Translation: 1.1Jacob/James,
God’s and the Lord Jesus Christ’s slave
To the twelve tribes, the ones in the Diaspora
Hello.
2Consider [it] total happiness, my brothers,
whenever you stumble upon different kinds of testings, 3because you
know that the testing-designed-to-prove-the-authenticity*** of your faith
produces endurance. 4And the endurance had better have its complete
work, so that you can be complete and whole, lacking in nothing. 5But
if one of you lacks wisdom, he had better ask from the God Who gives to all
generously and Who doesn’t mock, and it will be given to him. 6But
he had better ask in faith, doubting nothing, because the person who doubts is
like a wave of the sea that is blown and thrown around. 7Indeed,
that human had better not expect that he will get anything from the Lord, 8a
man doubting and unstable in all his ways.
9And the lowly brother had better brag about
his high position. 10And the rich one in his lowly position, because
like a flower of grass he passes away. 11For the sun rises with the
heat and dries up the grass and its flower falls off and the beauty of its face
is destroyed, so too the rich [brother] fades during his travels.
12Blessed is the man who endures testing,
because after he has become proven-authentic-by-testing he will receive the
crown of life, which He promised to those who love Him! 13No one who
is being tested had better say that “by God I’m being tempted!” because God is
untemptable by evil things, and He tempts no one. 14Rather each
person is tempted by their own desire, being dragged away and lured. 15Then
the desire gives having conceived gives birth to sin, and the sin when brought
to completion gives birth to death.
16Don’t be tricked, my loved brothers! 17every
good giving and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of
lights, concerning Whom there is no variation or shadow of change. 18Because
He decided to, He gave birth to us by the message of truth, so that we would be
a firstfruits, one of His created things.
19Know [this] my loved brothers, and every
man had better be fast when it comes to listening, slow when it comes to
speaking, slow when it comes to anger, 20because anger from a man
does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 21So, because you’ve put
off all dirtiness and an abundance of badness in humility, take the implanted
message, the one able to save your lives!
22And become doers of the message and not
only hearers, thereby deceiving yourselves, 23because if someone is
a hearer of the message and not a doer, this person is like a man who studies
the face of his existence in a mirror, 24because he studies himself
and goes out and immediately forgets what he’s like. 25But the
person who looks into the perfect law, the one of freedom and who continues,
not becoming a forgetful hearer, but an action taker—this one will be blessed
in his doing. 26If someone seems to be worshipful who doesn’t bridle
his tongue, but deceives his heart, the worship of this guy is empty. 27Worship
that is clean and undefiled before the God and Father is this: to visit orphans
and widows in their suffering, to keep oneself untainted by the world.
The Point I’m Stressing: James discusses
three main two-part areas where a faith that works has an impact: 1) our response
to trials, difficult times, and pain and our response to temptation; 2) How we Interact
with God in Prayer (do we pray with faith) and His Word (do we do it); and 3) How
do we think about our socio-economic status, and how do we act towards those with
low socio-economic status who need help. But James also weaves in the wisdom thread
into those three main points, which asks us do we seek to live wisely?
Interpretation
1.
Structure
a.
Epistolary Opening (i.e.
who wrote to who and greetings)
b.
Proper Attitude Towards
Testing
c.
Proper Attitude Towards
Prayer for Wisdom
d.
Proper Attitude Towards
Social/Financial Ranking as it Relates to the Christian Community
e.
Proper Attitude Towards
Temptation
f.
Proper Attitude Towards The
Message which contains instruction for Wisdom
g.
Proper Attitude Towards the
underprivileged and practiced wisdom
2.
Themes
a.
Testing/Temptation
i.
Testing (πειρασμος)
1.
This element of theme opens
the book, v.2, it focuses on the part of the idea (testing and temptation are
two sides of the same coin, depending on the perspective under consideration.
