James Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Evaluation of Faith  

My commentary says this to give us an idea about chapter 3:

"James refers to the tongue as another test of how true faith acts-- faith tames the tongue, or the mouth. He then says wisdom is a further evidence of faith. Just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, you can know the kind of wisdom a person posses by his or her actions. James also shows the difference between human wisdom, which leads to confusion and chaos, and God's wisdom, which leads to peace and goodness."  

Here is Chapter 3:  

James 3  

Taming the Tongue  

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. Two Kinds of Wisdom 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.  17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

I like verse 9 a lot. Isn't it ironic that we praise our Lord, but trash talk, gossip, and lie with the same tongue? It definitely makes me think. A lot. Out of our same mouth comes praise AND cursing. It shouldn't be that way. Our life should be a life of worshipping God continually. We can't be two-faced and do both.

Think about this today.  Are you cursing and praising your God with the same mouth?  What can you do to make your life a continuous praise to God?

- Mallory

James Chapter 2 (Continued)

James 2:14-26

Faith and Deeds

 14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”


   Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.


 20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[a]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[b] and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.


 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.


This is a great passage.  It says that good works will come from genuine faith.  It also says that faith without works is dead.  But, I don't want to confuse you with this.  Think about the thief that was next to Jesus on the cross.  He didn't get a chance to perform good works, but Jesus said:

Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

My footnotes in my Bible say that the thief showed that he had great faith.  He saw Jesus dying on the cross but believed that He would come into His kingdom.  This shows the amazing faith he had.  I mean, put yourself in that position.  Would you still believe that Jesus would come into His kingdom if he was stuck on a cross dying?  It would be hard for me to believe.  

So think about the thief and the amazing faith he had as you go about your day.

- Mallory

James 2:1-10

Today I'm just going to focus on part of chapter 2.

Favoritism Forbidden

 1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?

 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.


I really like the first few verses with the poor man and the rich man, because it is so true in our culture today.  I see examples of it all the time at school.  A new kid might come to school, and people will judge them just by their looks, even when they haven't met them yet.  I mean, who are we to judge?

And I LOVE verse 10.

 "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."

In my footnotes it says, one sin, small or great, makes a man a sinner and brings him under condemnation.  It is basically saying that all sins are equal, and it doesn't matter what sins you have committed, you are still a sinner either way. Plus sins are all equal in God's eyes.

It doesn't matter if you've stolen, lied, gossiped, murdered, cheated, swore, committed adultery or idolatry. . . . .

And even thinking about doing a sin is just like doing the real thing.


Well I will end with that.

- Mallory

James Chapter 1

My commentary says this about the beginning of the book of James:

"James begins by sharing how genuine faith is proved and strengthened by the outward test of trials.  James explains that trials are designed to produce growth, staying power, and trust in God as believers turn to Him for wisdom and help.  Regarding temptation. James explains:

- Temptations are inward tests of faith
- Temptations don't come from God
- Temptations are handled by responding to God's Word, by doing and not merely hearing God's Word.

He also goes on to examine Christian faith by explaining that true faith does not favor the rich over the poor.  True faith will "love your neighbor as yourself". (2:8).  James then points to Abraham and Rahab from the Old Testament as good examples of those whose faith was shown by their actions.

James 1

 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
   Greetings.

Trials and Temptations

 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
 9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Listening and Doing

 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.


This is one of my favorite chapters.  It is so encouraging to me, and it is just filled with so much wisdom...
I love verses 2-3.

 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

And notice is doesn't just say joy.  It says pure joy.  How many times do we face hard times, and we sit complaining, not realizing that God could use those hard times for good.

And also look at verse 12

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

The crown of life......Doesn't that just sound awesome?


That's all for tonight.

- Mallory

James and His Christian Service

James gradually was recognized as a leader.  When Peter, the church's key leader during Acts 1-7, left Jerusalem, James was the successor.

D.A. Hayes writes this:

"When he was exalted to this leadership we do not know, but all indications seem to point to the fact that at a very early period James was the recognized executive authority in the church at Jerus, which was the church of Pentecost and the church of the apostles... All Christian Jews would look to Jerus as the primitive source of their organization and faith, and the head of the church at Jerus would be recognized by them as their chief authority."

James wrote his epistle around this time.  The content of this reveals that he was an active Christian. These are some important moments is James' life.

During Jesus' Public Ministry:

John 2:12 - Right after Jesus turned water in wine
Matthew 12:46-50 - Waiting with family as Jesus spoke
John 7: 1-9 - Brothers didn't believe

Early Days as a Believer:

1 Corinthians 15:7 - Jesus appeared to him

Early Years as a Servant for Jesus Christ:

Acts 1:14 - Devoting themselves to prayer
Galatians 1:18-19 - Not all believed he was a Christian

Successor to Peter as Leader of Jerusalem Church:

Acts 12:17 - Peter said repent to Jesus (authority)
Acts 15:13 - Spoke as a leader
Galatians 2:1, 9-10 - James was strong in his faith
Acts 21:18-26 - Last appearance of James in the New Testament


Well that is all for tonight.

- Mallory

The Book of James

So I've decided to make a NEW blog, devoted just to my devotions.  This is mainly so I can have all of my devotions and notes all in one place :).  Here are a few posts that I'm transferring from my old journal, to this new blog :D.


Theme: Genuine Faith
Date Written: A.D. 44-49
Author: James
Setting: Jerusalem

This is the general idea of the book of James from my commentary:

The book of James is the earliest New Testament epistle or letter.  James was a leader of the church in Jerusalem.  Many people of the church of Jerusalem were scattered to Roman provinces because of persecution.  James wants to encourage them in their struggles.  He explains that genuine faith will produce real changes in a person's conduct and character.  He presents a series of tests by which a person's faith in Christ can be measured.  If real change is absent, then readers should examine themselves to make sure they are not showing signs of dead faith - which is really no faith!

First let's start with who James is.  There are many people from the Bible named James.  James was the half-brother of Jesus.  They had the same mother, but not the same father (Joseph was the legal father of Jesus, but Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit).

James and the other brothers of Jesus did not believe in Jesus as their Lord during the years of His public ministry (This I did not know. See John 7:2-8).  In Acts 1:14 we see that James became a believer sometime before the Pentecost day.  We know that his experience was genuine, because for the rest of his life he served Christ, as the book of Acts reveals.

Now that we have some background information we can start reading the book of James.
James Chapters 1-2 are about Actions of Faith.  I shall get to that tomorrow.

~ Mallory


James 2:17
"Faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead."