James 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
           
In v. 16 James is clear that Christians are not to arrogantly chart their own course for the future, for they have no power over anything and must rely on God for all things. This truth is one that every true Christian knows, for no one coming to Christ for salvation believes they are in control. The very acknowledgment of needing a Savior implies that one is lost and unable to control anything. Therefore, since acknowledging God’s sovereignty is basic to the Christian faith, the true believer “knows the right thing to do.” If he “does not do it, to him it is sin.” So, v. 17 is connected to v. 15, for James urges believers to consider God in all their plans. Failing to do so is sin—the sin of omission. These sins are just as heinous as the sins of commission whereby the person sins defiantly. This is illustrated in the third servant of the parable of the talents when he chose not to invest his money (Matt. 25:14-30) and the people who chose not to help those in need (25:31-46). These folks were not condemned for what they did but for what they failed to do—the sin of omission. Jesus said, “That slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes” (Luke 12:47). In sum, James is saying something like, Now that the issue has been made evident to you, you have no excuse for not obeying. Since you know what should be done, you are now obligated to do it.
           
Some who profess to know Christ learn all about God’s will, yet they choose to disobey it and arrogantly expect that their disobedience will be forgiven. Peter addresses this sin: “For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them” (2 Pet. 2:21). Virtually no other action displays man’s selfish pride more than to know God’s will but deliberately disobey it. Believers simply cannot take God’s will with a grain of salt, believing they can take it or leave it. Obedience always is the only option for Christians. God does not negotiate.
           
Ironically, there are some today who claim that following Christ is not only impossible but miserable. Yet the irony is that the only misery in choosing not to obey Christ becomes the ultimate misery for them in the end. Jesus said, “That slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more” (Luke 12:47-48). Although believers can indeed overtly disobey Christ, true believers who do will also be disciplined by God until they repent and submit to His will. For God disciplines those He loves (Heb. 12:5-11). Those who sin freely, who say they love God yet who are not disciplined by God, expose themselves not as God’s children but as the devil’s. For there are only two kinds of people: the children of God and children of the devil (1 John 3:10).

Food For Thought
Our tendency is to pray for forgiveness for the things we do wrong while not seeking forgiveness for the things we never do. Because of this, we might do well to sit and consider all the ways in which we fail God by not engaging in that which we know we should. From encouraging the downtrodden to helping those in a financial pinch to seeing a need in the nursery at church and stepping up to help, there are numerous ways that we can attend to the things that are right in front of us. We won’t forfeit our salvation for remaining as we are, but we can certainly forfeit the heavenly rewards that await our faithful conduct (1 Cor. 9:24-27). Yet blatant disregard for God’s will exposes counterfeit Christians for who they really are. It might not seem like a big deal today, but when we answer for it, it will be humiliating (Col. 3:25).
            

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James 4:13-16 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.

James’s tone in v. 13 is pointed and prophetic as he regards the audacious attitude of his audience as falling short of the Christian standard for godliness. In spite of their faith in Christ, their self-centered attitude had caused them to become practical atheists—folks who say they believe in God but who live as if He does not exist. Setting their sights on getting rich, these presumptuously made their plans as to when they would go, where they would go, and what they would do without leaving any room for God to direct their paths (cf. Ps. 37:3-6; Prov. 3:5-6). To be sure, it was not that James was against Christians making future plans or earning a living by working hard for their money, he just wanted them to trust God for such, not themselves.

What James rails against is the attitude that living one’s life without God is the way Christians should live day to day—that they make their own choices, pave their own paths, and determine their own futures. This attitude may exist in worldly unbelievers, but it has no place with Christians. God’s people are to make their plans with God in mind and hold them loosely.

It is absolutely absurd for anyone to think that they can direct their own paths. After all, James says that all of us are like “a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” In short, man is frail and fleeting, here one minute, gone the next. We are prone to illness in the prime of life or an accidental death through no fault of our own. No wonder Proverbs 27:1 says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” Life is but a “breath” (Job 7:7; cf. Ps. 39:5). Jesus likewise warned, saying that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15), a truth He illustrated with a parable about a rich man who, like those in James’ audience, made presumptuous plans for acquiring more. Yet he was prevented from accomplishing his goals due to an untimely death (Luke 12:16-20).

It is important to note that James did not rebuke capitalism, hard work, and planning for the future. He simply urged the qualifying phrase, “If the Lord wills,” to counter presumptuous, self-serving plans. This was not only customary for Paul (Acts 18:21; Rom. 1:10; 1 Cor. 4:19; 16:7) but for Jesus as well who prayed for God’s will over His own (Luke 22:42). Though one will not find this qualifying phrase attached to every plan of Jesus or the apostles in the NT, it is clear that they functioned daily under this guideline and did nothing without God’s leading.
     
Summing up the sins of his audience in v. 16, James accused them of boasting of things for which they had no control. This, James says, is “evil” (Gr. ponēros). The JB Phillips translation captures this well, saying, “You get a certain pride in yourself in planning your future with such confidence.” Since none of us can chart our own future with absolute certainty, it is sinful to arrogantly assume control over one’s life. To be sure, charting our future is wise, but to believe that we are in control of our lives is to disregard the God who gives and sustains life itself. Plans should therefore be made and bathed in prayer, saying, “Only if it is Your will, O Lord.”

Food For Thought
Presumptuous plans are simply inconsistent with our Christian worldview, for when we proclaim our autonomy and independence from God, we make ourselves a god. In the Christian worldview, there is a sovereign and almighty God who gives life, sustains life, directs paths, protects, intervenes, listens, and ultimately decides our fate. We must consult and submit to Him.
            

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James 4:11 Do not speak against one another, brethren. 
           
If misinterpreted, James’s words will contradict other NT teachers, including Jesus Himself. Contextually, James teaches against Christian brothers speaking ill of one another and slandering each other based upon their jealous and selfish ambitions. But to conclude that James was against all forms of judgment would be to negate the very words he uses to judge his audience’s sinful judgments. Of course James’ words of judgment are consistent with Jesus and His apostles.
           
Like James, Jesus rebuked sin in Israel, teaching His followers to confront sin and deal with it. He said, “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matt. 18:15-20; cf. Deut. 19:15).
           
Like James and Jesus, Paul rebuked Christians for their immoral behavior. Among the many sins he rebuked the Corinthian church for, he also spoke out against sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5-6) since sexual sins violate God’s Law (cf. Lev. 18:6-8; 20:11). In fact, Paul was horrified that the guilty parties in Corinth were not being judged by Christians in light of God’s Law. The Corinthians not only failed to mourn the sins in their midst, they were acting arrogantly. This is why Paul admonished them to act in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor 5:4)—doing as Jesus had instructed, and judge sinner. This is why Paul handed the guilty man “over to Satan” (5:5).

Just as James taught against slandering fellow believers in 4:11, Paul said, “I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. ‘Remove the wicked man from among yourselves’ ” (1 Cor. 5:11-13).

We cannot help but notice all the immoral practices Paul mentions—sinful ways that must be confronted and ultimately judged by church members. After all, Christ has established His Church on the earth and given authority to those who uphold God’s Law, which is Christ’s words. For when God’s people act in accordance with God’s words, God is in their midst (Matt. 18:20), judging those who blatantly defy Him. He does this through Christians in the church.
           
Notably, Paul was not saying that Christians had to be perfect in order to associate with one another. His point was that those who persist in the very activities they have been freed from after their conversion must be shunned. Shunning them was to be done in love with the goal of drawing them back into fellowship. Persistence in sin is what separates us from the community of believers who might be shunning us for our sin. In essence, it is the sinner’s own choice to be shunned. But it is vital to note that the apostles’ command to shun these sinners likely involves only the corporate gathering of worship, not individual contact (cf. 2 Thess. 3:14-15).

Food For Thought
            Blatant sin must not be tolerated in our churches since it permeates like leaven and ends up corrupting the entire congregation. In obedience to James, let us never judge others out of jealousy; rather, let judgment stem from our zeal for God’s holy name to be glorified.
            

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James 4:11-12 He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
           
Since many in James’ audience were in conflict with each other, full of jealousy and selfish ambition (3:14, 16; 4:1-2), using their tongues to degrade one another (3:5-12), having become friends of the world and exalting themselves (4:4-6), James reproves them, commanding them not to “speak against” (Gr. katalaleō) one another (v. 11). This term denotes slander or insult—from questioning the authority of leaders (Num 21:5) to secretly belittling another (Ps. 101:5) to accusing falsely or even making insinuations against Christians (1 Pet. 2:12; 3:16). In short, slander entails setting oneself above another as an envious judge. God fervently opposes this.

What James adds in v. 11 is that speaking against a fellow believer is one and the same as speaking against God and His Law. After all, God’s Law commands us to love both God and man. In the OT Law, God said, “You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am Yahweh” (Lev. 19:16, LSB). So the “law” James speaks of is the OT Mosaic Law—the “royal law” he spoke of in 2:8 admonishing Christians to love their neighbors as they love themselves (cf. Lev. 19:18).

Jesus Himself said that the greatest Law was to love God with all of one’s heart, mind, and strength (Matt. 22:37). He then added the caveat that we are also to love our fellow man as we love our own selves (22:39). These two commands of Jesus summarize the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses in Exodus 20:1-17. The first four concern our vertical love for God (no god other than God, no graven images, no taking God’s name in vain, and keeping the Sabbath Day holy). The next six concern our horizontal love for one another (honor your father and mother, no murder, no adultery, no stealing, no lying, and no coveting our neighbor’s property). If we love God, we keep the first four; if we love our neighbors, we keep the second six. Clearly, “love” is the key term for all of God’s commands. Failure to keep God’s commands is therefore slander—of God, His Law, and the people God made in His image.

