Author: Rich Nelson

5Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. ² Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. ⁴ Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. ⁵ You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.

⁷ Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸ You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.^{a  9} Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!
¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

¹² Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

The Prayer of Faith

¹³ Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. ¹⁴ Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. ¹⁷ Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, ²⁰ you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is James’ next target for warning? What is their problem? How does James feel about them? 

2. What images does James use to describe selfish people? How do you suppose his readers reacted? How do you think selfish people responded?

3. What is James’ next topic? How does he describe this virtue? What example does he use? Where else is this image in the Bible? [see notes] Why are these good examples for his readers? What is the goal of our patience?

4. What does James say about oaths? What rationale does he give his audience? Who else had a problem with taking oaths? [see notes]

5. How does James respond to people who are suffering? Who are joyful? What is similar about these choices?

6. How should believers deal with people who are sick? How do we know this response will work? What else can we expect to happen?

7. What advice does James close with? Why is prayer important for Christians? What example does James give? What is his final encouragement? What is the result?

Get Personal

Even though it is a list of “oughts” what is the common thread that ties all James’ ideas together? How does your recent walk with Christ compare to James basic point about a vital faith? 

5:1.  Wail — often translated “howl,” which is closer to the Greek meaning of “cry out.”
Miseries — the Greek word is very strong: “calamity” or “wretchedness.”
5:2.  Rotted — also “corrupted.”
5:3.  Last days — James’ usage echoes Old Testament prophecies of the end times or “Day of the Lord.”
5:4.  Fraud — the Bible is consistent about paying fair wages: Never take advantage of poor laborers, whether fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. Pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. Otherwise they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin, [Deut 24:14-15].  Also check Lev 19:13, Prov 3:27-28, Jer 22:13 and Mal 3:5.
Lord of hosts — the original Hebrew word is “Sabaoth” which means “Leader of Armies.” Paul quotes Isaiah using the term in Romans: ‘If the Lord Almighty had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah,” [9:29]. 
James is consistent with both the prophets and the apostles in his picture of the end times. Check Isa 13:5-10, Amos 8:3, Matt 8:12 and 2 Tim 3:1-3.
5:7.  Rains — rains are a familiar symbol in the Bible of God’s love and promises: Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the Lord your God! For the rains

he sends are an expression of his grace. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as the rains of spring, [Joel 2:23-24]. Also check Gen 8:22 and Jer 5:24.
5:8.  Strengthen your hearts — the literal meaning is to “resolve to face in a certain way.” The King James used “stablish your heart, “ – perhaps a short version of “establish.”
5:9.  Grumble — the King James uses “grudge” as in “don’t hold a grudge against a person.”
5:12.  Oath — James is echoing Jesus’ warning: But I say, don’t make any vows! . . . Just say a simple, `Yes, I will,’ or `No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong, [Matt 5:33-37]. 
5:16.  Confess — the Greek word means “say the same thing” or “agree that a statement is correct.”
5:19.  Brought back — literally “change back to the original.”
5:20.  Cover — the Greek word literally means “cover over,” but the intent is not to hide them, but to deal with them, like covering a debt by paying it. Compare: Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins, [1 Peter 4:7-9] and Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! [Ps 32:1].

4Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? ² You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures. ⁴ Adulterers! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you suppose that it is for nothing that the scripture says, “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? ⁶ But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Warning against Judging Another

¹¹ Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹² There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?
Boasting about Tomorrow

¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” ¹⁴ Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
¹⁷ Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What does James address first in this chapter? How does he characterize the problem? How do you suppose his readers reacted to this description?

2. What causes conflict in the church? Why is this a problem? What is source of the problem?

3. How does James feel about people who are friends with the world and its values? What does this do to their relationship with God? With other believers?

4. What is James’ solution to this problem? What images does he use to describe it? How do you think his readers felt about this advice?

5. How does James make his advice practical? How will it address conflict in the church? 

6. What does James say about people planning their future? Where should people look for planning? Why?

Get Personal

What types of conflict in the church have you experienced? What were the consequences of the dispute? How was the situation resolved? How did you feel about the situation? About the resolution? Did it affect your relationships with other Christians?

