James 1:1-27 Comments by Stephen Ricker
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Receive the Crown of Life
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SORRY, THE COMMENTS FOR THIS BOOK HAS NOT BEEN FINISHED.
A LIST OF BOOKS THAT ARE COMPLETED.

I. Greetings (1:1)

>1. Who wrote the letter? (Acts 12:2, 17, 15:13, 21:17-18; Gal. 1:19; Jude 1:1)

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

* Acts 12:2 "He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword."

* Acts 12:17 "Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place."

* Acts 15:13 "When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me."

* Acts 21:17-18 "When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present."

* Galatians 1:19 "I saw none of the other apostles--only James, the Lord's brother."

* Jude 1:1 "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:"

>How does he describe himself?

* "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ"

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>Who is the letter to?

* "To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations"

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>What is unusual about the recipients? (Jer. 31:9-10)

* Jeremiah 31:9-10 "They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son. Hear the word of the LORD, O nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'"

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>What does it mean that he calls them brothers in verse 2?

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II. Trial and Temptations (1:2-18)

>2. Will all believers face trails? (2)

* James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,"

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>How are we to respond when we face trials?

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>Why? (3)

* James 1:3 "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

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>Why is perseverance so important? (4, 12, 5:10-11; Rom. 5:3-5)

* James 1:4 "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

* James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."

* James 5:10-11 "Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

* Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

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>3. How is knowledge different than wisdom and why is the later better to ask for? (5)

* James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

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>When we ask God for something like wisdom what one thing is important? (6-8)

* James 1:6-8 "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

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>4. How is understanding about what is important opposite in the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of the world? (9-10; Luke 6:20-21, 18:23-24)

* James 1:9-10 "The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower."

* Luke 6:20-21 "Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh."

* Luke 18:23-24 "When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"

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>What is the truth about the rich? (11)

* James 1:11 "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 man will fade away even while he goes about his business."

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>5. Who is to blame for us being tempted? (13-14; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 1:24)

* James 1:13-14 "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

* Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

* Romans 1:24 "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another."

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>Can God be tempted?

* "For God cannot be tempted by evil"

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>Why or why not? (Heb. 4:15)

* Hebrews 4:15 "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin."

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>What does this tell us about the nature of temptation? (15)

* James 1:15 "Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

* This sheds light on the problem with riches.

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>6. What do we learn about the nature of God from verses 16-17?

* James 1:16-17 "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

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>What did God chose to do for us?

* James 1:18 "He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created."

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>What does it mean that we are "a kind of firstfruits of all he created"? (Exodus 23:16; Matt. 13:37-39)

* Exodus 23:16 "Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field."

* Matthew 13:37-39 "He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels."

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III. Listening and Doing (1:19-27)

>7. What do listening, speaking, and anger have in common? (19-20)

* James 1:19-20 "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires."

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>What can we learn from verse 20 about an aspect of a righteous life? (Psalm 37:8-9; Pro. 29:8, 11)

* "for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires"

* Psalm 37:8-9 "Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land."

* Proverbs 29:8 "Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger."

* Proverbs 29:11 "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control."

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>How is God's anger different from man's anger? (Exodus 34:6-7; Nahum 1:2-3; Psalm 30:4-5)

* Exodus 34:6-7 "And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.'"

* Nahum 1:2-3 "The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet."

* Psalm 30:4-5 "Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."

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>Is verse 21 advice or a command?

* James 1:21 "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."

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>8. How his hearing God's word and not doing deceptive? (22)

* James 1:22 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

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>What is the meaning behind the allegory in verses 23 and 24?

* James 1:23-24 "Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like."

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>9. How is Bible study and application dependant on each other? (25)

* James 1:25 "But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does."

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>10. Why is what we say so important? (26)

* James 1:26 "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

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>What example can we learn from Jesus about our speech?

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>What status did orphans and widows have in James time and how can we apply verse 27 to our lives today?

* James 1:27 "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."

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