General epistle

The last seven epistles of the New Testament are known as the general, or catholic, epistles, being called catholic, universal, or circular, because they were not written to any single congregation, city, or nation, but to believers everywhere. “The early writers of the Church, who introduced the term, probably meant it to indicate that these letters were more general in their contents and purpose than those of Paul, who directed his epistles to certain named churches or individuals, while Peter, John, James, and Jude addressed whole groups of churches.”

Author

The author does not definitely identify himself, at least not so far as people of a later age are concerned, since he simply calls himself James, or Jacobus, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, James 1:1. But although there are still some doubts, yet the probability is generally admitted that the author is James the Less, Mark 15:40, the son of Alphaeus and Mary, Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13; Matthew 27:56,61. Many commentators think that he is to be identified with James, the brother of Jesus, surnamed the Just, Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; Galatians 1:19. The reason why this man is now generally believed to have been the author is this, that he was the only man occupying a position of authority such as is implied in this letter. Cp. Galatians 1:18-19; Acts 12:17; Galatians 2:9,12; Acts 15:4-29; 1 Corinthians 15:7. The supposition is that James the Less, after the death of the elder James, Acts 12:2,17, was the head of the congregation in Jerusalem, and as such held a position of power and trust which gave him a wide influence.

Context

The letter is addressed “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad,” that is, to the Jewish Christians in the Dispersion, who lived outside of Palestine, and especially outside of Judea and Jerusalem. Of these there were many thousands, Acts 21:20 ^■927 , and they were exposed to many trials of their faith, a fact which imposed upon them the exercise of great patience, James 1:2,4; James 5:7-18. The condition of the congregations as described in the letter makes it probable that it was written some time in the sixties of the first century, and, there being unmistakable references throughout to the Gospel according to Matthew, the date must be placed somewhere between 63 and 69 A.D. The place at which it was written was very likely Jerusalem, the city in which James the Less lived until the advancing armies of the Romans caused the Christians to flee from the city.

Character

So far as characteristic features of the letter are concerned, it differs in various ways from the other epistles of the New Testament, often reminding the reader of the proverb writings of the Old Testament. “The epistle is less doctrinal than any other in the New Testament. The purpose of the writer is not so much to instruct as to exhort and admonish. ‘This is the Epistle of Holy Living. Great stress is laid upon works, not apart from faith, but as both the proof and fruit of faith.’ The style of the epistle is sententious and forcible, passing swiftly, and sometimes without any apparent logical formation, from one topic to another. Boldly denouncing sin in strong terms and polished, poetical language, St. James reminds us of one of the old Hebrew prophets.” ^■928 .

Contents

The letter has no definite outline, being a pastoral instruction more than a doctrinal discussion. After the address we may distinguish eight groups of admonitions, joined in a rather loose fashion, all presenting the topic: The Christian as he should be, a perfect man of God: 1) An admonition to steadfastness in temptations which test the faith. 2) An admonition to the readers to prove themselves genuine doers of the Word. 3) A warning to the rich not to despise the poor. 4) A warning against a dead, fruitless faith. 5) A warning against sins of the tongue. 6) An exhortation to avoid quarrelsomeness. 7) An admonition to humility and mercy. 8) An admonition to patience in view of the second coming of the Lord and to willing love toward the brethren ^■929 .

Faith and works

Many Bible-students have been struck by an apparent discrepancy between the letters of Paul and the present epistle, since it might appear that the doctrine of James conflicts with that taught with such emphasis by Paul concerning justification by faith alone. But there is no real conflict. Paul writes against the self-righteous man, who does not want to be justified and saved by the grace of God in Christ Jesus alone, but insists on good works as being necessary for obtaining salvation. James writes against the vain, foolish man, who trusts for salvation in a barren orthodoxy, imagining that a mere belief of the intellect and a mere profession of the mouth without any works is saving faith ^{■930 ■931} .

Antilegomena

Though this Epistle of St. James was rejected by the ancients, I praise it and hold it a good book, because it sets up no doctrine of men and lays great stress upon God’s Law. But to state my own opinion about it, though without injury to anyone, I consider that it is not the writing of any apostle.

My reasons are as follows:

First: Flatly against St. Paul and all the rest of Scripture, it ascribes righteousness to works, and says that Abraham was justified by his works, in that he offered his son Isaac, though St. Paul, on the contrary, teaches, in Romans 4:2, that Abraham was justified without works, by faith alone, before he offered his son, and proves it by Moses in Genesis 15:6. Now although this Epistle might be helped and a gloss be found for this work- righteousness, it cannot be defended against applying to works the saying of Moses in Genesis 15:6, which speaks only of Abraham’s faith, and not of his works, as St. Paul shows in Romans 4. This fault, therefore, leads to the conclusion that it is not the work of any apostle.

Second: Its purpose is to teach Christians, and in all this long teaching it does not once mention the Passion, the Resurrection, or the Spirit of Christ. He names Christ several times, but he teaches nothing about Him, and only speaks of common faith in God. For it is the duty of a true apostle to preach of the Passion and Resurrection and work of Christ, and thus lay the foundation of faith, as He Himself says, in John 15:27, “Ye shall bear witness of me.” All the genuine sacred books agree in this, that all of them preach Christ and deal with Him. That is the true test, by which to judge all books, when we see whether they deal with Christ or not, since all the Scriptures show us Christ (Romans 3:21), and St. Paul will know nothing but Christ (1 Corinthians 15:2). What does not teach Christ is not apostolic, even though St. Peter or Paul taught it; again, what preaches Christ would be apostolic, even though Judas, Annas, Pilate and Herod did it.

But this James does nothing more than drive to the Law and its works; and he mixes the two up in such disorderly fashion that it seems to me he must have been some good, pious man, who took some sayings of the apostles’ disciples and threw them thus on paper; or perhaps they were written down by someone else from his preaching. He calls the Law a “law of liberty,” though St. Paul calls it a law of slavery, of wrath, of death and of sin (Galatians 3:23; Romans 7:11).

Moreover, in James 5:20, he quotes the sayings of St. Peter, “Love covereth the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) and “Humble yourselves under the hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6), and of St. Paul (Galatians 5:10), “The Spirit lusteth against hatred”; and yet, in point of time, St. James was put to death by Herod, in Jerusalem, before St. Peter. So it seems that he came long after Sts. Peter and Paul.

In a word, he wants to guard against those who relied on faith without works, and is unequal to the task [in spirit, thought, and words, and rends the Scriptures and thereby resists Paul and all Scripture], and would accomplish by insisting on the Law what the apostles accomplish by inciting men to love. Therefore, I cannot put him among the chief books, though I would not thereby prevent anyone from putting him where he pleases and estimating him as he pleases; for there are many good sayings in him.

Lutheran Study Bible note

“Despite Luther’s early, harsh opinions and influence as an interpreter, the Lutheran Church has held that James is rightly part of the NT, citing its authority in the Book of Concord.”

Verses 1-15

Various temptations and their endurance

The address:

Unlike the salutations which characterize the opening of Paul’s letters, this address is very brief, exactly in the style which was employed in those days in writing letters. The Apostle James calls himself a servant, which includes the ideas of both worshiper and minister. Of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ he is a servant, the two persons of the Godhead being altogether on the same level in divinity and authority. To the twelve tribes this letter is addressed, the expression being a synonym, not only for the entire Jewish race, but also for the true Israel, the spiritual people of the Old Testament, the sum total of those that had expected the Messiah in firm faith and had now acknowledged Christ as the promised Messiah. These believers, these Christian Jews, were scattered abroad, were living in the Dispersion, in the countries outside of Palestine, and especially outside of Judea. In many cases they formed the majority of the congregation, and the entire policy of the congregation was guided by them. To all of these James sends his greeting in the customary form of salutation.

Temptation and prayer:

Without any introduction or preliminary discussion, the apostle immediately plunges into his admonitions, taking up the question of temptation and prayer first: All joy consider it, my brethren, if you meet with various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. The picture used by the writer is that of a soldier when he meets face to face an opponent against whose attack he has been warned and whose mode of fighting he has studied. The suspense of waiting for the threatened onslaught is over; the Christian may close with his enemies. Just as a form of exultation takes hold of a soldier at such a time, because he can now go into action, so the Christian should rejoice that he may become engaged in the combat which the spiritual warfare in this world demands of him. For it is not in his own strength that he is battling, but in the might of the Lord communicated to him by faith. No matter what the temptation may therefore be, this thought serves for comfort, namely, that the testing of faith through the various temptations with which the Christians have to battle teaches them patient endurance, actually accomplishes, works this state of mind in them. Every confessing Christian, therefore, that stands firm in the midst of such trials, Ephesians 6:10-16, gives proof that his faith is sound, and this evidence in itself induces him to take courage, bear patiently, and persevere.

