James 4:2-3

Your desires are at war within you. When desires are not fulfilled, a person resorts to sinful means to get what they want. Murder and covetousness are brought forth. They try to take these things wrongfully. However, James plainly says that they do not have what they desire because they do not ask. It's quite silly, because they fight and quarrel over things that they could receive if they only asked. Now, some may argue that they asked but they didn't get what they asked for. In response to this, James tells them that they didn't ask correctly. Their error is that they ask for things to spend it on their passions. There is a problem with their intentions, and this is why they do not receive what they ask for.

James 4:1

People tend to get into fights, and James brings up this very issue. Earlier, he noted how some people tend to accuse God of tempting them, but God does not tempt, nor is he tempted by anything. Now, some people may blame another person for getting them upset and causing them to fight with one another. James turns it around again, pointing not outside, but inside of a person for the source of the problem. More specifically, the cause is because there are passions at war within you. Conflicting desires wage war within a person, opposing each other, and this is the reason for these fights.

James 3:18

With the words "harvest" and "sown", we get the idea of farming. There is some sort of yield that is produced from what has been planted. In this case, peace has been planted, and righteousness is harvested. James is still talking about the wisdom from above which is contrasted by a different wisdom which has jealousy and selfish ambition. Not only does the wisdom from above have the qualities mentioned earlier, but a righteousness producing peace is a part of this wisdom. It's almost as if explaining the goal of this wisdom that is from above, not just these qualities as an end goal. The goal is not to hoard these qualities which are what describes the wisdom that is from above, but the result should be righteousness that is harvested from peace. Righteousness is not attained by trying to be righteous, but as a result by those who make peace.

James 3:16-17

What is the nature of the wisdom from God? James lists out its qualities as being pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. What's interesting is that the list has an order to it, because he begins by saying that it is "first" pure. After being pure, it is "then" having the rest of the qualities. This is contrasted by jealousy and selfish ambition, which results in disorder and every vile practice. Basically, nothing good can come from this jealousy and selfish ambition.

James 3:13-15

As James said earlier, faith without works is dead. Unfortunately, some people may get the wrong idea. People may have a tendency to become bitter or jealous; these people may begin to boast or speak falsehood. Doing such a thing is not wise or is the kind of wisdom that comes from God. This kind of wisdom, if it should even be called wisdom, is demonic and of the world. Rather, showing your works should be done in the meekness of wisdom, and this wisdom is from the father above.

James 3:9-12

The tongue is quite an interesting thing. James describes it as being used to both bless our Lord, and also to curse people. The ironic thing is that people are made in the image of God, but we curse those very same people while blessing the God who made them all. If blessing and cursing comes from the same tongue, it just doesn't make sense. Sure, we see people do that every day, including ourselves. However, this is the kind of thing that shouldn't be happening. To emphasize his point, James uses a couple of illustrations. First of all, springs of water do not act this way. A spring of water doesn't spout both fresh and salt water at the same time. In addition, trees also properly coincide with their vegetation. Fig trees bear figs, and grapevines bear grapes. It wouldn't make sense for a fig tree to bear grapes or for a grapevine to bear figs. The last illustration is similar to the first, describing how it doesn't make sense for a salt pond to produce fresh water. In the same way, it doesn't make sense for a tongue to spout both blessings and curses with regards to God and his creation.

James 3:7-8

Now James starts talking about the ability to tame beasts. You can see how man has dominated the world and is able to tame all creatures great and small. In contrast, we are still unable to tame the tongue. It was said earlier to be like a fire which also originates from hell. Not only does it originate from hell, but it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. All animals eventually have some sort of rest or sleep. During this time, they are more vulnerable and it is easier to catch them and I guess tame them. However, the tongue is a restless evil, making it more difficult to tame. It doesn't have a more vulnerable state like sleep for one to exploit. In addition, it is also described as being full of deadly poison. Poison is another dangerous thing a person must be wary of when dealing with animals. I'm not expert, but I can understand what the threat of poison means. Perhaps my concept of poison has been dulled by the numerous RPG's I've played where poison is simply cured by a common antidote item. This threat is serious, especially when you're face to face with something like a poisonous snake. Much caution is needed when dealing with the tongue since it is full of deadly poison. The tongue has the ability to kill you, and it has already claimed the lives of many.

