Written ~ 12-02-2024
Read James Chapter One
James 1
Ahh, the Book of James… this short book is probably one of the best to convict the believer’s heart when they know they are not walking in line with the Word of God. James has a way of punching us in the face in a very loving manner. Reading this book will give us a continued reminder that we need Jesus! We need to know the Word of God and stand by everything it says! Don’t just read through this book. Really absorb what is being said and find the areas within your own life where change needs to take place. All of us can improve in some way. All of us know where we fall short, so let’s have this book set some things straight in our hearts and minds.
The writer of this letter is James, he is a leader in the Jerusalem church and even though he never says anything about it, he is the half-brother to Jesus (this is not the disciple James who along with his brother John followed Jesus). In the Life Application Study Bible, the footnotes say that this letter is among the very first to be written, somewhere around 49 A.D.
James 1:1…
1 “This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the “twelve tribes” – Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!”
Let’s first look at who James is writing to… When terrible persecution of the Christians in Jerusalem arose; in order to escape the torture and threat of imprisonment and death, the believers scattered all throughout the Roman world. When James wrote this letter most of those who had scattered settled into communities in Rome, Alexandria, Cyprus and cities in Greece and Asia Minor. He was concerned for these believers because they did not have a centralized and organized church. He felt he needed to encourage them and help strengthen them in their faith. These were very difficult times, and James was concerned about their devotion to the Lord.
James 1:2-4…
2 “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
From the get-go James acknowledges we will have troubles in this life, there is unfortunately no way to escape it. But it may surprise you when he says… to consider those troubles as an opportunity to have great joy. Usually when we are going through a difficult time, the last thing we want to consider is having joy. Think of it this way, if we never had anything go wrong, if disappointment never crossed our doorsteps, if disillusionment, sorrow or fear never came into our lives, how would we grow in character? With each “bump in the road” we learn, and we adapt, we find a way to thrive in whatever situation comes our way. Verse 1:3 says, “For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.” Until we have something come into our lives that causes pressure and a bit of hardship, we may never know how we will react. For example, when everything is going great, nothing could be better, it’s easy to have joy, to be kind to each other… but when the first hint of trouble comes along can we remain steadfast in our joy, can we remain kind and loving? Verse 1:3 says we will be tested; it does not say if we are tested, it says when we are tested. If we give those “tests” a chance to show us how to grow our character in that situation and to develop endurance to help us in whatever we are going through, it will produce joy because we have hope in Jesus. Why do I say that? Because in verse 1:4b it says “…we will be perfect and complete, needing nothing…” and the only way to achieve those things is through Salvation. When we reach Heaven, those things will become our reality. So, right now while we are still on this earth we are growing, we are maturing in our faith, we are learning and moving towards the perfection we will achieve once we are in Heaven.
For this chapter I will break it up into three sections…
First section: verses 1:5-8 – we will learn about where our loyalty should lie…
Second section: verses 1:12-15 – we will learn about temptation…
Third section: verses 1:19-21 – we will learn about listening and anger.
Each section of this chapter will give us the opportunity to search our hearts. If what James is writing about reveals in you any type of attitude or behavior that does not please the Lord, then ask God to help you draw your attention back on Him… fully and completely…
Section One:
James 1:5-8…
5 “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
Pretty good visual, isn’t it? Look at your walk with the Lord, how do you see your pathway? Is it all over the place? Swerving every which way, nearly falling off the edge in some places? Like our example given in verse 1:6, are you wishy-washy? Do you get tossed around with different ideals and theologies? Do you find yourself plummeting into the deepest depths of sin, only to find yourself hanging over the side sick with shame and guilt over the things you have done. Do you have faith and trust in the Lord one day, then the next day you seek guidance from the world and its evil practices? Wisdom is a powerful thing to ask the Lord for, but we must be asking for His wisdom and His wisdom only. Has it ever happened in your life where you ask for wisdom to make an important decision, but then you don’t consult the Word of God and seek His wisdom to make that decision? Verse 1:6a, “But when you ask Him (for wisdom), be sure that your faith is in God alone…”
What does it mean to have divided loyalty? It means… we have faith in God, we are Born-Again believers, we even serve the Lord within our churches and our communities… But when it comes to our desires and our hopes, our decisions, we want control over those things because we feel we know best, so we seek the world to fulfill those pleasures. We seek the world to help us make important life choices. When our loyalty isn’t in God alone, we will be continually tossed about, going from one place to the other, searching for whatever it is that will give us the answers we desire. It is only when our loyalty is steadfast in the Word of God and our searching finds us looking to God first for everything that we become stable, firm and our faith can be strengthened by trusting in the Lord. It says in verse 1:7 that people who have divided loyalty should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. That’s a powerful statement! Think about it! If you are asking God to answer your prayers, but when you begin searching for answers and it isn’t the Lord you are seeking, you cannot expect Him to respond to those requests in the way you want them to be answered.
