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Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James 9 These study notes are produced to coordinate with the weekly teaching series “Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James” by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at ffclife.com.

Shoe-Leather Theology: Study of James

Week 2 James 1:1-12

The Trouble with Trials “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.” – James 1:2-4

Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.–William Barclay

The reality of suffering creates within us questions regarding God’s justice and life’s purpose. For millennia, the best philosophers and theologians have attempted to resolve the apparent discord between belief in an all-good and all-powerful God and the pervasiveness of wickedness, evil, and suffering in the world He created. At the same time, scientists and saints alike have struggled against the natural order of things, desperately trying to bring lasting relief to humanity’s misery. In the end, many people in this world end up enduring through their short lives by dulling the torment with mind- or body-numbing methods that distract them from the pain but never deliver them from it—drugs, alcohol, entertainment, busyness, education, travel … even world-denying religious pursuits. But while such things can provide a temporary means of escape, the floodwaters of adversity eventually rise above the highest hills of retreat. Trials of life—or death—eventually overtake everybody. Without exception.13

Victorious Faith During A Lifetime of Suffering 1] James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the

twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. James was actually Jacob (Iakōbos). It is not certain why the English translators

chose “James” rather than “Jacob.” “James,” “Jake,” and “Jacob” all come from the same root. Bible translations in other languages tend to utilize the transliterated name from the actual Hebrew “Jacob” (ya‘ăqōb). Could it be that King James

13 Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on James and 1 & 2 Peter, Swindoll’s New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), 26–27.

0 Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James These study notes are produced to coordinate with the weekly teaching series “Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James” by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at ffclife.com.

desired to see his name in the English translation he authorized?14

James, or Jacob, described himself simply as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. James considered himself a bond-slave (doulos). He was the property of God and of the One he could have called his “Brother,” the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously James recognized the deity of Christ by placing Him coequal with God. Furthermore, James used His full name, “the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Jesus” means “Savior” and “Christ” is the Greek for “Messiah,” the “Anointed.” The eternal “Lord” became the Savior, “Jesus,” and rose again as everlasting Sovereign, “Christ.” The Lord of lords is King of kings (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16).15

“A servant” - He knew Christ after the flesh no more: he honors Him as Lord and Messiah and links His name with that of God the Father. Whatever doubts he may have once had, they are gone now.16

There are at least four implications in this title.

a. It implies absolute obedience. The slave knows no law but his master’s word; he has no rights of his own; he is the absolute possession of his master; and he is bound to give his master unquestioning obedience.

b. It implies absolute humility. It is the word of a man who thinks not of his privileges but of his duties, not of his rights but of his obligations. It is the word of the man who has lost his self in the service of God.

c. It implies absolute loyalty. It is the word of the man who has no interests of his own, because what he does, he does for God. His own profit and his own preference do not enter into his calculations; his loyalty is to him.

d. Yet, at the back of it, this word implies a certain pride. So far from being a title of dishonor it was the title by which the greatest ones of the Old Testament were known. Moses was the doulos of God (1 Kings 8:53; Daniel 9:11; Malachi 4:4); so were Joshua and Caleb (Joshua 24:29; Numbers 14:24); so were the great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Deuteronomy 9:27); so was Job (Job 1:8); so was Isaiah (Isaiah 20:3); and doulos is distinctively the title by which the prophets were known (Amos 3:7; Zechariah 1:6; Jeremiah 7:25). By taking the title doulos James sets himself in the great succession of those who found their freedom and their peace and their glory in perfect submission to the will of God. The only

14 J. Ronald Blue, “James,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 819.

15 Ibid. 16 Chuck Missler, Notes on the Epistle of James. (Coeur d'Alene, ID: Koinonia House),

24.

Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James Page 21 These study notes are produced to coordinate with the weekly teaching series “Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James” by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at ffclife.com.

greatness to which the Christian can ever aspire is that of being the slave of God.17

The letter is addressed to the 12 tribes scattered among the nations. James was writing to the Jews dispersed from their homeland. The technical term “scattered” (diaspora) occurs in only two other places in the New Testament (John 7:35; 1 Peter 1:1). It refers to the Jews who were scattered among the Gentiles as their ancestors had been in the days of the Captivity. Though the 12 tribes of Israel are scattered, they are never lost. They are again listed at the close of biblical history in the Book of Revelation: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin (Rev. 7:5–8; cf. 21:12).18

Few dispute the Jewishness of this letter, though we perhaps still need to remind ourselves that “Judaism” is not separate from “Hellenism.” It appeals to the Tanakh often (1:11; 2:8-10, 23; 4:6; 5:4,5), alludes to it constantly (e.g., 1:13-15, 27; 2:20-26; 3:9; 4:7-10, 11-12; 5:10-11, 17), and breathes throughout the spirit of biblical Judaism as it came to expression in diverse ways by the first century ad. The author chooses to call his audience something thoroughly biblical—“the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (1:1)—and he calls God “the Lord of hosts” (5:4). He frames theology at times in nomistic categories (2:8-10; 4:11-12) and clearly reveals a penchant for the Shema in the form taught by Jesus (cf. 1:12; 2:5, 8-11; Mark12:28-32). It is this Jewish James we seek, and the simplest search is to ask if the brother of Jesus fits the evidence of the letter.19

The idiom, Greetings, common in thousands of ancient papyri letters, does not stand alone in any other New Testament letter. This is the Greek salutation much like the English “Hello” or “Welcome.” (See comments on 2 John 10–11.) It is interesting that James did not add the Jewish salutation “Peace” (šālôm). Paul usually included both the Greek and Hebrew greetings, which are translated “grace and peace.” James undoubtedly sought to maintain a crisp style and the simple elegance of good Greek even though he wrote to fellow Jews. Furthermore, the play on words between “greetings” (chairein) in James 1:1 and “joy” (charan) in verse 2 is thus more evident.20 James addresses these beleaguered believers with a single word: “Greetings.” Though a common form of official greeting at that time (Acts 15:23), the Greek word chairein literally means “to rejoice,” as in Romans 12:15—“Rejoice (chairein) with those who rejoice!” This contrast between his readers’

17 William Barclay, ed., The Letters of James and Peter, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 1976), 35–36.

18 Blue, 819-820. 19 Scot McKnight, The New International Commentary on the New Testament –

The Letter of James, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2011), 23. 20 Blue, 820.

Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James These study notes are produced to coordinate with the weekly teaching series “Shoe-Leather Theology: A Study of James” by First Family Church, Ankeny, IA. More resources on this series are available at ffclife.com.

harried situation and James’s exhortation to “count it all joy (charan)” in the very next line sets the tone for his letter.21

Some detect similarities between the James of Acts15 (and his letter there) and the James of the letter.

1. The letters have similar beginnings:

• James 1:1-2: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. My brothers [and sisters] ...

• Acts 15:23: The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believers of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.

• See also James 1:16, 19, 25; Acts 15:25 on the word “brothers.”

2. The letters each express the need to “keep” oneself from sins:

• James 1:27: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

• Acts 15:29: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

3. The letters each connect “listen” to “brothers”:

• James 2:5: Listen, my beloved brothers [and sisters].

• Acts 15:13: My brothers, listen to me.

4. The letters each use the name invoked upon the believers:

• James 2:7: Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

• Acts 15:17: so that all other peoples may seek the Lord—even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called.

5. The letters use some distinctive vocabulary:

• “Care for” pastorally (James 1:27; Acts 15:14), “turning” as conversion (James 5:19-20; Acts 15:19).