James 3:5-6

Now the tongue is being compared to a forest fire. The fire is quickly spread when it is started, even by a small spark. The tongue is not the forest, nor is it the fully matured fire that is engulfing the forest. Rather, the tongue is the tiny fire or spark that starts the forest fire. The members of our body are the forest that is set ablaze by the tongue, which is the start of the forest fire. It doesn't just affect the body, but the entire life of the body. I guess that makes sense because the body and its members are a big part of the life of the person. What's interesting is that James explains the fire as being originally set on fire by hell. The origin of this fire, though starting with the tongue, is actually originated by hell. We may think that what we're saying is good. We may even think that our speech is from God. However, it is from hell and it will set a huge fire like a forest fire. It's method of attack is through the tongue. So I guess we need to be careful with how we use our tongue, in what we say or don't say.

James 3:3-5

So a perfect man is able to control himself. However, we are not perfect. Even though we are not perfect, James gives us some insight to the human condition. The ability to guide and control horses has to do with putting food in their mouths. This means that you can control them by their mouths. Horses are quite large and heavy creatures, but it is by their tiny mouths that you can control one. This kind of thing is similar to a ship. A ship may be controlled by its tiny rudder. Even though it may be quite big and strong winds may push against it, it is the rudder that can control where it goes. These are all to describe that the tongue is very small, yet it is able to guide and control the entire body. The point James is trying to make is with regards to the influence the tongue has on the entire body. He describes the tongue as being able to boast great things in contrast to its size. It must be dealt with very carefully to say the least.

James 3:1-2

Teachers are judged with stricter judgment. What's the solution to this problem? You can just not make any mistakes in your teaching if you are a teacher. Unfortunately, nobody's perfect and we all screw up in more ways than one. Does that mean that nobody should be teachers? James doesn't say that nobody should be a teacher, but he says that not many of you should be teachers. This position is only for a select few because of the stricter judgment and the fact that nobody is perfect.

James 3:1

James now makes a point that not many of them should become teachers. The reason for this is because teachers will be judged with greater strictness. He had just finished making a point that faith apart from works is dead. Perhaps not all of them knew this and some were teaching the exact opposite of this truth. Some weren't teaching correctly and thus under this stricter judgment. In addition, not all can handle this pressure and responsibility. It is a weighty thing to be responsible for teaching others, and it should be treated with care.

James 2:20-26

Now, James sets out to show his readers that faith apart from works is useless. Here, he uses examples from the Old Testament of people who not only had faith, but had works as well. More importantly, those works are a means of justification for these people. The first example shown is of Abraham. The way in which Abraham was justified by works was when he was willing and ready to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on the altar. Abraham had faith, and his faith was accompanied by his works, which was his obedience to God when he was told to sacrifice his son. They're not only together, but the works are that which completes faith. Faith alone is not complete unless it has works. In Romans 4, Paul writes about how Abraham was justified by faith, pointing to the Old Testament. James uses the same passage to support his point that faith apart from works is dead. Justification is by works and faith, not by faith alone.

The other example that James uses is of Rahab the prostitute. She was justified by her works that were not apart from her faith. What she did was receive the messengers and send them out by a different way, saving their lives. What she did was what justified her, and not a faith which was without works. One last example that James uses is that of the body and the spirit. We are made up of a body and spirit. It's not as if we have one or the other. If we have only the body or only the spirit, it just doesn't work. Using this, he describes faith apart from works dead just as the body apart from the spirit is dead.

