James (ESV Edition) E-Book

R. Kent Hughes

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Preaching the Word
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 546

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

The epistle of James is one of the most practical books in the New Testament. Focused on what the Christian life looks like in practice, this short letter highlights a crucial truth about genuine faith: it always leads to good works. In this redesigned volume in the popular Preaching the Word commentary series, Kent Hughes walks readers through James's important teaching about what it means to follow Jesus, exploring the call to persevere through suffering, the relationship between faith and works, and the importance of taming the tongue. Accessible yet robust, this commentary will help pastors, Bible teachers, and small group leaders understand and communicate the message of the book of James with insight and clarity. Part of the Preaching the Word series.

Leseprobe

((( PREACHING the WORD )))

JAMES

Faith That Works

R. KENT HUGHES

James

Copyright © 1991 by R. Kent Hughes

Published by Crossway 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Jon McGrath, Simplicated Studio

Cover image: Adam Greene, illustrator

First printing 1991

ESV edition 2015

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture references marked JB are from The Jerusalem Bible. Copyright © 1966, 1967, 1968, by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and Doubleday & Co., Inc.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture references marked NEB are from The New English Bible, © The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press, 1961, 1970.

Scripture references marked NKJV are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Scripture references marked RSV are from The Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Scripture references marked TLB are from The Living Bible © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-3846-9 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-3849-0 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-3848-3 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-3847-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hughes, R. Kent.

James : faith that works / R. Kent Hughes

ISBN 13: 978-0-89107-627-8

ISBN 10: 0-89107-627-1

     p. cm.—(Preaching the word)

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

1. Bible. N.T. James—Commentaries. I. Title. II. Series: Hughes, R. Kent. Preaching the word.

BS2785.3.H84          1991

227'.9107—dc20                                                    91–3298

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

For my brother Robert Steven Hughes,a practical book for a practical man

For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from worksis dead.

JAMES 2:26

Contents

AcknowledgmentsA Word to Those Who Preach the Word  1 Count It All Joy (1:1–4)  2 If Any of You Lacks Wisdom (1:5–8)  3 Wisdom for the Humble and the High (1:9–12)  4 The Source and Course of Temptation (1:13–15)  5 The Goodness of God (1:16–18)  6 Accepting the Word (1:19–21)  7 Doing the Word (1:22–25)  8 Acceptable Religion (1:26, 27)  9 The Folly of Favoritism (2:1–7)10 The Perils of Favoritism (2:8–13)11 Real Faith, Part 1 (2:14–19)12 Real Faith, Part 2 (2:20–26)13 The Peril of Teaching (3:1, 2)14 The Mighty Tongue (3:3–12)15 Wisdom from Below (3:13–16)16 Wisdom from Above (3:17, 18)17 Troubles’ Source (4:1–3)18 He Gives Us More Grace (4:4–6)19 The Gravity of Grace (4:7–10)20 Watch What You Say (4:11, 12)21 Deo Volente (4:13–17)22 Riches That Corrode (5:1–6)23 Patient Till He Comes (5:7–9)24 The Perseverance of Job (5:10, 11)25 Straight Talk (5:12)26 The Divine Prescription for Healing (5:13–16)27 The Prayer of the Righteous (5:16–18)28 Spiritual Reclamation (5:19, 20)NotesScripture IndexGeneral IndexIndex of Sermon Illustrations

Acknowledgments

I must express appreciation to my secretary, Mrs. Sharon Fritz, for her professional expertise and care in typing the manuscript of these studies; also to Mr. Herbert Carlburg for his cheerful, weekly proofreading, and to Mr. Ted Griffin, Managing Editor of Crossway Books, for his painstaking editing.

A Word to Those Who Preach the Word

There are times when I am preaching that I have especially sensed the pleasure of God. I usually become aware of it through the unnatural silence. The ever-present coughing ceases and the pews stop creaking, bringing an almost physical quiet to the sanctuary—through which my words sail like arrows. I experience a heightened eloquence, so that the cadence and volume of my voice intensify the truth I am preaching.

There is nothing quite like it—the Holy Spirit filling one’s sails, the sense of his pleasure, and the awareness that something is happening among one’s hearers. This experience is, of course, not unique, for thousands of preachers have similar experiences, even greater ones.

What has happened when this takes place? How do we account for this sense of his smile? The answer for me has come from the ancient rhetorical categories of logos, ethos, and pathos.

The first reason for his smile is the logos—in terms of preaching, God’s Word. This means that as we stand before God’s people to proclaim his Word, we have done our homework. We have exegeted the passage, mined the significance of its words in their context, and applied sound hermeneutical principles in interpreting the text so that we understand what its words meant to its hearers. And it means that we have labored long until we can express in a sentence what the theme of the text is—so that our outline springs from the text. Then our preparation will be such that as we preach, we will not be preaching our own thoughts about God’s Word, but God’s actual Word, his logos. This is fundamental to pleasing him in preaching.