This patience is necessary in the life of the Christians, as the apostle says: But let patience have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, deficient in nothing. The patient endurance of Christians must not be a mere pretense, but should be real, true, the finished product, bearing the name with full propriety. For it is only then that believers themselves will be as they should be, fulfilling their lot in the world, fully equal to their high calling, not deficient or lacking in any essential of Christian sanctification. If a person calling himself a Christian yields to the very first attack of his enemies or does not hold out under their repeated onslaughts, proof is given that he does not yet possess the faith which is founded on the Lord’s power, a faith which overcomes the world with all its temptations.

Another thought is now introduced by the apostle concerning a factor which is just as essential in the life of the Christians: But if any one of you is lacking in wisdom, let him ask of God in sincerity and without reproach, and it will be given him. In view of man’s helplessness and lack of prudence and foresight in the various situations of life, this admonition with its assurance gives a great deal of comfort. It happens so often that Christians are at their wit’s end, being able to see neither what is the best policy under given circumstances nor how to attain to the end that is plainly to be reached. In every situation, however, no matter how complicated, we have the assurance of God’s help, and should therefore ask for it in simple trust, knowing that God distributes His gifts with all singleness of aim, without requiring anything in return. Nor does He resent it if our prayer seems childish, unworthy of His august attention. Neither our own essential unworthiness nor the majesty of the Lord should serve to keep us from asking Him for what we need to assist us in our own sanctification and in the work of His kingdom. Cp. Hebrews 4:16. Here, as in other passages of Scriptures, we are definitely told that God will hear the prayer of those that believe in Him. Cp. Matthew 7:7; Mark 11:24; Luke 11:9; John 14:13.

But the apostle adds a word of warning: But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing; for he that doubts is like a billow of the sea agitated and swayed by the wind. For let that man not imagine that he will receive anything from God. Every true prayer is a fruit of faith by which the believer enters into the relation of a child toward God. As dear children ask their dear father, so should the faith of the Christians urge them to place their wants before their Father in heaven. To doubt is the very antithesis of faith, and is an insult to the kindness and goodness of the Lord. The doubter is fitly described as being like a wave, a billow of the great sea, which is driven and fanned by the wind, first in one direction and then in another, whence waves have always been used to describe instability of character and thought. The faith of a Christian has a firm foundation; the doubt of the timid, though he profess to be a Christian, has no foundation. And therefore such a person should not delude himself into thinking that he will receive anything from the Lord, for his very attitude shuts him out from the promises that have been given to faith and to the prayer of faith. Note that there is a ring of contempt in the passage at the idea of a man with halting faith expecting his prayer to be answered.

The need of humility:

In connection with the rebuke administered to the doubting heart and the characterization of its instability under the picture of the wave of the sea, the apostle adds the general truth: A double-minded man he is, unreliable in all his ways. His mind is never fully made up: Shall I trust the Lord, or is it not safe to do so? At one time he wants to trust in the Lord with all his heart, at another he places his trust in men. It follows, then, that not only his prayer is a matter of chance, but he is unreliable in everything he turns to; his Christianity is not a dependable fact, but an uncertain quantity, without value.

A further admonition concerns the various stations of Christians in this life: Let the brother of low position exult in his elevation, but the rich in his being lowered, because like the flower of the grass he passes away. These words teach the right attitude toward social standing in its relation to Christianity. If a Christian brother that occupies a low position in life is exalted by being made a partaker of the riches of God in the Gospel, that is a reason for rejoicing, because it shows that there is no respect of persons with God. The rich person, on the other hand, one that is blessed with the possession of many earthly goods and is therefore in danger of placing his trust in such paltry blessings, should feel happy and exult if the teachings of Christianity bring him to the realization of the temporary character of this world and all its goods. For it is only in the measure that he denies himself and all the wealth of this world that he will understand the riches of Christ’s blessings. For if he should put his trust in the things of this world, they could serve him at best only for a few years, since he is bound to pass away like the flowers of the grass, short-lived emblems of earthly glory.

This thought is carried out somewhat more fully: For the sun is no sooner risen with the east wind than it parches the grass, and its flower drops off, and the beauty of its appearance is ruined; so also the rich man in his counsels is consumed. Cp. Isaiah 40:6-8. The east wind, which came up from the Syrian desert, was a hot and dry wind, parching the vegetation on the hills and in the valleys of Judea. With the sun assisting this wind on a day in midsummer, the very foliage of the trees was blighted, the flowers sank to the ground withered and bereft of all the beauty of their appearance. That is also the lot of the rich man, of the person blessed in an unusual degree in this world’s goods. Before he is aware of the fact, the hand of death cuts him off from the land of the living and lays him into the grave, where all the riches which he has accumulated will be of no benefit to him. All the more, therefore, is the necessity laid upon him to put his trust in the Lord alone and not in any of his possessions here on earth. Note that the apostle describes this fate, which really strikes all men, as coming upon the rich man only, in order to impress upon the latter the necessity of heeding the warning.

Temptations from within:

Having spoken of temptations in the very beginning, James 1:2, the apostle now explains the term as he wants it understood: Blessed is the man that endures temptation; for, having stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those that love Him. In James 1:2 the apostle had said that the Christians should look upon their engaging temptations that might beset them with joy, since it gave them the opportunity to try their mettle. Here he emphasizes the blessedness of every believer that is tried out in that manner, by withstanding temptations and enduring afflictions. For every man that stands the test in faith, that remains true to the Lord to the end, will receive the reward of mercy, the crown of life, Revelation 2:10. This wonderful gift of His grace the Lord has promised to all those that show their faith by their constant love toward Him. Thus not only the test of the temptation in itself, but also the merciful reward which is held out before us, should serve to encourage us in persevering in faith in spite of all temptations.

But we must not make a mistake as to the apostle’s meaning when he refers to temptations: Let no man, being tempted, say, I am tempted of God; for God is untemptable of evil, and He tempts no one. The apostle is speaking of such temptations as assail the Christians by reason of their own flesh and on the part of the enemies in the world and Satan. No man may offer the excuse that he, in giving way to wrong, is doing so at the instigation of God. This evasion is used to this day by people that refer to their temper, or to their propensity for the one or the other sin as something which they cannot help, for which they cannot be held responsible. Such persons should remember a double truth: in the first place, that God is incapable of being tempted by evil, and, secondly, that He will under no circumstances tempt men to evil. He is in no sense the author of sin and can in no way be held responsible for its existence, for He is the essence of holiness and purity.

The matter, in truth, must always be represented thus: But every one is tempted, being allured and deceived by his own lust. Then lust, having conceived, bears sin, but sin, being brought to maturity, brings forth death. This agrees with the words of the Savior: Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, Matthew 15:19. The carnal part of man, his evil nature, the tendency and desire for all that is wrong which he has inherited from his parents, is continually beguiling, alluring, enticing, deceiving him, trying to lead also the Christians into various sins against all the commandments of the Lord. If this lustful condition of the heart succeeds in making an impression on the mind, in overcoming any objections which the new man or conscience may have to offer, then it will break forth in actual sins. And if this sin is not hindered in time, if it is not overcome and suppressed, if it takes possession of the body with all its members, and works its own will in the person concerned, and thus reaches its full maturity, then the end will be death, eternal death, unless such a sinner returns to the Lord in true repentance. Note that the picture of alluring to sensual sin, of attracting as with the wiles of a harlot, is maintained throughout, in order to show the insidious nastiness of sin.

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Verses 16-27

God’s fatherhood and the obligations of sonship

God’s fatherhood and the acceptance of His Word:

The first sentence serves as a transition between the two paragraphs: Make no mistake about this, my beloved brethren. It is a solemn and touching appeal which the apostle makes, since so much depends upon the proper understanding of these facts. To think that God can in any way be made responsible for sin is a thought which so strongly savors of blasphemy that all Christians must flee the very suggestion. Man alone is responsible for the evil which is found in his heart and which comes forth in the various transgressions of the divine will.

So far as God is concerned, we must always maintain: Every good gift and every perfect endowment is ever coming down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is not existing a change, nor shadow-casting of a turning. God is the Source, the Father of Lights; everything that is truly light and brings light comes from Him. There is no spiritual enlightenment nor anything that has value in a spiritual manner possible without His almighty power. The continual bestowing of good things, the ceaseless shower of spiritual endowments and blessings wherewith He blesses the hearts of men, comes down from Him. Thus He is the Author of all that is excellent and perfect. He can, therefore, not deny Himself; He cannot change His essence and properties; in His case the peculiar entering into part-shadow or loss of brilliancy as it takes place in some of the heavenly bodies is out of the question. The moon may have her phases and the sun his eclipses, but our God shines upon His spiritual children in undimmed glory, 1 John 1:5. God’s merciful countenance is never hidden from His children, without change and interruption He causes His face to shine upon us.