James 2:19

People who have faith but not works are like those who merely talk but do not act. They are ones who hold fast to their beliefs. One example of this is those who say that they believe that God is one. What good is a claim to belief in that? James shows the uselessness of this belief by comparing to the demons. You may say that you believe that God is one, but this belief is also shared by the demons. Therefore, faith that God is one doesn't really matter or differentiate you from the demons. Perhaps it is your works that matter based upon the faith that you say that you have.

James 2:18

Internet wasn't working for me last night, but here's what I wrote up:

James knows that there are those who think that it is okay to have faith without works. It is probably because of these people that James addresses this topic. More specifically, some people may think faith and works are merely different things that people have and it doesn't matter which you have or don't have. They treat it like skills or strengths and weaknesses. Some people are better at certain things, and some people are weak at certain things. However, It is not a matter of whether a person has one or the other; rather, they are related. According to James, he shows his faith by his works. Works are an outward manifestation of faith that proves the existence of faith. So, as those who claim to have faith in Jesus, remember that it is our works that prove that we have faith.

James 2:14-17

There exists a type of faith that a person has that is not also accompanied by works. But the question is, whether this type of faith can actually save this person? This verse is even begun by asking what good is this person with this faith without works. To answer the question, an example is given of a brother or sister who is poorly clothed and in need of daily food. In this example, a person merely speaks kindly to them, telling them to be warmed and filled. However, how can they be filled if they are poorly clothed and without food? They say this without providing for their physical needs. This is merely to illustrate that a faith without works is useless. Actually, James describes it as being dead. A faith that is dead is not really faith at all, and that is why he describes a faith without works as dead.

James 2:12-13

So in our actions and speech, we are to carry them out as one who us under the law of liberty. James is referring to his previous point about how a breaker of the law is one who breaks the law in one area. We are to remember this in our actions. More specifically, we recall the greater context about not showing favoritism. We are under this law, which is the same law in which others are under. Recalling what we are under and remembering that others are under this as well, we should show mercy to others. The point made is that those who do not show mercy are not given mercy, but only judgment. It's implied that mercy will be shown to those who are merciful. Showing favoritism would probably not be the same as showing mercy, so this is yet another reason why we should not show favoritism.

James 2:10-11

If you fail to keep the command to love your neighbor as yourself, you are now a law transgressor. This may seem rash, having broken one tiny law deeming the verdict of a transgressor of the whole law. To back this up, James explains that keeping the command to not commit adultery, but failing to keep the command to not murder still makes you a transgressor of the law. This makes me think of our silly ideas that little things don't matter. For example, white lies or tiny fibs, which people think don't mean anything. Sometimes people think that if you can get away with something tiny that doesn't hurt anyone, it's okay to do. I'll admit that this deception creeps into my thinking as well. However, failing in one area of the law means becoming a transgressor of the whole law. Don't dismiss your sins as an insignificant pebble that doesn't amount to sin at all. You may think that it rounds back down to zero, but perhaps you have misjudged the value or cost of sin, no matter how little it may seem.

James 2:8-9

Now James brings up the law that you should love your neighbor as yourself. It is a good thing to be a person who fulfills this law of the scriptures. However, to show partiality would be to break this law. If you show partiality, then you do not love all your neighbors as yourself. You may love one of your neighbors, but you do not love all of them. The only way to love your neighbor as yourself is to show no favoritism towards your neighbors. It is true that there is probably a sense in which you love people with varying degrees of love. However, the law reveals the degree of love, which is as much as you love yourself. Either way, this is yet another means to backup his point about not showing favoritism.

