Also, we live in a pragmatic day, here James urges us to do the right thing first (in purity) simply because it is the right thing to do. We don’t have to be able to see a benefit from a calling, only that it is what we are supposed to do.

How then do we have a “a harvest of righteousness”? This happens when the leaders and members of the church show wisdom from above and not that from below. James also says, “a harvest of righteousness is sown” Usually a harvest is gathered, but here James says the harvest is sown.

Whenever there is conflict in the church, ministries shut down. No real decisions are made, the church stops moving forward – it’s like a car that suddenly just turns off, and so you pull off the road. You are not going anywhere until the conflict is resolved. When those who teach, preach, or lead, use wisdom from above, there is peace, and in that peace comes “good fruits” and a “harvest of righteousness.”

Where there is peace righteousness can flourish.

In Matthew 5:9 the righteous are those that make peace, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” The result of living out wisdom from above is peace. When we live in godly wisdom, not only will we benefit, but the community around us will benefit by having peace. Righteousness thrives in peace, and dies in conflict. Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.”

“a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” Peace does not just happen in the passage James gives us; a farmer has to go gather the grain, prepare the soil, and make the effort to sow the seed (peace), In the Matthew 5 passage, those who are blessed are the makers of peace – making requires effort, it does not naturally happen, in fact it requires a supernatural effort to maintain the peace.

“The Christian life is a life of sowing and reaping. For that matter, every life is a life of sowing and reaping, and we reap what we sow. The Christian who obeys God’s wisdom sows righteousness, not sin; he sows peace, not war. The life we live enables the Lord to bring righteousness and peace into the lives of others.”

__________________________

[1] George M. Sulac, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, James (Downers Grove, Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 1993) 132.

[2] A. T. Robertson, Studies in the Epistle of James (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1959) 125.

[3] Robertson, 126.

[4] Lehman Strauss, James Your Brother (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers, 1980) 143.

[5] Peter H. Davids, New International Biblical Commentary, James (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson, Publishers, 1989) 88.

[6] Clifton J. Allen, The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 12 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1972) 124.

[7] Robertson, 128.

[8] Sulac, 134.

[9] Ibid, 135.

[10] Allen, 125.

[11] George Arthur Buttrick, The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 12 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1957) 50.

[12] John Phillips, Exploring the Epistle of James (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Kregel Publications, 2004) 116.

[13] Allen, 125.

[14] David P. Nystrom, The NIV Application Commentary, James (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1997) 207.

[15] Nystrom, 208.

[16] Robertson, 132.

[17] Strauss, 144.

[18] Warren Wiershe, Be Mature, New Testament Commentary, James (Colorado Springs, Colorado; David C. Cook Publishing, 1978) 112.

[19] Hellenistic teachers of ethics and rhetoric made their pupils memorize lists of virtues or vices, to be used in moral guidance in learning good conduct and avoiding evil conduct. Buttrick, 50.

Seeking Wisdom in Difficult Days A Study of James The Powerful Little Troublemaker James 3:1-12

****Click here of another video I made regarding our words and why they are so important.

Seeking Wisdom in Difficult Days

A Study of James

The Powerful Little Troublemaker

James 3:1-12[1]

Introduction

In today’s society there is a lot of attention that is getting oriented toward speech. University professors, medical professionals, social workers, and many other professions, are having to be incredibly cautious in their identifying people according to their preferred gender orientation. (see graphic) There are micro aggressions, hate speech, and safe spaces where students feel the need to not be offended by conflicting ideas and opinions. So, what we as Christians say, and how we say it, is as important now as it has ever been.

James is writing to the church that has experienced persecution and has been forced to scatter into different cities away from Jerusalem. In earlier sections of James, he deals with things that were being corrosive to the local church and keeping it from being what God intends for it to be (not understanding trials and tribulations, worthless religion, partiality, a dead faith). Now James turns his attention to yet another topic that if not dealt with can cause much damage – our words.

