Verse 1:

 1   James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

According to Matthew Henry, this very first verse can be broken into three parts: the character of the author, the plight of those to whom he is writing, and his respect for those who are under hardship.

There were four James in the New Testament.  Only two of them have ever been considered the author of the letter, James the son of Zebedee and James the half-brother of Jesus.  Given that James the Son of Zebedee was martyred in AD 44, most biblical scholars believe it to be unlikely that he was the author of this letter.  Matthew Henry himself agrees with this conclusion, and discerns that James, the half-brother of Jesus, who is the same James that is mentioned as the leader of the church in Jerusalem, wrote this epistle.

He says this: “Though he was a prime-minister in Christ’s kingdom, yet he styles himself only a servant. Note hence, Those who are highest in office or attainments in the church of Christ are but servants. They should not therefore act as masters, but as ministers. Further, Though James is called by the evangelist the brother of our Lord, yet it was his glory to serve Christ in the spirit, rather than to boast of his being akin according to the flesh. Hence let us learn to prize this title above all others in the world.”

So here we have our first lesson of the book, right here in verse 1: no matter what you have attained here on earth, in the church, in the world, by birthright or whatever, there is no higher designation than to be called a servant of Christ.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, being the author, also makes sense when considering the recipients of the letter.  This epistle was meant to be circulated to all the churches scattered abroad and is known as one of the “General” or “Universal” epistles.  (It’s also called one of the Catholic Epistles, but we avoid that designation for obvious reasons.)  At this early time, Christians are having a hard time of things.  Everywhere they are established, they are persecuted.  Jerusalem is still the ancient hometown or capital city for all Jews, and so from this standpoint, a letter from the leader of the Jerusalem church makes sense, a rallying discourse to remind Christians everywhere that they are to be living for Christ, working out their faith, being “doers of the Word.”

Finally we see that James offers “greeting” to these scattered Christians.  Matthew Henry says this: “James here shows the respect he had even for the dispersed: greeting, saluting them, wishing peace and salvation to them. True Christians should not be the less valued for their hardships. It was the desire of this apostle’s heart that those who were scattered might be comforted—that they might do well and fare well, and be enabled to rejoice even in their distresses. God’s people have reason to rejoice in all places, and at all times; as will abundantly appear from what follows.”

The book of James deals more with the practical aspects of Christianity, the daily living, the working out of one’s faith.  There is almost no emphasis on salvation by faith, which is one of the reasons that early Protestants wanted to reject the Book of James from being in the Bible.  Martin Luther noted that compared to the epistles of Paul, James put a great emphasis on works.  However, since we know that James is addressing believers, we can suppose that James assumed these believers, these Christians already knew about salvation by faith, having been saved themselves.  And so, his aim is to provide solid ethical instruction, referring to doctrine while making no new ones, appealing to the reader’s knowledge of the Old Testament while upholding the New Testament of Jesus Christ.  Because of the practical nature of this letter, it makes an excellent survey study for the Sunday School class environment.
Now read Chapter 1: 2-12:

 2   My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

Count it all joy!  It means, “Be happy.  God’s gonna do something for you.  You’re going to benefit from this.  Don’t fret yet.  Wait and see what will happen.”

Some careful attention to wording should be made here.  He says “Count it all joy when ye fall” into divers temptations.  Matthew Henry notes: “Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be not our own fault.” The Bible here is not speaking of temptations that are of our own doing.  Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  The bible’s not talking about that kind of affliction.  The writer here recognizes that God allows us to go through trials, that we suffer things that are not our own fault, in His permissive will, to help us develop.  The bible also says later on, “Let no man say, I am tempted of God.”  The Lord himself does not tempt us to sin.  But within any trial or tribulation, there is the temptation to give in to passion, to be rash, to act on emotion instead of pausing for a moment and seeking God’s face in it.  Look at verse 3.   3   Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

There are two ways to respond to trials: with passion or with patience.  Passion is easy.  We get so mad; we get so worked up; we shake our fists; we take it out on those we love.   That’s the flesh and in most cases that’s sin.
The other response is patience.  Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen; I will be exalted in the earth.”  God is in control.  God will be glorified.  If there is any glory to be had in any situation, God’s going to get it.  Just trust in God.  Trust that you are in His hands.  The writer here is indicating also that if you have real faith in God, then the trials you go through will cause you to act out of patience.  So this is one of those scriptures you should search when you examine yourselves.  If you have no patience in trials, ever; if life is just one emotional wreck after another and you don’t know how to trust in the Lord and have peace in knowing that things are in His hands, you might not be saved.

  4   But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Now here is one of those bible words that mean what they meant back then, but are misunderstood by today’s readers.  “Perfect” as an adjective refers to the end goal of “perfect” the verb or action.  We still understand “perfect”, the verb, as meaning what it meant back then: to constantly improve; that hasn’t changed.  Well, back then “perfect” the adjective meant pretty much the same thing that the verb meant: “describing something that constantly improves you or your situation.”  Now we just think it means the end, the finished product of perfection.  When we say Tiger Woods hit the perfect stroke, we are describing one stroke in time that follows years and years of perfecting the stroke. But if we are to be honest, even in modern usage of the word perfect, in no way does it imply the meaning “without flaw or error.” Even when we use it today, rarely to we mean absolute, flawless perfection.  And yet modern Christians, especially new ones, say, “Well no one’s perfect,” and use it as an excuse to not even attempt holy, separated living, or they use it as an excuse not to judge righteous judgment, as we are commanded to do.  So let’s be clear: when the bible says perfect as an adjective, it describes that which either causes us to improve or mature, or that which has been improved or matured.

And the scripture says, “Let patience have her perfect work.”  In other words, let patience in time of trials do what it’s supposed to do: make you a mature Christian.  Why?  So that you may be perfect, which means mature, and “entire.”

What does “entire” mean?  It means whole.  Wanting nothing: what does that mean?  Does the bible mean you can become so holy you’ll have no desire for any worldly comforts or food or shelter or anything like that?  No, “wanting” here means lacking or without.  So the scripture is saying that if you allow patience to mature you as a Christian, you eventually will be lacking nothing spiritually.  You will be equipped for anything.  You will be far more usable by God as well.

Matthew Henry says, “When the work of patience is complete, it will furnish all that is necessary for our Christian race and warfare. We should not pray so much for the removal of affliction, as for wisdom to make a right use of it.”  And that leads right to verse 5.   5   If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

There is a question we should ask ourselves: How can a man ask for wisdom if he won’t acknowledge that he lacks it?  Ultimately, a person must realize his own limitations.  This is what leads us to the Lord in the first place: the realization that we cannot by our own labors avail ourselves of heaven.  But this self-searching must continue on a daily basis.  For the prideful, it is very difficult to say or to admit, “I don’t know.”  Even when we think we know the answer, still the bible warns us, “there is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of destruction.”

  1 Chronicles 16:11   Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

  Psalms 105:4   Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

  Proverbs 28:5   Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.

Proverbs 3:6   In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

The wisdom of God is an endless well from which we are to draw when we seek it from the Lord.  Romans 11:33 declares, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”
Think about it.  How many times have you been wrong?  God has never been wrong.  And so it should make sense that in all things, all matters, we should go to the Lord for wisdom and discernment.  Given the context of this passage, it is imperative most of all that we turn for wisdom to the Lord in times of trials.

Matthew Henry says: “And who does not want wisdom to guide him under trials, both in regulating his own spirit, and in managing his affairs? Here is something in answer to every discouraging turn of the mind, when we go to God under a sense of our own weakness and folly. If, after all, any should say, This may be the case with some, but I fear I shall not succeed, the promise is, To any that asketh, it shall be given. A mind that has single and prevailing regard to its spiritual and eternal interest, and that keeps steady in its purposes for God, will grow wise by afflictions, will continue fervent in devotion, and rise above trials and oppositions.”

  6   But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Now here is a warning.  When you ask the Lord for wisdom, ask for it in faith.  In other words, you had better believe God is going to give it to you, else you run the risk of deceiving yourself.  You can’t throw up a prayer for wisdom and then think, “Well, maybe He’ll answer me; maybe He won’t.  Maybe the Lord can direct my path; maybe I can figure it out myself.  Maybe He’s listening to me right now; maybe he’s not.”  To go to the Lord in prayer while doubting His ability or willingness to hear your prayer is wavering between belief and unbelief.  The Lord doesn’t regard prayers like that: “Lord, if you’re there, please give me wisdom.”  “Lord, if you really exist, save me.”  It doesn’t work like that.  If that’s your attitude when you pray, how on earth are you going to know if something is of the Lord or not?  Dabbling in unbelief while praying can only cause confusion: see next verse.   7   For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

Don’t think the Lord is going to answer the prayers of those who doubt Him.  It’s pretty simple.  But also, if a prayer for wisdom is tainted with unbelief, then your next inspiration will not be of the Lord, but rather it will be from your own flesh, from your own lusts, and will lead to vanity. 8   A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Again, Matthew Henry says, “When our faith and spirits rise and fall with second causes, there will be unsteadiness in our words and actions. This may not always expose men to contempt in the world, but such ways cannot please God.”

So, a man could rely on his own wisdom and get by in the world for a time.  People might not detect his spiritual poverty, but ultimately the Lord knows who is on His side.  To have a double mind means to have divided allegiance.  Remember the passage from 2 Kings 17: They served the Lord and worshipped their own gods.  What good is it to say outwardly that you trust the Lord for your salvation, when inwardly you don’t trust Him to direct your ways, to answer your prayers?  How can you say you lean on the Lord outwardly, when inwardly you lean on your own understanding?  The bible warns us that this double-mindedness will affect ALL aspects of our life.  9   Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: 10   But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

Again, Matthew Henry: “No condition of life is such as to hinder rejoicing in God. Those of low degree may rejoice, if they are exalted to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom of God; and the rich may rejoice in humbling providences, that lead to a humble and lowly disposition of mind.”

So he’s saying, there is no station in life in which you cannot rejoice in the Lord.  If you be poor you can rejoice that the Lord makes you rich in faith, and will one day exalt you as an heir to the kingdom; if you be rich, you should rejoice that the Lord allows you trials to humble you and remind you of who you are before God: nothing.

The scripture describes the rich man as the “flower of the grass.” It’s an interesting metaphor, because the flower may be prettier to look at, is blessed in ways that the rest of grass is not, ultimately renders the seeds by which the grass thrives; but in the end, it is still grass and it still withers away and is blown away by the wind when it dies and returns to the dust.  Earthly riches are temporary things; they are not meant to elevate our spirits above our brothers, but rather they are entrusted to us as stewards for the good of the others.  So to avoid the dangers of thinking to highly of themselves, the Lord allows trials to come their way to teach them that even they need to exercise patience and faith in the Lord.

It is common for the wealthy and the comfortable to believe that it was by their own genius, their supreme effort, their own stellar virtue, that they came into their wealth or riches.  The Lord knows how to humble people who forget that all good things come from the Lord.   11   For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

This just reiterates what we just talked about.  All suffer the same earthly fate.  All fade away.  All that endures is what we did for the Lord, if we did anything at all.

Matthew Henry says: “Worldly wealth is a withering thing. Then, let him that is rich rejoice in the grace of God, which makes and keeps him humble; and in the trials and exercises which teach him to seek happiness in and from God, not from perishing enjoyments.”   12   Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Matthew Henry says this: “It is not every man who suffers, that is blessed; but he who with patience and constancy goes through all difficulties in the way of duty. Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be not our own fault. The tried Christian shall be a crowned one. The crown of life is promised to all who have the love of God reigning in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves God, shall have its trials in this world fully recompensed in that world above, where love is made perfect.”

Notice he says, “It is not every man who suffers, that is blessed.”  We don’t look at our own suffering and say, “What is the good of this?  Where is the blessing in this?”  The command is not to look to make sense of suffering, but rather to let suffering work patience through faith.  We are not to imagine what good end God has in store for us while we are suffering through a trial; rather, we are to have faith in God that He is in control and believing in His divine providence and His beneficence we are to ask Him for wisdom on how to proceed, the end still not in sight.  For that is faith.  If we know in advance how things are going to work out, then how is that faith?  I think only believers can understand this.  They have already experienced the earnest of the Spirit; they can see what God has done for them; they can get hold of the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  They think, “The Lord has delivered me, and He’ll do it again.”