The second element in knowing God’s smile in preaching is ethos—what you are as a person. There is a danger endemic to preaching, which is having your hands and heart cauterized by holy things. Phillips Brooks illustrated it by the analogy of a train conductor who comes to believe that he has been to the places he announces because of his long and loud heralding of them. And that is why Brooks insisted that preaching must be “the bringing of truth through personality.” Though we can never perfectly embody the truth we preach, we must be subject to it, long for it, and make it as much a part of our ethos as possible. As the Puritan William Ames said, “Next to the Scriptures, nothing makes a sermon more to pierce, than when it comes out of the inward affection of the heart without any affectation.” When a preacher’s ethos backs up his logos, there will be the pleasure of God.

Last, there is pathos—personal passion and conviction. David Hume, the Scottish philosopher and skeptic, was once challenged as he was seen going to hear George Whitefield preach: “I thought you do not believe in the gospel.” Hume replied, “I don’t, but he does.” Just so! When a preacher believes what he preaches, there will be passion. And this belief and requisite passion will know the smile of God.

The pleasure of God is a matter of logos (the Word), ethos (what you are), and pathos (your passion). As you preach the Word may you experience his smile—the Holy Spirit in your sails!

R. Kent Hughes

Wheaton, Illinois

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1:1–4

1

Count It All Joy

JAMES 1:1–4

THE PROSPECT OF STUDYING the book of James is inviting for several reasons. To begin with, it was apparently written before the famous Council of Jerusalem in AD 49, which means it is probably the oldest of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, and thus reflects Jewish-Christian teaching in its initial stages of development.1 Next, because it was composed before Paul’s writings, James discusses the subject of faith and works independently from Paul’s teaching. James and Paul do not contradict each other, but rather supplement each other. James approaches faith subjectively—in the sense of trust or confidence in the Lord, while Paul explains it objectively—as the instrument by which a believer is justified before God.2

The Epistle of James enlarges our practical understanding of faith. To be sure, Paul is practical, but normally he begins with an imposing theological argument (for example, Romans 1—11 or Ephesians 1—3) and then gives practical exhortation (for example, Romans 12—16, Ephesians 4—6). James, however, begins right off with a series of practical admonitions and continues on nonstop to the end. E. J. Goodspeed has called James’ discussion “just a handful of pearls, dropped one by one into the hearers’ mind.”3 Some see twenty-five major divisions, others twelve, some four, and some as few as two. One thing is clear—the dominant theme is, faith that is real works practically in one’s life. That is, true faith is a faith that works.

James shows us how to have a living, visible, productive faith in a fallen world. In this respect, it is significant that this brief book has fifty-four imperatives.4 James is a “Do this! Do that!” book that, taken to heart, will dynamically affect our lives on every level. We will not be the same at the end of this study if we prayerfully ask the Spirit to apply what we learn.

James’ brief greeting in verse 1—“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings”—serves as an excellent introduction to his letter, introducing us to the author, his self-perception, and his pastoral focus.

James the Man

James was none other than a blood-brother, a half-brother, of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospels mention this fact (see Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). Apparently he was at first an unbeliever—“For not even his brothers believed in him” (John 7:5). However, during the forty-day period between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension, Jesus “appeared to James, then to all the apostles”—and James believed (1 Corinthians 15:7). James is mentioned as being in the upper room in Jerusalem, praying with his mother and the rest of the disciples (Acts 1:13) and was presumably present when the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. He had become the leader of the Jerusalem church when Peter was released from prison (Acts 12:17), and eventually he chaired the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:13ff.; 21:18; Galatians 1:19; 2:9, 12).

James was a late bloomer, but he flowered well! James knew Christ as only a few could. For years he had eaten at the same table, shared the same house, played in the same places, and watched the development of his amazing older brother. And when he truly came to know Christ, his boyhood privilege was not wasted, for he became known as James the Just, a man of immense piety. The historian Eusebius records the testimony of Hegesippus that James “used to enter alone into the temple and be found kneeling and praying for forgiveness for the people, so that his knees grew hard like a camel’s because of his constant worship of God, kneeling and asking forgiveness for the people. So from his excessive righteousness he was called the Just.”5

James’ Self-Perception

James had so much going for him, yet merely viewed himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is remarkable in a world that then, and now, parades its heredity, for James had immense ground on which to pull rank. He could have begun his letter, “James the Just, from the sacred womb of Mary, congenital sibling of Christ his brother, confidant of the Messiah.” But James did not even allude to this status, being content with “servant” (cf. Mark 10:45; Philippians 2:5–8; Romans 12:7). James the Just was also James the Humble and so was eminently qualified to author Holy Scripture.

James’ Pastoral Focus

Humble James writes pastorally to “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion.” The Jews’ scattering, known as the Diaspora, began in 722 B.C. when the Assyrians deported the ten northern tribes. Later the southern tribes suffered the same fate when the Babylonians took them captive in 586. Because of this, Jews were spread all over Mesopotamia, around the Mediterranean, and into Asia Minor and Europe (cf. Acts 2:5, 9–11). Some of the major cities of the world—Alexandria, for example—had large populations of expatriate Jews. Also, when Jewish Christians were first persecuted in Jerusalem after the death of Stephen, they fled first to Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1) and then to Jewish communities around the Mediterranean (Acts 11:19, 20). Tragically these Jewish Christians were not taken in by their expatriate Jewish kinsmen, but rather were rejected and persecuted.

