James Teaches Faith in Action James 1:1

John 14:15 “If you love me you will obey my commandments.”

“The epistle of James is a handful of pearls, dropped one by one into the hearer’s mind.” E.J. Goodspeed

James 1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

John 7:5 For not even his brothers believed in him.

James 1:10 and the rich [will be] like a flower of the grass he will pass away. … Proverbs 11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. James 1:19b let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

… Proverbs 14:29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. … Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

James 5:1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. … 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.

Isaiah 5:8 Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land. 9 The L ORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing: “Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.

James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. … Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6a But let him ask in faith, … Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives ”

James 4:11a Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. … 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? … Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”

James 5:12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. … Matthew 5:33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, … 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

James 5:2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. … Matthew 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,”

“James demands an obedience that honest readers know they cannot render. Therefore, while the individual sentences and paragraphs of James are clear, we struggle to resolve the tension between the stringency of James’s demands and our inability to attain them.” Daniel Doriani

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the L ORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.