James 2:2-7

Blogger was down last night, so I couldn't post, but I wrote it down... so here's the post now:

James provides an example for backing up what he said about favoritism. You are not to show favoritism as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The example given is for when a rich man and a poor man enter your assembly. If you pay special attention to the rich man and disregard the poor man, you have made a distinction. By doing so, James explains this as one who has become a judge with evil motives. By favoring the rich man, you have somehow been drawn along by his wealth. His wealth has somehow caused you to favor him and this is where the evil motives come from. You are sinfully acting like the rest of the world by doing such a thing. This is wrong and you are not to show favoritism. In fact, if you are to show favoritism, it should be toward the poor man. God has already chosen the poor to be rich in faith. If the poor are to be rich in faith, then you have made a judgment upon these two people based on the opposite of what God says. Not only are the poor rich in faith, but the rich are those who commit evil against you. The rich are those who oppress you and drag you into court. Not only that, but they are the ones who blaspheme the name of Jesus. Even though they do all these things, you still wish to favor the rich? Knowing all these things, your favoritism towards them must be of evil intentions, because you wouldn't do it for logic's sake or according to what God teaches.

James 2:1

We are not to show favoritism as believers and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. This does in fact make sense when you think about how you were chosen or saved. Even if you are or were wealthy, the revelation of being saved would have you know that before you were saved you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Each and every person is one who is undeserving of being saved, yet because of his great love with which he loved us, God saved you. How can you then show favoritism to others? How then can you imply by your actions that certain people don't deserve kindness like the great kindness that God has miraculously shown to you? However, James takes this favoritism on a different path.

James 1:27

Now James goes on to explain what pure and undefiled religion is. Of course we don't want worthless religion, which is of a person who does not carefully watch what he says. James probably could say that undefiled religion is the opposite of those whose religion is worthless. It is probably true, but it is also already implied by what was said earlier. James steps further to say that it has to do with caring for the orphans and widows. What James says seems a bit odd and is certainly opposite of the culture. The Pharisees were viewed as the spiritual elite of the day and I'd like to think that they were too cool for the orphans and widows. In addition, pure religion has to do with keeping oneself unstained from the world. The world is dirty and we are not to be the same as them. It's not that we're any better than them, but we've been graciously saved. Turning away from our sin, we no longer walk in it as the world does. This is part of what undefiled religion looks like.

James 1:26

There are some who think that they are religious. The problem is that some of these people do not keep a tight rein on their tongue. Those who do such a thing are those whose religion is worthless. The thing is that when they do not watch what they say, they deceive their own heart. This makes me think of the passage in Matthew 15. It is what comes out of your mouth that defiles you. This person may think that their religion is something when in reality, it really is nothing.

Matthew 15:1-20

Reading the next part of the passage reminded me of this passage in Matthew. Here, the Pharisees have beef with Jesus, asking him why they don't wash their hands before they eat. I'm often quite disgusted when I see people leaving the washroom before washing their hands. However, the Pharisees are more interested in following these rules that they made rather than actual cleanliness.

Jesus responds to their question revealing the hypocrisy of their ways. One thing they do is claim something to be given to God. They do this to make an excuse so that they don't have to use the item to help their parents. They try hard to honor the rules, creating this loophole so that they end up dishonoring their parents for the sake of keeping the letter of the law. They are hypocrites and they merely give lip-service to God, but their hearts are in fact far from God.

What happens next is actually quite amusing. It isn't enough that Jesus has just called them a hypocrite to their face, but now he calls the crowd to insult the Pharisees again. The Pharisees have just mentioned up their precious rules about washing their hands in order to ensure what enters their body is physically clean. Everyone probably knows this about the Pharisees. Now, contrary to what the Pharisees teach, Jesus tells the crowd that it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles you, not what goes into your mouth. This is such a big deal that we see its effects from the reactions of the disciples. They're worried that what Jesus said has offended the Pharisees, questioning whether Jesus was even aware of his own actions. Of course Jesus is aware of his own actions. He said what he said for a reason, and the Pharisees were offended for a reason.