This side of the coin view the event of testing as something that people
experience that proves the quality of their faith and that produces greater
maturity, while the opposite side of the coin is the pull by an experience
towards sin, and it can be the same experience that is designed to prove the
quality of our faith and generate greater maturity)
2.
It then appears at the
second cycle in v.12 and is connected with the theme of life and endurance
again
ii.
Temptation (πειραζω, απειραστος)
1.
Vv.13-14 really talk about
how we are pulled towards sin, and this is a test of our character,
2.
V.13b indicates that the
tempting side of a given event or opportunity or situation is not something
that God is subject to, and does not try to get people sin, because His nature
is violently opposed to that, so He does not try to ingrain into our nature a
susceptibility to temptation, but the opposite. Remember for us the inverse of
temptation is the testing, God is seeking to authenticate our faith, not trying
to pull us into sin, and while in one sense it does come from God, the problem
is with us, so we should not try to put God on the hook for our sin, moreover
it is only someone who has a view of God’s absolute sovereignty that can accuse
God of being the reason we sin,
iii.
Authentication testing (δοκιμιον, δοκιμος)
1.
This is the clear aim and
goal of the testing/temptation: authenticating our faith and giving us an
authenticated nature, proven character, which has the end result of affirming
that we really have real faith, which proves us qualified in Christ for eternal
life
2.
That this is a good and
perfect gift from God is made clear by the way it is talked about in v.2-4 and
what it means for the person who has in v.12 and by the fact that the inverse
to seeing temptation as God’s fault and something really evil is recognizing
that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (so temptation is not from
Him, but testing and all that it is meant to produce is) and that it is
strongly thereby connected to the message of truth (vv.16-18).
b.
Faith
i.
The word pops up in v.3
indicating that testing is for the sake our faith
ii.
In v.6 where the word faith
is found, we see that it is the way we need to be asking for things from God,
and this theme is reinforced by the antithesis to it, doubt. Doubt is the
opposite of faith and indeed this also indicates that testing is designed to
prove that our faith is firm
iii.
In v.12, it is found
implicitly by the mention that God has promised life to the person who’s faith
is proven by testing, and interestingly it is connected powerfully to love, a
tested faith is intimately connected to loving God, the things reinforce each
other, and in some ways are different ways of talking about the same thing.
iv.
Also our faith in God via
the message is credited to God as His action, which suggests to us that faith
is a gift from God, the message was the way God made us His children,
v.
In v.21 it is the means by
which we take the message that has the power to save our lives
vi.
In v.22ff it is worked out
by what we do
vii.
Implicitly, it is what
comes with our worship in vv.26-27 that is worked out
c.
The Needy
i.
They appear as the poor
people in contrast to the rich in vv.9-11, where they are given respect by God when
not given respect by others
ii.
In v.27, they appear again
as the orphans and widows who suffer and need the support and care of
Christians, which constitutes a core part of our worship to God
iii.
This will be a major theme
in the book
d.
The message
i.
It pops up in vv.18, 21,
22, 23, 25(implicitly by means of law)
ii.
It is qualified as truth
and as powerful to save our lives and as something that must be practiced and
not just heard, and of course it is appropriated and lived out by faith
e.
Wisdom
i.
This is what is needed and
requested in v.5, but the “slow to speak and get angry, and quick to listen”
constitute some common wisdom ideas and are phrased that way to some degree.
The trifecta will be developed more fully later
ii.
To some extent most of the
instruction in this passage has shades of the wisdom genre, from the discussion
of rich vs. poor, temptation and how to live out the faith in worship that
works
f.
Actions/living out our
faith
i.
As in ch.2 two, actions,
living out the faith is critical, it is the basis of the need for the
instruction. It is the context of testing/temptation, it is at work in prayer,
it is at work in how we see ourselves, it is connected to moral actions in our
own person and towards others, and is the blunt focus of vv.22-25, and in
vv.26-27 we have it at the core of what worship is
ii.
