Faith, Works and Love: James

James, chapter one. “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.”

Here, James is writing his message to all of the twelve tribes and not just the Jews.

“My brethren, count it joy when you fall into various temptations or trials, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

James here is talking about us becoming perfect through keeping God's commandments and going through the trials and temptations associated with trying to keep God's commandments, the trials and temptations which Satan throws in our direction. By overcoming them, we develop patience and we strive toward and eventually with the help of God's Spirit, overcome and achieve perfection, not perfection as achieved through our flesh or our efforts but perfection as achieved through the power of God.

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

James is telling us that we need to ask and not just sit back and expect things to come our way. When we repent and turn away from sinning and we turn toward keeping God's commandments and the sacrifice of Christ is applied to us, we may then enter the presence of the Father and ask for wisdom. And for the wisdom of His Spirit, we may ask that His Spirit be given to us.

Verse six, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering or diverging. For he that wavers or doubts is like a wave of the sea tossed with the wind and driven. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”

If you doubt, don't think that you're going to be given anything.

For “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

If you're asking for something and doubting and you’re not asking confidently that you'll receive it, you won't get it because you are doubting and you lack faith.

Verse nine, “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted.”

A person who is having a low place in this life can rejoice knowing that he is called to become a king or a priest or both king and priest in the kingdom of God. He has a high reward if he has faith in God, if he trusts and believes God, and if he acts on that trust and belief and keeps God's commandments, and does God's will.

“But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.”

So, the rich man who gives up his riches for God's sake and for the kingdom's sake should rejoice in that he is humbled and should know that physical things mean nothing, that like the flowers they shall wither and pass away.

“Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tested, he shall receive a crown of life, which the Eternal has promised to them that love him.”

Now, if we love someone, we seek to please them and if we truly love God, we don't walk around saying, "Oh, I love the Lord" What we really do is we try and please Him by doing what He says.

Verse 13, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

When we see something and we begin to desire it in our hearts and we let that desire grow and develop in us, eventually we are going to do it. The key to overcoming temptation is that when we are tempted, we immediately reject it and not let it take a root within us, by dwelling on the temptation.

“Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, no changing, nor even a shadow of turning.”

God knows which way is right and he sticks to it and there is not even a shadow not even a remotest possibility that He is going to turn away from that, and that should be the case with all of us.

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear always be seeking to learn, slow to speak and slow to anger.”

Anyone who is quick tempered is not in control of himself; needs to learn to get control of himself, to listen, to think and to make sound judgments before proceeding.

“For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

An angry man will not do what is right in God's sight.

“Therefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your lives.”

That is, turn away from filthiness and superfluity and artificial, superficial things, and turn away from sin and receive the engrafted word of God with meekness because it is able to save you.

And “be ye doers of the word, and not just hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

For if a man is just hearing it and saying, "Oh, that's great" and is not actually acting on it and doing it, he is really deceiving himself. He is not so special after all; he just thinks he is. It is he who does the word of God who is special in God's eyes.

“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man or person he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty…”

So, God's law is a law which brings about liberty. It delivers us from the chains of sin, from the burdens of sin.

“But who so looketh unto the perfect law of liberty and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deeds. If any man among you seems to be religious, and does not control his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain.”

Those people who get up and are constantly accusing others, putting other people down, constantly in attack mode, always spouting off without thinking, making judgments without thinking about things, without even studying them through, such people are foolish in the eyes of God and their religion is vain, he is not a godly man. Anyone who says, "Well, this person is wrong: and they haven't even read the material, is simply ignorant and is willfully ignorant and is not a godly person.

Verse 27, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

So, what does that mean? "To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction," means to have empathy, to have sympathy, to have concern; to love others, to care about them and to care about the condition they're in, and to act on that caring and to do something about it and to try our best to help eliminate or alleviate suffering on others.

And second, "To keep unspotted from the world," means to turn away from the sins of the world and the only way to do that is to repent of those sins, embrace God's ways, keep His commandments, have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ applied to them, and enter into a relationship with the Father who will then give His spirit and empower us to keep His commandments and empower us to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.

Chapter two, “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.”

Now, this is a major, major, major problem in the groups making up the church of God today. They respect persons, that is, they do not hold everyone up to the same standard. They might check this person or that person's word against the word of God, but they will interpret the word of God as explained, for example, by Herbert Armstrong or by Ted Armstrong, or by somebody else. They do not hold Herbert or Ted or many of these other people up to the standard of God's Word. Yet they will turn around and attempt to hold other people up to that standard. This makes them double-minded people and it means that they have a double standard and it means that they respect persons, which is the sin of idolatry; it is the sin of allowing people to come between them and God.