Of the many splendid gifts of God the apostle names that which is highest and best: Because He willed it, He begot us through the Word of Truth, to be a kind of first-fruits among His creatures. God’s good and gracious will, according to which He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, we Christians have experienced. He begot us, we became His children through the Word of Truth, the Gospel, 1 Peter 1:23. When the Gospel was proclaimed to us, the merciful will of God, through this means of grace, took us out of our natural, sinful life, and placed us into a new, divine life. By faith we have been regenerated, born anew, become the children of God. And one of God’s purposes in working this change in us was to have us be a kind of first-fruits among His creatures. Just as the first-fruits of every harvest in Judea were consecrated to the Lord, thus we Christians have been set apart from the sinful world to be creatures of God, in whom the image of God is being renewed, through whom God is truly honored. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, Ephesians 2:10.

In view of this grace, however, of which we have become partakers, the apostle admonishes: You know that, my beloved brethren; but let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man does not promote the righteousness of God. The facts which the apostle had just laid before them were truths with which the Jewish Christians were familiar, and of whose soundness they should always assure themselves again, since upon this knowledge and understanding rested their whole Christianity. The fruit of such knowledge would be sure to follow, for a person realizing what he owes to the Word of Truth would certainly always be ready and eager to hear the Word, finding it impossible to learn too much of its glorious message. Just the opposite behavior, however, is expected of a Christian, so far as his neighbor is concerned. He should be reluctant to speak, he should hold back from saying anything in wrath. If he finds that anger is arising in his heart, he should control himself, lest his wrath get the better of his new spiritual nature and cause him to sin. For while there is a righteous indignation over sin which will cause persons in positions of authority to rebuke every form of trespass with all holy severity, it remains true of every form of wrath that it does not work and promote the righteousness of God; its outbursts do not meet with the approval of God, but rather with His condemnation, since they cannot be made to agree with His holy and righteous will.

Knowing the danger of unwarranted anger, the apostle adds the general warning: Wherefore, laying aside all foulness and excess of malice, receive in gentleness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. As new creatures, as children of God, the Christians have a continual battle with their old evil nature, which insists upon rearing its head and endeavoring to lead them into every form of uncleanness and sin. But foulness of every kind and manifold wickedness is incompatible with that condition of heart and mind which God expects from His children, just as is all anger and violence. The disposition of the believers rather is this, that they daily and ever again receive the implanted Word, accept anew the message of their salvation and sanctification as it is brought to them in the Gospel. The seed which has sprouted in their hearts is supposed to grow into a strong, healthy plant, and therefore it is necessary that they hear and learn the Word, which alone is able to save their souls, day after day, never growing weary of its wonderful truths. This action on the part of the believers requires meekness, gentleness, humility, because the pride of man’s heart, his self-righteousness, and his general disinclination to the way of salvation will always insist upon standing in his way. But the prize held out to the believers, the everlasting bliss in the presence of God, is of a nature to inspire them with ever new thoughts of their home above and thus to enable them to combat the attacks of their carnal nature successfully.

Doers of the Word:

The words which introduce this paragraph may be said practically to form the topic of the entire letter, the apostle’s aim being to combat the mere head Christianity which, even in those days, threatened the life of the Church: But become doers of the Word, and not only hearers, deceiving yourselves. The Jewish Christians of Judea had now heard the Gospel-message for about a generation, and they were in danger of falling away from the first love. They still came to hear the Word, but there the matter ended. There was no evidence in their lives of their possessing the fruit-bearing faith which should come by hearing, Romans 10:17. The hearing of the Gospel, of all the preaching which they were blessed with so richly, had become a mere dead custom with them, a habit without life. But hearing should be accompanied by a living faith, by a faith which gives evidence of its existence in the entire life of the believer. Sanctification is the correlate of justification. The preaching of sin and grace is not to pass through the hearing of the Christian like a dead sound, but the spiritual life which was worked in the Christians through the Gospel should find its expression in deed and in truth, should be living and powerful in good works. Unless there is such evidence of faith in the life of people professing to be Christians, unless sanctification follows upon justification, they are deceiving their own hearts, they are reasoning themselves into a state of carnal security.

The apostle explains his meaning by a comparison: For if any one is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who glances at his natural face in a mirror; for he glances at himself, and goes away, and at once forgets what he was like. A person whom this description fits, with whom the hearing of the Word has become a mere dead habit, without meaning and life, is well compared to the average person who merely glances into the mirror to see whether his face is clean, whether his clothing is arranged properly. There are very few persons that would be able to recall their own features even after using a mirror hundreds of times. Thus the mere hearers of the Word go back to their every-day lives and neither retain the Gospel-message with a believing heart, nor do they bring forth fruit with patience, Luke 8:15.

With such forgetful, vain hearers of the Word the apostle contrasts the true believer: But he that looks closely into the perfect law, that of liberty, and remains thus, proving himself not a forgetful listener, but a doer of the Word, he will be blessed in his doing. It is God’s will that the believers, having been regenerated through His almighty power through faith, should grow in holiness, in perfection, according to His holy will. The perfect law or institution of liberty is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it teaches us wherein true liberty consists, namely, in serving our heavenly Father through Christ. The true believer does not merely glance at this fact in passing, but takes time to study carefully all those things which, he knows, have the approval of the Lord. It is just because he realizes the extent and the wonderful richness of his liberty in Christ Jesus that he strives to be a doer of the Word, to make progress in sanctification. And he that is thus employed in the service of his heavenly Father, for the love which he bears Him in faith, will be happy and blessed in his doing, the very fact of his being engaged in works which are well-pleasing to his Lord and Master is a satisfaction and a reward which fully repays him, not to speak of the reward of grace which the Lord will pay out to him on the last day. In doing the will of God, a Christian realizes and experiences on his part what the Word of God is able to perform in him, that it is a power of God unto salvation.

That sanctification must thus follow justification the apostle shows in conclusion: If any one fancies himself to be a religious man, but does not control his tongue and rather deceives his own heart, his religion is vain; pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to care for orphans and widows in their tribulation, to keep oneself unspotted from the world. If any person thinks he is, imagines himself to be, such a one as has the reverence of God in mind at all times, probably making a boast of his religion and of his zeal for God’s Word, and at the same time is guilty of the threefold misuse of the tongue, slander, swearing, and impure speaking, he thereby deludes himself. His own words and actions give the lie to his protestations; he denies by his life during the week what he proudly boasts of on Sundays, and therefore his so-called religion is a futile, useless thing. The power and efficacy of the Word, as the author points out, will rather, in all true believers, give evidence of its presence in a far different way. That is pure, real, unsoiled, selfless religion, a real fruit of faith as it is active and effective in love, if Christians make the care of the fatherless, of widows, of all such as are deprived of their natural protectors, their special purpose, thus alleviating their affliction as much as lies in their power. And another way in which true religion will become evident is in this, that the believers preserve themselves unspotted from the world, that they have no communion with the unfruitful works of darkness which soil the hearts and minds and drive faith out of the heart. Thus shall the sanctification of the Christians go forward all along the line and their faith and love be exercised in accordance with the will of their heavenly Father ^■932 .

Summary

After the address the apostle speaks of the temptations which beset the Christians, of the power of prayer, of the need of humility, of the real source of temptations, of the fatherhood of God, of the acceptance of His Word with meekness, and of sanctification as a fruit of justification.

Verses 1-26

Dead faith compared with living faith

Caution against partiality:

It is a peculiar fact that history repeats itself, that the same conditions seem to be found in the Christian congregations after just about so long a time of Gospel-preaching. The apostle does not hesitate to attack the evil with all the power at his command: My brethren, not in respect of persons hold the faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord of Glory. The Christian faith must not be abused, nor dare shame and disgrace be brought upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and the King of Glory. The reference is probably to the fact that the second person of the Godhead was present in the cloud of glory which accompanied the children of Israel on their journey through the wilderness and afterward appeared at the dedication of the Temple of Solomon. Such a condition of affairs, however, such servile regard of people, altogether out of agreement with the spirit shown by Jesus Christ in His treatment of men, had crept into the churches. Men were not regarded on the basis of their Christianity, their moral excellence, their personal piety, their usefulness to the congregation, but on the basis of the wealth which they had accumulated.

This is brought out with great emphasis and effectiveness by the apostle: For if there enters into your common assembly a man bedecked with gold rings, in a splendid garment, but there entered also a poor man in a sordid garment, and you (would) attend to the wearer of the splendid garment and say to him, Sit thou here in the best place, and to the poor man you would say, Keep standing here, or sit down at my footstool, do you not therefore discriminate among yourselves and become judges according to evil considerations? The text pictures a meeting, an assembly of worship, as it was held in those days. In steps a man whose wealth and influence is apparent at first glance. He is bedecked with gold rings, he wears the fine white garment which was assumed by rich Jews. Hardly has he entered the door, when the members crowd forward to meet him. With obsequious deference they place the best seat in the room at his disposal, their faces, at the same time, displaying the admiration for wealth and power which fills their hearts. But immediately after there steps in a poor man, clad in a simple garment, perhaps even soiled with the labor of his hands. There is no deferential ushering as he apologetically tries to find a place where he may stay. Instead, he is curtly told that he may stand in the room reserved in the rear; or, if that does not suit him, he may sit down on the floor. Note: History repeats itself also in this, that these very conditions obtain in many so-called Christian houses of worship to this day. But the apostle gives his opinion of such behavior in sharp words, telling his readers that they are thereby making a false distinction, a wrong and foolish discrimination, that they are dividing the congregation of the Lord into parties without the consent of the Lord, in a manner which in no way accords with His own acceptance of publicans and sinners. Incidentally, men calling themselves Christians and yet acting in such a manner become judges according to evil surmisings, according to false considerations. To judge a man by his outward appearance only and to condemn him on account of his poverty is to defame him both in thought and deed, an act very decidedly at variance with the Eighth Commandment.