An honest analysis admits these connections do not represent the most important terms in James, that some vary both in substance and form, and that each can be explained in other ways. But it must also be admitted that in a letter the length of Acts 15:23-29 the parallels to James are noteworthy if not remarkable. At

21 Swindoll, 27.


the minimum, these interesting coincidences cannot be forgotten in this discussion.22

The Christian and Trials Structurally, James states that the purpose of trials is to produce mature Christian

character (1:2-4), but, knowing that discerning the purpose of trials is no easy matter even for the spiritually mature, James then exhorts the messianic Jewish community to ask God for wisdom when they encounter trials (1:3-8). Revealing just what he has in mind, James now turns to the specific form of trial the messianic Jewish community is encountering: it is facing poverty in the context of others having wealth (1:9-11). And James clearly sides with the poor who can learn to glory in their (paradoxical) exaltation. In his “plausibility structure,” to be poor means to be on the right side of God’s work. Finally, because James knows that his community will ask the penetrating question and that some are already questioning the goodness of God, he turns to how God relates to trials (1:12-18). God is good, James teaches, and trials are an opportunity for the community to be tested. Sin emerges from the human condition and can be overcome by the “new birth” (1:18) as it creates a new community as a foretaste of what is to come.23

2] My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, When God’s people are called upon to pass through great trials, it is not

evidence of God’s displeasure. (Cf. Job: that book is not about “why do the innocent suffer?” If it was, it really wasn’t answered. The reader is let in on a conversation that Job had not overheard. It is about attempting to maintain the Divine Viewpoint; the larger picture.)

Trials - The Greek word James uses for “trial” is peirasmos, which appears a second time in 1:12. The word can refer to tests that challenge the integrity of one’s faith (as in 1 Peter 1:6). But it can also refer to “temptations,” things that appeal to our sinful tendencies and challenge our moral integrity (Luke 4:13). In verses 2–12, James deals with the first meaning—tests that challenge a believer’s faith. Then, in verses 13–18, he treats the second meaning—temptations to sin. Before we address the testing aspect of these trials, let’s look at two things James tells us in this verse about these tests of faith.24

“Temptations” here does not refer to being tempted to sin, but rather the testing of faith.

James quickly launches into the substance of his letter, and trials are one of his central themes (cf. 2:1-7; 4:13-17; 5:1-6). The issue for understanding 1:2-18, and even 1:2-27, is the relationship among the various paragraphs—is this a loosely

22 McKnight, 24. 23 McKnight, 68. 24 Swindoll, 27.


connected series of exhortations on a variety of topics or a largely coherent unit dealing with the same situation (poverty) and offering a variety of exhortations (patience, wisdom, etc.)? This commentary will propose that 1:2-27 is a single unit addressed to a specific audience: the poor messianic community that is being oppressed by persons in positions of power.

Various - The Greek word for “various” (poikilos) can mean diverse, variegated, or many-colored. In other words, trials occur in all shapes and sizes. Like unwelcome guests, they burst into our lives unannounced and stay too long! Trials may be frequent and frustrating or epic and life-changing. We can never predict.25

Why Count it All Joy When Trials Confront Us?

A significant question becomes why James urges the messianic Jewish community to face trials with joy, and there are two fundamentally different approaches. The first is to see the Christian life as a pilgrimage and the ground for joy in an eschatological reward. Such a motivation is threaded through the entire fabric of earliest Christianity,

25 Swindoll, 28.


and eschatology is a foundational element of earliest Christianity. Thus, the Apostle Paul can say in Romans 5:2-5 that sufferings produce hope, and Peter can say in 1 Peter 1:6-7 that sufferings prove faith for the day Jesus is revealed. James himself holds hands with such an eschatological basis for facing trials for in 1:12, and in 2:5 he states that the one who endures testing is promised a crown of life. While this eschatological focus of final redemption and release from trial ought not to be minimized, this is perhaps not all that James has in mind. He seems to have more earthly things in mind as well: suffering should promote endurance (1:2-4), justice (1:20), a life full of love and compassion (1:26-27; 2:1-13, 14-17), and peacemaking (3:18). When James focuses on the eschaton he speaks of it as judgment (2:12-13; 4:12; 5:1-6, 7-9) and as death that brings to an end the messianic community’s opportunity to realize the will of God (1:15; 3:13-18; 4:7-11, 13-17; 5:7-9, 10-11, 20). Thus, to focus “joy” in this text on one’s heavenly reward seems out of step with what James has in mind.