In the previous verses, James gives “three examples of misused speech: (a) words that honor the rich and dishonor the poor, (2:3) (b) greeting a poor brother or sister without providing assistance (2:16), (c) claiming to have faith without works to show for it (2:18).[2] Those examples dealt with “empty words.”

In the first chapters of James he discusses that talk is cheap if that is all you have with regard to one’s faith – words or worthless is they are not backed by action. In chapter 3, he doesn’t want us think that we can then just say anything, our words actually do have a great impact on others.[3]

James gave us six pictures of the tongue: the bit, the rudder, fire, a poisonous animal, a fountain, and a fig tree. You can the put these six into three helpful categories.[4]

Prayer

Power to Direct: The Bit and Rudder (vv. 1-4)[5]

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

James mentions the tongue in every chapter of James[6], and in chapter three he expands the idea of word and their impact. Both the bit for the horse and the rudder for the ship are small things that control much larger things.

James has dealt with several issues that were cropping up in the diaspera church, and it now seems that it these teachers and their false teachings that were at the root of the problem. When we looked at James 2:1-12 and how Christians should not show partiality in the church, we looked at how in Roman society social movement was just about impossible.

So people would give toward building projects, public baths, art works, etc. But if you couldn’t do those things, then you could gain prestige and power by teaching in the church. So there were individuals who would assume to upon themselves to be teachers and would teach heretical and false teachings in an effort to have influence.

There was also a build in high respect in Judaism for their rabbinical teachers. So, there “seems to be some Christians who were seizing the opportunity to be called teacher (rabbi) and rushing into the office without a solemn consideration of the responsibilities.”[7] The Christian should not be so eager to teach that they overlook the responsibility.

1-4 begins with a rebuke of a teacher “Not many of you should become teachers” who should not be teaching, either because he is not qualified, or is saying things (teaching things) that are false. Such teachers do irreparable harm to those that trust them and hold to their teachings. And there will be a judgment of their teaching, “for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

If you believe that God has called you to teach others you must read Ezekiel 3:17-19 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for4 his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”

There is a constant temptation on the part of the preacher/teacher to not teach all that the Bible says, or leave out certain parts because of the potential hurt feelings, or conflict that it may cause – but the watchman must keep watch and call out sin when he sees it.

In his farewell speech to the Ephesian church, Paul says, “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” Declaring the whole counsel of God is what made Paul “innocent” of anyone’s choice to turn away from the truth. Paul had fulfilled his ministry among the Ephesians.

There is also the potential for those with opportunities to speak and influence others to be wrong (they mean well, but they are simply wrong in what they are teaching). James says, “For we all stumble in many ways.” Moses lost his temper and struck the rock (Numbers 20), Peter boasted that he would never leave Jesus’ side “Peter answered him [Jesus], “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” (Matthew 26:33). “James is saying that the most difficult task a Christian faces is the mastery of his own speech.”[8]

James gives the example of a rudder (being small) directs the ship – so too a teacher can lead a large group in a good or bad direction.[9]

Matthew 18:6 “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Also, a false teacher has the potential to wreck years and years of good teaching with just a small amount of false teaching. Therefore, the reason for James to write this letter to the churches. “James’ point is that we should not underestimate the powerful potential of leadership positions nor undervalue the damage that can be done through careless or mean-spirited speech.”[10]

On the other side of this issue are those that hear and should not just accept everything told to them, even by those they trust and love – we must keep a discerning spirit about us. Acts 17:11 “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” The Bereans were eager to receive the Word of God, but they also examined it against Scripture.

When James says “And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man” The use of the word “perfect” is not used the same way we use the word perfect as in without error or mistake – James means “mature” “or full grown.”[11] So the spiritual barometer of a Christian (how are you doing in your walk with the Lord) is your ability to control what you say, and understand its’ impact upon other people.

“If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well” The purpose of a bit in the horse’s mouth is so that you can control the animal. Imagine a 1,500 lb. wild horse running through the church on a Sunday morning, or a church meeting, or Sunday School class – kicking, jumping, running wild – it would be disastrous. The same is true for the person who can’t control their tongue, everywhere they go there will be destruction.

“Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs” The rudder determines where the ship goes. If the pilot of the ship doesn’t know what he’s doing, he can steer that ship into other ships, rocks, sandbars, underwater reefs, or just take a boat load of people completely off course and in the wrong direction.

Power to Destroy: The Fire and The Animal (vv. 5-8)

5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

Both fire and the poisonous animal are small things (like the tongue) that can bring destruction to the things it touches and spread to continue to destroy things much larger than itself.

Smokey the Bear warms campers to fully put out your campfires because just a small spark or ember can ignite an entire forest and destroy vast amounts of property. In the ancient world (before the days of home fire extinguishers and fire departments) fire was something everyone feared.

***wild fires in CA causing millions of dollars worth of damage and loss of life, due to a gender reveal explosive.

Strauss says, “The deadly drug does not need to be taken in large doses – a drop or two will suffice; and the tongue does not need to distill long speeches, it has but to drop a word, and the mischief is afoot. Thus has a peace been ruined, thus has a reputation been blackened, thus has a friendship been bittered, thus has a mind been poisoned, thus has a life been blasted.”[12]

In the example for the rudder, the pilot was in control. In the example of the bit, the rider was in control. In the example of the tongue of fire – “set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell” “A spark can ignite a forest, but the tongue is so powerful it can set all humanity ablaze.”[13] Words move people to action.

When a person speaks (not just verbal, e-mails, texts, letters, cards, social-media posts, etc.) in a destructive way, it hurts the members and affects the entire church, and ultimately is guided by hell itself.[14]

“For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature” In verse 7 James gives the four major categories of animals during creation in Genesis (Genesis 1:20-23). God created man to have dominion over, control over, creation, and every kind of animal has been “tamed.” “The image James uses here is a of a barely and inadequately caged beast, which breaks forth with irrational destructive power.”[15]

A poisonous viper that breaks loose from its’ cage and is going around striking people with poison. You then catch it, put it in its’ cage, but it keeps escaping again and again. You can keep the mighty elephant caged, but not the tongue.

Power to Delight: The Fountain and the Tree (vv. 9-12)

9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?[16] 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Both the water fountain and the fruitful tree can bring delight, happiness, a blessing to those that encounter them.

Earlier in James he discusses “the double-minded” person (James 1:7) “For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything [asking God for wisdom] from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” It is the man’s trying to live in the world with its’ values, and live a life that honors God leads you to instability.

When in one part of the day you are worshipping and blessing God then later in the day we are cursing someone (who is made in the image of God) then we are being double-minded, which leads us to be unstable. He uses a spring that produces one kind of water, tree producing fruit of its’ kind, and a salt lake – all produce according to their nature.

So if we are the Lord’s then that love for Him in our core is what gets spilt out when life bumps us. If you are a worshipper of God and sing praises, then cursing and evil words should not come out of your mouth, “it should not be.”

The use of the word curse is not to cuss at someone as in profanity – it “refers to the Jewish custom in the first century of expressing the hope that evil and tragedy would come to a person.” A common Jewish curse was “May your children become idolators and your wife be unfaithful.”[17]

So you praise God in the morning, saying you want to follow His plan for your life – then in the afternoon you are desiring your neighbor’s house to burn to the ground and his family to be destroyed – which is ignoring the plan of God for His creation, especially mankind.

Conclusion

There is a common children’s phrase, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” This is just not biblically true.

The affects of verbal abuse to the adolescent brain.[18]

****click here of another video I made regarding our words and why they are so important.

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[1] Beth Day, 1855 “Three Gates of Gold.” “. . . Make it pass, Before you speak, three gates of gold: These narrow gates. First, “Is it true?” Then, “Is it needful?” In your mind Give truthful answer. And the next Is last and narrowest, “Is it kind?” And if to reach your lips at last It passes through these gateways three, Then you may tell the tale, nor fear What the result of speech may be. (Buttrick, 49).

[2] Pheme Perkins, Interpretation, First and Second Peter, James, and Jude (Louisville, Kentucky; John Knox Press, 1995) 115.

[3] Lehman Strauss, James, Your Brother (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers, 1980) 120.

[4] Warren Wiersbe, Be Mature, Growing Up In Christ (Colorado Springs, Colorado; David C. Cook Publishing, 1978) 99.

[5] The outline is from Warren Wiersbe, Be Mature.

[6] James 1:19, 26; 2:12; 4:11. 5:12 – Strauss, 120.

[7] Clifton J. Allen, The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 12 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1972) 121.

[8] Allen, 121.

[9] David P. Nystrom, The NIV Application Commentary, James (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1997) 176.

[10] Nystrom, 177.

[11] Strauss, 125.

[12] Ibid, 136.

[13] Allen, 123.

[14] “I lost a very little word, only the other day; It was a very naughty word I had not meant to say. But, then, it was not really lost – when from my lips it flew, My little brother picked it up, and now he says it too!” (Strauss, 136.)

[15] Nystrom, 180.

[16] Mediterranean wisdom, a fonte puro pura defluit aqua (“from a pure spring flows pure water.”) Nystron, 182.

[17] Allen, 124.

[18] https://www.dana.org/article/the-abused-brain/

Seeking Wisdom in Difficult Days A Study of James A Faith that Works James 2:14-26

Seeking Wisdom in Difficult Days
A Study of James
A Faith that Works
James 2:14-26

Introduction

The churches that James is writing to have been scattered from Jerusalem and are all over the Roman empire. As the church scattered they would be living in communities where there would be constant pressure just to blend in, and to not cause any trouble. Christians, no matter what the generation, are commanded to “go and make disciples.” We are to share our faith, and lead others to Christ.

For this early church, as is true today, there would be a constant pressure to make Christianity as easy as possible for people to follow and to water down any doctrine that may be offensive to a lost world. So, it appears that among the churches, James is dealing with how do we define faith in Christ and what does the Christian life look like? If the person just says they are a Christian – shouldn’t that be enough. Just state a creed, a belief statement, and you are in. You can’t see their heart, who are you to judge?[1]

Prayer

What Good is A Dead Faith? (vv. 14-17)

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James mentions in 2:1-13 that there should be no partiality in the church, and now he moves to another issue facing the dispersed church. In vv. 14-26 he “attacks the notion that a confession of faith guarantees salvation regardless of the conduct by the believer; in other words, that the recital of a creed makes a man acceptable to God despite his behavior toward others.”[2] Christians are not to show partiality in the church, but at the same time there are fellow Christian brothers and sisters who need help.

James is using the word “faith” and it is indicating different people depending on the context of how he is using the word. There are some who are expressing their “faith” in Christ but their lives have no deeds that are associated with being a Christian.

Then there are those that express a “faith” in Christ and also have the associated deeds of being a Christian. People who say they are believers do or do not have deeds that go along with being a Christian.[3] Strauss says, “The appeal is to be what you say you believe.”[4]

James begins by asking the question, “What good is it?” to say you are a Christian but not live the life of a Christian?[5] James says such a faith is dead. What good is it to have a dead faith? It doesn’t save you at the time of judgment, and it doesn’t make the world a better place – this person has ignored the needs of those around them and is giving out useless tropes “Go in peace, be warmed and filled.” Which also makes Christianity look back as a whole (hypocrites).

This is the same as giving a “thumbs up” on Facebook to some social issue your friend posts. They say, “we must stop sex trafficking . . .” So you give him a thumbs up, and scroll on your way. Have you actually done anything to stop sex trafficking? No. Have you done something to appease your guilt that someone should do something? Yes.

So, is praying for someone useless? It is the same as saying may God take care of your need to a fellow Christian. God has brought them to you, you have the means to help them, you know they need they are “poorly clothed and lacking in daily food.” But take no action to help them. Compassion and action is a characteristic of a believer. One could also say, “are we supposed to feed and clothe everyone?” This is an exaggeration and leads to doing nothing. You help those you can with the resources you have.