In solemn warning the apostle calls out: Listen, my beloved brethren: Did not God choose the poor according to this world, rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has promised to them that love Him? This fact the readers should consider, of that they should never lose sight. It is the poor people in this world’s goods, the weak, the foolish, that God has chosen, 1 Corinthians 1:27-28. The wise and mighty of this world are inclined to sneer at the Gospel of the poor Galilean fishermen and of the Nazarene that died on the cross. Therefore the Lord has chosen the poor, not because their hearts by nature are any better than those of the wealthy and mighty, but because they at least have not the handicap which riches are apt to prove to contend with. And it is the Lord’s choosing which has made the poor rich in faith, which has assured them of the inheritance of the saints in light, the glorious reward of mercy in heaven above, which God has promised to those that love Him. Reproachfully the apostle therefore writes: You, however, insult the poor, both dishonoring and despising them.

In this connection the apostle reminds the Jewish Christians of another fact: Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before their tribunals? Do they not blaspheme the excellent name which was laid upon you by your call? He speaks of the rich people as a class, characterizing them by the behavior which is commonly found where they have the power. They make use of violence, they oppress those that are not in their own class, they try to lord it over them at all times; they foster lawsuits, believing that their money will buy them the decision which justice would never render. And altogether too many of them will not believe that they are in need of the Savior and His redemption, they blaspheme the name of Him that called the Christians by faith, and added them to the communion of saints. The conduct of the believers, therefore, in acting with a false deference to all the wealthy people, is all the more reprehensible.

The apostle, then, offers this conclusion: If, indeed, you fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, you do well; but if you have respect of persons, you commit a sin, and are convicted by the Law as transgressors. There is a royal law, a rule of the Kingdom, which should be heeded also by Christians as expressing the will of God, namely, the precept that they should love their neighbors as themselves, making no distinction between rich and poor, between fashionable and unimportant. Such conduct is well-pleasing to God. But if the Christians make such false distinctions as outlined by the apostle above, preferring the rich and influential merely on account of their money and not on account of their Christian life and moral worth, then they are transgressing the will of God and stand convicted by Him and by His Law, which will then apply once more. It is a wilful, conscious sin of which they will be guilty, and there will be no excuse for them. It is a warning which will bear repetition in our days.

The will of God to be kept in all parts:

The solidarity, the unity of the will of God is here brought out. For in connection with the fact that a carnal preference of persons is a transgression of the holy will of God, the apostle argues: For whoever keeps the whole Law, offends, however, in a single thing, has become guilty of all. A person might argue that an offense of the kind as explained by the apostle really did not amount to much, that the fault, if it might be designated so, would surely be overlooked by God. But as a matter of fact, he that transgresses, stumbles, becomes guilty in any single point pertaining to the Law of God, no matter how insignificant it might seem by comparison, is considered a transgressor of all. To profane one commandment means to have broken all.

This is now illustrated: For He that said, Thou shalt not commit adultery, also said, Thou shalt not kill; if, then, thou dost not commit adultery, but committest murder, thou becomest a transgressor of the Law. The will of the Lord is one and cannot be divided any more than His essence and qualities can be divided. Both adultery and murder are prohibited by God, and the adulterer cannot offer as an excuse that he has murdered no one, nor can the murderer escape by pleading that he has not become guilty of adultery. In either case the Law has been transgressed; in either case the guilty one is punished according to the same rule, which says that the soul which sinneth shall die.

The advice of the apostle therefore is: So speak and so act as those that want to be judged through the law of freedom. The Christians, as Christians, are not under the Law, but under grace. Their life of sanctification is governed by the law of freedom, that is, they govern their words and actions by their love toward God, by their relation to their heavenly Father as His dear children. Because they are free and have become the servants of righteousness, they find their delight in speaking and acting as it pleases their heavenly Father and Christ. It is in this way, according to this standard, that the Christians want to be judged.

Those that do not want to heed this fact will be compelled to heed the warning: For the judgment is merciless to him that did not practise mercy; but mercy will boast in the face of judgment. If a person does not practise mercy and charity in this life, also in his behavior toward his neighbor of low degree, then the judgment will likewise deny him mercy; he will be treated according to the full measure of justice and be condemned. If, however, a Christian has shown himself merciful at all times, full of charity to all men under all circumstances, then he need not fear the Last Judgment, but may exult at the thought of it, since God, out of His boundless mercy, will then dispense mercy. Cp. Matthew 5:7.

Proof of faith demanded in brotherly love:

This passage is not opposed to Romans 3:21-28, but offers the opposite side of the question, the key to the entire discussion being given in James 2:17. The apostle first of all asks a challenging question: What is the advantage, my brethren, if one says he has faith, but has no works? Can that faith save him? The apostle here characterizes a person that has mere knowledge of the head, of the mind, concerning the facts of salvation, but is without the faith of the heart which is bound to be active in love. Real faith, saving faith, without some evidence of its presence in the heart, is unthinkable. Such faith has nothing in common with saving faith; such faith is a delusion and vanity.

In order to bring out his point, the apostle illustrates: If a brother or sister is ill clad and destitute of daily food, one of you, however, should say to them, Go your way in peace, be warmed and fed, but you would not give them the necessaries of the body, what good would it be to them? Here is a concrete case, which is met with all too often, also in our days of vaunted charity. A brother or a sister may be found in actual want, actually destitute of the needs of the body, insufficiently clad, undernourished or not nourished at all, and yet some people are satisfied with a pious wish that God would take care of their needs. If such a wish is made by one that is able to help, and there is actual need, then there is only one conclusion possible, namely, that such a person knows nothing of the real faith of the heart as it is bound to be active in love, in good works for the help of one’s neighbor. In a case of this kind the pious wish is an example of the rankest hypocrisy; for nothing but selfishness is able to neglect dire necessity as it is brought to the attention in circumstances of that kind.

The conclusion will therefore stand: Even so also faith, if it has not works, is dead, being by itself. Works are a necessary concomitant, an inevitable fruit of real faith. Spurious, hypocritical faith, then, being without works, is no faith; or if one wishes to assume that there was faith at one time, it is certain that such faith has died and is no longer able to bring forth real fruit in the shape of good works. A faith by itself, without good works, is simply unthinkable.

The apostle now anticipates an objection on the part of some of the readers: But some one will say, Thou hast faith; — I also have works; — show me thy faith without works, and I will show thee my faith out of my works. This is a very vivid presentation, in the form of a dialog. Some one might raise the objection: Do you claim to have faith? thus apparently making the matter doubtful. But the writer would be ready with his rejoinder: I certainly do, and what is more, I have works to show for it. He might very well challenge the objector to give evidence of his faith without works, and then he, the author, would soon furnish convincing proof of the existence of real faith in his heart, namely, the good works which are the fruit of faith.

In an almost sarcastic vein the argument continues, as brought against the person with a fruitless faith: Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the devils also believe — and shudder. But dost thou want to know, O vain man, that faith without works is useless? That is about the extent and the content of the faith of which the objector can boast; he has the knowledge of mind and head which tells him that there is only one true God, that God is one in essence. That knowledge is good enough as far as it goes. But saving faith it most assuredly is not; for even the devils know this much about God, that the Lord is one Lord; in fact, they have a very complete and accurate knowledge of the essence and qualities of God, Luke 8:26-33. They tremble and shudder in the presence of God, knowing full well that they are helpless before His almighty power. Any person, now, that flatters himself in a fatuous manner as to his possessing true faith, and has not gotten beyond the standpoint held by the devils, is depending upon a mere head knowledge without works such as are bound to flow out of saving faith, and therefore surely has a vain and empty hope to sustain him. Note: Wherever circumstances are shaping themselves as they lay in the congregations to whom this letter is addressed, it is only by means of plain speaking as here done by the apostle that the evil may be combated with any hope of success.