On the other hand, a second view of why the messianic community ought to be joyous should not be quickly discounted: Acts 5:41 relates that the apostles left the Sanhedrin, after being flogged for their faith, “rejoicing” because “they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 connects suffering to generosity and to the example of Jesus Christ, and does so in language similar to James 1:2-4, 9-11. The connections in James 1:2 to such an early Christian tradition are as substantial as those in Romans 5:2-5 and 1 Peter 1:6-7, and it needs to be observed that in 1:2-4 James does not delve into eschatology: the focus is on discipleship as character and moral formation. Thus, a discipleship or imitatio Christi ground for this joy has every reason to be considered part of the thought-world of James. 26

The Purpose for Trials: The "Why?"

3] knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. These verses in James 1 link very intimately with what Paul has written in

Romans 5:1-5. It is no evidence of God's displeasure when His people are called on to pass through great trials. If one professes to have faith in the Lord he can be sure that his profession will be put to the test sooner or later. We so frequently lose courage and become despondent in the hour of temptation, instead of realizing that it is the very time when we should look up into the Father's face with confidence, knowing that He is working out some purpose in us which could not be worked out in any other way. We are called on to "count it all joy" when we fall into many trials. The word temptation, as used in the King James version, does not refer to our being tempted to sin, but rather to the testing of our faith, as when God tested Abraham.

Paul wrote that tribulation worketh patience, and James affirmed the same: "The trying of your faith worketh patience" (v. 3). By nature we are inclined to be fretful and impatient. Even Christians sometimes rebel against the ways of God when these

26 McKnight, 73-74.


go contrary to their own desires. But he who learns to be submissive to whatever God permits glorifies Him who orders all things according to the counsel of His own will. David said his soul had quieted itself as a weaned child (Psalm 131:2). This is patience exemplified. When natural nourishment is suddenly taken from a baby and he is given other food more suitable for his age, he becomes peevish and fretful. But when he is gradually weaned all this is ended, and he accepts gratefully the food offered to him.

As we grow in this grace of patience until there is no longer any rebellion against the will of God, a strong Christian character is developed. We become mature and whole, no longer craving for what God sees fit to withhold. This is real victory achieved through superhuman wisdom, which God is waiting to bestow in answer to prayer (v. 5).27

The purpose of suffering; preparation for ministry. If one professes to have faith in the Lord he can depend upon it that his profession will be put to the test sooner or later.

First, the testing of faith produces endurance (1:3). That’s the immediate result.

Testing - The Greek word for “testing” is dokimion. It refers to a means of authenticating something. Like a prospector biting into a gold nugget to test its quality, God applies specific tests to each of His children, assessing their faith to reveal its true character.

Note that the object of God’s testing is “your faith.” Our heavenly Father is no mad scientist trying to torture his subjects to the breaking point. He’s more like an expert trainer who knows which muscles to develop, what diet to follow, and what schedule to keep in order to bring about the best results. The goal is not to snap our faith muscles, but to stretch and strengthen them, producing endurance—a term derived from two Greek words that together literally mean “to abide under.” We would say, “to hang in there.”28

4] But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

We are, by nature, fretful and impatient. We rebel against the ways of God and want our own way. But he who learns to be submissive to whatever God permits glorifies Him who orders all things according to His own will.

David said his soul had quieted itself as a weaned child: Ps 131 (only three verses that says it all). Fed on more mature food, although initially fretful and

27 H. A. Ironside, H. A. Ironside Commentary – James, 1 & 2 Peter, (San Diego, CA: Horizon Press, 1947), 12-13.

28 Swindoll, 28–29.


peevish, it accepts gratefully the new nourishment. The goal is maturity and the development of a strong Christian character. Becoming mature and whole, no longer craving for what God sees fit to withhold: this is real victory, but it requires superhuman wisdom.

The third purpose of testing is to mature us: "But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (1:4). Testing is a process. It has to go on and on until full maturity is reached and we become people of demonstrable Christian character.