There is an important distinction to make with regard to faith and deeds. We place our faith in Jesus Christ which then, out of a thankful and obedient heart, leads to actions.

Faith Is Shown By Works; Three Examples (vv. 18-26)

18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

James insists that you cannot separate faith and works and then goes on to give three examples to make his point (demons, Abraham, and Rahab).

1) Demons Have Faith But No Deeds (v. 19)

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

The Jewish people would say the Shema twice-a-day; so the dispersed church would still hold to Deuteronomy 6:4 where it says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”[6] Reciting this truth, as all the Jewish people would have done, does not constitute true faith. Simply, stating beliefs is not a living faith. The demons have a monotheistic faith.

Demons are not atheists, they believe that there is one God, but their understanding, faith, doctrinal statement, can not save them. They believe the right things but their faith is not expressed in action. “Religion that is worth something involves action that grows from the heart.”[7]

Intellectual assent – is the belief that something exists, but not doing anything with that belief. The demons are acknowledging facts – but they are not placing any faith on those facts. There is no righteous action in their lives based on their understanding that God is real, Jesus is the Son of God, etc. “A genuine belief in the truth will produce a genuine behavior of the truth.”[8]

Simon the sorcerer is an example of a person who mentally believes but is not saved. Acts 8:13 “Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.”

Acts 8:20-22 “But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” “Here is a man who believed all that the demons believe, was baptized, but was without real repentance for his sin.” [9]

“A dead faith that does not move you to place all your trust in Christ is no better than the faith of demons and will send you ultimately to hell with the demons.”[10]

2) Abraham Had Faith and Deeds (vv. 20-23)

20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?[11] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.

James calls the person who believes they can be saved by words or confession of a creed alone a “fool.”[12] Which at first sounds harsh, but he is addressing the fool from a moral perspective.

It is a heart issue because even though evidence has been given, the immoral person wants even more evidence. They are happy to just say or expose being a Christian, but they do not actually want to do anything Christian.

We see the word “justified” in verse 21 and verses 24, 25, and it means “An instantaneous legal act of God in which he (1) thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and (2) declares us to be righteous in his sight.”[13]

We are all guilty of committing the crime of sin, but because God is judge, we are found “not guilty.” This is not to say a person did or did not do the crime – it is a legal finding of “not guilty.” Or that you don’t have to face the penalty of a crime (someone else has taken the full extent of the justice given for your crime).

James is emphasizing that this justification will take place at the judgment. Faith is always revealed in deeds, and these deeds are taken into consideration at the judgement. When James uses “justification” he is meaning the actions as proof of the person’s salvation, not that the actions lead to justification.[14]

“Faith is a personal response in genuine attitude to the grace of God which Jesus proclaimed and manifested in his life, death, and resurrection. It is a relationship or trust, loyalty, gratitude, and affection.”[16] So faith is taking action based on one’s belief in the promises of God.

The Jewish people believed that because they were direct relatives of Abraham, then they would gain entrance to heaven based on that relationship. The Jews came to rely so much on the “merit” of Abraham’s faith that they felt that all they had to say “We have Abraham to our father (Matt. 3:9).[17] James shows that Abraham was a man of faith and that his faith led him to take action.

“A man is justified only by the kind of faith which does the things God commands. That faith which refuses to obey God is not the faith that saves. Real faith that saves is a faith that works.”[18]

There are two types of justification, the justification before men, and the justification before God. Romans 4:2 says, “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.”

“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? – When faith is genuine, it will follow in obedience no matter how great the cost. In obedience to the command to sacrifice his son, Abraham began with faith (Heb. 11:8), left his home and moved his family by faith (Heb. 11:9) and sacrificed by faith (Heb. 11:17). Abraham lived a life of faith that was full of obedient action. Abraham’s faith in God was real because it governed Abraham’s life.