Further, refused protection by the Jewish community, these Jewish Christians were exploited by the Gentiles. Homeless and disenfranchised, they were robbed of what possessions they had, hauled into court, and subjected to the Gentile elite. They had less standing than slaves. They became religious, social, and economic pariahs. A good way to get a feel for their position is to read modern post-Holocaust Jewish writers such as Elie Wiesel. It is to these Jewish Christian brothers, mistreated ex-parishioners of James’ church, that Pastor James sends his letter.

James’ “Irrational” Call (v. 2)

James wastes no time getting to his imperatives: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds” (v. 2). Has James lost his senses? He is writing to beat-up brothers and sisters and he says, “Count it all joy,” or as the NEB says, “count yourselves supremely happy.” How nice . . . a letter of encouragement from Pastor Whacko! “Don’t worry . . . be happy!” Then and now James’ command to “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds” sounds irrational! Put this verse on a sign next to the expressway and it would appear to be the work of a crazed fanatic. Indeed, to any culture (including ours) determined to insulate itself from trials, even from discomforts, this sounds crazy. Tragically, it even seems irrational to many who identify with Christianity.

What does James’ command really mean? In answer, we must first understand what it does not mean. James is not ordering all-encompassing joyful emotion during severe trials; nor is he demanding that his readers must enjoy their trials, or that trials are joy. He knew, as did the writer of Hebrews, that “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant” (Hebrews 12:11).

James was not commanding that we exult upon hearing that our career position has been given to our secretary, or that the neighbor’s children have leukemia, or that one’s spouse is adulterous. Rather, James is commending the conscious embrace of a Christian understanding of life that brings joy into the trials that come because of our Christianity. James says, “Count it all joy,” which means to make a deliberate and careful decision to experience joy even in times of trouble. Is this possible? Yes. Paul told the Corinthian church, “In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy” (2 Corinthians 7:4). Luke reports that when the Sanhedrin “called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name” (Acts 5:40, 41). Later, Luke tells us, Paul and Silas, having been severely flogged and being in intense pain, were in prison, and “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). Their concert so pleased God that he brought down the house! This apostolic experience is still the experience of the church today.

Several years ago the Presbyterian pastor Lloyd John Ogilvie underwent the worst year of his life. His wife had undergone five major surgeries, plus radiation and chemotherapy, several of his staff members had departed, large problems loomed, and discouragement assaulted his feelings. But he wrote,

The greatest discovery that I have made in the midst of all the difficulties is that I can have joy when I can’t feel like it—artesian joy. When I had every reason to feel beaten, I felt joy. In spite of everything, [God] gave me the conviction of being loved and the certainty that nothing could separate me from him. It was not happiness, gush, or jolliness but a constant flow of the Spirit through me. At no time did he give me the easy confidence that everything would work out as I wanted it on my timetable, but that he was in charge and would give me and my family enough courage for each day: grace. Joy is always the result of that.6

James did not say, “Count it all joy, my brothers, if you meet trials” but “when.” Such trials are a part of every believer’s life. We are to thoughtfully find joy in our own diaspora experiences—when we feel alienated, disenfranchised, unpopular, even when difficulty and tragedy come our way that have no apparent connection with our Christianity. Such joy may seem irrational, but in Christ it is perfectly rational.

The Rationale for the Irrational Call (vv. 3, 4)

The rationale for such joy comes from knowing that the various trials we face have spiritual value. James says there is a two-step process through which our trials elevate us.

The first step is to understand that “the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (v. 3) Elaboration on what is meant by “steadfastness” will unlock rich truth. J. H. Ropes renders this “staying power.”7 Martin Dibelius calls it “heroic endurance.”8 And the NEB translates this as “fortitude.” James is talking about toughness—“the testing of your faith produces toughness.”

Here is how this works: we develop toughness or fortitude by repeatedly being tested and prevailing. The more tests we pass, the tougher we become. As a boxer engages in bout after bout, he toughens and becomes wiser and stronger. After a time he develops such fortitude, perseverance, and staying power that he can take on the best. There is no way a fighter, or any of us, can develop toughness without testing! The endurance and fortitude of the Apostle Paul or William Carey or Corrie ten Boom did not come overnight and did not come apart from trials. Paul, in Romans 5:3, confirms this truth: “but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.”

My experience in raising children has helped me understand how God views our testing. When my wife and I were young parents and our oldest child was in the first grade, we bought her a winter coat. We had intentionally bought a size too large, but it was a marvelous blue, fluffy, mock-fur coat with gold buttons down the front. The day after we bought it, a most unusual thing happened in California. It rained! It was a perfect day to wear her coat.

I never will forget how she looked as she went out the door—dressed in red boots, her blue coat with gold buttons, a little white knit hat, yellow yarn around her pigtails, and a red umbrella. We were so proud of her. It did not matter that her coat was a little long at the sleeves and at the hem. She was so happy as she walked out the door and down the driveway. Barbara and I stood behind the foggy windowpanes, watching her go.