“For if there come into your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there comes in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, "Sit thou here in a good place" and say to the poor, "Stand thou there, or sit here under my stool." Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by which ye are called? If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convicted of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” He is guilty of breaking all the law.

Now, being respecters of persons is wrong and respecting the rich over the poor is wrong. Respecting the poor over the rich is wrong and respecting some man because he claims to be somebody over the Holy Scriptures is wrong. We are not to study the Scriptures as interpreted or explained by this man or that man. We are to do the exact opposite. We are to study the Scriptures and when someone explains something, we are to test what he has said against the standard of the Scriptures. We are not to test the Scriptures against some man's view of them; we are to test that man's view against what the scriptures actually say.

“For he that said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if you kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment.”

If you show no mercy to others, no mercy will be shown to you by God in the judgment.

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit?

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, You hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Was not Abraham our father justified by his deeds, by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rehab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.”

Yes, there is a spirit in our body. It's a spirit of humanity or a spirit of man, a spirit in man. And without the body it doesn't function; it doesn’t think, it's not conscious. It must be plugged into the body. And the two work together; the spirit must be plugged into the body: and faith must be plugged into works, and works into the faith.

Faith without works cannot stand on its own. If we have faith, if we believe God, we will do what He says. We cannot do what He says if we do not believe Him; anymore than the spirit can live without the body. These things are inseparable. Faith together with works is inseparable. If you have faith and no works, it's a waste of time. Believing without acting on that belief is a waste of time; it won't get you anywhere.

Chapter three, “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”

This is referring to wanting to be a teacher. Don't jump up and decide you want to be a preacher or a teacher and that you want to teach the Word of God to others. Don't do that without carefully considering the fact that God will hold you responsible for what you teach and someday you'll stand before God and He will hold you responsible and judge you on the basis of what you have told others and on the basis of whether you have pointed them toward God or whether you have deceived and misled people. Someone who studies all the pagan traditions and prophecies and then stands on them is going to be judged by God as a false prophet and is going to be treated as one. And someone who points all people toward God will be judged as a godly path and will have his reward. But there is a very serious responsibility involved.

Do not decide you can stand up and teach until you weigh the matter and consider the responsibilities that you are shouldering. This is a very important and very vital. It is good to teach the Word of God but it is wrong to teach it for the wrong reasons and it is also wrong to teach people error and lead them astray. You must be very, very, very careful to consider all of these things and to consider the responsibility, the heavy burden of responsibility that we are taking on ourselves and not to just treat these things lightly and just go out and say anything we feel like saying. That is not right.

“For in many things we offend everyone. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole bodies. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, so large, and are driven of fierce winds, yet when they are turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth” or wherever and in whatever the direction the pilot wants the ship to go.

Even so the tongue is a little thing, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindles. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defiles our whole bodies, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, can be tamed, and has been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With our tongues, bless we God, even the Father; and with our tongues curse we men, which are made after the likeness or similitude of God.

Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? Can a vine bear figs? So can no fountain also yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good” conduct or “conversation his works,” his actions, his deeds, “with meekness and wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, and devilish.”

Bitter envying and strife is devilish, “for where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil thing. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” or double mindedness. “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them who make peace.”

Chapter four, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. And when you ask and you don't receive it is because you asked amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”

I cannot help commenting and I know many will take this the wrong way, but when Herbert Armstrong used to brag about he was friends with the world and he used to say he is friends with this king, and that prime minister, and this ruler, and those people, and those members of parliament, and he valued the friendship of the world. He should have read the Scripture, "Know you not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." It is wrong to try and be friends with this world, with this society.

We are to set an example of keeping God's laws, of living God's way and of overcoming and enduring; so that we can become leaders and rulers in the future; and so that we can teach these wicked men the ways of God. We are not to seek the friendship of wickedness by going to these people and mumbling some double-talk nonsense about a strong hand from some place to save us from our troubles. We are to stand up, to stand solidly on God's Word and to lay it out, and tell it like it is and tell them that they are doing wrong, and they should stop doing what is wrong and start doing what is right, and that is the solution to their problems. And if they don't stop doing what is wrong and start doing what is right; then God is going to intervene to correct their behavior.

That is what should have been told to these people, not some smooth thing seeking their friendship and then going to the church and saying, "I'm such a great man because I'm a friend of all these great people." Well, if you think the leaders of this world are so great, just stop for a moment and consider the mess the world is in. And the fact is, that these so-called great leaders are responsible for that mess, they created the present conditions and situation by their sins and by leading the rest of humanity into sin. Oh yes, the rest of humanity would have sinned anyway, no doubt. But these leaders have a certain responsibility and they failed to fulfill it and they are far from great men.