Of course every law demands a lawgiver, and since there are unchangeable laws of nature, logic, mathematics, love, aesthetics, and morality, there must be an ultimate lawgiver—God. As the Lawgiver and Judge (v. 12), God reveals the magnitude of the sin of one who slanders Him by slandering another person. Such slander is actually a violation of God’s unique right to judge His own, for He alone is “Judge.” Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28). So if God is Judge, James asks, “But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?” This is akin to Paul’s “Who are you O man who answers back to God?” (Rom. 9:20, italics mine). God is the righteous Judge, so what right has man to usurp God’s role as Judge? Absolutely none.

Food For Thought
It is hypocritical judgment that God hates, not all judgment, for God has ordered Christians to rebuke sin and judge sinners who refuse to repent. Jesus addressed the need to confront sin in order to restore or exclude a sinner (Matt. 18:15-20), and Paul spoke of handing defiant sinners over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh in order that their souls might be saved in the end (1 Cor. 5:5; cf. Gal. 6:1). James thus had every right to judge his church’s sin with his rebuke of their abuses and slander of each other and God. He was not guilty of slandering them in this; rather, he was encouraging godly behavior by rebuking their ungodly behavior.
            

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James 4:11 Do not speak against one another, brethren.
           
The verb “speak against” (Gr. katalaleō) refers to slander—a malicious tongue (cf. 3:1-12) driven by jealousy and selfish ambition (3:14; cf. Pss. 41:7-8; 109:3). In James’ context, such slander was occurring among Christians—James specifically addressing Christians in the church, referring to them in v. 11 as “one another,” “brethren,” “a brother,” and “his brother.” Now in light of the fact that “a good name is to be more desired than great wealth” (Prov. 22:1; cf. Eccl. 7:1), to slander another Christian’s good name is quite the heinous sin. Note:
 

• “You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord” (Lev. 19:16).
• As to he who will dwell with God in eternity, it is “Those who refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors, or speak evil of their friends” (Ps. 15:3, NLT).
• God says, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; no one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure” (Ps. 101:5).
• “You let your mouth loose in evil and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son” (Ps. 50:19-20)
• “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip” (Prov. 20:19).
• Paul lists slanderers among the worst of sinners: “…slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents” (Rom. 1:30, italics mine).

Of course slander originated in Eden (Gen. 3) by Satan, the “devil” (Gr. diabolos) which means “slanderer” (Rev. 12:10). Slandering is thus satanic, not godly. No wonder we are to flee from the devil (Jas. 4:7). Jesus said, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man” (Matt. 15:19-20). Paul thus wrote, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice” (Eph. 4:31; cf. Col. 3:8; 1 Pet. 2:1).

Slanderers stir up arguments between friends (Prov. 26:20), they spread conflict among peaceful people (6:19), and they can destroy friendships (Prov. 16:29; 17:9). Slander adversely affects its victims with deep emotional wounds (Prov. 18:8; 26:22), even destroying some (Prov. 11:9; Isa. 32:7). It obviously has no place in our churches among Christians.

Food For Thought
       There are many examples in Scripture regarding the slander of others and the damage it causes. Ziba, the servant of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, accused his master of plotting to seize David’s throne (2 Sam. 16:3). Though this charge was denied by Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 19:25-27), it hurt his relationship with David. Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, appointed two scoundrels to slander the decent man Naboth, leading to his execution (1 Kings 21:13). Sanballat and Geshem slandered the Jewish exiles along with Nehemiah, falsely claiming they plotted to rebel and make Nehemiah their king (Neh. 6:5-7). Haman, the Persian general of Xerxes, slandered the Jews in order to plot their annihilation (Esther 3:8). After David sought to honor the Ammonite prince Hanun, Hanun slandered him, resulting in in more than forty thousand deaths (2 Sam. 10-12; cf. Ps. 31:13). John the Baptist was slandered as having a demon (Matt. 11:18), as was Jesus (John 8:48), as well as being a drunkard (Matt. 11:19). Also, Paul (Rom. 3:8) was slandered as teaching false doctrine. Slander is just too easy! May we never again succumb to this odious sin.
            

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Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (ESV).
           
Paul spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 20:31). During that time “God was performing extraordinary miracles” through him and casting out demons (19:11-12). Others tried to mimic this in the name of Jesus, but they were humiliated (19:13-16). Paul’s admonitions were thus not so far-fetched to the Ephesians since they had witnessed demonic oppression in their city. Of course Paul did nothing that Jesus had not previously done in and around Palestine, for Jesus is portrayed throughout the Gospels as relieving those who were demonically oppressed through exorcism. This in itself was one of the most obvious signs of the arrival of God’s kingdom.
           
The enemy we as Christians face is not government or the evil candidates that run for office. God has set up government as the tool through which He works, as His servant, and Christians are commanded to comply with the governing authorities (Rom. 13:1ff.; cf. Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-14). That these governments can become demonic, however, is evident to all who follow Christ. In fact, Revelation 13 reveals that the government of the end-times will be the devil’s conduit through which he himself rules the world. That Satan would corrupt what God made good is nothing new, for he has done that from the beginning of time. Man allowed Satan to rule over him in Eden, and God has allowed it, intervening throughout history to protect His own and allow His perfect plan to unfold in the process.
           
The process of allowing evil in the world by God can be seen in history, dating back to Eden in Genesis 3. It continues even today, for Satan mixes enough truth with error to dupe just about everyone he hunts. Truth-twisting is his expertise. Today his biggest lies are that sexual pleasures and materialism are the paths to happiness. He also loves to cause people to doubt God’s goodness, as he did with Eve in Genesis 3:1-5. Yet those who pursue these sinful ways remain depressed, anxious, and fearful. No wonder alcohol and drug abuse are so common. People are looking for a fix, something to help them find peace or power. Satan is always there to lure those looking for such things. He goes to great lengths to destroy lives, having no conscience, no pity, no guilt. He has emotions, however, rejoicing when people fail, suffer, or die; being infuriated and humiliated when God’s people stand up under trial and resist him (cf. James 4:7).
           
The attacks of the devil are rarely done in the open. He hides well in pseudo-Christianity, a wolf dressed up as a lamb—sometimes in the pulpit preaching at large churches, but other times a quiet congregant no one suspects is spreading lies, hurting children, and creating doubt about the truth of Jesus Christ and His word. He came to the Council of Nicea in AD 325 to propose that Jesus was not God through the followers of Arius. He succeeded for centuries in keeping the Bible untaught in churches until Martin Luther faced him at the Diet of Worms in 1521. Having been around for thousands of years, he has become a skilled philosopher, a cunning theologian, a capable psychologist, and a lovable preacher. Yet behind it all, he hates Jesus and Christians, and he will won’t stop until either Christ’s church is destroyed or he is. Though his doom is guaranteed by God, so too is the doom of all who fall prey to his schemes.

When Christ appeared, He came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Satan is powerful, but he is no match for God. He is merely a tool of God’s, being used to separate God’s children from his own (1 John 3:10). We as Christians are therefore to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, putting on the full armor of God, and standing firm (Eph. 6:1-13). If we are filled with the Spirit (5:18), Satan’s forces cannot subdue us. But if we choose to let him has his way with us, we put ourselves in danger and welcome the demonic host into our lives.
            

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1 Peter 5:5-7 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
           
Peter’s words in 1 Peter 5:5-7 sound just like James’ words in 4:7-10. Though it is estimated that Peter wrote his letter some 20 years after James, the fact that he says essentially the same thing James did 20 years prior points to the commonality of the problem James saw in the Jerusalem Church. Though Peter’s audience was distinct (1 Pet. 1:1-2), the same problems existed in multiple cities where there was a church. Submission to God and humbling oneself in His sight was, and is, the ultimate answer—coming through repentance and prayer.

An insubordinate flock under their pastors is one that thwarts the sanctification process and makes life and ministry difficult, if not impossible, for the pastors of any church. Thus, Peter’s admonition to the younger men, as it was to the wives in relation to their husbands (3:1-6) and to the church in relation to the governing authorities (2:13), was that they “submit” to the church elders. The word means “to line up under” as a soldier under authority. Few need this instruction more than young men, then as now (cf. Heb. 13:7, 17), for young men tend to believe themselves to be wise when in fact they are dull, and strong when in fact they are helpless.

Peter’s words in v. 6, which are God’s words, instruct those with such pompous attitudes to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.” To “clothe” literally means “to tie something on oneself,” and perhaps Peter recalled the picture of Jesus on the night he before He died when He clothed himself in a towel to wash the feet of the disciples (John 13:3-11). This humility is “lowliness of mind”—an attitude so contrary to worldly thinking that those who would abide in it would be completely set apart from the world in submission to those in authority. Those without humility believe themselves superior to all; they are therefore unable to submit to anyone. Note God’s words through His prophet Isaiah: “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at my word” (66:2).

Now since “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (v. 5; cf. Prov. 3:34), true Christians have only one course of action: “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” God’s “mighty hand” was an expression associated with how He delivered Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 3:19; Dan. 9:15), but it is also descriptive of God’s sovereign work through His chosen leaders in the church. Obedient ones will be “exalted”—both on earth and in heaven.

In v. 6, Peter says to “cast” one’s “anxiety” upon God. To cast is to throw something, and here in this verse it signifies how one humbles himself. Failure to cast is to continue in one’s pride and with one’s quest to do all things themselves. David wrote the same thing in Psalm 55:22 after being betrayed by a friend. Peter must have drawn from this so as to encourage arrogant people that even the mighty King David submitted himself and his work to God.

Food For Thought
As Christians, our humility will be seen as we accept the suffering that God has ordained for us without complaining. After all, God told Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Jesus promised that everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11; cf. Jas. 4:10). Humility makes us less apt to be offended by others and allows our relationships to run much smoother. With humility, we can actually listen to people! So, let us cast our worries on God, humble ourselves before Him, and let affliction drive us to God instead of allowing it to sever us from Him.
            