Two little friends approached from down the street. Although I could not hear them, I saw one of them point at our daughter’s hair, and I knew she was saying something like, “Your hair looks dumb!” Then she pointed to the hem of my daughter’s coat, and my temperature went up. The little girls marched off to school. Holly trudged slowly behind.

I really wanted to set those little girls straight! But I knew that if I continued to step in whenever she experienced such difficulties, she might not develop fortitude and staying power—qualities she now has in abundance!

Nature teaches us the same principle. Free a butterfly from its chrysalis, and thus from the struggle of liberating itself, and you destroy its life, for it will never develop the strength to soar as it should. When fortitude is lacking in one of God’s children, he has a time-tested remedy—“the testing of your faith.” With this in mind, James’ irrational call—“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds”—becomes brilliant.

The rationale becomes even clearer when we observe the second step: perseverance produces maturity. “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (v. 4). Spiritual perseverance or toughness produces a dynamic maturity. “Perfect” refers to a personality that has reached its full development. Regarding the corresponding synonym “complete,” Peter Davids explains: “Perfection is not just a maturing of character, but a rounding out as more and more ‘parts’ of the righteous character are added.”9 Thus, maturity is a dynamic state in which a thousand parts of us are honed, shaped, tempered, and brought together, making a dynamic wholeness.

It is commonly taught that trials bring maturity, but it is not so. Rather, fortitude and perseverance in times of testings produce maturity. In troubled times we must practice spiritual toughness. As we endure “trials of various kinds”—economic stress, disappointments, criticisms, domestic pressures, persecution for our faith, illnesses—the multiple facets of our being are touched with grace. Dick Seume wrote beautifully about this:

Life on earth would not be worth much if every source of irritation were removed. Yet most of us rebel against the things that irritate us, and count as heavy loss what ought to be rich gain. We are told that the oyster is wiser; that when an irritating object, like a bit of sand, gets under the “mantle” of his shell, he simply covers it with the most precious part of his being and makes of it a pearl. The irritation that it was causing is stopped by encrusting it with the pearly formation. A true pearl is therefore simply a victory over irritation. Every irritation that gets into our lives today is an opportunity for pearl culture. The more irritations the devil flings at us, the more pearls we may have. We need only to welcome them and cover them completely with love, that most precious part of us, and the irritation will be smothered out as the pearl comes into being. What a store of pearls we may have, if we will!10

The key to a graced life, pearl-tipped facets of personality, and thus full maturity is constancy, tenacity, perseverance. Spiritual toughness is the key to saintliness!

The idea that when we “get it all together” our trials will lessen is a falsehood. Paul told Timothy the truth: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Life will always be full of testings for the true Christian. We must not imagine they will lessen with time—say, fewer trials at thirty-five than twenty-five, or at forty-five than thirty-five, or at fifty-five than forty-five, or at sixty-five than fifty-five, or at seventy-five than sixty-five. Trials are not a sign of God’s displeasure but are opportunities to persevere in the Lord.

James commands the irrational: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” Is this crazy talk—pious prattle? Not when we embrace the double rationale:

 1) Testing brings spiritual toughness—“for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (v. 3). When we, by God’s grace, tough it out, our entire person becomes pearly.

 2) Toughness brings a dynamic maturity—“And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (v. 4).

When God wants to drill a man

And thrill a man

And skill a man,

When God wants to mold a man

To play the noblest part;

When He yearns with all His heart

To create so great and bold a man

That all the world shall be amazed,

Watch His methods, watch His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects

Whom He royally elects!

How He hammers him and hurts him,

And with mighty blows converts him

Into trial shapes of clay which

Only God understands;

While his tortured heart is crying

And he lifts beseeching hands!

How He bends but never breaks

When his good He undertakes;

How He uses whom He chooses

And with every purpose fuses him;

By every act induces him

To try His splendor out—

God knows what He’s about!11

Such logic makes the command rational and supremely sane: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” James calls for a decisive act—to consider our troubles opportunities for joy and endurance. May we in prayer so acknowledge today and in days to come!

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in allhis ways.

1:5–8

2

If Any of You Lacks Wisdom

JAMES 1:5–8

AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR of another century wrote this timeless poem:

My life is but a weaving,

between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colours.

He worketh steadily.

Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow

and I in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper

and I the under side.

Not till the loom is silent

and the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

and explain the reason why,

The dark threads are as needful

in the Weaver’s skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver,

in the pattern He has planned.

This old poem correctly expresses the truth that in this life we will never fully understand the particular blending of joys and woes in our lives because we see only the underside of the tapestry. Only when death stills the loom and we stand before God will he turn the canvas over and allow us, to our eternal delight, to see what he has done.

However, we must not think we cannot understand anything of what God is doing or that the mixture of trials and joys in our lives is totally inscrutable, for it is not so. In James’ opening words (1:1–4) he informs the suffering church that testing develops perseverance (spiritual fortitude) and that as they tough it out they will develop a dynamic maturity, becoming “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (1:4b). We can understand something of the process, and this is why he has called the suffering church to “Count it all joy” (1:2a).