The Pharisees are blind guides. They shouldn't be worried about offending blind guides, because they are merely the blind leading the blind. Unfortunately, the general consensus was that they were the godliest of all the people in the society. In the end they would see that those who were not planted by God would be rooted up. The blind Pharisees who were not planted by God will certainly be rooted up. Whatever that means, it's not a good thing or a thing to be desired for yourself.

What happens next? Peter asks for an explanation of the parable and Jesus gets upset at a lack of understanding. That which comes out of the mouth is that which comes from the heart. From the heart comes a whole bunch of bad things which defile a person. Out of your mouth comes what is in your heart. This is what defiles a person, and not eating with unwashed hands. This isn't to say that you shouldn't wash your hands before eating. You probably should wash your hands before you eat. However, the washing of your hands does not keep you from being defiled. To keep clean, you must watch carefully what comes out of your mouth, lest you defile yourself by what you say.

James 1:25

Now the attention is turned back towards the "good" example. This is the person who is a doer of the word and not just a hearer of the word. Wow, just reading this over again, there seems like there's so much to this passage. It is so juicy, as Matt Wong would say. Both of these types of people hear. This is mentioned earlier when describing the doers as not only hearers. Not only do they hear the word, but they also do it. Both are now described as those who look into the perfect law. Hearing of the word is to look into the perfect law. The word is the perfect law and it certainly is perfect. There is nothing wrong with the law and there is no fault or error in it. Though it is so perfect, some people still are merely hearers of the law. They were described as forgetting what their face looks like after looking intently at their face in the mirror. They look at it long enough and with enough attention so that they should know and remember it. This perfect law they see and hear, but they forget it. However, the doer does not forget it, but does it. This is based upon action, not merely hearing. There are people or things that are all talk but no action. This person who is a doer of the word is one of action. This person does not forget, but acts.

What is it about this person who is a doer and one who acts? It is described of him as one who perseveres. There is a manner of perseverance which is required of this person and is what he does. Those who forget and are not doers are those who do not persevere. I am once again reminded of earlier in the chapter when James talks about counting trials as joy. The testing produces steadfastness. He also talks about remaining steadfast under trial later on and receiving the crown of life. Being a doer of the word requires perseverance, and that ties in with what James has been talking about with respect to trials and steadfastness.

One other thing is that the perfect law is also called the law of liberty. Other translations say that this is the law that gives freedom. Many people think of laws and rules as restricting. They don't like rules and feel encumbered as they are under them. People tend to try and bend or break rules. In their attempts to break the rules, they seek freedom from the rules. However, this is not truly freedom and they are in fact slaves to sin. The perfect law is the law of liberty, and it is that which actually gives freedom. In a sense, yes, we are all slaves to somebody or something. Those who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ are slaves to him, but they are no longer slaves to sin. It doesn't mean that they never sin, but they are no longer dead in their sins and are in fact alive in Christ. Do not be deceived, the word it the perfect law that gives freedom.

The last thing of this verse is that the doer will be blessed in his doing. Do you want to be blessed by God in your doing? It makes me think of an illustration given by Voddie Baucham in the 722 Love and Marriage series. He's describing a typical girl who prays to God desperately about an ungodly relationship she has with an unbelieving boy. She is deliberately disobeying God by pursuing what God forbids but asking him to bless it. This is wrong, for it is those who are doers of the word who are blessed. Read his word and do what it says. Do you really expect God's blessing to come any other way? Sure, the results of your life may seem like a blessing from God, and God can certainly take a negative situation and turn it around. But do you really want to be a lost sheep? Is it fun to be lost? It certainly is a relief to be found, but why don't you just read his word and do what it says? Doers of the word are those who are blessed in their doing.

James 1:23-24

Are you like this person? There is this person who is merely a hearer of the word and not a doer. If you are this type of person, you are deceiving yourself. Do not do it. To describe this, the person is described as a person who looks intently at his face in a mirror. This isn't just a quick glance, but a careful inspection of a person's own face. Afterwards, this person goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. That's ridiculous! Why would he look at his face in the mirror if he was just going to forget soon after? This is what you are like when you hear the word and do not do what it says.

