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    James MacArthur New Testament Commentary
    James MacArthur New Testament Commentary
    James MacArthur New Testament Commentary
    Ebook558 pages11 hours

    James MacArthur New Testament Commentary

    By John MacArthur

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    Are there different degrees of faith? Does faith always prove itself only through action? James provides powerful, practical answers to timeless questions of the Christian faith, including teaching on how to gain wisdom, prevent hypocrisy, and control the tongue.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMoody Publishers
    Release dateMay 1, 1998
    ISBN9781575676357
    James MacArthur New Testament Commentary
    Author

    John MacArthur

    John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. He is known around the world for his verse-by-verse expository preaching and his pulpit ministry via his daily radio program, Grace to You. He has also written or edited nearly four hundred books and study guides. MacArthur is chancellor emeritus of the Master’s Seminary and Master’s University. He and his wife, Patricia, live in Southern California and have four grown children.

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      James MacArthur New Testament Commentary - John MacArthur

      Subjects

      Preface

      It continues to be a rewarding, divine communion for me to preach expositionally through the New Testament. My goal is always to have deep fellowship with the Lord in the understanding of His Word and out of that experience to explain to His people what a passage means. In the words of Nehemiah 8:8, I strive to give the sense of it so they may truly hear God speak and, in so doing, may respond to Him.

      Obviously, God’s people need to understand Him, which demands knowing His Word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) and allowing that Word to dwell in them richly (Col. 3:16). The dominant thrust of my ministry, therefore, is to help make God’s living Word alive to His people. It is a refreshing adventure.

      This New Testament commentary series reflects this objective of explaining and applying Scripture. Some commentaries are primarily linguistic, others are mostly theological, and some are mainly homiletical. This one is basically explanatory, or expository. It is not linguistically technical but deals with linguistics when that seems helpful to proper interpretation. It is not theologically expansive but focuses on the major doctrines in each text and how they relate to the whole of Scripture. It is not primarily homiletical, although each unit of thought is generally treated as one chapter, with a clear outline and logical flow of thought. Most truths are illustrated and applied with other Scripture. After establishing the context of a passage, I have tried to follow closely the writer’s development and reasoning.

      My prayer is that each reader will fully understand what the Holy Spirit is saying through this part of His Word, so that His revelation may lodge in the mind of believers and bring greater obedience and faithfulness—to the glory of our great God.

      Introduction

      In the introduction to the first edition of his German New Testament (1522), Martin Luther made the following oft-quoted remark about the book of James:

      In fine, Saint John’s Gospel and his first epistle, Saint Paul’s epistles, especially those to the Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and Saint Peter’s first epistle,—these are the books which show thee Christ, and teach thee everything that is needful and blessed for thee to know even though thou never see or hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore is Saint James’s epistle a right strawy epistle in comparison with them, for it has no gospel character to it. (Cited in James H. Ropes, The Epistle of St. James, The International Critical Commentary [Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1978], 106)

      The great Reformer was by no means denying the inspiration of James (as his phrase in comparison with them indicates). Nevertheless, his disparaging remarks about the epistle have been echoed by many throughout the history of the church. In fact, due to its brevity, the fact that it was addressed specifically to Jewish Christians, its lack of doctrinal content, and because it was not written by one of the twelve apostles or Paul, James was one of the last books added to the New Testament canon.

      But such downplaying of the value of James is shortsighted. Luther had little use for James because it contains little teaching about the great doctrines of the Christian faith that he so passionately defended. (In fact, some of his hostility to James stemmed from his Roman Catholic opponents’ misuse of James 2 to defend justification by works.) It is true that James is not a doctrinal treatise but an intensely practical manual for Christian living. Yet that does not lessen its value, since holy living and sound doctrine must not be separated. Commenting on the importance of James, D. Edmond Hiebert writes,

      This epistle sternly insists upon Christian practice consistent with Christian belief, heaps scathing contempt upon all empty profession, and administers a stinging rebuke to the readers’ worldliness. Its stress upon the gospel’s ethical imperative makes the epistle as relevant today as when it was first written. The presence of this practical epistle in the New Testament canon is a magnificent monument to the moral sensitivity and concern of the Christian church. (The Epistle of James [Chicago: Moody, 1979], 11)

      The book of James has been compared with the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, particularly the book of Proverbs, because of its direct, pungent statements on wise living. And James’s strong condemnation of social injustice (cf. chaps. 2, 5) has prompted some to call him the Amos of the New Testament. But James was also profoundly influenced by the Sermon on the Mount; in fact, as noted in chapter 1 of this commentary, his epistle may be viewed as a practical commentary on our Lord’s sermon. The extent of the Sermon on the Mount’s influence on James may be seen in his many references and allusions to it (see table).