The word for "perfect" is teleiōs. It indicates something that has reached its end, something that is finished. It carries the idea of being fully developed, of being complete, or of being initiated. The word was applied to people who were fully instructed in something in contrast to those who were mere novices. Paul used the word when writing to carnal and immature Corinthians to describe a believer who had advanced beyond the need of elementary teaching (1 Cor. 2:6-7). James has in mind patience leading to perfection in performance—a "perfect work." The word for "entire" is holoklēros. Paul used the word when he wrote to the Thessalonians. He told them that, in view of the coming rapture, they should be whole in spirit, soul, and body. The idea is that every grace present in Christ should be manifested in the believer. Or, as James puts it, "wanting [lacking] nothing."

• Patience is a farmer's word. The farmer plows and plants his field, but then he has to wait patiently for the harvest.

• Patience is a photographer's word. We see him as he goes into the wilds to get videos of a cuckoo putting its eggs in another bird's nest or of a crocodile tenderly picking up its newly hatched young in her mouth. He has to find the right spot, build his blind, set up his cameras—and then settle down to wait.

• Patience is an astronomer's word. His calculations tell him of the impending visit of a comet or the coming of an eclipse. In no way can he hurry the process. If he wants to see the comet or the eclipse, he must wait.

• Patience is natures word. A time exists in the ripening process of a peach or an orange when it has all of its various parts. It is as much a peach or an orange as it is ever going to be, but it is not yet ripe. If the fruit is picked at that stage, it will be hard and bitter. Much fruit that is sold today is like that. The tomatoes are red and round and ripe—or so they seem. The peaches are beautiful in color, shape, and texture, but they have been forced in the growing process, and they have been picked too soon. The result is disappointing. The tomatoes are hard and dry, the oranges are sour, and the peaches are tasteless. They have been picked before they are ripe. Impatience has spoiled the process.


• Patience is God's word. God is never in a hurry. God's word to us is "Wait!" It takes time for the earth to complete its journey around the sun. It takes time for the tide to come in. It takes time for a child to grow into a man or a woman. And it takes time to bring a person to full maturity in Christ.

We live in the day of fast-food restaurants, instant news, and instant entertainment. We try to carry all of this hurry over into spiritual life. A celebrity professes to be saved. He is lionized, promoted, hurried from place to place to give his testimony, and applauded on every hand. A young man shows promise as a preacher. He is invited here, there, and everywhere to preach his half a dozen borrowed sermons. He gets on the conference circuit and ascends the pulpits of the megachurches. Then, crash! Down he goes. God's word on all of this hurry is "Wait!" He says, "Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil" (1 Tim. 3:6). Patience!29

QUOTE: The people I regard as having great Christian character invariably have learned how to handle life in the crucible. It’s the mother who’s lost a child and is able to say to God, “You gave, and You took away. Blessed be Your name.” It’s the father who, having given his best at the firm for years, loses his job and says to his family, “Let’s get together tonight and thank God for this opportunity to trust Him.” It’s the teenager who says, “I won’t surrender my principles. I’ll maintain my standards even though I am shunned and treated like an outsider by my peers.” That’s the marvelous quality of maturity. A completeness and wholeness emerge when we patiently “hang in there.”30

“let endurance have its perfect result” (1:4). The language communicates the idea of cooperation with God’s work. We find a similar idea of a passive cooperation with God’s plan in 1 Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” Just as a potter may use her fingers to mold a work of art, so God’s fingers work through various circumstances to bring about His perfect result of maturity and completeness in the lives of His people.31

29 John Phillips, The John Phillips Commentary Series – Exploring the Epistle of James: An Expository Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2004) 29-30.

30 Swindoll, 29. 31 Swindoll, 30.


The Need for Wisdom During Testing

5] If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

We all lack wisdom. Knowing our need is the first step to receiving what we need.

Understanding the "why" of trials is a very human necessity. James tells us to ask for wisdom.

In this context, wisdom can be defined as the ability to view life from God’s perspective. James says this kind of wisdom comes by prayer (1:5). It might be something as simple as, “Lord, in the midst of this loss or heartache or failure, I ask You for wisdom. Help me, first to see what I’m going through from Your viewpoint, and then I ask for faith not to give up.”32

Life's testing times can be perplexing. The great question that looms in our lives at such times is "Why?" It was the first thing that Job said after cursing the day of his birth (Job1:11-12, 22). It was a question that his friends tried to answer for him, although their conclusions only aggravated Job, who knew them to be false. When God finally answered Job, it was with a series of unanswerable questions of His own centering on the word who. It is the mark of growth when we stop asking "Why?" and start asking "Who?" Job's attention was thus weaned from his sorrows to God's sovereignty. No wonder that his book found its way into the Word of God as containing the highest wisdom!

We learn from James that we need wisdom when the strong tides lift and the cables strain. "If any of you lack wisdom..." he begins (1:5). Not all of God's people are wise, and even the sagest of them can collapse when the fiery trial comes. The word for "wisdom" is sophia. It is more than knowledge. A person might memorize the Encyclopedia Britannica—and yet act like a fool. Wisdom is more than the intelligent apprehension of knowledge acquired. A person might earn half a dozen doctorates and be totally blind toward spiritual things. Einstein, one of the great geniuses of all time, is said to have been much put out by the "Big Bang" theory of the beginning of the universe because that line of reasoning would force him to face the fact of a creator.

With James, wisdom has to do with applying the circumstances of life to Christian living. We are to live like Jesus lived—in step with the will of God. The Lord went to the cross with all of its agony, suffering, and pain because He trusted the wisdom and eternal purpose of God. The cross was God's will, part of the plan. The Lord Jesus accepted that fact (1Cor.1:17-2:16).

32 Swindoll, 30.


James knew that many Christians lack this kind of wisdom. The word for "lack" is leipō, the same word as in the preceding verse. It means to be destitute, wanting, or defective. If we are defective in wisdom, we will not know how to handle problems when they arise. And who has not felt totally inadequate at times to deal with situations that have arisen? James has a solution for this state of affairs.33

Speak, Lord, in the stillness, While I wait on Thee; Hushed my heart to listen, In expectancy. Speak, O blessed Master, In this quiet hour; Let me see Thy face, Lord, Feel Thy touch of power. For the words Thou speakest, They are life indeed; Living bread from heaven, Now my spirit feed! All to Thee is yielded, I am not my own; Blissful, glad surrender, I am Thine alone. Speak, Thy servant heareth, Be not silent, Lord; Waits my soul upon Thee For the quickening word. Fill me with the knowledge Of Thy glorious will; All Thine own good pleasure In Thy child fulfill. Like a watered garden, Full of fragrance rare, Lingering in Thy presence, Let my life appear.

33 Phillips, 30-31.


Speak, O Lord Speak, O Lord, as we come to You To receive the food of Your Holy Word. Take Your truth, plant it deep in us; Shape and fashion us in Your likeness, That the light of Christ might be seen today In our acts of love and our deeds of faith. Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us All Your purposes for Your glory. Teach us, Lord, full obedience, Holy reverence, true humility; Test our thoughts and our attitudes In the radiance of Your purity. Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see Your majestic love and authority. Words of pow'r that can never fail— Let their truth prevail over unbelief. Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds; Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us— Truths unchanged from the dawn of time That will echo down through eternity. And by grace we'll stand on Your promises, And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us. Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built And the earth is filled with Your glory.34

6] But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

But if we make a request in a formal manner without the implicit confidence in His readiness to answer, we dishonor Him.

Receiving wisdom requires following certain rules. For various reasons, our prayers can be denied and our request for wisdom refused. One such reason is

34 "Speak, O Lord." Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend. Copyright © 2005 Thank you Music


indecision: "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering" (1:6a). James flings wide open the door of prayer. Then he slams it shut again because praying has rules just as everything else has rules. One rule is that our prayer must be in line with God's "good and acceptable and perfect" will (Rom. 12:2). A prayer for wisdom certainly comes within that condition, but it must be tendered to the throne of God in faith. We must be trusting totally in God. Faith is defined for us as "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). The Holy Spirit adds that "without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6).35

"For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed" (1:6b). It is an apt illustration. Nothing is more uncertain, unpredictable, and unstable than a storm-tossed wave. It heaves this way and that, at the mercy of each howling gust of wind, and blowing now from this point of the compass and now from that. The man who looks to God for wisdom, then rushes for counsel to this person and that person, tries this angle and then that angle, rushes down this path and then that path, and tries this door and then that door is making a mockery of his prayer for wisdom.36

7] For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

To ask in faith requires knowing that our petition in is accordance to His will.

