JAMES 4:8-12   Concerning James’s command to “draw nigh to God” (James 4:8), we must remember that it takes time to be holy. Although our position in Christ at the moment of salvation provides an absolute holiness, as we live the Christian life from day to day, it takes time...

JAMES 4:13-17   We do not need to be in a state of unrest about the future. Some worry needlessly and wonder, Why doesn’t God let me know what He has in mind for me in the future? Some young people may be thinking about the mission field and wondering...

JAMES 4:4-7   Consider the accusation of James concerning the illicit love affair with the world as stated in the following paraphrase: “You are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband’s enemies. Don’t you realize that making friends with God’s enemies—the evil pleasures of this world—makes you an enemy...

JAMES 4:1-3   James was well aware of the fact that conflict among believers comes from the personal war that goes on within each person. This conflict within the believer is also referred to in Romans 7:23: “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of...

JAMES 3:13-18   It is significant that the characteristics James first listed for godly wisdom are purity and peaceableness. These two have an important relationship. An individual is made pure through faith in Jesus Christ, and this establishes peace between God and himself. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by...

JAMES 3:7-12   Is it not strange that the tongue can be praising God one moment and be slandering some person the next moment often right in the church where the tongue had been used to praise God? We may even hear the preacher talk about not slandering others, but...

JAMES 3:1-6   Consider four parallels that a fire has with words spoken by the tongue: It hurts, it spreads, it consumes, but it can have a good use under control. It only takes one false or bitter word to hurt deeply. In fact, the hurt may be so deep...

JAMES 2:14-26   A cold, austere, intellectual faith that does not manifest itself by action is nothing more than a mental assent to the existence of God. James taught that this kind of faith is really no faith at all—it is a dead faith. It is not enough just to...

JAMES 2:1-13   James summed up man’s responsibility to his neighbor by urging him to fulfill the “royal law” (James 2:8). He who fulfills this law of Christ will love all men alike and will look with contempt on none. Because he will be concerned about the value of a...

JAMES 1:26-27   When Jesus Christ is really indwelling a person, it will result in true religion. The word “religion” as used in James 1:26-27 is not synonymous with the word “salvation.” James used it in the sense of an outward expression of that which is inward. The inner faith...