The great men in this world are nothing in the eyes of God. They are just simply nothing. It is the weak of this world whom God has called; and He has called them because they are humble and they're meek, and they are willing to listen; and they're willing to repent and they're willing to follow His commandments. And God will glorify and exalt them by making them kings and priests and causing them to inherit eternal life in His kingdom.

We should also go back here in verse one, "From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?"

Isn't this why there are so many different groups in the church today? Because they are all led by different people who lust to become the leader, who lust to become the next apostle or somebody great and who want the following after themselves and are not willing to cooperate with each other. If they all put God's Word first and they all worshipped God with a whole heart; they would be forgiving and they would be cooperative and there would be a lot less division than there is today.

Verse five, “Do ye think that the scripture says in vain, The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy?”

Our human spirit envies. It lusts envy.

“But he gives more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil. Resist envying and jealousy, lust, and greed and the devil will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of eternal, and He shall raise you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren.”

There are some people who love to write columns or speak and they always speak evil. They criticize everyone that they meet simply because that person isn't part of their particular group. "Tthis man is evil" or "He's really a sinner" or "He's this" or "He's that," because he doesn't agree with me. And the same people do not behave consistently with the Scripture themselves; for they speak evil of others and they do it without cause.

“He that speaks evil of his brother, and condemns his brother, speaks evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgeth the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? Go today, ye that say, tomorrow or today we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even as a vapour, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

If you have the opportunity to do good or you know that something is the right thing to do and you don't do it, that is a sin. Now, when I say that we should not judge one another, I am saying we should not judge and condemn persons, but we should definitely stand on God's Word, on God's commandments and we should condemn sin for God condemns sin. And if a person be committing such and such a sin, we should go to them and say, "You are doing such and such a thing which is contradictory to His commandments.

It would be wise for you to consider the matter and stop doing this." And we should go to our brother with such things, as we are instructed by Jesus Christ in Matthew 18. And if a man will not hear the matter then it's on his own head. But we don't condemn the person, we condemn the actions that the person is taking, we condemn the sin that he is committing.

Chapter five, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries which shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire for ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.”

The saints have been slaughtered all the day, counted as sheep for the slaughter, and they have not resisted or fought because they know that God's kingdom is not of this world and of this age. For Jesus Christ said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were then my servants would fight.” The day is coming when Jesus Christ will return to gather up His saints. And shortly after that, He will come down to the earth with those saints and they will fight. They will fight sin, and evil, and wickedness, and those who insist upon doing wickedness. And they will bring the earth into submission and subjection to the law of God and the kingdom of God. That time will come; but now, we are counted as sheep for the slaughter and we submit without resisting even as Jesus Christ submitted without resisting for it is not yet our time.

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. That will be our time. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws near. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge stands before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy, that he is forgiving. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath. But let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Eternal shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

What does it mean "The Eternal shall raise him up?" It is talking about the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the dead. They shall be resurrected or raised up. Their sins will be forgiven. The prayer of faith shall save the sick. Does that mean the sick will be instantly healed? No, it doesn't mean instantaneous healing necessarily, although that certainly can and often does happen. A person may be sick for a reason. God is trying to teach them some kind of lesson and if they obey him and are anointed with oil in the name of the Lord, the prayer of faith that is believing prayer shall save the sick. That is their sins will be forgiven and God will raise them up in the resurrection and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray for another, that he may be healed.” Does that mean standing up in front of a congregation and confessing all your sins? No, it does not. It means if you sinned against a particular person, you go to that person and say, "I am really sorry, I have done such and such, I was wrong, I sinned. Please forgive me." It is talking here about reconciling with your brother. It is not talking about standing up and stripping yourself naked in front of the whole world. It is talking about reconciling with your brother; about making what you've done wrong, right again; making it good, making it right.

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let that person know who did the converting, that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a life from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”

A multitude of whose sins? If you go and you went to someone that is sinning, and they repent and they're converted, you have saved their life and the sins that you have covered are the sins that the person has repented of. This is not meaning that because you go around converting somebody else that somehow you're justified their sinning. No, absolutely not. The sins that are covered are the sins that this person repented of. And your own sins -- if you want your own sins to be covered, you must repent of them. The only way that sin may be covered, that the sacrifice of Christ may be applied to us, and that we may be justified, the only way that the gift of grace of pardon can be given to us is if we sincerely repent and stop sinning, if we stop doing the offending behavior.

If we stop breaking God's commandments, we can be forgiven. If we don't stop, how can we be forgiven? How can we possibly be forgiven if we're continually repeating the same sin, continually repeating the same criminal act of breaking the law of the kingdom? If we are continually repeating and continually committing criminal acts, we will be judged a criminal and we will pay the penalty for our crimes. It is only if we stop being a criminal, stop committing the criminal act, stop breaking the law of the kingdom, only then can we be forgiven, only then will our sins be covered by the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.