Our loyalty must only be to the Lord, to our Savior Jesus Christ, to our Father in Heaven… no wavering should be found in a loyal heart.
Section Two:
James 1:12-15…
12 “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”
While on this earth we will have to endure testing and temptation of all sorts, we might even begin to ask God why we have to go through these things. Well, if earth was perfect, if nothing ever went wrong, if everything we thought we wanted was given to us straight away… we wouldn’t have the desire to seek the Lord and we would miss out on the gifts we have waiting for us in Heaven. IF we have put our faith in God, and IF we have placed our lives in the hands of Jesus, it is time to give up the pleasures of this world. Unfortunately, because of our sinful natures and sinful desires, the enticement of the world will be a constant temptation and something we will need to endure. Verse 1:12 says “God blesses those who patiently endure…” To know we will need to endure testing and temptation to turn our eyes away from the Lord, shows me clearly that the enemy will be persistent. The enemy will try anything he can to divert our attention from the Lord. What does the world seem to offer you that has you falling into the trap of temptation time and time again? We see from our passage above that it is not and never will be God who tempts us with something evil, or with anything that will divert our attention off of Him… But He will allow us to be tested. Why? Because this is where our character grows. If we continually allow temptation, whatever it is, to succeed in turning our focus off of Jesus, then our character is being shaped into what the world wants it to be. But if we are being tested with the allure of the world and the temptation to give into its many enticements is patiently averted, then our character can be shaped more closely into the image of Christ. Yes, God allows us to be tested and when we pass the test over and over again, the next time the same temptation tries to turn our eyes, we don’t even give it a glance. So, when verse 1:12 says, after we endure…we will receive the crown of life… that’s what we need to keep our focus on, to keep our eyes on the Lord and the hope of Heaven.
Section Three:
James 1:19-21…
19 “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
Let’s all repeat the following three points…
You must all be…
- Quick to listen
- Slow to speak
- Slow to get angry
Do any of you struggle with these things? I think each of those items listed are quite common for all of us to struggle with. It is our human nature, our deeply rooted selfishness that wants everything to go our way, especially if we are not following the desires of God’s heart. Anger is an emotion that can get the best of us very quickly if we do not have the patience and the joy of the Lord bubbling out in every area of our lives. What makes you angry? Do you find even the slightest thing someone says or does triggers an angry response? Do you “limit” your anger only to a road rage situation? Are your kids or your spouse always at the end of your angry response? Do your friends and family usually expect your angry response to life’s little problems?
How do you handle confrontation? How do you deal with criticism? How do you respond when things do not go your way?
So, what does it mean to be “slow to listen?” Do you ever find in most situations that you are always talking? Never giving anyone else a chance to speak their opinion because you don’t think it will line up with yours? Do you talk over someone else because you feel what you have to say is more important? “Slow to listen” means you are allowing hesitation in your train of thought, and you stop long enough to listen and allow someone else to speak. No matter what they have to say, even if you don’t agree or become offended, slow down and really listen to what the other person wants to communicate. I think all of us can relate to this on some level… we get excited about something and have to tell everyone, every detail until every word is exhausted. We mustn’t allow our egos to be bruised if someone else has something to say too.
“Slow to speak and Slow to get angry,” when we slow down a little bit, when we have listened to all sides of a story, it gives us better understanding to what is really going on, deep down. If we only listen to what we want to hear or we decide to pull out details only at a surface level we may completely misinterpret a feeling, an emotion or a behavior. This may cause a situation to get out of hand very quickly because of our burst of anger. We can become enraged unfairly because we did not take into consideration the entire picture. We were too quick to speak, we didn’t care to fully listen, and our anger quickly erupted.
Verse 1:20 says, “Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.” If we want our lives to reflect the Savior living within us, one way to show we are resembling Him, is to keep our anger in check. If we are “angry at the world” all the time, it’s probably time to do what the next verse suggests, “…get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts…” Back in Hebrews 8:10b God said, “…I will put My laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts…” Filth and evil has no place in our hearts once God’s Word has been written on them. It is quite difficult to adhere to God’s Word when we allow the anger we carry so deeply to constantly explode. That anger is coming from a place of filth and evil deep within us. It’s time to ask God to get rid of those things that trigger such anger within us. Let’s remember though, anger can be justified when an injustice or blatant sin is occurring, but, even in those instances, how we handle that sin, or injustice should always reflect the Lord Jesus within us.
Let’s close with verse 1:22… I think this verse should be written out, placed somewhere so it can be read over and over again, especially when you are studying your Bible and meditating on the Word of God.
James 1:22…
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”
Don’t just read, don’t just listen…DO.
Doing what the Word of God asks us to do is what will keep us in line with God’s heart and what He desires from us. Reading the Word of God requires action. Listening to the Word of God requires action. We must do what it says.
~AMEN~