“You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;” The idea here is that faith is brought into maturity through action. Faith directs and motivates action; action matures faith. James is saying that the two are inseparable.[19] We learn and grow in our relationship with God as we act and move and do what He commands and directs us to do.

Abraham moved his family, believed God when he pointed to the stars of the sky and eventually gave him a son in his old age. Abraham had faith and action as he laid Isaac on the alter – He grew as a believer as he acted in obedience.

3) Rahab Had Faith and Deeds (vv. 24-26)

24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?[20] 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.[21]

Rahab is listed in the lineage of Jesus in Matthew 1:5, and as one of the “Heroes of the Faith” in Hebrews 11:31 “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.” She is also in Joshua chapter 2 and 6. Abraham and Rahab are polar opposites – the patriarch and the prostitute – both are given as examples of faith with deeds.

***review the story of Rahab.

When did Rahab place her faith in God? She had already heard of God before the spies arrived, she told them, “And as soon as we heard it, hour hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you . . .” (Joshua 2:11-12)

We don’t know exactly when she placed her faith in God, but she was justified before the Lord when she hid the spies, and when she tied the scarlet rope to her window, and when she waited with her family during the battle – she trusted the Lord to do what He said He would do.[22]

It is amazing that Rahab is given as an example of a person who had faith and works, while at the same time did not have a foundation of doctrine (she didn’t grow up in the church), she was a prostitute, and she lied. “Rahab was justified by her faith because she performed works of mercy and showed hospitality to God’s people. (Bede)”[23]

She is also an example of a person whose life wasn’t perfect, it was messy – yet she placed her faith in God and took Him at His word. Her actions of hiding the spies and risking her own life to save God’s people was a first step of continued deeds that would strengthen her faith and make her more like the woman God intended for her to be.

James finishes his argument with an analogy, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” Ultimately James is not contrasting faith and deeds, but a dead faith and a living faith. Faith alone without works is as dead as a body without breath.

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[1] Pheme Perkins, Interpretation A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, First and Second Peter, James, and Jude (Louisville, Kentucky; John Knox Press; 1995) 113.

[2] George Arthur Buttrick, Gen. Ed., The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 12 (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1957) 40.

[3] “Can authentic faith find expression in a confession of right doctrine? Can authentic faith be expressed merely as sentiment that never reaches the point of action?” David P. Nystrom, The NIV Application Commentary, James (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1997) 148. We Baptists, who are “people of the book,” must be careful that our focus on correct doctrine and biblical teaching does not crowd out our works of compassion and meeting the needs of those in our world. One is worthless without the other.

[4] Lehman Strauss, James Your Brother (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers, 1980) 104.

[5] Clifton J. Allen, Gen. Ed., The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 12 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press; 1972) 117.

[6] Allen, 119.

[7] David P. Nystrom, The NIV Application Commentary, James (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1997) 152.

[8] Strauss, 105.

[9] Ibid, 107.

[10] Ibid, 109.

[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomianism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinomian_Controversy

[12] The crook is the one who harms another person but not themselves; the fool is the person who harms both others and themselves; and the wise is the person who does no harm neither to themselves nor another.

[13] Wayne Grudem, Bible Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1999) 488.

[14] A.T. Robertson, Studies in the Epistle of James (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1959) 92.

[15] Buttrick, 44.

[16] Ibid.

[17] Robertson, 99.

[18] Strauss, 113.

[19] Peter H. Davids, New International Biblical Commentary, James (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishing, 1983) 69.

[20] Joshua 2.

[21] Helen Wodehouse, “We think we must climb to a certain height of goodness before we can reach God. But he says not “At the end of the way you will find me”; He says, “I am the Way; I am the road under your feet, the road that begins just as low as you happen to be.” If we are in a hole the Way begins in the hole. The moment we set our face in the same direction as His, we are walking with God.”

[22] So what do we do with the fact that she lied as to the direction the spies went, and is in the same sentence described as “justified?”

[23] Thomas Oden, Gen. Ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Volume 11 (Downers Grove, Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 2000) 28.