Suffering trials can produce blessings, if faith is exercised.  Apart from that, those trials can destroy us, to be sure.  As surely as the Rock of Salvation is the very same Rock of Offense, the same trial can be either a blessing or a curse.  The difference, as in the illustration of the Rock, is how we respond. Read Chapter 1:13-18

  13   Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

Matthew Henry: “The commands of God, and the dealings of his providence, try men’s hearts, and show the dispositions which prevail in them. But nothing sinful in the heart or conduct can be ascribed to God. He is not the author of the dross, though his fiery trial exposes it. Those who lay the blame of sin, either upon their constitution, or upon their condition in the world, or pretend they cannot keep from sinning, wrong God as if he were the author of sin. Afflictions, as sent by God, are designed to draw out our graces, but not our corruptions.”

It is a trying thing to follow God’s commands in this life.  I don’t think that will hold true in the life to come, when sin and temptation will no longer have that pull on us, but in this life following the Lord’s commands and dealing with His providence can try our hearts, try our souls, try our wills.  What we need to get into our heads is that God has nothing to do with evil. 2 Corinthians 6: 14 asks us, “What communion hath light with darkness?”

God does not create evil.  Unbelievers object.  “God created EVERYTHING.  And there are evil things in this world and so God must have created them.  Therefore, God creates evil things.”  It sounds like a simple, if A, then B, and if B, then C: therefore, if A, then C sort of argument.  But let’s see what evil is.

Noah Webster (1828): moral evil: “Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude.”

So, based on that definition, is evil something that God creates?  Let’s look at it.

“moral agent”: Are we moral agents?  In other words, do we operate according to moral dictates?  Naturalists, of course, claim that we are not moral agents, but rather a conglomeration of chemicals and nerves that react in patterned, but ultimately unpredictable and meaningless ways.  If that is true, just shoot me now.  It is an absurd way to look at existence, when everything about our history, our culture, our values, our laws, indicate that we operate according to prescribed moral law.

“deviate”: Do we deviate from moral law?  Yes we do.  Let’s not argue about that one.  Everyone sitting here deviates from moral law.  Deviate means to leave the path, or way, and go another way, or your own way.

“prescribed”: what does that mean?  Well, when the doctor writes you a prescription, what is he doing?  He is setting down a manner, rules, by which you are to perform certain actions, expecting specific results.  The results are “pre” “scribed”, or written before you take those actions in order that you will know what actions to take.  Moral law is the same.  God wrote His law before you existed so that you would know what actions to take and what results to expect from those actions.  Moral law is a prescription for our own benefit.

So what do we have so far?  Evil can be described as a moral agent choosing to turn away from a prescribed path, specifically the moral law of God.  What we get from this is that evil is a choice.  We can extend that quality to all forms of evil.  Temptation to sin is the result of choices.  Sin is a result of our choices.  Iniquity is a result of choice.  The bible says as much:

Proverbs 1: 29-33: “For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30   They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. 31   Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. 32   For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33   But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.”
Now, that treatment is not going to satisfy the skeptic.  The unbeliever will accuse me of circular reasoning using the scripture to prove the truth of the scripture.  But he will realize as well that he “chooses” to believe it or disbelieve it.  He cannot escape that his every agreement or disagreement is a choice.  And he knows full well that God cannot make him choose one way or another.  He is living proof that  God cannot make a free willed person choose to follow Him.  And so once a man sees that evil is the product of the choices people make, he will see that God, who does not create choices, also does not create evil.  Rather, God lays down for us a prescription for good, for abundance, for life, for all things benevolent.  We either choose God, or we choose evil.

We said all that to say this: God has nothing to do with evil, in an active sense.  He neither creates it, nor does He condone it.  Does God allow evil to exist in the world?  Yes.  Doesn’t that mean He condones it?  I think there is a very high burden of proof for that kind of reasoning, especially when we just established that we are moral beings who make free choices.  There is a very thorough treatment that can be made on that subject, and we touched on it in another study we did when we examined the nature of God’s love.  But we want to move on in the book of James, so we’ll leave that for another study.  But for now, just think about the absolute end of that sort of argument:  Do you condone everything you allow?  And remember, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts.  Our motivations are petty and small; His motivation created the universe and sustains it.   We should shudder to question them.