Double Minded Man

8] he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. The man of God is not given to change (Prov 24:21). Continuously veering from

one course to another reveals instability that lacks being under divine control.

Paul wrote to the Galatians (5:8), “This persuasion (peismonh, peismone) cometh not of Him that calleth you.”

Changeableness is evidence of an unsubdued will (and, perhaps, an inflated ego.)

The man who habitually looks to God for guidance will be certain of his path.

The word for "double minded" means literally "double souled," indicating a man of divided loyalty. The word for "unstable" can be translated "restless." Perhaps James had in mind the warm word of commendation given to the tribe of Zebulun

35 Phillips, 33. 36 Phillips, 35.


at the time of David's accession to the throne. The warriors of Zebulun were "expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, which could keep rank: they were not of double heart" (1 Chron. 12:33). The Hebrew idiom is literally "a heart and a heart."

The double-minded person cannot make up his mind. He comes to a fork in the road, and he cannot decide which way to go, so he perishes at the crossroads. Life does not stand still. If we refuse to make a decision when the time comes, circumstances take over and make the decision for us. A man stands undecided at the bus stop. The bus arrives, the passengers alight, people around him push on board, and still the man hesitates. The doors close, and the bus moves off. His indecision was a decision, after all—a decision to do nothing. Many a double-minded person has forfeited salvation that very way. Indecision is culpable when a person is unable to make up his mind about God and the things that God has to say. God's Word says, "Choose!" (Josh. 24:15; Hos. 10:12). 37

James describes this kind of deep-seated doubt as being “double-minded” (James 1:8). The word dipsychos literally means “two-souled.” It appears here in the book of James for the first time in all of Greek literature, and James may even have invented the word. By the way, if you invent a word, you get to define it—so let’s let James define it for us. James uses the term again in 4:8—“Purify your hearts, you double-minded.” It indicates an impurity of our inner person. Where there should be one thought, goal, attitude, or devotion, we find two competing thoughts. Consequently, a double-minded person is one who wants his or her will and at the same time God’s will. That kind of person is unstable in everything he does. Pause and imagine what happens when a double-minded individual faces a double-barrel trial in life!38

9] Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, Ps 25:9 - “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his

way.”

We should rejoice being in the hand of Him who makes no mistakes.

10] but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.

Psalm 39:5 - “Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.”

37 Phillips, 36. 38 Swindoll, 30–31.


[Selah: to pause; to lift up. It is a connector; a thought-link. Sometimes synthetic, adding a developmental thought. Sometimes antithetic, adding a contrast. 74X in OT: 71 in Psalms; 3 in Habakkuk 3. 1 ]

Ps 39:6 - “Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.”

11] For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

Ps 90:12: “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

Crown of Life

12] Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

The Crown of Life: the Martyr’s Crown (Rev 2:10: “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”)

(Not to be confused with eternal life, which is the free gift of God. Eternal life can never be forfeited, or it isn’t eternal. John 10:25-29.)

Can we lose our crowns? Rev 3:11- “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” [Note: to Philadelphia.]

Five Different Crowns

There are (at least) five:

1. Crown of Life (here) James 1:12; Rev 2:10.

2. Crown of Rejoicing 1 Thessalonians 2:19 “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”

3. Crown of Righteousness 2 Timothy 4:8 “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

4. Crown of Glory 1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

5. Incorruptible Crown 1 Cor 9:24-27.


Run the Race

24] Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

25] And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

26] I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

27] But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Others: Philippians 4:1 - “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy

and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” Cf. Ps 8:5; 103:4; Lk 22:29.

Rewards: 2 Cor 5:10 - “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;

that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Reward: Profit or Loss? Missing note in contemporary dispensational premillennialism.

Jesus spoke more about this than about eschatology...

Sermon on the Mount: blessed by being persecuted? Great is your reward in heaven...

Rev 22:12 - “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

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