4:1.  Conflicts and disputes — in the Greek the first word really means a conflict with weapons, and the second term means an argument without weapons. Remember, though, that James presented the harm that words alone (“tongue”) can do in the previous chapter.
4:2.  Want — James argues that the conflict in the church is not the result of outside forces, but is due to the desires of the people in the church – and the actions they are taking to try to satisfy their desires at the expense of others.
4:3.  Ask — James argues that people aren’t seeking God’s will or God’s help, so they are not achieving what they desire.
4:4.  Adulterers — the Greek word includes condemnation, not just the description of sex outside of marriage. James is using the Old Testament image of a prostitute to get his readers’ attention. Check Jer 3:20, Ezek 16:15-17 and Hos 2:2-3.
Friend . . . enemy — the Bible consistently portrays the “world” as directly opposite God’s kingdom. It is the result of and cause of sin, or separation from God. Paul uses similar language in Romans 8:7: For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law – indeed it  cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. And John is just as strong: Do not love the world or the things in the world.

The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever, [1 John 2:15-17]. 
4:7.  Submit yourselves — James begins his advice to deal with our desires for the things of this world, which is consistent with the Old Testament prophets as well as the New Testament writers. Check Prov 3:34, Ex 34:13, Ps 32:5, Ps 73:28, Zech 1:3, Ps 26:6, Matt 23:12, 1 Peter 5:6.
4:11.  Speak evil — James makes the advice practical by returning to the conflict within the church. The reference to God’s law is the commandment: Do not testify falsely against your neighbor, [Ex 20:16]. 
4:13-15.  James closes this section by reminding his readers that their attitude toward their own plans needs to acknowledge God’s role in their lives — echoing Jesus’ story of the rich man [Luke 12:16-21]. Proverbs is more succinct: The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established, [19:21]. 
4:17. Anyone who knows — James closes with the admonition that “sin” is not just what we do, it is also when we fail to do what we ought.

Memory Verse
Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you, [James 4:10]

3Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
² For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. ³ If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. ⁴ Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell.  ⁷ For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰ From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.
¹⁴ But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. ¹⁵ Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. ¹⁶ For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. ¹⁸ And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.  NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What advice does James start this chapter with? Why do you think he feels this way about teachers? Why are they subject to “greater strictness?”

2. What is the primary “mistake” James presents in verse 2? What other images does he use to explain the role of speech? Why is this such an important area of our life? What are the consequences of not controlling our speech? 

3. What are the two “sides” of the tongue? How can it both bless and curse? What does it tell about the person who speaks both ways? What other images describe the same type of situation?

4. How does James see wisdom? How does it affect a person’s actions? Where does wisdom come from? What separates “wise” actions from “earthly” or “unwise” actions?

Get Personal

How has your “tongue” been recently? What aspects of your speech seem to lack control? How does God help you control your speech? How does this affect your attitude toward others? Toward yourself? Toward God? 

3:1.  Teachers — the Bible consistently pictures teachers as having special responsibility along with serious consequences for false teaching. For example, check Rom 2:21-24, Luke 6:37, Acts 20:26-27, and Heb 13:17.
3:3.  Bits — the Greek word “control” in verse 2 refers to directing with a bridle and bit. This image is also used elsewhere in the Bible [Psalm 32:9].
3:5.  Small . . . great exploits — James is drawing on a well-known Biblical concept in vv. 5-9. Some references include: Prov 18:21, Ps 64:3, Ps 140:3, Prov 15:1, 16:27, and 26:20-21. New Testament examples include: 2 Peter 2:17-18, Jude 16 and Rom 3:13-14.
3:6.  Sets ablaze — anyone living in the western United States can appreciate the destructiveness of forest fires started from a single small flame.
3:11-12.  Does a spring . . . — James draws on some of the same images Jesus used to explain how a person’s actions reveal the attitude that can’t be seen, [Matt 7:16-20 andLuke 6:43-45].