      AUTHOR

      Of the various men in the New Testament named James, only two were prominent enough to have penned such an authoritative letter: James the son of Zebedee and brother of John, and James the Lord’s half brother. But James the son of Zebedee’s early martyrdom (Acts 12:2) eliminates him as a candidate, leaving James the half brother of the Lord as the author. James, along with the rest of Jesus’ brothers, initially rejected Him (cf. John 7:5). Later, however, he came to believe in Jesus as Israel’s Messiah. Such was his godliness and zeal that he soon became the recognized head of the Jerusalem church (cf. Acts 12:17; Gal. 2:9). James held that position until his martyrdom about A.D. 62. (For further biographical information on James, see chap. 1 of this volume.)

      Further evidence that James wrote the epistle comes from the strong verbal parallels between the book of James and James’s speech and letter recorded in Acts 15. The Greek infinitive verb chairein (greetings) appears in the New Testament only in James 1:1 and Acts 15:23 (except for its use by the Roman, Claudius Lysias, in Acts 23:26). Other parallels include beloved (James 1:16, 19; 2:5; Acts 15:25), your souls (James 1:21; Acts 15:24), visit (James 1:27; the same Greek verb is translated concerned Himself about in Acts 15:14), and turn in the sense of turning from sin to God (James 5:19–20; Acts 15:19).

      The epistle’s distinctively Jewish character is in keeping with the picture of James given in Acts 15 and 21. The book of James contains four direct quotes of the Old Testament and more than forty Old Testament allusions. In addition, James expresses himself in distinctly Old Testament terms, beginning in the first verse with the reference to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad. James describes the gospel as the law of liberty (2:12). He describes his readers’ meeting place using the Greek word transliterated synagogue (2:2). In 4:4 he uses the common Old Testament figure of adultery to describe spiritual defection. Contemporary Jewish abuses regarding oath taking are condemned in 5:12. The prominent Old Testament figure Elijah appears as an example of the power of righteous prayer (5:17–18). Such important Old Testament names as Abraham (2:21), Rahab (2:25), and Job (5:11) also appear in the epistle. James is also the only New Testament writer to employ the distinctly Old Testament title for God, Lord of Sabaoth [Hosts]. (Paul refers to that title only in a quotation from Isaiah in Romans 9:29.)

      Despite the specific inspired identification of James in 1:1 and the persuasive evidence that James the Lord’s half brother wrote this letter, unbelieving pseudoscholars have rejected him as author. They cite several unconvincing lines of evidence to support that dubious conclusion. Normally they would not even be helpful to consider, but they do provide a backdrop against which to further demonstrate features of the epistle related to its author.

      A simple Galilean peasant like James, they argue, was incapable of writing such excellent Greek. Research has shown, however, that many first-century Palestinian Jews likely spoke Greek in addition to Hebrew and Aramaic. That would have been especially true in predominantly Gentile Galilee (cf. Matt. 4:15), particularly in Nazareth, which lay on a busy trade route. Thus it is highly probable that James knew Greek from boyhood. And as head of the Jerusalem church, he would have been in daily contact with the Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jewish believers, who had been part of the Jerusalem church from its inception (Acts 6:1). That contact would have given James ample opportunity to polish his Greek.