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James 4:9-10 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
           
James 4:9-10, if taken out of context, sounds downright morbid. Does God want His people miserable, mourning, and weeping? In a sense, yes, He does! But these imperatives are part of a greater context where professed Christians are called to repent in light of their guilt of showing favoritism (2:1-7), having faith without works (2:14-26), using their tongues to slander (3:1-12), and being full of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition (3:14)—sins that equate to murder of the heart (4:2; cf. Matt. 5:21) and spiritual adultery—departing from God to befriend the world (4:4).
           
James 4:7-8 gives numerous imperatives for repentance to the guilty: “submit to God” and “resist the devil” (v. 7); “draw near to God… cleanse your hands… purify your hearts” (v. 8). Here in vv. 9-10 James introduces more imperatives for repentance. First, “be miserable.” This term (talaipōreō) entails brokenness from the recognition of being separated from God due to sin (cf. Rom. 3:16; 7:24; Jas. 5:1; Rev. 3:17). The term is not about feeling sad about a rough time in life, and it is not about the religious asceticism that some have practiced throughout the centuries, denying themselves certain pleasures or punishing themselves for various sins. Applying James’ form of repentance entails owning one’s sins and being miserable about them.
           
Accompanying our misery over our sins, we are to “mourn and weep” over our spiritual adultery—our friendship with the world. This is not simply about realizing the depths of our sin; it concerns feeling grief and sorrow for such—the way we might mourn the death of a loved one. This is why Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). He was talking about sin! Of course weeping naturally follows the deep emotion of realizing we have offended our holy God. Such weeping is illustrated in Peter after he denied knowing His friend and Lord (Mark 14:72). Paul wrote, “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death” (2 Cor. 7:10, NLT).
           
When James says, “Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom” (v. 9), he is addressing an audience steeped in sin that professes to know Christ but who is celebrating instead of mourning; laughing instead of weeping. It is as if they are on a sinking ship, and instead of fearing for their lives, they are partying and enjoying themselves like nothing is wrong. For such people Jesus said, “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep” (Luke 6:25); yet “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (v. 21).
           
The final imperative in this context is in v. 10: “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” This is akin to Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”—the humble, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3). For “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6). “Humble” (Gr. tapeinoō) means “to make low; reduction in rank, character, or status.” Yet humbling oneself is not about putting ourselves down; rather, it means to see ourselves as God sees us—like we might view an unfortunate bird fallen from its nest in danger of being eaten by a scavenging animal. To humble oneself is not only to realize our great need for God, it is to understand how unworthy we are to receive His love, mercy, and grace—all because of our sinful state which separates us from God. Humble yourself!

Truly humble people cry out to God as the prophet Isaiah did: “Woe is me, for I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…” (Isa. 6:5). As Jesus clearly articulated, “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matt. 23:12). Exaltation by God is thus the result of us humbling ourselves—of us repenting of our spiritual adultery. God’s “greater grace” follows (Jas. 4:6).

Food For Thought
Francis Fuller wrote, “To repent is to accuse and condemn ourselves; to charge upon ourselves the desert of hell; to take part with God against ourselves, and to justify Him in all that He does against us; to be ashamed and confounded for our sins; to have them ever in our eyes, and at all times upon our hearts, that we may be in daily sorrow for them; to part with our right hands and eyes, that is, with those pleasurable sins which have been as dear to us as our lives, so as never to have to do with them more, and to hate them, so as to destroy them as things which by nature we are wholly disinclined to. For we naturally love and think well of ourselves, hide our deformities, lessen and excuse our faults, indulge ourselves in the things that please us, are mad upon our lusts, and follow them, though to our own destruction.”
           

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James 4:8b Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

In addition to submitting to God and resisting the devil (4:7), James calls those spiritual adulterers in his audience to “cleanse your hands…and purify your hearts.” Such people are to radically repent of their sinful ways in order to restore their fellowship with God. The fact that these people are called “double-minded” (cf. 1:8) attests to the fact that they were spiritual adulteresses who, though married to Christ, had befriended the world (cf. Rev. 3:15-16). They had a mind for both the world and for God; hence, they were “double-minded” (Gr. dipsuchos).

Of course washing one’s hands and purifying one’s heart are spiritual fixes, not things that can be accomplished physically. Paul likewise admonished Christian men “to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension” (1 Tim. 2:8). Hands, however, are not holy in and of themselves; they must be cleansed. Once these hands are cleansed and holy, the Apostle Paul commands that men be “lifting up holy hands.” What might this mean for us?
           
Notably, human hands are used in contexts throughout Scripture to signify a holy or unholy life. Job spoke of the pureness of his prayer because his hands were not involved in violence (16:17). David spoke of washing his hands in innocence so as to approach the altar of God (Ps. 26:6). One Psalmist wrote that if wickedness was in his heart, God will not hear his prayer (66:18; cf. 134:2). Solomon wrote, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, but the prayer of the upright is His delight” (Prov. 15:8). In light of this, Isaiah spoke of the fact that when a man’s hands are covered with sins, God will not hear that man’s prayer (1:15): “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you, yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.” Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah spoke of the futility of coming to God in prayer while continuing in the sins of theft, murder, and adultery (7:9-10)—filthy hands. Finally, the prophet Malachi admonished God’s people to live a pure life, represented by holy hands, in order to obtain the Lord’s favor (1:9).
           
In the NT, hands are also associated with either a holy or unholy life. In Acts 10, Cornelius is introduced as “a devout man, [who] prayed to God continually” (Acts 10:2). The writer of Hebrews calls Christians to “draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (10:22). So when James calls believers to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (4:8), it is a pure life he seeks.
           
Human hands are therefore a synecdoche (a part representing the whole) referring to a holy life lived by the believer so that his prayers will be heard by God. These kinds of people serve in the church, offering their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Rom. 12:1-2). When they lift up “holy hands,” they lift up their entire being, worshiping God and praying on behalf of all (1 Tim. 2:1), including civil authorities (2:2). When the Christian’s life is pure, they pray effectively for all people which is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior (v. 3).

Food For Thought
            Raise your hands high in church if you wish, but make sure the hands you raise unto God represent a holy life, not a hypocritical one. Holy hands entails a life that is at peace with our brethren in Christ, even those we might not like. There are to be no dividing walls between us or bitter jealousies that keep us from fellowship or worshiping together. To attempt to worship Christ while at the same time nursing a rift with a fellow believer is to fail at lifting up holy hands. It is clear from Scripture that our relationships with one another affect our relationship with God to such a degree that one without the other equals bad relationships with both.
            

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James 4:7-8a Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

If God gives to His people all that He requires of them—“greater grace” (v. 6), then all we need to do is “submit” (Gr. hupotassō) to Him—to subordinate our lowly selves to God by putting ourselves under Christ’s lordship. We know we need this when we finally realize that we have begun to befriend the world—being lured by its pictures, the fantasies created on social media, the illusion that the rich and famous have it all, that the key to happiness is found anywhere in this universe outside of Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus Christ is everything! There is no lasting joy outside of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, failure to submit to Him is the essence of unbelief (cf. Rom. 8:7; 10:3). And when we repent of worldly ways, this is the first step in the list of urgent imperatives James uses in 4:7-10.
           
The first action that naturally follows submission to God is resisting the devil, for one cannot submit to God without first resisting Satan’s temptations. To “resist” (Gr. anthistēmi) is to “stand firm” against an opponent. That opponent here is the “devil” (Gr. diabolos; Heb. Satan, or accuser). James’ teaching suggests that since it is the devil who opposes Christians, he will “flee” (Gr. pheugō) when Christians resist him. He will literally move away quickly from those he tempts, removing his wicked influence from them. We can thus conclude that one of the graces God has given to believers is the ability to resist the devil when he tempts us to sin with the added grace that he will remove his evil influence from us when we do.

When an imperative like “resist the devil” appears in Scripture, spiritual warfare is in view. Truly, James 3:13–4:10 is part of a larger dialog regarding spiritual warfare in the Bible (cf. Gen. 3; Job 1-2; Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 11:14-26; John 8:42-47; Acts 13:6-12; Eph. 6:10-20; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; 1 John 4:1-6). James 3:15, for instance, referring to “earthly, unspiritual, and demonic” wisdom, references three interwoven forms of evil that taunt Christians: the world, the flesh, and Satan—seen throughout Scripture and in our own lives. In James 4:7 Christians are assured that they have the power to actually “resist” Satan (cf. Eph. 6:13; 1 Pet. 5:9). How? As Jesus was revealed for the purpose of destroying the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), His followers can resist him.
           
A second action that flows from one’s submission to God is the ability to “draw near” (Gr. eggizō) to Him. In the OT this entails worship (Lev. 21:3, 21, 23; Isa. 29:13; 58:2; 65:5; Ez. 40:46), for worship is “drawing near” to God. Though the author of Hebrews uses a different term in 4:16, the meaning is the same: “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (italics mine).

Although “draw near to God” in Hebrews 7:19 uses the same Greek term as James 4:7 (eggizō), this does not seem to fit James’ context since he follows with God also drawing near to believers. Thus, given the context of many in the church being steeped in spiritual adultery and needing to repent (4:1-6), James likely has reconciliation with God in mind (cf. Hosea 12:6). Certainly James’ audience needed restoration of fellowship with God, and as was evident in the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), God is eager to reconcile with those who have gone astray. All spiritual adulterers and murderers need to do is repent: submit to God; resist the devil.

Food For Thought
            If the Bible tells Christians to “submit to God,” it is clear that even Christians need to repent, especially of our friendship with the world. And when it tells us to “resist the devil,” it means that the devil, or at least his evil angelic host, is able to tempt us to sin. What do you need to repent of today? Restore your fellowship with God by submitting to Him, by resisting the devil.
            