The problem immediately apparent to any who have experienced the various trials of life is that while you are in the midst of them it is hard to understand what is going on and to believe they are for your benefit. It is easy to be the wise pastor assuring the hurting that they are being matured and to “hang tough.” But it is another thing when I am the one being tested! It’s much easier to say to someone else, “Count it all joy . . . when you meet trials of various kinds” than to joyfully embrace my own angst.

James, who was no armchair general, understood this, and in the closely connected verses that follow (vv. 5–8),1 he instructs those who are suffering on how to get the wisdom necessary to plow victoriously through life’s many trials. James, brother of one whose life was filled with trials and who died at the hands of murderers, is telling us how to lasso the bucking, uncontrollable trials of life and ride them to wisdom and triumphant spirituality. What he says ought to command our undivided attention.

Wisdom for the Asking (v. 5)

When we are in the midst of trials, we may reflexively cry out, “God, why me? There is nothing redemptive in my trial! Why does it go on?” Or, “Lord, get me out of this.” But how many of us say, while being tested, “Lord, I need wisdom—please use this trial to increase my wisdom and understanding of you, your people, and life”? But that is exactly what James commands: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God” (v. 5a). What is this wisdom for which we are to ask? The idea becomes clear when we see what it is not.

It is not knowledge. Wisdom is far more than the accumulation of information and intellectual perception. The fact is, man, through his vast accumulation of knowledge, has learned to travel faster than sound, but displays his need of wisdom by going faster and faster in the wrong direction! Man has amassed a huge store of information about the world, but shows his abysmal lack of wisdom by failing to live any better in the world.2

Professor Allan Bloom touched on this in his best-selling book The Closing of theAmerican Mind:

My grandparents were ignorant people by our standards, and my grandfather held only lowly jobs. But their home was spiritually rich because all the things done in it, not only what was specifically ritual, found their origin in the Bible’s commandments, and their explanation in the Bible’s stories and the commentaries on them, and had their imaginative counterparts in the deeds of the myriad of exemplary heroes. My grandparents found reasons for the existence of their family and the fulfillment of their duties in serious writings, and they interpreted their special sufferings with respect to a great and ennobling past . . . [and then comes the punch] I do not believe that my generation, my cousins who have been educated in the American way, all of whom are M.D.s or Ph.D.s, have any comparable learning. When they talk about heaven and earth, the relations between men and women, parents and children, the human condition, I hear nothing but clichés, superficialities, the material of satire.3

Wisdom, therefore, in distinction to knowledge, is understanding for living. And Biblical wisdom is understanding for living that surpasses earthly wisdom. It is temporally and eternally practical. A. T. Robertson, the towering genius of Greek grammar, calls wisdom “the practical use of knowledge.”4 F. J. A. Hort, in his painstaking commentary, terms it “that endowment of heart and mind which is needed for right conduct in life.”5 J. H. Ropes describes it as “the supreme and divine quality of the soul which man knows and practical righteousness.”6 And Ralph Martin in his study states, “For the Jewish mind wisdom meant practical righteousness in everyday living.”7

The Scriptures teach that this practical wisdom is rooted in the fear/reverence of God. Job asked the question, “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12). Then, as he variously discussed its whereabouts, he said in verse 15, “It cannot be bought for gold, and silver cannot be weighed as its price,” and similarly in verse 18b, “the price of wisdom is above pearls.” Further, he said in verses 23, 24, “God understands the way to it, and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens.” And finally he concluded in verse 28, “And [God] said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom.’” That proclamation is a persistent motif in the Old Testament. Consider the following Scriptures:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

all those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever! (Psalms 111:10)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,

and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10)

Because of this we must understand that Einstein may have been a genius in atomic theory, but if he had no fear of God he was a man without wisdom—which at one point in his life he indeed was. During a conference attended by outstanding churchmen and scientists, Albert Einstein read a paper in which he said: “In their struggle for the ethical good, teachers of religion must have the stature to give up the doctrine of a personal god.”8 God’s Word says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Psalm 14:1).

Wisdom begins with a healthy reverence for God. For the Christian, this is personally connected with Christ, “who became to us wisdom from God” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Jesus Christ is the perfect expression of the wisdom of God, and if we know him, we receive and are changed by his wisdom.

This practical knowledge for living is a gift from God. While we have its beginning in our reverence for God and a further endowment as we come alive in Christ, he has even more wisdom to give us—practical wisdom that will enable us to ride the trials of life to new spiritual heights.

The thrust of James’ language in verse 5 is that God is just waiting for us to ask: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” In the original the phrase “God, who gives” graphically emphasizes giving as a grand characteristic of God. It reads literally, “let him ask the constantly giving God.”9 The Scriptures are replete with this facet of the character of God. “He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25). “He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). God is like a pitcher tilted toward his children, just waiting to pour wisdom over the trial-parched landscape of their lives, if they will but ask.