It is achieved in how we
act in the above areas, in our attitudes and actions, towards God, ourselves,
and others
g.
Life
i.
Threaded through out is the
recognition that faith is connected to life, or more specifically the reception
of the message in faith and the proving of our faith—proving our faith shows
that we are qualified to receive the crown of life, that is eternal life with
God, and receiving the message in faith is what saves our lives. Thus,
salvation is by faith in God according to the message He has revealed, and
received when by enduring into death in faith we prove that we had faith and
are given the life that comes with it
ii.
The theme is also
highlighted by its inverse death, which is the end result of a sin and is what
rich men face as well (no security is conferred by riches)
iii.
Also the mention of first
fruits implies life, and the birthing metaphors imply it as well
iv.
Lastly it is also suggest
by the concern that we have for the lives of others, for their suffering.
h.
Worship
i.
This is what we are all
about in a lot of ways
ii.
It is shown here has not
merely words said, or things believed, but as things done
iii.
In fact, the reality of
worship is only proven in us when we have the other actions to back it up, just
being in church or doing Christiany things doesn’t prove it,
3.
Doctrines
a.
Trusting God
b.
Living out the faith
c.
Total Depravity of Man (we
are completely corrupted by sin)
d.
Perseverance of the Saints:
faith must last and it must work, but if it does it means we have eternal life
by grace from God
e.
The message of the Gospel
contained in God’s Word is the means by which God saves souls
f.
Moral purity is core to the
Christian lifestyle
g.
Concern for others is a
core to the Christian lifestyle
h.
How we speak is a core
feature of living out our faith
i.
Prayer must be done in
faith
j.
Immutability of God
k.
God as Untemptable by Evil
and the Source of All Good and Gifts
Applications
1.
There is always a choice
set in front of us when it comes to difficult event, or opportunity for a
course of action in our lives, if we approach the event from one perspective we
see it as something to endure or resist that by doing so will prove our faith
authentic and develop greater Godliness and Christian maturity in us, or if we
see it as something to be indulged because of our desires, something that we
don’t want to resist, as something that is really hard not to do because our
own interests or feelings or desires wants/needs, then we see that difficult
event or opportunity as temptation. When we are in that opportunity to either
endure or give in, we have two paths. One path will lead to greater Christian
maturity and eternal life. That is the road of endurance, of refusing to give
in to what we would want but would be sinful to do or not do. The other path in
front of us when we have an opportunity to sin will to indulge our desires,
which will lead to sin, which will lead to death (that is hell). One area that
is especially true of is our desires for sexual expression or arousal, what is
commonly called “lust” in Christian circles. Now, many have the false
impression that “lust” is a guys only problem, but I don’t think that’s true. Rather
it is a guys and girls problem, for you it is especially a problem because your
hormones are going crazy and your desires are primed and for much of your life
before puberty they were mostly dormant, but now sexual desires have been
awakened in you, all of you guys and girls. And in fact, all of us have gone
through that. And in the right context, sexual desires are a good thing, a gift
from God, but in the improper context and directed at inappropriate people and
times, sexual desires are sin, heinous sin, still forgivable, but not minor in
any way. And the truth is all of us here face those desires to one degree or
another, and just because those desires don’t always take the same form or
manifest themselves in the same ways, does not mean that the choice to either
indulge them or refuse them until the we are in the proper time and directing
them at the proper person is not in front of all of us. Guys say and think
different kinds of things than girls do sometimes, but that doesn’t make girls
lust not lust or guys lust not lust. We are not supposed to say “my lust looks
different from other people’s, so it is not really lust” rather we need to be
honest and say “my lust is lust and its evil, Lord, forgive me and empower me
to resist, I want the blessing of maturity and closer relationship with you
that comes when I endure testing, authenticate my faith, and deny the tempting
desires their gratification!” and to be honest, although guys sometimes lie to
themselves about whether they were really lusting or not, my experience has
been that it is the girls who say “what I was doing was not lusting”
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