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James 4:4-6 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (NASB95)

James’ accusations against some in his audience about committing murder (4:2) and being adulteresses (v. 4) are serious accusations that no one would expect to find in a Christian church. Yet according to Christ Himself, we commit murder of the heart each time we become angry with a fellow human being (Matt. 5:21-22). So, although someone may have been guilty of that capital crime, all who were struggling with bitter jealousy and selfish ambition (3:16) within the church, those who were quarreling and at odds, were guilty of murder of the heart. Moreover, by abandoning their love for God and befriending the evil world system—being envious of others and resenting them for what they lacked and what others had, they had become spiritual adulterers. James says very plainly “that friendship with the world is hostility toward God,” and one who desires friendship with the world “makes himself and an enemy of God” (v. 4).

So in v. 5, James is not quoting a particular passage from the OT; rather, he speaks of “the Scripture” as a whole with regard to how God perceives those who depart from Him and befriend the world: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us” (NASB). Though variously translated in other English translations, the meaning is that God is jealous of the “spirit” of man to whom He granted life but which has gone astray from faithfulness to Him—spiritual adultery. Or, it is the “Spirit” of God who indwells believers who is jealous of the Chrisitan living in spiritual adultery. Either way, James would have been thinking of OT passages like Exodus 20:5; 34:14, Zechariah 8:2 and the prophet Hosea’s ministry—all of which speak of God’s righteous jealousy over His own people who have gone astray.

So what of those who befriend the world today and have gone astray from Christ, their first love? Through their own weaknesses, they daily succumb to their hedonisms—pornography, leisure, materialism, etc. Others struggle with God’s fairness, questioning God’s goodness after a recent cancer diagnosis, a loved one’s death, a lost job, or a treacherous friend. Can there be grace for them? Yes! But not grace unto salvation, for God’s children already possess such grace. Christians in the sin of spiritual adultery can expect “greater grace” (v. 6), grace upon grace from God. We recall Hebrews 4:16: “So, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (italics mine). And Paul’s words in Romans 5:20: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Likewise, John wrote, “For of His fulness we have all received, and grace upon grace” (John 1:16).

What is the avenue for receiving this “greater grace” from God when we are in the midst of spiritual adultery? James quotes Proverbs 3:34 which says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” In other words, God will welcome spiritual adulterers back into fellowship through humble repentance. Without humble repentance, no matter what a professed believer in Christ might believe, his or her actions will vindicate whether they truly love Christ.  

Food For Thought
            Our world has long since departed from any faithfulness to God. Even in our churches today professed Christians are living in spiritual adultery, many of them in physical adultery. We have this sinful tendency to covet what others have, becoming envious that they have what we want. Isn’t that the essence of socialism and communism—people who are jealous of those wealthier than they, believing life isn’t fair? No wonder communism is popular today, for it preys on people’s jealousies. This satanic system comes straight from the devil, for the devil himself challenged Eve in Eden that God was ripping her off (Gen. 3:1-6), keeping her from what she coveted. We must therefore recognize how wicked coveting is, the quarrels that result from it, and what it all ultimately leads to: spiritual adultery punished eternally by God. If you’ve been guilty of it, however, God’s grace is abundant for those who repent. Only for those who repent. 

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James 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? (NASB95)
           
James 4:5 presents two interpretive problems in the second half of the verse. First, the NASB’s rendering differs from other English translations, attesting to its difficulty. The fact that “jealously” and “desires” can have both negative and positive connotations, and that the Greek term pneuma can be both a reference to the Holy “Spirit” or to the human “spirit” reveal some of the difficulty interpreting the verse. In addition, grammatically, the Greek pneuma (Spirit, or spirit) can be either the subject of the phrase or the object, and both are given to humanity by God, our spirit at our conception, and the Spirit at our rebirth (Rom. 8:9-11; cf. John 3:3).
           
Verse 5 causes us to ask a few unanswerable questions: Is it God who jealously desires, or is it our human spirit that envies sinfully? (KJV; NIV 1984; NET) Is God, in a righteous sense, jealous for our spirits? (ESV; NIV 2011; NLT) Or, does God righteously desire His own Holy Spirit within us? (NASB; LSB) Note some of the English translations:
 

• KJV: “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy”
• NKJV: “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
• ESV: “[God] yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”
• NIV 1984: “The spirit [God] caused to live in us envies intensely”
• NIV 2011 “[God] jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us”
• NLT: “God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him”
• NET: “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”

At least four possibilities emerge for rendering James 4:5 in English:

1. The human spirit, given to us by God at creation, in its sinful state, “envies” sinfully.
2. God is intensely jealous for us to honor Him with our human spirits at war with Him.
3. God’s Spirit who indwells Christians is intensely jealous for our faithfulness.
4. God is intensely jealous for us to honor Him through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

The second interpretive concern in v. 5 is that though James appears to quote OT Scripture, there is no OT quote that says of God, “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us” (NASB) nor any of the other proposed English translations. But since James accuses some in the church of being “adulteresses” in v. 4, cheating on God through friendship with the world, God’s jealousy for His own makes sense. James thus had multiple OT passages in view regarding God’s righteous jealousy for His people (Ex. 20:5; 24:14; Zech. 8:2)—a jealousy like that of a husband for his wandering wife. The OT prophet Hosea illustrates this, for he married Gomer who became and adulteress, representing Israel’s spiritual adultery, Hosea representing God’s righteous jealousy. What was true for Israel who was in a covenant relationship with God, is also true with the Church, for God jealously longs for His people who have gone astray.

Food For Thought
Negatively, jealousy reveals our envy of someone. We desire what we do not possess. This is always a sin. By contrast, a man whose wife flirts with another man has every right to be jealous. After all, she belongs to him by marriage covenant. His jealousy is therefore not a sin. So it is with God. Those who claim to love Christ and have put our faith in Him alone for their salvation and joy should expect God’s stern rebuke should we flirt with worldly pleasures.

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James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
           
Although James called his readers “beloved brethren” (1:16, 19; 2:5), in 4:2 he accused them of murder. Now in 4:4 he calls them “adulteresses.” Why? Because of their penchant to stray from God—their “friendship with the world.” “Friendship” in Greek is philia, a term for love closely associated with agape (volitional love). But philia speaks of affectionate love, like that of a family or friend; hence, “friendship.” But in this case, the philia, or friendship, is with the “world” (Gk. kosmos). Now the “world” spoken of here is not about the earth; rather, it refers to the evil system that stands contrary to the work of God. Jesus speaks of the “world” throughout the Gospels as that wicked system that stands in contrast to God’s kingdom.
           
So, one who is in “friendship with the world” is one who stands opposed to God in their actions. They may say they love God, but their actions prove otherwise. Like a husband who tells his wife he loves her but who has other women he is intimate with, so it is with those who call themselves Christians but who love the evil world system. This is why James calls them “adulteresses” in v. 4. Notably, God only calls people “adulterers” when they claim to be in a covenant relationship with Him through faith. In contrast, God never calls the unsaved person an adulterer. Why? Because they are not in a covenant relationship with Him. Only the professed Christian who befriends the world is an adulteress—an enemy of God inside the church.

This spiritual adultery committed by professed believers is not new to the NT. The OT prophets railed against Israel for spiritual adultery because their relationship with Yahweh was like a marriage (Isa. 54:5-6): “But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,’ declares the Lord” (Jer. 3:20; cf. Isa. 57:3; Ez. 16:38; 23:45). In fact, the prophet Hosea’s entire ministry to Israel was meant to illustrate their adultery toward God. Hosea thus married a woman, Gomer, who would prostitute herself to other men, Gomer representing adulterous Israel who continually chased after other gods (Hosea 2:5-7). Jesus used this metaphor for the covenant relationship between God and Israel by calling all who rejected Him “a wicked and adulterous generation” (Matt. 12:39; 16:4). Likewise, James’ audience, by seeking friendship with the world, was, in effect, in the throngs of spiritual adultery.
           
James’ harsh words reveal that at least some in the church were acting unfaithfully to Christ. They were imitators of the world in their propensity to show partiality (2:1-13), using slanderous tongues (3:1-12), harboring “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition” (3:13-18), and living for their own destructive pleasures (4:1-2). In short, they were living for themselves, not God. They thus looked like the evil world from which they had been saved. Their propensity to engage in that which God hates made them spiritual adulteresses and thus enemies of God, not Christians.

Food For Thought
Love of the world can be found in many churches today, especially the ones that have as their goal to be mega-churches. These places are full of competition resulting in quarrels and conflicts. Politics and social justice are huge issues in these kinds of churches. In addition, people play politics in these churches, seeking to flatter the rich and entertain the famous. There is little to no Bible teaching and never any discipline for sinners. People come in the front doors in droves while the orthodox trickle out the back. What they leave behind are spiritual (and physical) adulterers, back-biting, toxic people attending church for their own selfish ambitions. Swindoll says, “A heart beating to the rhythm of the world leads to anger with God and opposition to His words and works (4:4). These conditions lead to quarreling and fighting among believers.”
            

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James 4:2b-3 You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Prayer is always the solution to the problems Christians face—asking God for the right things and for the right reasons. Jesus plainly exhorted us to “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matt. 7:7). James warns, however, that our prayer requests, if motivated by selfish desires, will be denied. Our prayers must be for the will of God, not our own (Matt. 6:9-10), praying for things in Christ’s name (John 15:16), that is, things for which He would pray (cf. 1 John 3:21-22; 5:13-14). Prayer for the right things results not only in God’s gifts but the enjoyment of those gifts. Jesus and His apostles exhort all Christians everywhere to pray, for God says He will answer:

• Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened (Matt 7:7-8).
• Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you (Mark 11:24; cf. Matt 21:22).
• Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it (John 14:13-14).
• If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7).
• Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God, and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing to him (1 John 3:21-22).
• This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him (1 John 5:13-14).

As to why not all our prayers are answered, James blames selfish motives in 4:3. In these instances, God is actually unable to give us what we pray for since our requests are contrary to His will. Other reasons why prayers go unanswered are habitual sin (Ps. 66:18; cf. 1 Pet. 3:7), weak faith (Mark 11:24; Jas. 1:6-8), or a simple lack of perseverance (Luke 11:5-8; 18:1-8).