Notice how James says God gives—“who gives generously to all without reproach.” God will pour wisdom over us without putting us down or demeaning us. It is easy to wear out our human benefactors after they have repeatedly given to us, but not so with God. We will never encounter divine irritation, like “I gave you a head, why don’t you use it?” or “What did you do with what I most recently gave you? Have you ever been thankful?” Rather, his response is, “I’m so glad you asked. Here it comes!”

The “trials of various kinds” (1:2) which come to us all are nothing less than gigantic opportunities to become wise. The geniuses among us have no head start on wisdom. If anyone has an edge, it is those who are undergoing testings with fortitude.

You and I will become wise if we are open to the wisdom God offers us. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14). We need to learn to ask for wisdom instead of getting angry and saying, “Why me?” By God’s grace let us covenant to ask God for a large measure of that which he has promised.

Wisdom for the Believing (vv. 6–8)

Is there any condition we must meet in order to receive wisdom in our trials? Our text reveals the affirmative: faith. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (vv. 6–8).

James’ seafaring simile dramatically drives home the futility of doubt. I have only been seasick twice in my life. Once was as a junior-higher in a sixty-foot fishing boat off California’s Coronado Islands, when the sea was so high that our boat disappeared in the trough of the waves while other boats rode the crests several stories above us, only to have the situation reverse a few seconds later. The other experience of mal de mer was on Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan has no wave pattern. When it gets rough, the surface goes up, down, sideways, even whirling. This is what James describes here (perhaps because his experience was the freshwater Sea of Galilee).

The eminent Greek scholar Marvin Vincent says, “The emphasis falls on tossing; moving before the impulse of the wind, but not even moving in regular lines; tossed into rising and falling peaks.” Says another commentator, this created a “vivid picture of four dimensional instability.”10 The doubter is completely out of control. He is on a wild ride to nowhere.

James caps the description in verse 8: “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” He is literally a “two-souled” man. He has one soul that believes and one that does not. Bunyan called him “Mr. Facing-both-ways.”11

Truly, and tragically, James’ graphic description of a man bobbing like a cork on a raging sea, torn within by two souls, describes many in the church. And James’ warning in verse 7 is all too applicable and appropriate: “For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” “That person” is a believer. He has received eternal life. He is indwelt by the Spirit. But his doubting, unstable, vacillating life means he will get no wisdom to help handle his troubles. He will not ride his trials onward and upward to spiritual maturity. What a tragic waste!

James has said, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting” (v. 6) Like the writer of Hebrews, he sees faith as the essence of spiritual life: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). We must believe in the immense, omnipotent, holy God of Scripture and that he is equitable in giving to his own. In terms of our present passage, if we are in trials and ask for wisdom, truly believing, God will give it to us. It is as simple as that!

Is the Lord demanding perfect faith? Is he insisting that we never waver? I do not think so. If our faith had to be perfect, few would ever receive anything, for we are all doubters. Abraham and Moses were great men of God, but they were not perfect in their faith. Jesus honored the stumbling faith of the distraught father in the midst of testing—“I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). Moreover, faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

In mentioning the double-minded man, James is not referring to one who is wrestling with doubt, but one who has two minds. He looks to God; he says he has no need. We must ask wholeheartedly for the wisdom we need.

To be sure, we must wait until the loom is silent to see the tapestry God has woven from the bright and dark threads of our lives. Nevertheless, we can be given wisdom to understand something of what he is doing and embrace the process.

The testings of our lives

Make it possible for us

To become immensely wise.

God’s pitcher, brimming with wisdom, is tilted over us. He is the God who continuously gives. And he is waiting for us to ask.

Long ago Solomon prayed for wisdom, asking God for “an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:9). The Lord was so pleased that he said to him:

Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. (1 Kings 3:11b, 12)

The Lord is pleased to give wisdom and “gives generously to all without reproach” (v. 5).

Are we going through some testings now? If so, do we want to ride those wild things, so beyond our control, up to God? If we do, then let us ask him for wisdom believing and we will receive it, as the Apostle John has promised: “if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14).

Wisdom has built her house;

she has hewn her seven pillars.

She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;

she has also set her table.

She has sent out her young women to call

from the highest places in the town,

“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

To him who lacks sense she says,

“Come, eat of my bread

and drink of the wine I have mixed.

Leave your simple ways, and live,

and walk in the way of insight.” (Proverbs 9:1–6)

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those wholove him.

1:9–12

3

Wisdom for the Humble and the High

JAMES 1:9–12

WEBSTER DEFINES A PARADOX AS “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true.” An example of this is the statement, “giving is receiving.” The Scriptures contain many paradoxes, telling us that the weak are strong, the empty are full, the slave is free, the cursed are blessed, and death brings life—all statements that first strike the ear as contradictory, but become increasingly true to us as we meditate on them. G. K. Chesterton gave this magnificent definition of a paradox: “a paradox is truth standing on its head shouting for attention.” In my mind’s eye I see truths lined up like ridiculous people on their heads, feet waving in the air, calling, “Hey, look at me! Up is down! Down is up! Think about it.” Paradox is a powerful vehicle for truth, because it makes people think.