  14   But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Getting back now to the heart of the matter.  Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust.  He is drawn away from what?  The prescribed path we were just talking about.  He is not drawn away from nothingness, a great void of endless and unpredictable possibilities.  No, he is drawn away from
God’s prescribed path of behavior, God’s moral law.  If you could do anything at any moment with equal consequence regardless of the choice you make, then how are you being drawn away?  Drawn away from what?  Again, it comes down to the choices we make.  A man chooses to deviate from God’s moral law, from God’s will for his life, and what happens?  He is tempted to sin.   15   Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

What is lust?  There are three definitions in Webster’s dictionary and they all play a part in this: “1. Longing desire; eagerness to possess or enjoy; as the lust of gain. My lust shall be satisfied upon them. Ex. 15. 2. Concupiscence; carnal appetite; unlawful desire of carnal pleasure. Romans 1. 2 Peter 2. 3. Evil propensity; depraved affections and desires. James 1. Ps. 81.

Because of our sin natures, lust is ever present.  We either want the things of God, to follow His moral law, or we want things of the flesh, to satisfy the lusts of the flesh.  We are not just talking about the prurient things, the obviously wicked and sensual things of this earth, but any desire that is contrary to God’s will for you.  But for the Christian, these lusts ought to be fleeting things, fragile thoughts that pale and disintegrate in the light of God’s Holy Word, in the presence of His Holy Spirit.  The scripture here uses the word “conceived,” likening the manifestation of sin to childbirth.

First, a child is conceived, then it incubates inside the body for a time, all the while growing, and then at one point it can no longer be contained and it issues forth.

Sin is the same way.  First it is conceived in lust, then it incubates for a time, then it springs forth as full-blown sin.  The thought that sin is somehow a spur of the moment thing is a lie and a deception.  Long before a person commits an act of adultery, he has entertained it in his mind many times before.  Long before someone steals a candy bar, he has envisioned holding it in his hand, slipping it into his pocket, the wicked elation of getting away with it; no one is watching.

But there is a natural conclusion to all of this, and that is death.

We just said God has nothing to do with sin or evil.  Therefore He cannot bear it to be entered into His presence.  The bible says He has to lower Himself to even look upon us.  So the result of sin is to be separated from God and Hid blessings.  Look at the result of the first sin;

Genesis 3:17-19: “17   And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18   Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19   In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

What are you?  Dust.  Here’s a thought.  If we hearken to our fleshly lusts, then we are hearkening to the dust of the earth.  What a cruel and mindless taskmaster is that!  The dust of the ground; what does it care for the welfare of our souls?  How can it care?  That’s why sin makes us do things that simply don’t make sense.  Don’t choose your flesh.  Don’t put your effort and esteem and life’s work into your flesh, for it will return to the earth one day and then what will you be left with?  Genesis 3: The result of sin is death.  It was true in the beginning of the world; it is true today; it will be true the very next sin you commit.

Once again, Matthew Henry: “The origin of evil and temptation is in our own hearts. Stop the beginnings of sin, or all the evils that follow must be wholly charged upon us. God has no pleasure in the death of men, as he has no hand in their sin; but both sin and misery are owing to themselves.”

 16   Do not err, my beloved brethren.

Do not make that mistake.  Whether it is a mistake of reasoning and logic, or it is simply a neglect to guard our minds and hearts, do not make the mistake of allowing sin to take hold.  Do not think that it is God that has put a stumbling block in front of you. Do not think that temptation comes from anywhere but your own heart.

People like to say, “The Devil made me do it.”  The Devil didn’t make you do anything.  If God can’t make you do something, what makes you think the Devil can?  It is your choice, always.  Or people say, “Satan is tempting me.”  In an indirect way, Satan influences personal temptation, to be sure.  But he does this through deception, lies, and accusations.  For sin to take hold, there still has to be acquiescence on the part of the human being.  You have to agree with him.  What people imagine to be a devil on their shoulder spurring them on to evil deeds and choices is actually in most cases the telltale heart, giving voice to their own lusts.  Don’t be deceived.  The sources of sin are in your heart and as much as possible, with God’s help and grace, you need to get rid of them.