      Others cite the lack of any emphasis on James’s exalted position as the Lord’s brother and head of the Jerusalem church as evidence that he did not write the epistle. But James, like Paul, recognized that knowing Jesus according to the flesh was no longer of any value (2 Cor. 5:16; cf. Matt. 12:47–50). Ironically, many of those same scholars claim 2 Peter to be pseudepigraphic (i.e., a pious forgery) precisely because it does contain autobiographical references to Peter. That conundrum prompted R.V.G. Tasker to remark that

      [if] the criteria of pseudepigraphy are so uncertain, we seem to be on surer ground if we assume that, even in the case of books which were received into the canon of the New Testament comparatively late, there was general agreement that they really were the works of the author whose names they bear. (The General Epistle of James, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975], 20)

      Actually, that the writer of James does not emphasize his personal authority argues convincingly that he was so well known and respected that such claims were unnecessary.

      Still others point to the epistle’s lack of emphasis on the great doctrinal themes of the Christian faith, particularly those concerning the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as evidence that James was not its author. James the Lord’s brother, who was well acquainted with those momentous events, surely would have mentioned them, they argue. But such a claim overlooks James’s purpose in writing his epistle which, as noted above, was practical, not doctrinal. And the absence of doctrinal content makes it difficult to discern any motive for a forger.

      Finally, some argue that the epistle’s references to persecution (1 : 2ff.; 2:6–7; 5:1–6) point to a date of writing after James’s death. But there is no evidence that the afflictions being suffered by these Jewish Christians were due to governmental persecutions. They were rather the result of the impositions of the rich upon the poor, the injustices of the employers toward their employees (D. Edmond Hiebert, An Introduction to the Non-Pauline Epistles [Chicago: Moody, 1962], 42).

      None of these arguments is sufficient to overturn the traditional view that James, the half brother of Jesus and head of the Jerusalem church, wrote the epistle that bears his name.

      DATE AND PLACE OF WRITING

      The absence of any reference to the Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15 (c. a.d. 49) points to a date of writing for James before that council met. It is unlikely that, in a letter addressed to scattered Jewish believers, James would have failed to mention the Jerusalem Council if it had already taken place. That early date is supported by the lack of any reference to Gentiles, Gentile churches, or Gentile-related issues (e.g., circumcision, or the eating of meat sacrificed to idols). The most probable span for James’s writing is a.d. 44–49, making it the first of the New Testament books to be written.

      The epistle of James was undoubtedly written from Jerusalem, the city where its author lived and ministered. For information on the recipients of James’s epistle, see chapter 1.

      As will be noted throughout this commentary, James wrote his epistle to challenge his readers to examine their faith to see if it was genuine saving faith. Accordingly, the outline is structured around that series of tests.

      OUTLINE

      Introduction (1:1)

      1 The Man and His Message

      (James 1:1)

      James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. (1:1)

      Counterfeiting is a major problem in our society. Forged money, credit cards, jewelry, works of art, and virtually everything else of value are passed off as genuine to deceive the unwary. Consequently, valuable commodities must be carefully examined to determine their genuineness.

      That is also true of the most valuable commodity of all—saving faith. A right relationship to the living, holy God of the universe with the promise of eternal heaven is incomparably priceless. Those who think they have it should carefully examine and test it to determine its validity. To be deceived by counterfeit money or a counterfeit work of art results only in temporal loss; to be deceived by a counterfeit faith results in eternal tragedy.

      The master counterfeiter of saving faith is Satan. Disguising themselves as angels of light (2 Cor. 11:14–15), he and his servants deceive the unwary through false systems of religion, including false forms of Christianity. Thinking they are on the narrow path leading to heaven, those who are trapped in counterfeit religion, or who simply trust in their personal concept of salvation, are actually on the way to eternal damnation.

      That deception extends to those within biblical Christianity who are deluded about their salvation.

      To be deceived about one’s relationship to God is the most dangerous and frightening delusion possible. Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount our Lord graphically portrayed that tragedy:

      Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. (Matt 7:21–23)

      Because of the ever-present danger of counterfeit faith, God’s Word continually calls for professed salvation to be tested for validity. In Psalm 17:3 David declared the results of God’s testing his faith: You have tried my heart; You have visited me by night; You have tested me and You find nothing. In Psalm 26:1–2 he pleaded, Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart. He echoed that plea in the familiar words of Psalm 139: Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way (vv. 23–24). Amid the chaos and desolation following the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah cried out to his fellow Israelites, Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord (Lam. 3:40).