3:13.  Wise — James shifts to consider what a “wise” or “understanding” life looks like. Jeremiah quotes God: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord, [Jer 9:23-24]. And Jesus says, Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock, [Matt 7:24]. 
James also is consistent with the other New Testament authors on this point — check Gal 6:4-5, Phil 1:27-28, 1 Peter 2:12 and 3:16.
3:14. Selfish ambition — the Greek word refers to the political disputes that infected even first century government.
3:18.  Those who make peace — James is echoing Hosea: Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap steadfast love, [10:12]. 

Memory Verse
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom, [James 3:13]

Next Lesson
Friendship with the world – James 4

2 My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?  ² For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³ and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,”  ⁴ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? ⁷ Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

⁸ You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ⁹ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. ¹¹ For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith without Works Is Dead

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? ¹⁷ So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren? ²¹ Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. ²³ Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? ²⁶ For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. What aspect of faith does the author take up next? How does he describe the problem? How does he feel about it? How do you suppose his readers responded?

2. How does James link this issue to Christian faith? Who are the real “special” people? How does he describe the rich folks?

3. What is the problem with favoring some people and not others? What does James say about this in relations to other actions? Which is worse according to James? What is the consequence of “breaking the law” in any way?

4. What aspect of faith does James take up next? How does he state the issue? What is the problem with no action? What example does he use? How would his readers relate to this? How do you relate?

5. Why are actions (or “works”) important to James? What do they demonstrate? How does he describe faith without action? What does he say about “just believing” in God? Who else “just” believes? How do they respond to this belief?

6. What examples does James provide to underscore his point about actions? Why do you suppose he chose these examples? How do they validate his argument? 

Get Personal

How are you responding to different people? How does God help you to see each one as worthy of attention? How well are your “works” demonstrating your faith? How has God affected your actions recently? How have others reacted to your actions?

2:2.Gold rings — a sign of wealth and status.
2:4.Evil thoughts — the “evil” is in judging people based on appearance.
2:7.Blaspheme — the Greek word includes “defame” and “speak evil” in its meanings.
2:8.Royal — the command to love one’s neighbor comes straight from the King as both the father [Lev 19:18], and the son [Matt 22:39 and John 15:12-14].
2:9-11.Sin — James underscores that there is no such thing as a “small” sin — any action contrary to God’s law is sin and the consequence is the same regardless of the action: Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven, [Matt 5:19].  
2:14.What good is it — the Greek word actually means “advantage,” “value” or “profit.”
Works — the Greek word means “visible actions” or “effort.”
Is dead — James is talking about the claim of faith (or “belief”) with no evidence of a changed life, not faith as the means of salvation. He makes this clear in his example of a person needing food and clothing and the reference to demons [2:19]. 
2:18.Show . . . works — God can see a person’s attitude, but we can see only a person’s actions (“works”), which are

evidence of the person’s attitude or faith. James is not suggesting that actions are added to a person’s faith, but that changed actions are an integral part of genuine faith. He agrees with Paul that actions by themselves (obeying the law) do not justify anyone: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life, [Eph 2:8-10].
Jesus also links “work” with faith. In a lengthy discussion [John 6:28-29] the Jews ask him what they must do to perform the “works of God,” and Jesus replies: This is the work of God, that you believe in the one who was sent.
Jesus also told the disciples that faith would include action: very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father, [John 14:12].  
2:20.  Senseless person — the Greek word actually means “hollow man.”
2:21.  The declaration is in Genesis 15:6, the story of the sacrifice of Isaac is in Genesis 22.
2:25.  Joshua 2 records Rahab’s actions and chapter 6 reveals the result: she and her family were sparred when the Israelites destroyed Jericho.

Memory Verse
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead, [James 2:26]

Next Lesson
Taming the tongue, two kinds of wisdom — James 3

1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.

Faith and Wisdom

² My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; ⁴ and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. ⁶ But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; ⁷ [8] for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Poverty and Riches

⁹ Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, ¹⁰ and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away.

Trial and Temptation

¹² Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. ¹³ No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; ¹⁵ then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved.