 17   Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

God is the source of all things good . Why does the writer bring this up in the middle of the conversation we’ve been having.  What have we been talking about?

The origin of sin and temptation is our hearts.  The genesis of evil lies in the choices we make based upon the lusts of our hearts.  But good things come from God.  Why does James mention that here?  It actually flows from the previous verse, “Do not err.”  Don’t think for a minute that absent temptation and lust, that of your own accord good things and perfect things are just going to issue forth.

See, most people in the world have it backwards.  They believe that people are basically good by nature and that outside influences cause us to sin and make us into bad people.  The natural conclusion of this way of thinking is that absent evil influences, people will just naturally be good and do good.  But that’s not Bible.  The Bible says there are none good, no not one.  We can see from the scripture that only God is good and that evil springs up in our own hearts.  True goodness is outside of our capacity and unattainable in our natural state; evil and sin originate within and do not require outside influences to manifest themselves.  So even if you could rid your life and your mind of every evil influence, you still need God to be good.  You still need God to impute His righteousness onto you.

Here is an interesting comparison.  God is called the Father of lights.   There are two great lights in the world, the Sun and the Moon.  The sun’s light varies: it is brighter at noon, weaker at dawn and dusk; it is different in the winter than in the summer.  And the moon changes too.  It has a shadow on it that grows and diminishes with the passing of days.  And while God created these lights, He is not like the lights.  This draws upon one of the foremost doctrines of deity: the creator is not as the creation.  Graven images are disallowed because it is an insult to God to liken Him to a created thing.  Even our own comparison to God (being made in His image) goes one way: we are like him; He is NOT like us.  And since the scripture here highlights the variableness of the created lights, it is emphasizing the unchangeability of God.  God does not change.  He does not change His colors or brightness or glory like the sun and the moon do.  If it seems that way to us, it is because we have allowed ourselves to be drawn away from Him through lust and temptation and sin.  If something seems different about God, in terms of His benevolence and goodness and grace, you better check yourself and do not foolishly charge God.   18   Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

The greatest gift of God, which comes down from above, is salvation.  The word of truth here spoken of is the proclaiming of the gospel and by it were we, as well as the readers of the epistles back then, regenerated.  The firstfruits of a harvest are an indication of what is to follow.  The early Christians of the period following Christ’s resurrection were the firstfruits of a great harvest to come.   We are part of that harvest, but we can also apply the verse to our own lives.

You can be a firstfruit of your family.  You can be a firstfruit of your place of work.  You can be a firstfruit at school.  You can be a firstfruit of a harvest to come after your own salvation by being faithful to the propagation of His word of truth.

Now Read Chapter 1: 19-25:

  19   Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

Getting back to an earlier discussion, with every temptation a man can react one of two ways: with patience or with passion.  A man controlled by the Spirit of God will act out of patience, trusting in God; the man controlled by his own flesh will choose the easy path of sin, trusting in his own abilities, his own counsel.

ake no mistake: the path of sin is the easier path, the quicker path.  So the bible here is saying to beware the quick and easy path of sin.

“Be swift to hear.”  Later on, James says in 3:17, that “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated…”  Those who act out of the wisdom of God are easy to be entreated.  That means they are always willing hear someone out, to listen to the other side.  A godly man is not so dogmatic that he cuts people off before they’ve even had their say; he does not render judgment before hearing each side of a dispute between brothers; he is open to meaningful critique from a caring brother; he is easy to approach and doesn’t bite people’s heads off for disagreeing with him.  The bible here advises the reader to be swift to seek the truth of a situation; be swift to seek God’s face in a matter; be swift to pray about something before deciding the matter.

And then it says to be “slow to speak, slow to wrath.”  Measure your words, friend.  You might have to eat them.  And if you don’t know how to measure your words, then don’t say them.  James goes into greater detail on this theme in Chapter 3.