      Through Ezekiel, the Lord says of the genuinely repentant man: Because he considered and turned away from all his transgressions which he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die (Ezek. 18:28; cf. Ps. 119:59). Through the prophet Haggai, the Lord exhorted His people, Consider your ways! (Hag. 1:5, 7).

      The New Testament also repeatedly stresses the necessity of testing faith. John the Baptist challenged the religious leaders of his day to bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt. 3:8). Describing his ministry to King Agrippa, Paul related how he kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance (Acts 26:20). He admonished the Galatians, Each one must examine his own work (Gal. 6:4), and the Corinthians, Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Cor. 13:5).

      The intended and inevitable result of saving faith is a life of good works, and it was for that very purpose that Christ redeemed the church. After declaring that salvation is by grace alone, the apostle Paul reminds believers that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Eph. 2:8–10). For the grace of God has appeared, Paul wrote to Titus, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age (Titus 2:11–12; cf. v. 14). The writer of Hebrews warned his readers: Let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it (Heb. 4:1; cf. 12:15). The fearful possibility of missing out on salvation calls for stringent self-examination. When the writer of Hebrews illustrated the essence of saving faith, he described the courageous obedience of Old Testament believers who demonstrated their salvation in lives of loyalty and faithfulness to God (11:1–39).

      The first epistle of John mentions many marks of genuine faith. It must go beyond mere verbal profession (1:6–10; 2:4, 9) and must include obedience to God (2:3, 5–6; 3:24; 5:2–3). The redeemed are marked by not loving the world (2:15), by living a righteous life (2:29), by forsaking and avoiding sin (3:6, 9), and by loving fellow believers (3:14; 4:7, 11).

      But no passage of Scripture more clearly presents the tests of true and living faith than the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus sets forth an extensive series of tests aimed at showing self-righteous Jews—typified by the proud, boastful, self-satisfied scribes and Pharisees (see 5:20)—how far short of genuine salvation they fell. By so doing, He unmasked their false religion, hypocrisy, and counterfeit salvation.

      The sermon begins with the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3–12), which delineate the attitudes that are to accompany genuine saving faith. Those attitudes include meekness, mercy, joy in persecution, humility, a sense of sinfulness, and a deep longing for righteousness.

      The next section (5:13–16) reveals the outworking of Beatitude virtues in the lives of the truly redeemed, who are as salt and light in the evil, dark, fallen world. Instead of being an influence for evil, they influence the world with God-given righteousness.

      True salvation will be marked by genuine commitment to the Word of God (5:17–20), by external righteous behavior that stems from internal righteousness of the heart (5:21–48), by proper worship (6:1–18), by a correct view of money and material possessions (6:19–34), and by right personal relationships (7:1–12).

      Jesus concludes the sermon by describing two paths to eternal destiny—the broad one that leads to damnation, and the narrow one that leads to life, which he exhorted His hearers to enter (7:13). He warned them to avoid false prophets, who sought to divert them onto the broad path that leads to destruction (vv. 15–20), and described the frightening consequences of empty profession in light of certain coming judgment (vv. 21–27).

      It seems clear that James was profoundly influenced by the Sermon on the Mount—the truths of which he doubtless heard in person from Jesus, either on that occasion or others—and many of its themes have parallels in his epistle. In fact, the book of James may well be viewed as a practical commentary on that sermon. Like His Lord before him, James presents a series of tests by which the genuineness of salvation can be determined.

      HIS BIOGRAPHY

      The first verse of this epistle introduces us to the human author, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. As explained in the Introduction, the James who penned this epistle was the half brother of the Lord. Contrary to Roman Catholic dogma, Joseph and Mary had other children after Jesus was born. That truth is implied in Matthew’s statement that Joseph kept Mary a virgin until the birth of Jesus (Matt. 1:25) and is explicit in Luke’s description of Jesus as Mary’s firstborn son (Luke 2:7, emphasis added). Those children were His half brothers and half sisters (cf. Matt. 12:46–47; Mark 3:31–35; Luke 8:19–21; John 2:12). Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 list Jesus’ half brothers as James, Joseph (Joses), Simon, and Judas. Paul explicitly calls James the Lord’s brother (Gal. 1:19). Mark also refers to Jesus’ half sisters, although not by name. That both Matthew and Mark list James first implies that he was the eldest of Jesus’ half brothers.

      Surprisingly, although they grew up with Him and observed firsthand His sinless, perfect life, Jesus’ brothers did not at first believe in Him. John records their unbelief exhibited by challenging Jesus to reveal Himself openly:

      Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world. For not even His brothers were believing in Him. (John 7:2–5)

      Their unbelief bore sad testimony to the truth of Jesus’ declaration that a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household (Mark 6:4). So strong was His brothers’ unbelief that they even thought Jesus had taken leave of His senses (Mark 3:21). (It is worth noting that His brothers’ unbelief disproves the apocryphal accounts of Jesus’ alleged childhood miracles—as does the direct statement of John 2:11 that changing the water into wine at Cana was the "beginning of His signs," emphasis added.) Their unbelief apparently lasted throughout Jesus’ earthly life and ministry.

      But by the time those who believed in Him gathered in Jerusalem after His resurrection, something remarkable had happened. Acts 1:13 notes that the apostles were there, and verse 14 adds: "These all [the apostles] with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers" (emphasis added). What happened to change His skeptical, unbelieving brothers into devoted followers? Paul gives the answer in 1 Corinthians 15:7, noting that after Jesus’ resurrection, He appeared to James. Doubtless as a result of that personal, post-resurrection appearance, James came to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

      The church was born on the Day of Pentecost and James, although not an apostle, soon became one of its key leaders. When Paul visited Jerusalem, he discovered that James, as well as Peter and John, were pillars of the church there (Gal. 2:9–12). Because the apostles were frequently away preaching the gospel, James eventually became the preeminent leader of the Jerusalem church. To borrow a contemporary term, he was its senior pastor. Following his miraculous release from Herod’s jail, Peter ordered the astounded believers to report these things to James and the brethren (Acts 12:17), clearly indicating that James had become the one to whom important news was to be first reported.

      James presided over the pivotal Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), which had been convened to decide the momentous question of whether salvation required obedience to the Mosaic Law or was by grace alone working through faith. After much debate, Peter, Paul, and Barnabas reported God’s gracious salvation of Gentiles through their ministries (vv. 6–12). James then reinforced Peter’s point, handed down the council’s decision (vv. 12–21), and most likely composed the resulting letter to Gentile believers (vv. 23–29). Many years later, when Paul returned to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey, James again appears in the presiding role. Luke reports that after we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present (Acts 21:17–18). The plurality of elders did not negate James’s primary leadership role, as equality of apostolic office did not negate Peter’s leadership of the Twelve.

      Also known as James the Just because of his righteous life, he was martyred about a.d. 62, according to Josephus.

      HIS CHARACTER

      a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, (1:16)

      In spite of his prominence, what stands out in the first verse of his epistle is James’s humility. He does not describe himself as Mary’s son and the Lord’s brother, refer to his position as head of the Jerusalem church, or mention that the resurrected Christ personally appeared to him. Instead, he describes himself simply as a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Doulos (bond-servant) depicts a slave, a person deprived of all personal freedom and totally under the control of his master. Absolute obedience and loyalty to his master (who provided him with food, clothing, and housing) was required of every doulos. In contrast to the andrapodon, who was made a slave, the doulos was born a slave. James had become a doulos by his new birth through faith in Jesus Christ.

      To be a doulos of God was considered a great honor in Jewish culture. Such Old Testament luminaries as Abraham (Gen. 26:24), Isaac (Gen. 24: 14), Jacob (Ezek. 28: 25), Job (Job 1:8), Moses (Ex. 14:31), Joshua (Josh. 24:29), Caleb (Num. 14:24), David (2 Sam. 3:18), Isaiah (Isa. 20:3), and Daniel (Dan. 6:20) are described as God’s servants. In the New Testament, Epaphras (Col. 4:12), Timothy (Phil. 1:1), Paul (Rom. 1:1), Peter (2 Pet. 1:1), Jude (Jude 1), John (Rev. 1:1), and our Lord Himself (Acts 3:13) all bore the title of doulos. By taking that title, James numbered himself with those honored not for who they were, but whom they served—the living God.