The example of Abraham and Rahab:

In bringing examples from the Old Testament to illustrate his argument, the apostle first refers to an incident in the life of Abraham: Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works when he sacrificed his son Isaac upon the altar? Genesis 22:9. Abraham had received the command from God to take his only son, Isaac, to make a three days’ journey with him to a certain mountain, and there to offer him up as a sacrifice upon an altar to be built by him. The fact that Abraham carried out the commandment of God without remonstrance was a proof of his faith, Hebrews 11:17; in other words, his work in sacrificing his son was evidence that justifying, saving faith was living in his heart. It follows, then: Thou seest that his faith was manifested as being one with his works, and that out of works faith was completed. Abraham’s faith was active in his works, in all the matters connected with this sacrifice, the two being thus joined in their efficacy, and his faith receiving its final, definite proof by his works. That is, any one seeing Abraham perform this work as he was commanded to do by the Lord could not doubt for as much as a minute that true faith lived in his heart.

That this is the argument of the writer is shown in the next verse: And there was fulfilled the Scripture which says, Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to Him for righteousness, and he was called a friend of God. The order to be observed in estimating faith is this: Abraham performed the very difficult task which was assigned to him; this work he could perform only by faith; by virtue of this saving faith the righteousness of the Messiah was imputed to him, or, his faith was accounted to him for righteousness, Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3. Moreover, on the strength of this evidence of faith the Old Testament ascribed to Abraham the honoring title of the friend of God, 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8. From this standpoint, also, the conclusion is correct: You see that out of works a man is justified, and not out of faith alone. Good works are not necessary to earn salvation, but they are necessary for evidence as to the existence of faith in the heart of a man; for where they are to be found, there one may conclude that true faith lives in the heart, and so the works indirectly justify a person.

The example of Rahab is also adduced: So likewise Rahab, the harlot: was she not justified out of works when she received the messengers and sent them out by a different way? The act of Rahab in hiding the spies that came to her house was an act of faith, Hebrews 11:31. It was this faith that prompted her to hide the messengers and to aid them in escaping from the city. This good work proved the existence of saving faith in her heart, and she was thus justified on the basis of the deed which manifested the condition of her heart. Thus the apostle, from the standpoint which he here desires to impress upon his readers, is right in concluding: For just as the body without breath is dead, so faith without works is dead. A corpse may have the appearance of a live human being in every way, all the members and organs being present and apparently able to function. But while the breath of life, the soul, is lacking, that body is dead and will remain dead. Thus also a person may boast that he possesses faith, and he may even be among those that hear the Word of God. But if the evidence of good works is lacking, such faith is spurious, hypocritical, valueless. Genuine faith is never without good works.

Summary

The apostle warns his readers against an unchristian partiality, asserting that the will of God demands charity toward all men alike; he shows that faith requires the correlate of brotherly love and adduces the example of Abraham and Rahab to indicate how faith gave evidence of its existence in good works.

Verses 1-18

Caution against false activity in teaching and the use of the tongue

The danger of teaching and much speaking:

It seems that in many of the congregations, which were composed largely of Jewish Christians, the custom of permitting almost any man to speak that so desired had been taken over. This was a dangerous practise in more than one respect, and therefore the apostle writes: Become not many teachers, my brethren, knowing that we (as such) shall receive the more severe condemnation. In the Jewish synagogs, especially in the Dispersion, in the cities outside of Palestine, there was little restriction in the matter of teachers; almost any one would be listened to that desired to be heard. But whereas all believers are kings and priests before God and the Lord Jesus, they are not all teachers of the congregation, they may not all arrogate to themselves the office of preacher. But there was not only danger under such circumstances that the Gospel-message would not receive its proper attention, but the speakers were also inclined to let personal matters sway them, the result being that the discourses in the common assemblies were anything but edifying at times. It was necessary, therefore, to remind the unauthorized teachers of the fact that the responsibility resting upon the office and the account which the teachers must give on the last day, Hebrews 13:17, would make the sentence passed upon them all the more severe.

The apostle now gives reasons for the sternness of his rebuke: For manifoldly we offend, all of us. If a man does not offend in word, that man is a perfect man, able to keep under the restraint of the bridle also the whole body. The general course of life may well be called a way and each individual action a step; therefore any offense or lapse or transgression may well be termed a stumble. All men without exception become guilty of such stumbling, even the best of Christians are subject to sins of weakness. And now James, in applying this general truth to the case in hand, states that a man who can control his speech at all times, never offending by so much as a single word, may well be considered a perfect man, since the ability to control the tongue argues at least for the probability of controlling the entire body and keeping all the members from sinning. If a man is able to perform the more difficult task, he will have little trouble with that which is comparatively easy.

But the difficulty of controlling the tongue is now shown by two examples. The apostle writes, in the first place: But if we put bits into the mouths of the horses to make them obey us, and we direct their entire bodies. This was an example with which his readers were familiar, which they understood. Horses are driven and kept in control by means of the bits placed into their mouths, the driver merely pulling the reins in order to have the horses’ head in any direction that he chooses. In another case the ease of control is still more apparent and also wonderful: Behold also the ships, although they are so great and, moreover, tossed about with fierce winds, yet are guided with a very small rudder, whithersoever the mind of the steersman wills. This fact is apparent in our days even more than in the times of small vessels. Ships of many thousands of tons displacement obey the slightest pressure of the helmsman, or a slight turn of the wheel on the bridge. Even when the sea is agitated, the pilot or officer has little trouble in directing the course of the vessel as he chooses, as he thinks best, so long as the steering apparatus is in order and the rudder does not break. It is a marvel of human ingenuity to be able to keep a large vessel in control with such tiny devices as compared with its great size.

The apostle now makes the application: So also the tongue is a small member, and yet boasts of great exploits. The writer speaks of the tongue as though it had a personality of its own and made use of its power by deliberate action. As small as it is among the members of the body, yet it can boast of performing great deeds. By way of comparison the apostle again calls out: Behold how small a fire, — what a forest it does kindle! or: What an immense fire, what an immense forest the tongue does kindle! It takes only a small fire, a burning match carelessly thrown aside, to start a fire which may consume many square miles of forest. And such is also the destructive power of the tongue: The tongue also is a fire, a world of unrighteousness; the tongue steps forth among our members, and it stains the entire body and inflames the wheel of nature, and itself is inflamed by hell. Like the small firebrand that causes the devastating forest-fire, so also is the tongue in its unbridled state. It is a world of unrighteousness, it works a world of mischief, its entire sphere becomes that of iniquity when it begins its transgressions. The tongue steps forth among the members, it assumes the leadership, among them, it rules them, it makes them do its bidding. Thus it happens that it succeeds in staining the whole body, in polluting all the members; it sets in motion and inflames the wheel of nature, the whole circle of innate passions, jealousy, backbiting, slander, blasphemy, and every vile deed. Truly the tongue, if permitted to pursue its course unhindered, is inflamed of hell, is in the control of Satan himself.

Warning against the abuse of the tongue:

It may seem, perhaps, that the orator is here carried away by his subject; but any one that has observed the terrible effect of slandering and defaming which is done in our days, as it was hundreds of years ago, will say only that the apostle speaks by way of comparison. In holy indignation he cries out: For every kind of beast and bird, of reptiles and of marine animals, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but the tongue can no one of men tame; that restless evil, full of death-bringing poison. The patience and the ingenuity of man has worked effects approaching the miraculous in taming and in training animals of every description, mammals, birds, reptiles, and various animals that live in the sea. Though the divine promise of the dominion of man, Genesis 1:28, has suffered somewhat in consequence of sin, yet the mastery of human beings over the animals cannot be questioned, the latter being kept in subjection both by subtlety and by force. But the tongue seems to be beyond the ability of man to keep in subjection and to tame; all the immeasurable evil that it has caused since the fall of Adam, all the innumerable warnings that have been uttered by the servants of God since that time, have not yet succeeded in curbing its pernicious activity. An unruly, a restless evil, the apostle calls it, one that causes restlessness and disorder, that upsets all established rules for its control. It is full of death-bringing poison, Romans 3:13; the evil which it causes has the same effect as the venom of asps, corroding and killing.

In what way this is true, the apostle shows by citing one single instance: With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in the likeness of God; out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. Matters are here represented as they are found in the world and, sad to say, also in the midst of those that bear the name of Christ and confess His holy name. The tongue being the instrument of speech, it is used by believers and even by others for the praise of God, who is our Lord and Father in Christ Jesus. That is as it should be; for we can never adequately sing the praises of Him who has brought us out of the darkness of spiritual death into the marvelous light of His grace. But the sad side of the picture is this, that the same mouth is also used in personal abuse, in cursing a fellow-man, who was created originally in the likeness of God. For God made Adam in His image, and although the spiritual part of this likeness has been lost as a consequence of the Fall, certain external characteristics still proclaim that man is the crown of created beings. Thus the tongue is made an instrument of evil in calling down God’s wrath and punishment upon a fellow-man. There is no excuse for this, neither loss of temper nor heated controversy. It is a vile transgression, an evil habit, aggravated by the fact that blessing and cursing come forth out of the same mouth. Surely the contradiction should at once strike every man that is guilty of such behavior; he ought to feel that such a condition of affairs cannot possibly be reconciled even with common decency. Solemnly, therefore, the apostle adds: It should not be, my brethren, that these things happen; the mouth which blesses God in fervent prayer should not heap curses upon men at other times; such behavior cannot be reconciled with the Christian profession.