But God has still other purposes for not granting our requests. Paul for example, prayed three times that God remove a thorn from his flesh. Yet God, perfecting His power through Paul’s weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:7, 9), told Paul that His grace was sufficient. Later, when Paul asked for rescue from the Jews in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:31), God allowed him to be arrested and beaten (Acts 21) for the sake of His will being worked through Paul’s ministry.

What does praying for the right things look like? Paul prayed for the Ephesians that God would “give them a spirit of wisdom in the knowledge of Christ and that they would know the hope to which they had been called… the riches of God’s inheritance… the greatness of God’s power.” That the Philippians’ “love would increase, coupled with knowledge and discernment so that they would approve what is excellent and be pure and blameless at Christ’s return, filled with the fruits of righteousness.” That the Colossians would be “filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom so that they would be fully pleasing to God.” And for the Thessalonians, he wanted them to “increase and abound in love toward one another and toward all men, so that they would be established unblameable in holiness at Christ’s return.”

Food For Thought
If God gave us everything we asked for, our character would suffer because we would pray away all our trials. We would then be like spoiled children. We must draw near to God through study and prayer in order to know His will and be able to pray in Christ’s name—praying in accordance with God’s will (1 John 3:21-22; 5:14) shelving our own. Since God’s will is revealed in Scripture, let us pray Scripture—“Thy will be done” (Luke 22:42), not our own.
            

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James 4:1-2a What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel.
           
Back in 3:16 James addressed the problem that exists in our churches when jealousy and selfish ambition are present: “there is disorder and every evil thing.” He contrasts that in 3:17 with the heavenly fruits that accompany those whose focus is on Christ. Then in 3:18, he commends peacemakers since they sow peace and not discord in the church. There is thus no real transition from 3:18 to 4:1. James merely identifies the source of the problem in 4:1-5.
           
What is the source of “quarrels and conflicts” among you—literally of “wars and fighting”? Answer: your “pleasures” (Gr. hēdonē), from which hedonism derives—the belief that pleasure is the goal of life (cf. Luke 8:14; Titus 3:3; 2 Pet. 2:13). James says these “pleasures” work to “wage war” in our “members,” like the tongue (3:1-12; 4:11; 5:9), causing “quarrels and conflicts” within the church. Anyone who has ever been involved with a local church can attest to some of the toxic people James is referring to, for their jealousy of certain teachers, singers, and servants within the church eventually stirs up their sinful tongues to action, unleashing gossip, harsh words, criticism, and insults. Yes, even in the church, even among Christians. How can this be? Because Christians, saved from the penalty of sin, are not yet free from its presence.
           
In v. 2, James calls his audience murderers! Why? They were lusting for things they could not obtain, quarreling, and perhaps blaming one another for their own problems. But were they truly murderers? Likely not, although anything is possible. Since James often relied on Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, he likely had murder of the heart in mind. After all, Jesus’ Sermon accuses all who are angry at a fellow human being of murder (Matt. 5:21-26), for murder begins with anger against another. Thus, “you murder” is perhaps a condemnation of those in the church who were bitterly jealous and selfishly ambitious (3:14). In a word, they were envious. Examples of this in Scripture are the chief priests’ decision to deliver Jesus to Pilate—done out of “envy” (Mark 15:10). Likewise, Luke and Paul attribute the persecution suffered by the early Church to “jealousy” (Acts 5:17; 13:45) and misplaced “zeal” (Phil 3:6).

James does not state what his audience lusted for and what they were envious of. It might be that some were jockeying for positions of power or teaching responsibilities. This fits with his previous warnings, for in 3:1 he addressed the issue of how Christians should be careful about desiring to teach. Perhaps some who desired to teach but were unable were envious of those who did? Likewise, James chided his audience about who was wise and understanding among them (3:13). It is possible that many wanted to lead and be thought wise by the rest, yet since many were not succeeding in this, they lashed out at those who were effective leaders. It is no wonder, therefore, that James previously exhorted his people to ask for wisdom if they lacked it (1:5).

Food For Thought
Pleasures, in and of themselves are not bad. After all, God is the author of pleasure, and it is our pleasure to exalt and glorify Him. The Westminster Confession of faith says that the Christian’s first priority is to glorify God Almighty and enjoy Him forever. We note that the Psalms are replete with the language of pleasure and joy: “Taste and see that Yahweh is good” (Ps. 34:8). “Delight yourself in Yahweh, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). “In Your presence is fulness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever” (Ps. 16:11, LSB). It is to God’s glory that we enjoy His gifts and grace—from the air we breathe to the people we love to the food we eat. May all our pleasures, however, be only to His glory.
            

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James 3:17-18 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
           
Crucial to James’s point throughout his epistle is not so much what wisdom is but what it does. Like faith, wisdom is something that anyone can possess, but until wisdom is put into action, it is dead since it bears no fruit (cf. 2:14-26). In contrast to worldly, demonic faith (2:19), the wisdom from above dramatically transforms the lives of those who possess it. So, as Paul spoke of the fruit of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22-23), James now speaks of the fruit of wisdom.

Now the foremost nature of heavenly wisdom, coming from above, is that it is “pure”— holy, undefiled, morally innocent. Paul uses the same term to describe the Church as a “pure” virgin (2 Cor. 11:2; Phil. 4:8; 1 Tim. 5:22; Titus 2:5; cf. 1 Pet. 3:2; 1 John 3:3). The qualities of godly wisdom that follow in James’ list specify this purity as the principal description of the behavior of true Christians. The first three English words in the Greek text all begin with the same letter and also have similar endings: eirēnikē (“peaceable”), epieikēs (“gentle”), eupeithēs (“reasonable”). The two middle terms are subordinate to the phrase “full of,” that is, they are overflowing with mercy and good fruits. James again alliterates the last two words by using terms negated by “a”—adiakritos and anupokritos— “unwavering” and “without hypocrisy,” respectively. These terms thus describe someone who is objective and genuine.
           
One only need look at the opposite of these terms to see what worldly wisdom looks like in the Church today. Instead of experiencing a pure church seeking the glory of God, one would see a corrupt and morally decadent church not characterized by peace, gentleness, and reason but by backbiting, infighting, and self-promotion among the pastors, music leaders, and influential people of the church. They would see people who affirm Christ’s lordship but who fail to submit to it and are rather slaves of their own fleshly desires. Likewise, they would not experience a gentle spirit of camaraderie and accountability among the members but an atmosphere where trust is lacking, where leaders jockey for position, and where hypocrisy is clearly manifested.

Though the term “reasonable” in v. 17 means “easily persuaded,” James is not suggesting that true wisdom is characterized by weak, naïve, or gullible Christians. Rather, James speaks of a fruit of wisdom that allows different people to agree to disagree on matters that are not eternal. In a mature church, reasonable people submit to each other (Eph. 5:21). Unreasonable people, on the other hand, split their churches over forms of music, colors of fabrics, and power struggles. In sum, true Christians, characterized by the wisdom from above, will be unwavering, reliable, genuine. They will be people who consistently display the wisdom of Christ both in what they say and what they do. Both their actions and their counsel will reflect God’s divine wisdom.

Verse 18 seems to make a declaration about what is indicative of peacemakers—that they produce peace. Yet a second option that fits better with the grammar, can be translated as a promise about the future reward that awaits peacemakers, that is, a harvest of righteousness. Grammatically, the second option makes better sense, and this is reflected in the ESV and NIV. But the former option, since it references the benefits that peacemakers enjoy, fits James’ context better. The truly saved person with wisdom from above sows what is natural to their character through words and actions that are full of righteousness. Since the righteousness James speaks of in 1:20 concerns the conduct that is pleasing to God, then the “fruit” sown is that righteousness. Of course Jesus said as much in the Beatitudes, saying, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). In short, v. 18 teaches that only the peaceful, wise Christian can sow the seeds of righteousness and reap the benefits.

Food For Thought
            As Christians, we have wisdom, if in fact our faith is genuine. This kind of wisdom, however, is not that which helps us determine which job to choose or whether we should marry a particular person. Those situations take wisdom too, but James is talking about wisdom that affects our behavior in the midst of making such decisions. When there is no clear answer from God, how do you react? When the songs at church aren’t the genre you prefer, what do you do? When you’ve been left out of a social gathering of people you love, what do you think? When someone cuts you off on the highway, what do you say out loud in the moment? This is the wisdom James speaks of, a wisdom that determines whether your faith is real or phony. We’ve all failed in the examples I’ve given, but godly wisdom will propel us on to better behavior. Let us be convicted, if in fact our faith in Christ is genuine, and let that conviction strengthen your resolve to love Christ more fully and in greater maturity as you live out your days.
            

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James 3:15-16 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.
           
In contrast to the wisdom that is evident in those who love Christ—He who came down from above (cf. John 1:1, 14; 8:23), there is the wisdom that is “earthly, natural, demonic” (Gr. epigeios, psuchikos, daimoniōdēs). The contrast is not in wisdom per se but in where one’s wisdom originates. Godly wisdom comes from above; all others can only come from below. Sadly, in the Church’s history, worldly wisdom has a knack for slithering into our churches.
           
When Jesus came to earth “from above,” God came to earth, for Jesus and God are one. Thus, everything Jesus said and every act He performed was godly and wise. Jesus’ words and commissions to men were from above and were therefore gifts to the world: “every good and perfect gift is from above” (1:17). In so doing, God revealed Himself to His creation, and He has shown that He delights to give His people what they ask for, especially wisdom (1:5).
           
Yet those who are “from below” (John 8:23, 44) have shunned God’s wisdom, adhering instead to that which is “earthly, natural, demonic.” First, the negative nature of James’ usage of the term “earthly,” or not heavenly, is seen in how he sets it in contrast to “from above” (i.e., heaven). Second, those from below are also described as “natural” (Gr. psychikos), an adjective derived from the Greek term for “soul.” This was a word used by the Greeks to contrast the physical body with the activities that went on in the human mind. The term is always used negatively in the NT. All of its five appearances place it in contrast to “spirit” or “spiritual” (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14; 15:44, 46; Jude 19), for it is the place within the person where reason and feelings dominate. Third, worldly wisdom is called “demonic”—literally “pertaining to demons.” Previously, James wrote about demonic faith, that is, how demons have knowledge of God and believe in His oneness and “shudder” (2:19). Though they tremble in Christ’s presence (Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:24; 5:7; Luke 4:34; 8:28), their actions prove their wisdom to be from below.
           
The wisdom of those who have great intellectual acumen, wealth, and fame can be evident in their education, bank accounts, and the positive nature by which others regard them. But unless their wisdom is from above, their actions will distinguish them from true Christians. Through the centuries, churches have been destroyed by the smart and/or wealthy people who ruin them simply because they are bereft of the wisdom from above. These churches are evident by the deeds of their leaders that trickle down to their congregants. Their earthly, natural, and demonic wisdom produces “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition,” previously mentioned in v. 14. Now in v. 16 James is clear as to what they lead to: “disorder and every evil thing.”

The Greek term behind the English “disorder” (akatastasia) is another form of the term James used for “double-minded” in 1:8 and 3:8, those who are “unstable” and “restless” in all their ways. Notably, Luke used the term to describe the “disturbances” that will precede the coming of Christ (Luke 21:9). Likewise, Paul, pleading with the Corinthian Church to cease from the abuse of the spiritual gifts during the worship of Christ, tells them, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). Yet when church members are led by their backbiting, worldly-wise leaders the only result possible is a congregation that pursues its own selfish agenda and partisan spirit, filling Christ’s Church with demonic faith and every sort of evil.

Paul, writing just a couple of years after James, had to address the same issues in Corinth and in the churches of Galatia in reference to worldly wisdom in the Church. Their divisions (cf. 1 Cor. 1:10ff.) were hurting not only themselves but their witness of Christ in the world. What followed was immorality (1 Cor. 5), lawsuits (1 Cor. 6), divorce (1 Cor. 7), legalisms (1 Cor. 8-9), and charismatic chaos (1 Cor. 12-14). Sadly, the same problems still exist today!

Food For Thought
            Worldly wisdom in our churches today sounds something like what I once heard from a mega-church member: “If you’re church isn’t growing, it isn’t living, for that which is living must be growing.” That would of course be true if he meant that “growing” entailed maturing in Christ. But he was referring only to numbers in the church. Other worldly wisdom I’ve heard is that “God helps those who help themselves.” Yet God helps the helpless! Also, “the church is a business and should run like a business. We need to market the church to the public and make it more desirable to them.” These and other worldly-wise quotes are not biblical and are thus demonic. They might sound good, but churches that adopt these unbiblical slogans are churches full of jealousy, selfish ambition, and every evil thing. They will all eventually implode, for they are not places where God is worshiped; they are places where sinners are made comfortable.  
            

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James 3:13-14 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.

Those who think themselves wise might expect to be recognized for their intellect, wealth, or fame. Yet James speaks of wisdom in theological terms—wisdom that includes saving faith in Jesus Christ. Of course wisdom includes “understanding” (Gr. epistēmōn)—a term used only once in the NT denoting specific knowledge, like that of a highly skilled expert in a given trade. So, the “wise and understanding among you” are those who not only know Christ specifically but who follow Him unreservedly. In this we see that wisdom and understanding have little to do with worldly measures but with saving faith based on knowledge justified by works. Previously James taught that those in the midst of trials should pray for this wisdom (1:5) in order to help them grow through the trials ordained by God in their lives. In so doing, those making a claim to godliness will grow in their endurance unto perfection (1:3-4). It is these who were to be displayed in v. 13 as those who had true wisdom and understanding.
           
Notice how those with wisdom and understanding behave. They are known by their good behavior in the “gentleness of wisdom.” Now good behavior can be seen in many whether they are Christians or not, but those who are genuine in their Christian faith cannot be devoid of good behavior. The Apostle Peter also speaks of good deeds in Christians and how it pleases God (1 Pet. 2:12; cf. 1:15; 3:1, 2, 16; 2 Pet. 3:11). Good deeds, however, do not bring attention to self but are performed in humility to the glory of God. Jesus likewise said, that the “meek will inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5), not the strong and mighty. This was radical teaching because the Greeks taught that humility was weakness and unbecoming of a strong, confident person. Yet Moses was humble (Num. 12:3), and Jesus was meek (Matt. 11:29; cf. 21:5). Both men displayed power under control, being in right relationship with God and with others (Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:25; Titus 3:2; 1 Pet. 3:2, 16). This is the vindication of true wisdom and understanding.
           
Now contrary to those who have saving faith, there are those who “have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” in their hearts (v. 14). James says that these are arrogant, and they lie to themselves, denying the truth. Believing themselves to be Christians, they are living a lie since their hearts are anything but humble. Their lives are in fact marked by the opposite traits that are found in true believers. They are therefore unwise and thus unsaved. Their “jealousy” is not of the righteous variety—the godly kind that is zealous for the truth and envious for God’s glory. God actually demands that His people serve Him faithfully as Jesus did when zeal for God’s Temple consumed Him (John 2:17; cf. Num. 25:11-13). But those bereft of true wisdom have “jealousy” (Gr. zēlos) that is “bitter” (Gr. pikros), the kind displayed when others challenge them or possess something they desire. This evil variety of jealousy is fueled by “selfish ambition” (Gr. eritheia) to possess what others have in order to obtain glory for oneself. Sadly, this was not only present in the early Church, it still exists today in pseudo-Christians.
           
Having proposed a simple test to those who make a claim to faith (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5), James tells those who fail this test not to be “arrogant” (Gr. katakauchaomai) by putting confidence in false faith. For false believers in the Church ought not boast of anything. The only righteous boasting that can be done is about God: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me…’ ” (Jer. 9:23-24). True wisdom thus knows nothing self-aggrandizement, only that of knowing Him, giving God glory.

Food For Thought
            John Blanchard shares this: “The story is told of two men who lived in a certain city. One was envious and the other covetous. The ruler of the city sent for them and said he wanted to grant them one wish each—with this proviso, that the one who chose first would get exactly what he asked for, while the other man would get exactly twice what the first had asked for himself. The envious man was ordered to choose first, but immediately found himself in a quandary. He wanted to choose something great for himself, but realized that if he did so the other would get twice as much. He thought for a while, and then asked that one of his eyes be put out. In the church this type of person could honestly pray, “Lord, I would sooner your work was not done at all than done by someone better than I can do it.”
            

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James 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
           
James begins this section by asking his readers to discern who is wise and understanding among them. Although he may have had teachers in view (3:1), he was no doubt asking the question for everyone to consider. True also today, those considered wise in James’ day were those who were innately smart, formally educated, wealthy, even famous. Whereas the Greeks used the term “wise” (Gr. sophos) as a term for knowledge, theory, or philosophy, the Jews used it to refer to the vigilant application of knowledge in daily living. In other words, wisdom to the Jews not only entailed possessing factual data, it included the application of truth to daily living. Fools were those who acted contrary to what they knew to be true (cf. Ps. 14:1), for they had knowledge without the application of it. Therefore, we conclude that there are two kinds of wisdom: the wisdom of man and the wisdom of God. Notably, to the Apostle Paul, the highest wisdom of mankind is still foolishness to God (1 Cor. 1:18-31).
           
In the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Teacher set out to experience all things under the sun. What he discovered was that man’s wisdom is foolish, and no matter how hard he played or how hard he studied, he found no answers to life’s most basic questions. He therefore concluded that all the sensual and physical pleasures man seeks not only fail to bring him happiness, they fail to keep him alive, for he will die just like everyone and everything else. Attaining wisdom, though helpful in life, still did not answer all the “why?” questions of life. Notwithstanding, the Teacher found that wisdom and its application of fearing God is life’s ultimate goal, for in wisdom we not only recognize there is a God—the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:10)—we are able to enjoy the life and gifts of life that God has given us to enjoy during our brief and futile time on earth.
           
God’s desire for Israel was wisdom so that they might discern what the future held for them if they disobeyed Him (Deut. 32:29). God thus wanted Israel to love wisdom and pursue it more than gold or silver (Prov. 3:19; 16:16). He even gave great wisdom to men like Solomon and Daniel (Dan. 1:17; 5:14) to display its benefits to His chosen people. Truly, wisdom is excellent in its appeal (Prov. 8:1-3), in its truth (8:4-12), of what it loves and hates (8:13-16), and of its benefits to those who possess it (8:17-21). After all, the source of wisdom is God (8:22ff.).
           
James’ use of the term “wisdom” is in keeping with what God says about it. In the OT, the phrase “fear of the Lord” was parallel to “trusting in the Lord.” Those who did are listed in Hebrews 11 as men and women who had saving faith. Moses not only told Israel to keep God’s commandments, to walk in His ways and fear Him, but also to love Him and serve Him with their whole lives (Deut. 8:6; 10:12; 14:23; 17:19; cf. Rom. 12:1-2). It is therefore no surprise that in the NT those Gentiles who trusted Christ for salvation were called “God-fearers” (cf. Acts 10:22; 17:17). After all, Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God…who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). In Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3; cf. Rom. 11:33). No wonder the early servants of the Church, like Stephen, were selected according to their “good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3). In fact, those who argued with Stephen “were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking” (6:10).
           
We conclude that the wisdom James speaks of in 3:13 is synonymous with salvation. This is illustrated in Matthew 25:1-13 in the parable of the ten virgins. Five vindicated their faith, or wisdom, by their works, for they were ready when Christ arrived. The other five had knowledge of Christ, but they had no wisdom and were thus not ready when He arrived. Such is the usage of wisdom in James’ context. Those who are truly saved have true wisdom, vindicated in works.