James, concerned that his pressured readers not succumb to instability, resorted to paradoxes in verses 9, 10 to convey stabilizing wisdom. First: “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation”—the paradox of the rich poor. And second: “. . . and the rich in his humiliation”—the paradox of the poor rich. Together these powerful paradoxes shouted with poignancy and effect to James’ persecuted, scattered brethren, and they do the same for all today who feel out of sync with the prevailing culture, and especially to those suffering for their faith socially and economically.

The Rich Poor (v. 9)

The initial paradox of the rich poor—“Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation”—powerfully emphasizes that the low are high because the first part of the verse reads literally, “the brother, the lowly,”1 and “his exaltation” correspondingly reads, “in his height.” So we can translate it, “The lowly brother ought to boast in his height!” The low are high!

Who are the low? The context demands that we understand them as poverty-stricken Jewish Christians who were poor because of their faith. And because they were economically low, they were low in the eyes of the world and, no doubt, in most instances low in their own eyes. Their poverty produced a lowliness of mind.

But James paradoxically says such a person ought to “boast in his exaltation.” James’ reasoning for this is implicit in the words of this verse: the man is a “brother.” He is part of God’s family, one of God’s children. “And if [we are] children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17a). This lowly brother is in fellowship with God, his people, and even his angels, as the writer of Hebrews explains: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant . . .” (Hebrews 12:22–24a). Moreover, as Peter says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession . . .” (1 Peter 2:9). If this man could but grab these stupendous realities and hang on, he would realize his height. The low are truly high!

The lowly must not only grasp this, but must also see that a mighty reversal is coming in which the low will be made high and the high low. A general once sat at a table in a royal court, seated beside the court chaplain. In the course of the meal the general turned to the chaplain and, to make conversation, asked, “Pastor, in this moment together here, could you tell me something about Heaven?” The court chaplain looked at him carefully and said, “Well, yes, I could. The first thing I would tell you, general, is that in Heaven you will not be a general.”2

James is so sure of the grand reversal, and so sure that the low will become high, that he encourages the humble brother to “boast” in it. This is to be a joyous boasting. Paul uses the same word in Romans 5:2 speaking of rejoicing in the hope of glory and in Romans 5:11 to refer to rejoicing in reconciliation. Here James orders the lowly to paradoxically and cheerfully boast in their height.

Why does this great exaltation come to the poor man? It is not simply that he is economically poor, but that his poverty has produced in him a lowliness of spirit that keeps him open to God. Jesus’ very first words of public ministry were a quotation from Isaiah 61:1—“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor . . .” (Luke 4:18). This is why the Incarnation came through Mary, for as she affirmed in her Magnificat, “he has looked on the humble estate of his servant” (Luke 1:48). Luke quotes the first Beatitude this way: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). Their economic poverty inclined them to spiritual poverty, as Matthew made clear in his record of the first Beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). James did not pity his poor brethren or encourage their commiseration. Rather, he saw them as spiritually advantaged.

Here is wisdom for Christians of every age, all of whom live in a world that equates prosperity with happiness/God’s blessing and humble circumstances with misery/God’s displeasure. The lowly who are in the midst of hard times are tempted to doubt. No Christian who has been oppressed either economically or socially or both has not at some time doubted. Unamuno, the Spanish philosopher, said, “Those who believe that they believe in God, but without passion in their hearts, without anguish in mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, without an element of despair even in their consolation, believe only in the God idea, not God Himself.”3

A living faith has its ups and downs because it is the faith of a living being who is imperfect and in process. But to the doubting, James stands deep spiritual truth on its head and shouts that Christians are the rich poor, the low high, and paradoxically commands that “the lowly brother [ought to] boast in his exaltation.” This truth shouts for attention in our upside-down world! Perhaps no one needs to hear it more than rich Christians, the people to whom James aims the second paradox, to which we now turn.

The Poor Rich (vv. 10, 11)

We tend to think of the rich as overprivileged, but Jesus taught that they are underprivileged—spiritually. That is the indisputable point of the story of the rich young man who came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17). Thus, after Jesus told him to sell all, he “went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:22). Jesus’ resulting pronouncement—“Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:24b, 25)—teaches categorically that it is impossible for a man or woman who trusts in riches to get into Heaven. Riches steel the unregenerate against the primary requirement for entering the kingdom of God: helpless dependence (see Matthew 5:3). It is difficult for the rich to present themselves as naked, humble beggars before God. Our rich culture is, therefore, disadvantaged and underprivileged.

But what about rich Christians, the small minority who in James’ day had not suffered deprivation of wealth—at least not yet? Did their wealth present a problem? Of course it did, just as it does for rich Christians today. Material wealth lures the possessor to focus his or her attention on things. Jesus warned against “the deceitfulness of riches,” which strangles spiritual life (Matthew 13:22). The greater one’s possessions, the greater the likelihood of delusion. Jesus also categorically said, “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). In the Revelation the Lord warned against pride and independence: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Following this wisdom, Paul tells Timothy, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). Those with great wealth tend to regard what they have as eternal. This is why some people want more and more and more. So many live under the illusion that their houses will go on forever.