How utterly unreasonable and contradictory the attitude of men is that still are guilty in the manner described, the apostle shows by a few examples: Surely a spring out of the same opening does not send forth sweet and bitter water! A fig-tree, my brethren, surely cannot bring forth olives, or a grape-vine, figs! Neither can salt water yield fresh. Nature itself teaches that the behavior of men as just characterized by the apostle is unnatural, unreasonable. For the same fissure, the same opening of a spring or fountain, cannot bubble up sweet, fresh water, and bitter, brackish water at the same time. A fig-tree will not bear olives, nor a vine, figs, neither can a sweet-water fountain yield salt water and a saltwater spring, or the salty sea, sweet water. How much more does it behoove Christians to watch over their tongues, lest the good and the evil, the wholesome and the foul, be poured forth from the same mouth!

Warning against strife:

The apostle now makes a direct application of the lessons contained in the first part of the chapter: Who is wise and intelligent among you? Let him show his works out of an excellent conduct in the meekness of wisdom. Christians should make use of proper wisdom, prudence, and common sense; they should show that their intelligence, controlled by their obedience to the Word of God, is well able to direct their actions in life. Such wisdom is not boastful and proud, vaunting itself at the expense of others, but it is modest, humble, meek. It does the right thing, it behaves itself in a conduct which agrees with the will of God, not with the purpose of seeking its own glory, but only that of serving the Lord, this in itself being a sufficient reward for the believer. In this spirit he performs the works which the Word of God teaches him as pleasing the heavenly Father.

The opposite conduct may be expected in the case of a man that is full of carnal pride: But if you have bitter zeal and quarrelsomeness in your hearts, do not boast — and thus lie against the truth. If people calling themselves Christians cherish emulation and party-strife, jealousy and rivalry, if they are so puffed up with pride and self-satisfaction that they insist always upon being in the right and ever claim that the one disagreeing with them is wrong, they are doing so at the expense of love. Should they under such circumstances gain an advantage over the other and boast in triumphant glee of their having been proved in the right, this will almost invariably be a lying against the truth, since most victories gained under such circumstances are gained at the expense of truth and love, and will not aid in furthering the harmony which should be found in a Christian community.

Of such an exhibition of pride the apostle says: This wisdom is not that which is coming down from above, but earthly, sensual, devilish; for wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every evil deed. People that make use of such schemes in overcoming their opponents, that always insist upon being right and want their ideas carried out, may think themselves exceptionally wise, as, indeed, their self-sufficient air would cause the uninitiated to believe. But the wisdom which they boast has nothing in common with true wisdom, such as is given by God, whenever the Church is in need of intelligent management. It is a wisdom, rather, which is of this earth only; it is sensual, in the domain of the senses, which is as far as human beings will ever proceed; it is devilish, it succeeds only in bringing about such conditions as are particularly pleasing to the devil, who is a liar and a murderer from the beginning. This, in fact, is the only fruit that can be expected where emulation and party-strife, jealousy and rivalry, exist, where every one insists upon having his own ideas accepted, regardless of the views of others. Naturally, there will be disturbances, disorders, everything will be upset in such a congregation, a condition will result which will give rise to every evil deed, the passions finally having free and full sway.

Altogether different is the situation where true meekness and kindness are ever in evidence: But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, lenient, yielding, full of mercy and good fruits, not critically inclined, not hypocritical. This wisdom is from above, it is given by God and should be required of Him in prayer, James 1:5. If any man thinks that he is not in need of it, he will surely find himself in a position where he will make one mistake after the other. The wisdom which God gives, and which should at all times rule in the Church, is pure, chaste, holy, it guards against sin in every form; it is peaceable, wherever this can be done without denial of the truth, it maintains peaceful relations; it is lenient, forbearing, even under severe provocation; it is yielding, conciliatory, ready to enter upon a compromise or accept the opponent’s views if this can be done without harm to the work of the Lord; it is full of mercy, compassion, and good, wholesome fruits, eager to be of service to the cause; not critically inclined, but generous, even when the discussion tends to become bitter; not hypocritical, but genuine, the Christian does not make use of tricks and devices to trap his opponent.

If this condition of affairs obtains in a Christian congregation, in a Christian community, then it will follow: But the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace to them that are peacemakers. Wherever the virtues are practised as outlined by the apostle in the previous verse, there the people that practise them are sure to reap the fruit of their work. Where the peace of God rules the heart, there all the virtues that make for true righteousness of life will grow and flourish abundantly. Peace and righteousness are thus the result of the wisdom which is given from above, truly a splendid harvest to those that have shown the disposition which should always characterize the professed followers of Jesus.

Summary

In cautioning the Christians against false activity in teaching and the use of the tongue, the apostle shows them the dangers which attend much speaking, especially when the tongue is fanatically excited; he warns against the abuse of the tongue and against the disposition of mind which engenders strife.

Verses 1-17

Caution against worldly-mindedness and its consequences

Against a lustful, quarrelsome disposition:

The tenor of this chapter is such as to have called forth the following remarks: “These verses reveal an appalling state of moral depravity in the Diaspora congregations; strife, self-indulgence, lust, murder, covetousness, adultery, envy, pride, and slander are rife; the conception of the nature of prayer seems to have been altogether wrong among these people, and they appear to have been given over wholly to a life of pleasure.” ^■933 . The rebuke of the apostle does not lack in sharpness: Whence do fights, whence do wrangles come in your midst? Is it not thence, namely, from the passions that wage war in your members? The situation in many of the Jewish Christian congregations was anything but what the Prince of Peace would advocate in His Church. There were continual bickerings, wranglings, quarrels, fights, without a chance for rest and peaceful growth, the same condition that is found in some Christian congregations also to-day. The apostle flatly tells his readers what the source is of all this disagreement and disorder, namely, the selfish desires, the evil lusts, the unrestrained passions which they permitted to wage war in their own members; they made no attempt to restrain the evil promptings of their heart, they made their members instruments of unrighteousness. Cp. Romans 7:23; 1 Corinthians 9:7 ^■934 .

With dramatic fervor the apostle continues: You crave and do not have; you commit murder, and are full of envy, and cannot obtain it; you quarrel and fight. There can be no doubt that James is here throughout using the spiritual interpretation of the Law, calling the sins of desires and thoughts by their right name, and indicating their standing in the sight of God. The people to whom this letter was addressed were dissatisfied, they were full of desire for something else; their hopes and expectations were in a very hazy state, as is usually the case with people that are not content with their lot and believe themselves to be destined for higher things. Their hearts were full of murder and envy, they were always afraid that some other brother might attain to greater honor and prominence in the congregation, and the wish that he might be out of the way may often have been supplemented by plans for his removal. But with all the quarreling and fighting that was going on in their midst they were not gaining any spiritual advantage, their own disposition precluding the blessings of the Lord.

This condition was made still worse by another factor: You do not have on account of your not asking for it; you ask and do not receive, because you ask in a wrong manner, in order to spend it in the satisfying of your own lusts. In many cases even the formality of prayer was forgotten over the wrangling that was becoming ceaseless; and so, of course, the attainment of even good desires was out of the question. But even where the formality of prayer was observed, where they went through the gestures intended to accompany prayer, there was no chance of their being heard and receiving the object of their desires, because their prayer was made in the interest of their own selfishness, their object being to use the gifts which they might receive from God in the gratification of their own lusts; they wanted to waste His blessings in carrying out various schemes of their own, for their own benefit and aggrandizement.

In holy zeal the apostle warns them: Wanton creatures, do you not know that the friendship of the world is enmity toward God? If any one, then, chooses to be a friend of the world, he is constituted an enemy of God. Adulterers and adulteresses the apostle calls his readers, speaking generally, for their behavior not only approached idolatry, which is spiritual adultery, but their attitude toward the world endangered also their bodily chastity. There was an increasing tendency in the congregations, just as there is to-day, to give up the solid front against the world and its pleasures; the lusts of the world were entering into the Church. Christians did not hesitate to seek the friendship of the children of the world in order to take part in the special delights of the flesh which the children of the world foster. But then, as to-day, it was true that every person that became guilty of such behavior thereby constituted himself an enemy of God, placed himself into direct opposition to God and His holy will, and took the first steps toward a life of idolatry.

