“This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” Jam: 1:19-21
St. James, who many believe, was the very brother of our Lord Jesus, was writing to early Christians. His epistle is believed to be one of the very first pieces of Christian writing possibly written around 50 AD or even sooner.
“James, the brother of the Lord” Gal: 1:19
It is possibly addressed to Jewish
Christians due to its somewhat Jewish tone and reference to the Law, but it’s
admonishments have broad appliance to all believers in all ages regardless of
their background or geographic locations.
“to the twelve tribes scattered abroad” Jam: 1:1
If, St. James is addressing a largely
Jewish audience who had been reared in the keeping of the Law, the Torah, many of them may have interpreted difficulties
in life as the evidence of God’s displeasure for short comings or failures on
their part as some may have taught them to believe , or, it could be that St.
James may have been be conveying to Gentile Christians that they were not
experiencing difficulties due to curses levied upon them by God as they had
been taught to believe about the capricious pantheon of pagan “deities” , who were believed to do from-time-to-time upon those who
displeased them.
Some Biblical Scholars see this “twelve tribes” reference to Christians, being the
Covenant people of God within the world. Some others view this as a reference
to Jews living in northern Asia Minor.
Having Trails
St. James was addressing many believers
in the Apostolic Church who were enduring varies challenges and trials in their
Christian lives. The Apostle is, in his opening paragraphs giving these
Christians encouragement to trust in the goodness and provision of God for the
salvation of, not only their “souls”, but salvation
while they are facing trials, and to persevere in this trust in the Lord Jesus.
“Consider it all joy, my brethren,
when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith
produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Jam: 1:2-4
The trials in which these believers
found themselves had been causing some of them to question their trust and
reliance in God, and some, were even beginning to question whether the God, who
they had been taught about, had their best interest and good at heart, or even
if God had the power save them out of the trials, and some were becoming
tempted to turn to their own devises to resolve these difficult situations.
The Word
These Christians had heard the word of
the Gospel which speaks of the salvation, goodness, faithfulness and divine
love of God as is expressed toward us through his Son Jesus and his faithful
execution of the plan of God to manifest salvation to all humanity and not just
to Israel if they would but freely receive it.
These Christians had heard the word and
had accepted it, but challenges in life were causing them to doubt and
vacillated in their thoughts about the Lord God.
St. James encourages his readers, and
Christians throughout the ages, to endure and hold onto the wisdom of trusting
in God for his divine assistance and power in giving and providing, and
sustaining them, and saving them, even in the midst of their difficulties and
not to be vacillating in their thoughts about God.
“knowing that the testing of your faith
produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any
of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and
without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith
without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea,
driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he
will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable
in all his ways”. (3-8)
St. James, wants us to know that our
God is a giving God who gives not just material sustenance but his very self to
us, this is what we are not to be “double minded”
about.
It is not that God cannot or won’t give to us, it is we won’t receive it due to our skewed perception of who God is. This being “double minded” about our God causes us inner turmoil and stress when we won’t or can’t receive form God what he tells us he so willingly wants to grant and give to us all.
“who gives to all generously and without
reproach” (4b)
It is as if, God is continuously
pouring out his blessing upon us in a lavish way but we are not receiving them
because of our inaccurate views or presumptions and assumptions about God.
St. James knows that we all are human and can succumb to the temptation to
arrive at wrong conclusions about who God tells us he is.
The Apostle, if James is indeed the “brother of our Lord”, he would have grown up in the
same household with Jesus and would surely have known and witnessed Jesus’
loving, gracious and giving nature. James would have come to know who Jesus is
over an extended period of time.
We are to “ask in faith”, which is,
trusting in who God tells us who he is in his word which is bound up in the
Gospels about who Jesus is as the Son of God. That our God, not only has saved
us for eternal life, but can save us in the midst of our trials therefore we
should trust him.
St. James is telling us, that the
trials which befall us in life are not out of punishment but rather shows us
our need for reliance and trust in God. St. James is saying “do not misinterpret who God is”.
The trials which we experience reveal
to us our misconceptions regarding God. Trails reveal to us, who we believe God
to be and what we each believe about God. Our God knows what we will do in the
midst of our challenges and he wants us to know it as well.
The Apostle writes of the futility and
temporary nature of giving into to the reliance upon anything other than our
God, how anything which we can do or have, is only short lived, but rather, we
are to trust in God alone. (9-12)
When we come to see this, that is, where
we still have a skewed perception about God, then we can look back to who
the word of God tells us he is and as is revealed to us in the Holy person of
God’s Son Jesus, who not only tells us about God, Jesus shows us about God.
Our God has now saved us and wants us to walk
as being saved and as his heirs here and now, living life in participation with
our Lord Jesus who lives in us through the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes, the devices of the flesh
seem to offer us a way of coping with trials but they will, in the
end, lead us astray and will keep us from knowing our God. (13-16)
This reliance upon anything other than our
Lord is described by St. James as “wickedness” because it keeps us from knowing
our God and receiving what he wants to give us.
Being Saved
Sometimes, it is difficult for us to
receive God’s salvation in our circumstance. We tend to view being “saved” only in terms of God giving us future eternal
life. This is in fact true, but however, salvation is for us even here and now,
not just in eternity to come, but now.
God has the power to bring his salvation into
our lives even now, not just someday. That is, being saved is our status
which we are given by grace through Jesus, even now, and this being saved is
manifested in God’s divine power and providence toward us which is being given
to us even when we can’t receive it in our experience.
St. James want us to receive
it and reminds us of what the word of God tells us about our God, who he
is, and not to trust in any other, which will only further obscure
who God is toward and for us.
St. James, tells us to trust in God’s
goodness as his word say’s and reminds us that all good which has come to us in
life finds it origin with our God and that we should trust who the word of
Scripture tells us that he is. God is eternally constantly who he is toward us
and for us and is not one way or another.
“Jesus Christ
is the same yesterday and today and forever” Heb: 13:8
Power to Save
St. James give us the solution to which
we are told to trust. We are admonished to look to no other but our Lord God
who has the power to bring forth salvation into all of lives here and now.
He tells us to recall what we have been
told through the word of the Gospel about God. This word, is now within our
hearts placed there by God, not just for the sake of knowing information, but
for and knowing him and for the transformation of our very lives, manifesting
salvation in us and to us here and now. We need to be “quick to hear” this word for it tells us our God has
power to save.
“This you know, my beloved brethren. But
everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for
the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. (19-20)
The Epistle tell us that word which has
been implanted with in us, “is able to save your souls.”
St. James uses the Greek word “emphuton” which is
translated “implanted”. The word “emphuton” can
only be found within St.James' epistle in the New Testament, and convey to us
a “sense of being united or living in union.”
This means, that God has placed his
word within our hearts and minds so that we can live in unity and union with
him here and now and into eternity. It means, to be fully accepting and
experiencing who God is, and conversely who we are in Jesus.
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness
and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word
implanted, which is able to save your souls.” (21)
St. James then gives us confidence that
God has the power to answer our needs and wants to do so for us, and that this
“implanted” word which is given subsequently that we
might be in union with Jesus, and carries the power to transform us in this
union.
St. James is saying that “God has the power to do this”, to save us , even now in
the midst of trails and difficulties, that God “is able to save your souls”.
The Greek word translated “able”, is “dumamenon” it means
with “very much power”. He is telling us that God’s
power to act is unlimited and he can and will do so on our behalf.
God will act to save us in our trials.
St. James draws upon the Greek word “sosai” which
means to “grant liberation from oppression”, whatever form that “oppression” takes.
The Lord’s brother is telling us to embrace
the truth about who God is, who has the power to bring us release. And to trust
who God has revealed himself to be, and that he is able and has power to save
us, so that we might walk in freedom and trust in who he is, as his word tells
us.
God is a God who loves us and is always
giving to us and lavishly pours out his blessing upon even in the midst of
trials if we will but receive it from him.
The word which our God has placed
within our hearts and minds tells us to trust him, for his word tell us all
that he “is able to save your souls” now and on into
eternity.
Benediction: May we each and all give heed to
the word of God implanted in our hearts and minds, which has great power to
save us, today, tomorrow and forever more. Amen.
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Rev. Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma
“If
It's Not About Jesus, It's Not About Anything!”
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