The entire New Testament, as well as what we see in people’s lives, suggests that riches are a potential danger to spiritual life. Jesus views them as a spiritual liability rather than an asset. His beatitude goes to the poor, not the rich. “You are blessed because your poverty directs your soul to me.”

Realizing this, James’ paradox of the poor rich makes good sense: “And the rich [should boast] in his humiliation” (v.10a).The last part can be rendered “lowliness” (it is the same word just used to describe the position of the poor). Calvin has it right: “He tells them to glory in their lowliness, their smallness, to restrain those lofty motives that swell out of prosperity.”4 In other words, the rich Christian is to cultivate the poverty of spirit he experienced when he came to Christ. He is to work at this lowliness, focus on it, and make it his boast.5

This has monumental implications for Christians today who live in western affluence. For a believer, an immortal soul, to build his or her life on perishable riches is a debasement beyond description! It is nothing less than spiritual prostitution (cf. 4:4). Furthermore, those who focus on their riches progressively diminish the measure of their eternal reward. If they are saved, it will be “only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). It is a delusion to suppose that once we become Christians we are to outgrow the initial salvific poverty of spirit. Never! Rather, this ought to become more and more pronounced. We, like Paul, must honestly and progressively see ourselves as “the foremost” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Truth is standing on its head, crying out to us, “And the rich [should boast] in his humiliation” (v. 10). This is wisdom!

James’ brilliant paradox can stand on its own, but he adds an illustration that drives it home with unforgettable force. He reaches back to the rich treasure of Old Testament illustration, especially Isaiah 40:6–8, and says, “. . . because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits” (vv. 10b, 11).

Having lived in the arid climate of Southern California, I know what James is describing. In Palestine it is called a sirocco, and in the Los Angeles basin it is called a Santa Ana. Hot winds rush relentlessly off the desert for a period of several days so that even at midday the bare ground becomes so hot one cannot walk barefoot on it. The heat is so intense that plants must be watered at night or they will burn. I have seen this kind of desert wind turn a spring lawn and flowers into a parched brown patch in only a few days. The sun rises like a ball of fire bringing a furnace of heat, the flower hangs its head, and the petals fall from the calyx. As the original literally says, “the beauty of its face is destroyed.”

This is the way it is for the rich, who bloom so ostentatiously in life. It is also true for the poor man, but James applies it especially to the rich because that man is more apt to think his flower is eternal. “So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits” (v. 11b; cf. 4:14). His life will be like a parched dandelion in a sudden gust of wind. Poof! “That’s all, folks!”

Man is like a tender flower,

And his days are like the grass,

Withered where it lately flourished,

By the blighting winds that pass.

The Psalter Hymnal6

Life is transitory and ephemeral for us all. A mayfly, sometimes called an ephemeron (from the Greek word for day, hemera), has its lifetime in one day. What obvious folly if it were to spend that entire day weighing itself down with supposed “treasures” that must be dropped at sundown when it is no more. Likewise, how foolish for us mortal flowers of the field to glory in our riches, especially when there is an eternity beyond. Wise John Wesley (perhaps thinking of the mayfly) once wrote:

I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit, coming from God, and returning to God; just hovering over the great gulf; a few months hence I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing—the way to heaven . . .

Here the prayer of Joseph Bayly says it all: “Lord, burn eternity into my eyeballs!”

The Eternally Rich (v. 12)

James crowns his discussion with a beatitude promising eternal life: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (v. 12). Perseverance, fortitude, toughing it out through the various trials of life that come to both the low and the high brings the divine compliment and prophecy “Blessed.” Oh, the bliss of the man or woman who so perseveres. “He will receive the crown of life.” Because this person is a believer, he already has eternal life, just as Jesus promised: “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” (John 5:24; cf. 17:3). Therefore when he receives the crown of life he receives the final full endowment of life—life indeed!

The wise will choose what is best for the long run. The fool looks ahead five years, ten years, perhaps even twenty years and plans what he thinks will benefit him best. The wise fixes his sight beyond the grave, for he knows the high will be made low and the low high.

Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

If you turn at my reproof,

behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.” (Proverbs 1:20–23)

The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get insight.

Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will honor you if you embrace her.

She will place on your head a graceful garland;

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown. (Proverbs 4:7–9)

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

1:13–15

4

The Source and Course of Temptation

JAMES 1:13–15

A YOUNG WOMAN came to Christ in a marvelous way. Her conversion was, from a human perspective, partly due to the fact that she had come to a very low place in her marriage, making her intensely aware of her spiritual need. But having met Christ in her extremity, her life immediately took on an attractive buoyancy. She was truly a new person—and it was beautiful to behold. Sadly, her troubled husband did not follow suit as she had so dearly hoped. After a year of continuing marital disappointment, she sought help from a counselor. Instead of receiving help, she became the victim of a professional seduction. It began with extravagant sympathy, compliments about her attractiveness (ostensibly to shore up her fractured ego), then subtly suggestive comments. The next appointment, she dressed and scented herself with the palpitating self-attention of a first date. She was seduced, and there followed the inevitable history of liaisons and further damage to her fragile self-esteem.