With challenging fervor the apostle asks: Or do you suppose that the Scripture says in vain, Even unto jealous envy that Spirit which He made to dwell in us does yearn (for us)? Such behavior as the apostle has just described is absolutely incompatible with the ideals which the Lord holds out before the Christians in His Word. Cp. Galatians 5:17-21; Romans 8:6-8; 1 Corinthians 3:16. These and similar passages, which are found in many parts of Scriptures, indicate definitely that the Lord watches over the behavior of the Christians with jealous envy. The Holy Spirit who has come to dwell in our hearts strives unceasingly to have us acquire the same love for God and His holy will which He bears for us and for our highest development along spiritual lines. Any behavior on our part, therefore, that tends to dislodge the Holy Spirit from our hearts, will retard our spiritual growth.

A humble state of mind demanded of Christians:

All sins may be said to have their root and origin in the pride of the human heart, which refuses to bow to the will of the Lord. Christians, therefore, will deny themselves and depend upon the help promised from above: But He gives greater grace; wherefore He says: God sets Himself against the proud; to the humble, however, He gives grace. If the Spirit, who has made His abode with us, can but perform His work unhindered by wilful transgressions and outbursts of evil lust, then the Lord, through His work in our hearts, will give us grace for a life of proper sanctification. For this truth we have the authority of the Word, in which the Holy Spirit Himself gives us the assurance that, while God always resists the proud, it is His good pleasure to give grace to the humble. Cp. Proverbs 3:34; 1 Peter 5:5. A Christian’s constant effort, then, will be to conquer and vanquish the natural pride of his heart, through the power of the Spirit that lives in him, and always to offer to the Lord a heart that is willing to hear and to keep His will. Note that the divinity of the Holy Spirit is plainly taught in this passage.

The need of this attitude is spoken of by the apostle: Submit yourselves, then, to God; but set yourselves against the devil, and he will flee from you. That is the characteristic of the believers of all times, that they overcome the haughtiness and pride of their evil nature more and more, and place themselves, with all their gifts and abilities, in the hands of God, whether for good days or for bad, Psalm 37:5. As the Lord teaches them in His Word, so do they unhesitatingly follow, even though it means entire denial of self. And in performing this part of their Christian calling, they will set themselves against, they will resist with all the power at their command, the wiles and temptations of the devil. It is a matter of ceaseless vigilance, of tireless battling; but there is only one outcome possible, namely, the flight of the devil. With God and the Word on our side, the victory is bound to be ours.

This necessitates what the apostle further urges: Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. The more closely our new, regenerated, sanctified nature draws to the Lord, the more firmly we are united with Him in faith and love on the basis of His Word, the better will be our chances of overcoming all the enemies that try to draw us away from the Lord. But to such as are loath to do that the apostle says: Purify your hands, you sinners, and make chaste your hearts, you double-minded. Wherever there are men that call themselves Christians and still long after the flesh-pots of the world, they must be brought back to their right minds by such a loud call to loyalty. They should purify the hands that have become soiled by any contact with the filthy matters of this world; they should see to it that their hearts, whose allegiance they have tried to divide between God and the world, turn all alone to the Lord and His will.

In most cases this would make necessary a return to the Lord by a real repentance: Undergo hardship and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned to lamentation, and your joy to depression. Throughout this passage a person may find many allusions to the Old Testament calls to repentance, such as were uttered by the prophets. The fact of their having turned from the Lord and become guilty of such trespasses as the apostle has enumerated, should cause the guilty ones to feel miserable and afflicted; their sins should call forth mourning and weeping on their part, as evidences of a genuine change of heart. Whereas they formerly laughed in the boisterous manner of the world and with the children of this world, they should now substitute bitter lamentation; whereas they found their joy in the delights tending to idolatry, the thought of their transgression should cause them to feel dejected and depressed in spirit.

If this attitude would be found among them, a true repentance of the heart, then they would also have the assurance: Be humbled before the Lord, and He will exalt you. So long as pride is the dominating trait in a person’s life and works, so long God will resist the efforts of such a person. But if a poor sinner has thrown overboard all his self-righteousness, all the sinful pride of his heart, and lays before the Lord a broken and a contrite heart, then the Lord Himself will exalt him, will pardon his sins and accept him through the merits of Jesus Christ the Savior.

Against uncharitable judging:

The humility which is required of Christians will show itself not only in their behavior toward God, but also toward their neighbor. Against the commonest form of transgression in this respect the apostle writes: Do not speak against one another, brethren. The fact that the Christians are brethren is in itself a reason why they should not indulge in uncharitable criticism. For, as James explains: He that speaks against his brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the Law and judges the Law; but if thou judgest the Law, thou art not a doer of the Law, but a judge. To speak evil of a brother, to criticize and condemn one’s brother in an uncharitable manner is against the will of God, against His holy Law, against the Eighth Commandment. A person, therefore, that becomes guilty of such behavior against his brother becomes guilty of a transgression of the Law. To say that the Law did not cover this case meant to misinterpret the Law, and this action, in turn, was equivalent to criticizing and condemning the Law. Surely, then, a person who presumed upon such conduct was not a doer of the Law, but a judge of the Law, and a poor one at that.

People that indulge in this pastime should remember: One it is who is Lawgiver and Judge, who is able to save and to destroy; but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor? Here the arrogant impertinence of one that judges his neighbor in an uncharitable manner is set forth. For he is presuming to discharge the functions of an office which belongs to God alone, since He it is that gave the Law, and He it is that will condemn the transgressors and punish the guilty. The passage reminds one strongly of Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37; Romans 2:1. For a mere man to criticize and condemn his neighbor, except in cases where the Lord Himself has charged the congregation with carrying out His condemnation, is altogether unwarranted, and is resented by God as an interference with His authority. The passage contains a warning which cannot be repeated too often.

Trust in God’s providence essential:

In the preceding verses the apostle has rebuked the presumption of men both against the Lord and against the brethren. He here speaks of another form of arrogance, one which coolly disregards the Lord’s providence and His rule over the world: Come now, you that say, To-day or to-morrow we shall journey to this or that city; we shall spend a year there in doing business and making money, — you who do not know what to-morrow will bring. The impertinent independence which is shown in the attitude of many people is here skilfully and realistically brought out. Speeches similar to this may be heard any day in all cities of Christendom. The government and providence of the Lord is calmly disregarded. People make their plans for journeys, for the expansion of their business, for the accumulating of wealth without taking the Lord into account. And yet they do not know what the morrow will bring, or even whether they will live to see the morrow!

This the apostle brings out splendidly: For what is your life? For you are a vapor which is visible for a little while, and afterwards it passes away. Just as everything in this world is uncertain and unstable, so this truth holds with regard to the life of man. Who will say how long it is to last, with the evidence on every hand that it is the most uncertain quantity that we can think of? The life of man is truly like a vapor, like a puff of steam, like a wreath of mist floating in the air one moment, and gone the next, Job 14:1-2; Psalm 90:5-6,9. How idle and foolish, therefore, to speak and act as though we were masters of our life and of our destiny, except as under God’s guidance!

The proper attitude is that pictured by the apostle: Instead of your saying, If the Lord wills it and we live, and we shall do this or that, or, If the Lord wills it, we shall live. Our entire life with all its vicissitudes is in the hand of the Lord, under His government. Arrogant independence, therefore, has no room in the life of the Christian. All his plans are subject to approval or rejection by the Lord, under whose will the believer bows at all times. As our prayers with regard to earthly blessings are always conditioned upon His good pleasure, so all the various paths and byways of our life should be placed in His guiding hand, for He knoweth best.

Lest any one take this admonition lightly, the apostle adds: But now you are boasting in your proud pretensions; all such boasting is evil. To maintain an attitude of proud indifference to the government of the Lord and to His control of the affairs of human life, is exhibiting a pride of mind which cannot be reconciled with true Christianity; it is an evil boasting in which many people are prone to indulge. Many a person that placed his will over against that of the Lord has found out to his sorrow that the Lord will not be mocked, not even in the so-called trifles of every-day life. And so the concluding warning comes with solemn emphasis: To him that knows to do the good and does not do it, to him it is sin. This principle is upheld also by Jesus, Luke 12:47-48. Some of the Christians may have erred with regard to the several points made by the apostle in this chapter through thoughtlessness. This fact would not have excused them, but it would have been a charitable explanation of their behavior. Now, however, that the facts of the will of God have been discussed at such length, even the last shred of an excuse is taken away. Any one who disregards the points which are here set forth for the sanctification of believers has no one but himself to blame if the full measure of stripes is laid upon him by the judgment of the Lord. For it is not only sins of commission that are subject to condemnation, but also sins of omission, of not doing that which is right in the sight of God. This word should be heeded also in our days with the carefulness which it deserves.

Summary

The apostle cautions his readers against any display of lust, envy, and worldly-mindedness, demanding of them true humility, the absence of uncharitable judging, and trust in God’s providence and government.

Verses 1-20

Various admonitions in view of the nearness of the judgment

Exhortation to the rich:

To the remarks which the author has written concerning the rich in the first part of his letter he now adds an exhortation in which he calls upon them directly to consider their ways: Come now, you rich men, weep with lamentation over your calamities which are impending. He wants the rich people to take notice, to stop for a moment in their mad scramble for wealth. For even a superficial consideration of their actual position will take all self-satisfaction and pretended happiness out of their heart and mouth, and cause them, instead, to weep bitterly, unto howling, over the miseries and calamities which are drawing near them. It is a prophetic warning of great energy. Cp. Luke 6:24.