Food For Thought
            Who among us is wise and understanding? Those who fear the Lord God Almighty, for fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Ps. 111:10). They not only fear God, they are in “in Christ who to us the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:30). These Christians behave like Christ, vindicating their faith by their actions (Jas. 2:14-26). They read Scripture daily, taking it in like food. They would no more miss a day of reading Scripture than they would miss a meal. Being wise and understanding, they pray—not primarily for their own benefit but for the glory of God. Pray for the Church of Jesus Christ, pray for wisdom for your leaders; pray for wisdom when life is difficult. Finally, the wise and understanding give—they give financially from their earnings as a form of worship. Giving is a sacrifice of praise. So, don’t just pray for wisdom, get busy being wise.
            

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James 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.
           
In both the Old and New Testaments there are two kinds of wisdom: God’s wisdom and worldly wisdom (cf. Jas. 3:15). In 3:13, James proposes the next test of true salvation: whether one possesses wisdom and understanding. James, however, is not talking about intelligence, and he is not talking about worldly wisdom; he is talking about saving faith in Jesus Christ—a faith that possesses a certain kind of wisdom contrary to worldly wisdom. This kind of wisdom is not measured in what a person knows per se; it is measured in how a person lives.
           
In the OT, when God offered to grant the newly crowned King Solomon anything he asked for, whether riches, honor, fame, etc., Solomon asked for only one thing: wisdom (2 Chron. 1:7-13). Since wisdom would guide him through economic, military, and social issues of his reign, the only way to rule over God’s people with any degree of success was to be given wisdom that comes from God. Solomon would later write, “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10; cf. 1:7; Job 28:28; Ps 111:10, LSB). Few knew this better than Solomon.
           
In the OT, possessors of godly wisdom were men and women of faith (e.g., Abraham, Noah, Moses, David)—people highlighted in Hebrews 11 as the stalwarts of OT salvation. This saving wisdom is a gift from God, seen not only in how He gave it to Solomon but in how He gave it to men like Daniel. For after Nebuchadnezzar took Judah captive to Babylon in 605 BC, God gave Daniel and his three friends “knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams” (Dan. 1:17; cf. 5:14).

In the Book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a woman calling to the simple to receive and embrace her (Prov. 8). True wisdom concerned not only hearing God speak but obeying the word of God: “So now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God ask from you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of Yahweh and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deut. 10:12-13; cf. 8:6; 14:23; 17:19, LSB).

James says, “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” (1:5). The Apostle Paul declared that Christ is “the power of God and the wisdom of God… who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). He reminded the Colossians that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). And to the Roman Christians Paul wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33).

One with the wisdom, or salvation, will “show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom” (Jas. 3:13). If one of the tests of true faith (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5) is godly wisdom—faith at work, then such a one will build his life on the rock foundation of Christ, not the sandy foundation of worldly wisdom (Matt. 7:24-26). Such a one is ready right now for Christ’s return, a man found busy in his faithfulness to Christ at the second advent (Matt. 24:42-52; 25:1-13). Since Jesus Christ Himself is “the power and wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24, 30), and since His words found in Scripture are able to give us the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15), then the wisdom that James is talking about is saving faith. And saving faith has a specific look, a look James describes in 3:13-18. He will describe as much what true wisdom is as to what it is not. So, “who among you is wise and understanding?” Answer: those who love Christ and whose behavior clearly indicates such. All others will be proven to be false believers, seeking worldly wisdom and shunning godly wisdom.
            

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James 3:9-12 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
           
The unstable nature of the tongue is its ability to “bless” (i.e., “praise”) God—our Lord and Father, in one breath and curse men in the next. Interestingly, James does not say that man blesses God one second and curses Him the next; rather, he says that cursing humans, made in God’s image, is the same as cursing God Himself. Though man was indeed made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26; 9:6), that image was marred when man sinned. In spite of this, mankind still has communion with God and is able to reason, act morally, express emotions, and have a personal will—all of which are indicative of creatures made in God’s image. Therefore, when one man denigrates another, he is actually cursing God by proxy.

James did not specifically fault man for cursing common things, or even animals, but by highlighting how man curses his fellow man, he once again shows how he deplores double-mindedness—the sin of those who claim to love God while at the same time following in the ways of the world (1:8; cf. 4:8). Therefore, James is resolved to stress the importance that Christians rise above it. As faith without works is dead (2:14-26), a believer with an unstable tongue lacks the necessary works to vindicate his faith. A professed believer simply cannot continue in the Christian faith while at the same time denigrating his fellow man.
           
In Judaism, all who were disobedient to God were considered cursed while those who obeyed Him were blessed (Deut. 26 & 28). Those outside the Jewish faith were not only considered cursed, they were often verbally cursed by self-righteous Jews. Since James mentions this issue, the problem seems to have been prevalent in the early Church. In fact, Peter is a prime early example of one who confessed Christ as the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16), yet just a short while later, when asked if he knew Jesus, he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the man!” (Matt. 26:74). Likewise, Paul, who when falsely accused by the high priest Ananias, let his tongue get the best of him, calling him a “whitewashed wall” (Acts 23:3). Though Peter and Paul became stalwarts of the faith, even they struggled with their tongues.

What James explains is that blessing God, giving Him the sacrifice of praise (Heb. 13:15), is the highest form of human speech. In contrast, cursing human beings is the lowest. In Judaism, the curse called upon God to keep blessings away from others and consign them to nothing but misery. Jesus, however, forbade His disciples from cursing anyone. Instead, we are to “bless those who curse you” (Luke 6:28; cf. Matt. 15:11, 17-20; Rom. 12:14). For a Christian to curse another man is as hypocritical and absurd as a fresh water spring pouring forth both fresh water and bitter (i.e., “salt”) water (v. 11); it is as absurd as a fig tree producing olives or a vine producing figs (v. 12). Bad things do not produce good things, and one kind of thing does not produce another kind of thing. Now although a man is not a tree or a stream of water, indeed it is as unbecoming a follower of Jesus Christ to curse another human being as it is absurd that a clear sky should produce rain. James essentially says, it “ought not be this way!”

Food For Thought
            Be careful watching or reading the daily news, and watch out when your candidate is beaten by the hated opponent. These situations tempt us to curse others made in God’s image rather than blessing God for our freedom. Let us rather seek to bless both in our actions and with our words.
            

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James 3:7-8 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

In the book of Proverbs, the tongue of the fool babbles (10:8), slanders (10:18), lies (12:19), and boasts arrogantly (18:12). The rest of Scripture speaks of the tongue as wicked, dishonest, vicious, lewd, corrupt, flattering, slanderous, gossiping, foolish, grumbling, cursing, litigious, and depraved. To bring this tongue of “fire,” fueled by hell (v. 6), under control is difficult to say the least, and this is James’ point in vv. 7-8, evidenced by his explanatory “for” in v. 7.

By contrasting man’s uncontrollable tongue with “every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea” and man’s ability to subdue them—to tame them, James reveals how powerful the human tongue is. Now James is not talking about how man has domesticated every species of animal, whether in the sea, on the ground, or in the air; rather, he is referring to the Genesis account of creation when God gave man dominion over His created order (Gen. 1:26). By alluding to the animal life not created in God’s image, James speaks to man’s uniqueness as the one who was created in God’s image. Being made in God’s likeness gives man the ability to “tame,” to subdue, the world God originally created. Literally, v. 7 says, “Every species…is “being tamed and has been tamed.” The former “tamed” is in the present tense that stresses an ongoing nature of taming, but the latter “tamed” is in the perfect tense, a process that, as Moo says, “is rooted in the state of affairs created by the divine mandate.” Thus, animals, though perpetually being tamed, were ordained to be tamed by the God who created them.

In spite of man’s ability to tame large animals who have the ability to swallow him whole or crush him under their feet, man has a much more difficult time with the slippery wet, slender muscle in his mouth. In the Greek text, v. 8 begins with, “But the tongue…” as if to emphasize how drastically different it is from even the most vicious of animals. Though the strongest and toughest of men struggle to subdue a shark or a crocodile, “no one…of people”—or “no one among people”—can subdue the tongue. Now it is theologically possible that since James believes “no one among people” can bring the tongue under control that he is implying only God can do so. Though it is surely true of God that He can tame a man’s tongue, is it then likely that the tongue He tames will result in the perfect man v. 2 conjectures? After all, a man under the influence of the Holy Spirit is a man whose tongue is tamed. His life, while filled with the Spirit, will bring forth the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). If this is the case, then the perfection of v. 2, as it relates to the common regenerate man, has more to do with maturity or completion than perfection, for no man can reach the level of perfection. Moo says, “Should this lead us to abandon all efforts to bring our speech under control? Of course not. We may never reach the point where the tongue is perfectly controlled; but we can surely advance a long way in using our speech to glorify God. We may not reach perfection, but we can reach maturity.”

In v. 8 the tongue is a “restless evil.” “Restless” is the same word James used for the double-minded man in 1:8, the one “unstable” in all he does. Since the word means “to vacillate,” James is talking about the dual nature and hypocrisy of the tongue, for as v. 9 says, “with it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.”

Food For Thought
Though we try to steer clear of poisonous things, truly our tongues are full of deadly poison. “They sharpen their tongues as a serpent; poison of a viper is under their lips” (Ps. 140:3; cf. Rom. 3:13; Ps. 5:9). Let us thus strive to speak words that give life and healing rather than death.
            

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James 3:5b-6 See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.

Much of what James writes is a reflection of Jesus’ own words, especially as they relate to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 (cf. Luke 6:20-49). Outside of the Sermon, Jesus, speaking of the tongue, said, “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man… The things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders” (Matt. 15:11, 18-19). Clearly, no other bodily organ, or “member,” can compare to the destruction on man’s life than his tongue.
           