      HIS MINISTRY

      to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. (1:1c)

      In addition to his vital leadership role in the Jerusalem church, James also had a wider ministry. The term twelve tribes was a title commonly used in the New Testament to refer to the nation of Israel (cf. Matt. 19:28; Acts 26:7; Rev. 21:12). Although the twelve tribes split into two nations (Israel, the northern kingdom, and Judah, the southern kingdom), God’s chosen people always consisted of the Jews from all twelve tribes, which one day God will sovereignly reunite (Ezek. 37:15–22). When the kingdom split after Solomon’s reign, ten tribes made up the northern kingdom of Israel, and Benjamin and Judah formed the southern kingdom of Judah. After the fall and deportation of Israel to Assyria (722 B.C.), some of the remnant of the ten tribes moved south, thus preserving the twelve tribes in Judah’s land. Although tribal identity could not be established with certainty after Judah was conquered and Jerusalem and temple records were destroyed by Babylon (586 b.c.), God will restore the nation and delineate each person’s tribal identity in the future (Isa. 11:12–13; Jer.3:18;50:19; Ezek. 37; Rev. 7: 5–8).

      James was therefore addressing all Jews who [were] dispersed abroad, regardless of their tribal origins. In this context, abroad refers to any place in the world outside of Palestine. Over the previous several hundred years, various conquerors (including the Romans in 63 B.C.) had deported Jews from their homeland and spread them throughout the known world. In addition, many other Jews had voluntarily moved to other countries for business or other reasons (cf. Acts 2:5–11). By New Testament times, many Jews lived abroad. The Greek word diaspora (scattering) became a technical term to identify Jews living outside Palestine (cf. 1 Pet. 1:1).

      From the message of the letter itself, as well as from James’s frequent addressing of his readers as brothers, it is clear that he is writing to Jewish Christians. It is likely that most of those believers were converted in or near Jerusalem and may have once been under James’s pastoral care to some degree. James’s primary audience were those Jews who had fled because of persecution and were still suffering trials because of their faith (1:2). To give them confidence, hope, and strength to endure those trials, James gave them a series of tests (see the Introduction) by which they could determine the genuineness of their faith.

      HIS GREETING

      Greetings. (1:1d)

      Chairein (greetings) means rejoice, or be glad, and was a common secular greeting. But to James the word was no mere formality; he expected what he wrote to gladden his readers’ hearts by giving them means to verify the genuineness of their salvation. That, James knew, would provide great comfort to them in their trials, which Satan persistently uses to try to make Christians doubt they are indeed God’s children and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ.

      2 From Trouble to Triumph—Part 1

      (James 1:2–3)

      Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (1:2–3)

      To test the genuineness of a diamond, jewelers often place it in clear water, which causes a real diamond to sparkle with special brilliance. An imitation stone, on the other hand, will have almost no sparkle at all. When the two are placed side by side, even an untrained eye can easily tell the difference.

      In a similar way, even the world can often notice the marked differences between genuine Christians and those who merely profess faith in Christ. As with jewels, there is a noticeable difference in radiance, especially when people are undergoing difficult times. Many people have great confidence in their faith until it is severely tested by hardships and disappointments. How a person handles trouble will reveal whether his faith is living or dead, genuine or imitation, saving or nonsaving.

      In the parable of the sower, Jesus explained that those [seeds that fell] on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation [testing] fall away, and that the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance (Luke 8:13, 15).

      Everyone who lives in this world endures some measure of trouble. That is the consequence of the Fall, the natural result of sinful human nature and of a world and society corrupted by iniquity. Job’s friend Eliphaz well understood that truth, saying, For man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward (Job 5:7). In reply to another friend, Job himself said, Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil (14:1). David cried out to the Lord, Be not far from me, for trouble is near (Ps. 22:11), and Isaiah declared, Look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish (Isa. 8:22). Solomon wrote despairingly, I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind…. Because all of [a man’s] days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest (Eccles. 2:17, 23).