James 1:22

There are a lot of people who just listen to the word. That's not what you're supposed to do. You may think that you know it or are in the clear just because you heard the truth. It's not good enough to just hear the word. If that's you, you're deceiving yourself. Instead, you shouldn't stop after hearing the word, but you must also do what it says. Do not be merely a hearer of the word, but be a doer of the word.

James 1:21

Now what are we supposed to do? We are to put away all filthiness and wickedness. Having those things does not produce the righteousness of God. Not only that, but we are to receive the implanted word. This is the word that saves us. This is a gift we receive, and we do not just receive it. It is important as it says that we are to receive it with meekness. Who are we to go about receiving this with arrogance? No, meekness is the manner in which we should receive the implanted word.

James 1:19-20

There is a righteousness that God requires of us. How is it that we are to meet this requirement of righteousness set by God? Well, what is the opposite? The opposite of fulfilling this requirement of righteousness is to not fulfill it. Anger leads to not fulfilling the requirement of righteousness. This is described as the reason for which you are not to be quick to anger. Instead, you are to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. All of these may be somehow connected. It may be that those who are quick to speak are those who are also quick to be angry. Do not be quick to anger, and seek to produce the righteousness that God requires.

James 1:18

God does good things and all good and perfect gifts are from him. What is one thing he has done? Well, he birthed us by the word of truth. This birthing or bringing us forth is his saving or predestining us for saving. It is not merely birthing us to life, because that wouldn't necessarily need to be "by the word of truth". Instead, this is the saving work that he did, which is of his own free will. He chose to save us and this that he chose to do was certainly not a bad thing.

The reason for what he did was so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. I think firstfruits in the Old Testament referred to the first and best of something, which was typically offered to God. You want to give God your best, so you give him the first of your crop and the best of your crop. I think the New Testament seems to use the term "firstfruits" to refer to Christ or those save through Christ. This is what he did for us and what a joy it is to be his best and his firstfruits in a way.

James 1:16-17

Every good and perfect gift is from God. Know this and believe it. God doesn't change. With him, there isn't even a hint of change of the slightest amount. It's not as if he's one way today and tomorrow he's completely different. God is an unchanging God who remains the same yesterday, today and forever. Some people may think otherwise, and this is wrong. Those who think differently are those who are deceived. You are being deceived into thinking a different way from the truth. Looking back to the last section, some people may think that God is tempting them. God cannot tempt and everything he does is good. His doings are described as good and perfect gifts. He can't give bad gifts, and he can't change to giving bad gifts tomorrow even if he gave good gifts today. You may think that because he gave a good gift today, a bad gift is coming to outweigh the good gift you just received. Those things that seem bad are in fact good. We are to consider it joy when we face trials. We serve a big God who is in control and works for the good of those who love him. It may seem bad, but trust and know that God does things for our best interests.

James 1:15

When one is tempted, it is not God's fault, but each person is lured by his own desire. The nature of this is that desire leads to sin. It is described as conceiving and giving birth to sin. Birth is a long process and there are signs leading up to birth. It's not like birth normally just happens right away without the person knowing it. A female's tummy gets big and there are a number of things that happen as a result of pregnancy. It's not as if desire randomly strikes out of nowhere and it immediately turns to sin. Instead, there is a longer process of desire that leads to sin. There may be times when sin seems to follow and happen after immediate desire or even without. Desire was welling up inside of you all that time, ready to birth sin. It's important to catch desire early. My thoughts and desires may wander towards evil things and if I let it go, it'll birth sin. I need to catch it before it's too late and it gives birth to sin.

Sin is not the end. Just like a baby grows, so does sin. If sin is allowed to grow and become fully grown, it brings forth death. Death is the result of the complete maturing and growth of sin, which is conceived from desire. Do not walk in darkness and allow sin to become fully grown.