Proverbs 16:27 says that the words of a worthless man are like a scorching fire. Having introduced this idea in v. 5b, James now abandons the similes of bridles and rudders and opts for a simple metaphor for the tongue in v. 6, saying, “the tongue is a fire.” Just a quick overview of v. 6 reveals that this “fire,” the tongue, is a world of iniquity—of evil. The passive voice of the participial phrase “is set among” points to the tongue’s creation by someone else, namely God. But though God set the tongue in man’s mouth to give Him praise, man uses it in such a way that it defiles his body. In fact, the tongue, though small in comparison to the rest of the body, has appointed itself as the “world of iniquity” among its members; hence, it “boasts” of great things (3:5). As such, man’s tongue will not only destroy him, it is “set on fire by hell.”
           
The meaning of James’ use of a “world of iniquity” is somewhat enigmatic. In the NT, “world” is normally used in reference to the fallen, sinful world-system (John 8:23; 12:25, 31), the same way James uses this term in 1:27 and in 4:4. When “iniquity” or “evil” is added to “world,” the negative nuance of it becomes obvious. Doug Moo says, “The tongue, by virtue of being the most difficult of all parts of the body to control, becomes the conduit by which all the evil of the world around us comes to expression in us.” Likewise, John Calvin called the tongue “a slender portion of flesh [that] contains in it the whole world of iniquity.”
           
What the tongue does to the “entire body” is “defile” it, or “stain” it. Since a person is known by the words he speaks, if his words are worldly, they destroy “true religion” (1:26-27), for one’s words prove whether one is “stained” or “defiled” by the corrupt world system under the sun. If a person is known to be honorable or respectable, for instance, but they are heard using offensive words—whether cursing, racial epithets, or otherwise—their entire person or character is seen as defiled by those who once respected them. Truly, the “the course of our life” (literally, “wheel of origin”) can be destroyed by words, whether one slip of the tongue or an entire corpus of words that define what we believe, what we have done, or what we plan to do (i.e., a diary). Though a man’s life might have played out in his mind in a certain positive way, that course of life can be set on fire and burned to ashes when contrary or foul words are spoken.
           
Now just as the tongue has the power to destroy one’s life, being fueled by the depraved and corrupt mind, the tongue itself will be set on fire by hell. The term originates from the Greek gehenna, a transliteration of two Hebrew words that mean “Valley of Hinnom”—a valley outside of Jerusalem where pagans sacrificed children to their gods (Jer. 32:35) and also a trash dump where fires burned (cf. Mark 9:48). Whereas Jesus used this term to depict the place of judgment for unbelievers, James seems to speak of it as a place where the tongue is ultimately destroyed. It could be, however, that in saying “the tongue is set on fire by hell,” James means that the tongue is fueled by the fires of hell. After all, since the tongue is described as a “fire” of destruction, it is logical to conclude that its destructive nature is fueled by that which is evil, namely hell.

Food For Thought
            The tongue is just a metonymy for our depraved minds, similar to our feet (Rom. 10:15), our eyes (Matt. 5:29), and our arms (Matt. 5:30)—our body parts that sin. But it’s our minds that direct our body parts to sin. As to our tongues, we gossip by asking people things like, “Did you hear…?” We flatter, telling people things to their face that are the exact opposite of what we say behind their backs. We criticize, typically from jealousy. Furthermore, our tongues insult, boast, and worst of all, blaspheme which means to slander. By attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, we use our tongues to slander God (Matt. 12:31-32). We must be extremely careful in how we use our tongues, for what we say is a window to our souls, revealing our true selves.
            

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James 3:3-5 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!

Webster’s Unabridged translates “tongue,” as that “movable muscular structure attached to the floor of the mouth.” Though the entire context of 3:1-12 deals with the tongue, the word itself is not mentioned until v. 5, as metonymy—a word used for a related concept (tongue for the man). The tongue is said to “boast” of great things. Though this word is often used negatively in the NT concerning arrogance in the presence of God (cf. 4:16-17), in this context James has a more neutral sense in mind. After all, this small tongue is indeed capable of great things; hence, it “boasts of great things” as small things are known to do—from a bit, to a rudder, to a spark.

In v. 3 James first compares the tongue to a bit that bridles a horse. Of course a horse is a large and very strong animal, yet it is only practical with a bit in its mouth, a piece of metal lying on its tongue attached to reins. Without it, the horse is controlled only by its own mind. Since a horse typically does not know where the rider wants to go, the bit is used to steer this large animal. Certainly no horse shows up for duty to plow a field on its own; rather, the horse needs to be led and guided by the bit. The bit in the mouths of horses is put there by man “so that they will obey us… to direct their entire body as well.”

The parallel to man is not that the tongue controls the body but that the bit controls the horse. What controls a human? The controlling influence of the Holy Spirit. As the bit guides the way of the horse, so the tongue determines the destiny of the man, for it verbalizes the fruit—whether rotten or good, of the man’s life. As James said in v. 2, Christians who control their tongues are able to direct their entire lives, as the bit guides the entire horse. Those who succeed are “perfect” (v. 2), or rather mature and under the control of the Holy Spirit. Unrestrained, however, the tongue, though small in comparison to the rest of the body, will determine the eternal destiny of the man (cf. Matt. 12:36-37), for it exposes the heart of man.

Secondly, in v. 4 the tongue is compared to a ship. Though a ship is guided through the water by strong winds or a motor, it is the relatively small rudder underneath that determines its direction. All ships, no matter how large, are guided by this small rudder and supervised by one person with a steering wheel.

Thirdly, in v. 5 the tongue is compared to a spark of fire, for the tiniest of sparks can set an entire forest of trees on fire, destroy homes, animals, ecosystems, and human lives. The tongue, though small, can forever damage another human being and destroy just like a fire.
Note in the latter half of v. 5 “how great a forest” and “by such a small fire, for “great” and “small” come from the same Greek term: hēlikos. Since the word itself is an expression of enormity, as either great or small in either direction, context determines which direction the translation goes. Doug Moo says, “By giving it contextually marked opposite meanings, James accentuates the contrast between the small initial ‘fire’ and the huge resulting conflagration.”

Food For Thought
            Our speech is another indication of our character, for it is a reflection of who we are. If we are in Christ, then our speech will reflect that. Since backbiting, filthy talk, grumbling, hateful and hurtful words are not becoming a child of God, why do they spill forth from our mouths? Let us thus strive to be under the control of the Spirit, control our tongues, and struggle for maturity.
            

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James 3:1-2 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
           
Having just taught on the importance of works as a vindication of one’s saving faith in 2:14-26, James clarifies that words are works, for as Jesus said, “By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:37). If “true religion” includes bridling one’s tongue (1:26; cf. 1:19-20; 2:12), then no one would better understand this than teachers of the gospel, like James, who included himself among those who teach in 3:1.

The gift of teaching was (and is) a very high calling given by the Holy Spirit to some in the Church (1 Cor. 12:28; cf. Acts 13:1; Rom. 12:7; Eph. 4:11). Whereas the prophets gave divine revelation to God’s people (cf. 1 Cor. 14:30), teachers explained God’s revelation (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2). As a coveted spiritual gift, it is likely that many sought to teach in the early Church, whether or not they had the gift, intellectual acumen, or the necessary training. Perhaps there was a rush to teach among the Jerusalem Christians, and James was aware that not everyone’s intentions in teaching were pure. After all, teaching brings attention to one’s intellect and garners respect. So, singling out teachers as those who should be cautious with their speech, James was not just addressing rabbis and evangelists but anyone who teaches at any level. All should take heed, for our tongues can go to great extremes—bringing forth words that can destroy a person or heal a hurting soul (cf. Prov. 12:18).

Claiming a “stricter judgment” for teachers, James wishes to dissuade some aspiring teachers. This would not have been new to James’ mostly Jewish audience, for the Proverbs of Solomon frequently single out speech habits as an indicator of holiness (e.g., 10:8, 11, 21; 11:9; 12:18, 25; 13:3; 16:27; 17:14; 18:7, 21; 26:22). With this in mind, a true teacher of God would come humbly to his calling, knowing that everything he says will be heard and judged by God.

The word for “judgment” (Gr. krima) in v. 1 is better translated “discipline” (cf. Mark 12:40), for no Christian will face judgment or condemnation (cf. Rom. 8:1), only discipline (cf. Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). James is simply warning teachers that they are more accountable for what they say than non-teachers. Since a teacher’s service to the Church involves verbal communication, and since this means controlling the hardest part of the body—the tongue, James wants Christian teachers to know that sin lurks as we speak, both tempting us to false doctrine or hypocritical speech. Jesus Himself cautions teachers, saying, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more” (Luke 12:48). Paul knew this, and was able to boldly declare to the people of Ephesus: “I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:26-27).

James was certainly not advocating that teachers be perfect, for he knew that “we all stumble in many ways” (v. 2). The word “stumble” (Gr. ptaiō) can refer to imperfection, apostatizing, or sinning (2:10; Rom. 11:11; 2 Pet. 1:10). The only one who never stumbled was Christ, for Jesus was “a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” Only He was sinless. So, those who teach in the Church would do well to preach the words of Jesus Christ, words that were without error both when they were spoken and when they were written. James would have had both false teachers in mind as well as orthodox teachers when he wrote what he did. The former both ignore and twist the words of God; the latter have a propensity to compromise. Either way, James is clear that potential teachers should beware of what they say and do. There are monumental implications, both temporary and eternal, for reckless teachers.

Food For Thought
            Our modern world is full of teachers, many of which pose as Christians teaching truth. Sadly, too many teach only the contents of their own minds, not biblical truth. Although James does not address this, the implication is clear, not only for teachers but for listeners. As listeners, we have a responsibility to listen to the right teachers—those who both know biblical doctrine and practice it. Don’t just believe anyone because of their education or because they have a Bible in their hands. Know your Bible well enough to determine when you’re hearing a false teacher. And when you hear one, walk away and find an orthodox teacher of God’s word. They do exist!
            

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