      God’s own children are not exempt from trouble, and there will be trouble related even to the best of things that He gives us. In marriage and family life (the best gift He has given for earthly happiness), trouble is inevitable (1 Cor. 7:28). Jesus assured His disciples that in the world you have tribulation (John 16:33). Though sinless Himself, He was deeply troubled and wept when He saw Mary and the friends of her brother Lazarus grieving over his death (John 11:33). He grieved because of Judas’s betrayal (John 13:21), and was deeply grieved, to the point of death over the prospect of taking the sin of the world upon Himself (Matt. 26:38; cf. John 12:27). Paul testified that he was afflicted in every way (2 Cor. 4:8); and to varying degrees and for various reasons, that is the experience of everyone. We expect occasional trouble in our job, in school, in society, even in our family and in our church. We know that we cannot escape criticism, frustration, disappointment, physical pain, emotional pain, disease, injury, and eventually death.

      Christians also can expect trouble because of their faith. Jesus said, If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (John 15:20). Paul reminded Timothy that indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted(2 Tim. 3: 12).

      As mentioned in the Introduction, James’s major emphasis in this present text, and in the entire letter, is that if a person’s faith is genuine, it will prove itself during times of trouble, whatever the nature or source of the trouble may be. For that reason, this epistle is valuable for unbelievers as well as believers. That is especially true for unbelievers who consider themselves to be Christians and need to recognize that faith that is reliable only when things are going well is not saving faith and is worth nothing. It is, in fact, worth less than nothing, because it deceives those who trust in it. Not only will it fail them when they need help the most but, immeasurably worse, it will lead them to think they are headed for heaven when, in reality, they are headed for hell.

      James shows that when faith is but an empty profession or mere sentiment not based on firm and intelligent convictions of divine truth, the fire of trouble will burn it up. But where there is true faith, affliction naturally leads to deeper thought on one’s true condition than under other circumstances and thereby frees the heart from deception and self-righteousness. The source of weakness leads to earnest wrestling with God in prayer; and the experience of the sustaining grace thus obtained strengthens and exhilarates hope.

      Scripture mentions at least eight purposes for the Lord’s allowing trials to come into the lives of His people. First, is to test the strength of our faith. In many ways the Lord assists us in taking spiritual inventory by bringing trials into our lives to demonstrate to us the strength or weakness of our faith. A person who becomes resentful, bitter, and self-pitying when troubles come plainly exposes weak faith. On the other hand, a person who turns more and more to the Lord as troubles get worse and asks His help in carrying the burden just as plainly demonstrates a faith that is strong.

      God told Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction (Ex. 16:4; cf. Deut. 13:3–4). We are told of King Hezekiah that God left him alone only to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart (2 Chron. 32:31). In His omniscience God already knew what was in Hezekiah’s heart, but He wanted the king to discover that truth for himself. Jesus mentioned many tests of true faith, which included a caution to would-be disciples: If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple (Luke 14:26).

      Habakkuk, pondering God’s devastating warning that He was sending the Chaldeans to conquer and all but decimate His people, testified, Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation (Hab. 3: 17–18). After questioning God’s wisdom and justice in allowing him to experience such unbelievably terrible afflictions, Job confessed to his Lord, I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes (Job 42:5–6).

      Second, trials are given to humble us, to remind us not to let our trust in the Lord turn into presumption and spiritual self-satisfaction. The greater our blessings, the more Satan will tempt us to look on them as our own accomplishments rather than the Lord’s, or as our rightful due, and to become proud rather than humble. Paul testifies that, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! (2 Cor. 12:7).

      Third, God allows us to suffer trials in order to wean us from our dependence on worldly things. The more we accumulate material possessions and worldly knowledge, experience, and recognition, the more we are tempted to rely on them instead of the Lord. These things can include education, work success, important people we know, honors we may have been given, and many other types of worldly benefits that often are not wrong in themselves but can easily become the focus of our concern and the basis of our trust.

      On one occasion when a large crowd followed Jesus and the disciples to a mountain, Jesus asked Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?’ This He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do (John 6:5–6). Philip failed the test, replying, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient

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