  20   For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

There it is again.  The wrath of man does not accomplish righteousness.  Much of the time we get angry or get in an uproar is due to our own pride, anyway.  He insulted me.  He disregarded me.  He didn’t give me my due respect.  Pouring down wrath, ultimately, is the province of God.  We are to judge righteous judgment, but it is not for us to render an eye for an eye any longer, not in this dispensation of grace.  We, to whom much mercy has been shown, must be merciful first, withholding wrath and giving space to patience, temperance, meekness.  Rather than pour our contempt on a person, let us instead give our troubles over to the Lord, trusting that He will take care of things.   21   Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Here James indicates that the receiving of the engrafted word, meaning salvation, should be received with meekness, which is a deference of one’s self, of one’s pride, to the notion that we have no right to this gift.  We haven’t earned it; we deserve hell.  We are filthy in our own rags.  James is saying, “Let go of all that.  Humble yourselves before the Lord and repent of your evil ways, your evil means.”

There is no room for pride, or wrath, at the cross.  Get them under control, for they do not produce or enable the righteousness of God to be accomplished.

  22   But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Matthew Henry, again: “If we heard a sermon every day of the week, and an angel from heaven were the preacher, yet, if we rested in hearing only, it would never bring us to heaven. Mere hearers are self-deceivers; and self-deceit will be found the worst deceit at last. If we flatter ourselves, it is our own fault; the truth, as it is in Jesus, flatters no man. Let the word of truth be carefully attended to, and it will set before us the corruption of our nature, the disorders of our hearts and lives; and it will tell us plainly what we are.”

To hear the word of God and not respond to it is the most treacherous form of self-deceit.  It is like someone sitting in the pews going, “Amen, preacher! You’re right!  Those sinners need to repent!  Tell ‘em like it is, preacher, the sorry bunch!”  And the whole time, that person never admits that he is one of those sorry sinners, too.

I’ve heard it said that being in church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car.  So James is warning the readers, don’t just hear the gospel and think that because you heard a salvation message that now you are saved.  That is deception.  That’s a person casting their lot with other people instead of casting their lot with Jesus Christ.  That is how most mainline denominations operate; they believe the Mass or the Worship Service is what sanctifies you and saves you.

Beyond that, don’t just hear the sermon and not apply it to yourself.  As Henry points out, the truth of the gospel flatters no man.  Don’t expect you’ll be feeling high and proud when the preacher lays down the Word of God.  People say, “Well I don’t want to go to church and come out feeling bad about myself!”  Well those people don’t want to be saved.   Because before you can get saved, you’re going to feel bad about yourself.  You’re going to realize what a dirty low-down sinner you are.  You’re going to know that you’ve spit in the Lord’s face many times.  You’re going to realize that your sins put him on that cross.  It is unavoidable.  This is another reason the scriptures warn against passion and wrath.  Who are you to bring those things to the cross?  Forget them.  Trust in the Lord, and lay aside all filthiness of mind and heart.   23   For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24   For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Here the bible expounds upon the illustration.  A man who hears the word, but fails to apply it, deceives himself.  Who ever looks into a mirror and says, “Man, I’m ugly!”  Who does that?  No, the face we see in the mirror is the face we are most accustomed to, the face we are least willing to see fault in, the face we are most comfortable with.  We look in the mirror and say, “Hey.  I know you.  Good morning!”  The reason most of us don’t like photographs of ourselves is because the image doesn’t match the one in the mirror.  The bible says the man who hears the word only and fails to hearken to it, apply it, respond to it, is not seeing himself for who he truly is.  Even if he is a saved man, a man like this is not abounding in the Spirit or in the work of God.   25   But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

There is a critical passage in this verse: “and continueth therein.”  Continual application of the word will bring about a constant remembrance of who we are in our flesh and therefore what we’ve been saved from.  It will spur us on to be faithful in following the word of God, of ever pursuing a holy life.  And if a man be lost, continual application of the word will produce a contrite heart ready to be saved.  His awareness of his need for salvation will dog him until he either responds or quits the word altogether. Last two verses, Chapter 1: 26-27:

 26   If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

Matthew Henry: “When men take more pains to seem religious than really to be so, it is a sign their religion is in vain. The not bridling the tongue, readiness to speak of the faults of others, or to lessen their wisdom and piety, are signs of a vain religion. The man who has a slandering tongue, cannot have a truly humble, gracious heart. False religious may be known by their impurity and uncharitableness. True religion teaches us to do every thing as in the presence of God.”

There is a great difference between seeming religious in men’s eyes, and being religious in God’s eyes.

A man might shake the preacher’s hand in front of other men, but God sees that outside of church he stabs the preacher’s back.  A woman might wear a dress in the pews, but God sees that in her heart there is no modesty.

Men looks to the outward and God looks to the inward.  But even the best disguise, one that fools most of the people, has telltale signs of its falsehood, its lack of genuineness.  James here is giving one of those signs and it is an unbridled tongue.  Sooner or later, the falseness of the human heart will ooze out of the body and most often it comes out of a person’s mouth.

In Matthew 12:34, our Lord Jesus says this: “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

The Lord was laying down this precept: that what is in the heart will come out of the mouth.  So a heart that is self-deceived will eventually give rise to speech that reveals this deception.  Listen to a man, and you will see what’s in his heart.

We lift ourselves up too often by putting others down.  This, James tells us, is the sign of a person who is not truly humble before the Lord.  Jesus speaks more on this.

Let us look at another illustration of this in the bible.  Look at Luke 18:10-14: “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  11   The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  12   I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  13   And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14   I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

So here we have a Pharisee.   And look at him: he fasted and tithed faithfully.  He must have seemed religious to other men.  But look how his heart reveals his falseness: he lashes out at the man next to him, trying to make himself look better by putting the man down.  The Lord does not honor this.  He does not regard what you do out of vanity.  And Jesus says as much.  He says, “For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased.”

The Lord knows why you do the things you do, and when you speak with an unbridled tongue, other men will know it, too.

  27   Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Now the last verse in Chapter One, and it’s an important one.  James here says, “You wanna be religious?  This is how you can be religious.”  This one verse alone relegates so much of what we do, so much of what we secretly take pride in, so much of what we tend to lord over others who maybe aren’t as far along in their Christian walk or perhaps are taking a different path, to the traditions of men.  And it is also saying that if you don’t practice these things in one form or another, you are undercutting the sincerity of your religion.  There are two things listed here:

To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.  Well, why do we need to do that?  We have Social Security!  We have welfare, food stamps, public education; we have latchkey programs, community sports programs for underprivileged children.  Why do we need to concern ourselves with the widows and the fatherless?  First of all, if everyone was a Christian and everyone did this one thing, we wouldn’t need any of those programs.  Government has stepped in where churches have failed.  Social programs are promoted on the grounds of compassion and that premise is used to pick our pockets every week, robbing all the working Peters and pay the all the poor Pauls.  But what James is talking about here is charity, or love.  We should serve those who need help out of love.  This covers the commandment, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

The second call is for separation.  This is our proper response to a call for holiness.  The Lord said, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.”  The response is to live a separated life.  Remember, he’s talking to Christians.  Always remember he’s talking to Christians in this letter, not the lost.  So don’t think that doing these things makes you a Christian.  Rather, if God has made you a Christian, you ought to be doing these things.

Matthew Henry: “Our true religion is equal to the measure in which these things have place in our hearts and conduct. And let us remember, that nothing avails in Christ Jesus, but faith that worketh by love, purifies the heart, subdues carnal lusts, and obeys God’s commands.”

So these last two verses are like a self-check.  Before we go on to the rest of the letter, check yourself.

Are you truly religious in God’s eyes?’

What’s coming out of your mouth?

Who are you putting down?

Do you love your neighbor?  Do they know it?

Are you living a separated life?

Do you listen to the things everyone else listens to?  Do you wear the same clothes that everyone else wear?  Do you frequent the same places that are popular with the world?

Who are trying to please?  God or others?

Serious questions.  The Age of Grace is a serious time.  The Christian life is not a joke.  Hollywood may laugh at us, but it’s not a joke.  We have to make sure that our religion is pure in the sight of God or it will avail us little, here or in heaven.