¹⁷ Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.^{a  18} In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Hearing and Doing the Word

¹⁹ You must understand this, my beloved:^a let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; ²⁰ for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. ²¹ Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

²² But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. ²³ For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; ²⁴ for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. ²⁵ But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

²⁶ If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. NRSV

Get into the Word

1. Who is writing this letter? How does the author refer to himself? Why do you think he chose this “title”? Who is he writing to?

2. What is the first topic the author deals with? How does he get into it? What encouragement does he offer? What is the result of following this advice? How do you think his readers reacted? 

3. What does the writer deal with next? Why is this important to the author? To believers? To you? How should a person ask God for help?

4. What does James say about relationships among Christians? What is different than the world’s approach to people? What happens to wealth?

5. What is the result of patience and endurance? How do we know this will happen? How are we to deal with temptation? What is the real source of this problem?

6. How does James describe believers? Who causes this condition to exist? What kind of action does it lead to? How does a Christian achieve this sort of life? How does a Christian respond to this message?

Get Personal

Have your prayers recently been more like a rock or a wave? How has God helped you pray expectantly for wisdom? How has he helped you endure or be patient?

1:1.  Servant — the Greek word includes “bondage” in its meaning.
Dispersion — the Greek word, diaspora, has come into English.
1:2.  Trials — the Greek word means “testing” [also v. 3] in the sense of proving the essence or validity. Many translations use “temptation.” The same word is used in Luke 22:28-29, Acts 20:18-20, and 1 Peter 1:6.
1:3.  Endurance — the Greek word includes “continuing,” “persevering,” and “patience” (which many translations use).
1:5.  Wisdom — like other New Testament authors, James always uses “wisdom” as the knowledge and understanding the Holy Spirit gives to believers, what Paul called “the secret wisdom of God,” [1 Cor 2:6].
1:6.  Doubting — the Greek word means “divided” or “separated” or “going in different directions.” It is a lack of conviction, not a concern about accuracy or veracity. James’ point is that a person who doesn’t trust God’s promise cannot truly act on that promise and, therefore, won’t see the results of the promise.
1:9.  Lowly — the Greek word includes “considered less” and “lower class” in addition to being economically poor. Similarly rich in verse 10 includes status and prestige in addition to money. James is encouraging Christians to see people as God sees them — members of Christ’s family — not as the world assigns status and position. God told Jeremiah Thus says the Lord: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the Lord; I act with steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord, [9:23-24].
1:13.  Tempted — the Greek word means “test,” “try” and “prove.” God does not set

a person up for failure, but he does want a believer to strengthen or enhance Godly characteristics. James makes clear in vv. 14-16 that the negative aspect of temptation is internal, not something that God, or the world for that matter, does.
Jesus said the same thing: And then he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride and folly. All these things come from within; and they defile you a person,” [Mark 7:20-23].
1:18.  Word of truth — James uses logos, the same word John uses to describe Christ [1:1].
First fruits — Jewish readers would be familiar with this phrase from the Mosaic requirements for sacrifices [see Num 18:12; Prov 3:9; Ex 23:19.] Paul uses a similar reference in 1 Cor 15:20.
1:19-20.  Here James’ style definitely echoes Proverbs [check Prov 10:19, 21:23, 14:29, 16:32, 25:28].
1:21.  Sordidness — the King James Version uses “superfluity of naughtiness.”
1:22.  Be doers  — Paul expresses the same idea: For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified, [Rom 2:13].
1:25.  Blessed — James is consistent with other New Testament authors in asserting that the Gospel provides freedom to believers [see John 8:32-37, 2 Cor 3:17, Gal 5:1, 1 Peter 2:16].
1:26.  Bridle — a metaphor: we must “guide” our speech as you would a horse or mule.
Religion — the external or ceremonial aspect, religious practice — which may or may not have any relationship with a person’s actual beliefs. James provides the contrast in verse 27.

Memory Verse
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world, [James 1:27].

Next Lesson
Faith in Action — James 2:1-26