The reason why the rich people, those that put their trust in the wealth of this world, will be reduced to a state of pitiful lamentation, is given by the apostle: Your wealth is rotting, and your garments are becoming moth-eaten. Men in that condition believe that their money, their riches, are secure against every contingency, for which reason they also place their full trust in that which their hands have heaped up. But it is in fact decaying, putrefying; their confidence is resting upon a rotten foundation. And their rich and costly clothes and garments, which they have gathered from all the countries of the earth, are becoming moth-eaten. Such is that in which they find their delight, transient, perishable, without lasting value, yea, more, valueless in the sight of God. Cp. Matthew 6:19-20. The same is said in the next sentence: Your gold and silver is rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you and shall consume your flesh like fire; you have heaped up treasure in these last days. The apostle uses strong figurative language. All the money upon which they that will be rich are relying with such complete abandon is covered with filth; it belongs to the perishable goods of this world, all of which will eventually return to the dust and be consumed at the end. This dust or filth or rust will testify against them that they have put their trust in such decaying matter. Instead of satisfying the soul forever, the time will come when this dust and rubbish for which men sold their immortal souls will prove a torment to them, eating into their bodies with the everlasting fire of hell. For the charge stands against them that they heaped up riches for themselves in these last days of the world. They were not satisfied with the blessing which the Lord places upon honest work, with the necessaries of life, but believed themselves under the obligation of storing up, of gathering together, wealth, never resting, never satisfied.

The sacred writer now shows in what manner this heaping up of riches was largely done: Behold, the hire of the laborers that have harvested your fields, of which you have defrauded them, is crying out, and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. It is the ancient controversy between capital and labor which is here touched upon. The rich men hired the laborers for the purpose of harvesting the rich fields of grain which they should have looked upon as the blessing of the Lord. But after the workmen had performed their labor in storing the rich gifts of God’s goodness, which incidentally brought new riches to the owners, the latter calmly ignored the fact that the wages were to be paid. It is the same complaint which has arisen thousands of times since, the wealthy owners of farms and factories withholding from the men that work for them the wages due them, while they themselves pocket a disproportionate gain, thus defrauding both their workmen and the public. If only capitalists and laborers both would but heed the warning that it is God who in such cases hears the crying of even the senseless creature, and that the moaning of those that are wronged comes to His ears! He is the Lord of Sabaoth, the King of the heavenly multitudes, the almighty God, the righteous Judge.

There is another accusation that must be brought: You have reveled on the earth and lived a life of dissipation; you have fattened your hearts as in the day of slaughter. That is one of the chief temptations connected with wealth, one of the reasons why the curse of God often attends its acquisition, namely, that people use their wealth for the purpose of leading a life of pleasure, of enjoying this life to the full, of living deliciously and voluptuously, in dissipation and wantonness, in self-indulgence of every form. This is very fittingly expressed when the apostle says that they are fattening their hearts as in the time when slaughtering is done, for then they could eat and drink their fill, forget every form of temperate living, and make their belly their God, Philippians 3:19. To carry out their aims, those that seek to be rich will not hesitate to use any measures that will bring them the money which they crave: You have condemned, you have killed the righteous, and he does not resist you. This illustrates the depths of depravity to which a person will be driven when once the lust for wealth has taken hold of his heart. There may be a righteous person standing in the way, as in the case of Naboth. But it seems that this fact merely inflames the desire of the covetous all the more. There are thousands of ways in which laws may be evaded or constructed to suit the ends of the wealthy, so long as they are willing to pay a proportionate sum of money for the legal advice they want. Often enough sentence is passed upon him that is really in the right, and examples are not missing where the righteous person was put out of the way for the sake of a few paltry dollars. Being righteous, such a person will bear the ill-treatment, often in silence, realizing the uselessness of resisting the wrong. The entire description vividly paints conditions as they obtain also to-day, and in the very midst of the so-called Christian communities.

Admonition to patience:

Probably the thought of the uncomplaining patience of the righteous under the ill treatment of the wealthy caused the apostle to add this paragraph concerning the patience which the believers should show at all times: Be patient, then, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Patient, uncomplaining endurance should characterize the Christians at all times. For it is only for a short while that they are obliged to suffer. One fact always is held before their eyes, namely, that their Lord is coming, that He will surely return in glory. Yet a little while, and He that is coming will come, and will not tarry, Hebrews 10:37.

The apostle refers to the example of the farmer: See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the land, having patience with regard to it until he receives the early and the late rains. If there is any one whose labor necessitates a great deal of enduring patience, it is the man that depends upon the soil for a living. He realizes how fully mankind is dependent upon the Lord for food. He puts his seed into the land which he has prepared, patiently biding his time in order that he may receive his reward in the form of a plentiful harvest. In Palestine he knew that his success rested upon the timely falling of the former or autumnal rains, which, after the hot summer months, brought the land into a condition where it could be cultivated, and of the latter or spring rains, in April, which aided the crop in maturing. So all his labor was a matter of patient waiting.

This example the Christians should follow. Have patience also you; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Patient endurance should be the keynote in the lives of the Christians. Times innumerable their hearts are on the verge of growing faint and of giving up the apparently unequal struggle. But with help from above they find themselves able again and again to strengthen and confirm their hearts. For that thought upholds them, that the coming of the Lord to Judgment is near, that His return means everlasting bliss for them. There is only a short time of waiting, and then the harvest will be gathered with joy ineffable.

Meanwhile they should heed what the apostle tells them: Murmur not against one another, brethren, lest you be judged; behold, the Judge stands at the doors. The apparent delay of the Lord in returning according to His promise has caused many people to give way to impatience, to make invidious comparisons between their own lot and that of others, and to begrudge the greater happiness of others. A behavior of this kind, being altogether out of harmony with the Word of the Lord and with the disposition which He expects in them that are His own, will call forth His condemnation upon the guilty ones. For those that by patient continuance in well-doing wait for His coming, salvation is near, but for those that are full of envy toward others and spend their time in nursing their supposed grievances it is the Judge, the righteous Judge, that is coming. He is even now standing at the door, and His entrance to Judgment is only a matter of a short time, controlled largely by the fact of His merciful love for the fallen whom He is striving to gain for eternal salvation.

There are also examples of the saints of old which may well encourage and strengthen the believers: As an example of the suffering of evil and of patience, my brethren, take the prophets that spoke in the name of the Lord. Cp. Hebrews 11. Most of the prophets of old, although they were engaged in preaching in the name of the Lord, in bringing to their countrymen the wonderful message of the coming Messiah, yet were subjected to many kinds of persecution; they were obliged to bear evil in many forms. They may, therefore, well serve as examples of patience and endurance which we should always keep before the eyes of our mind. If the Lord gave them strength to endure the manifold afflictions which came upon them to the end, He will be at our side also with His comfort and with His power.

And there is another point that deserves mention: Behold, blessed we consider sufferers that did endure. Of the patience of Job you have heard, and the end of the Lord you know, that very compassionate is the Lord and full of pity. Job was a favorite example of patience among the Jews of all times, as he is to-day. Christians should remember that we commonly, and rightly, ascribe blessedness, the happiness of salvation, to those that endured to the end. Cp. Matthew 5:11. With the story of Job the readers of this letter were familiar; they knew the end and purpose of the Lord with regard to this patient sufferer. It was just in his history that one point became so emphatically apparent, namely, that the Lord is so very compassionate with regard to them that are His own, that His heart yearns in pity and mercy for His children. Thus there is both comfort and strength in this allusion for the Christians of all times.

The improper and the proper use of God’s name:

The apostle introduces a new paragraph, couched, in part, in the words of the Lord’s own instruction: But above all, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by using any other oath. Let your “yes” be simply “yes,” and your “no” simply “no,” lest you fall into condemnation. Cp. Matthew 5:34. Like the admonitions of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, these words are intended to do away with the frivolous use of the oath, which is certainly as prevalent now as it ever was in the history of the world, and which certainly is crying to heaven. Unless the command of the government or the welfare of their neighbor or the glory of God demand an asseveration in the nature of an oath, a simple assurance of fact or a simple denial on the part of the Christians should be sufficient. The person that continually is ready with an oath causes those that hear him to feel doubts as to his veracity and to discredit even those statements which are made under oath. It is just like proving too much and thus not proving anything. And God condemns such swearing in no uncertain terms.

As to the general behavior of the Christians, the apostle says: Is any one among you suffering evil? Let him pray. Is any one in good spirits? Let him sing hymns of praise. Instead of denouncing and cursing those that afflict us and make us suffer evil, it behooves us as Christians to lay our matter into the hands of our heavenly Father for adjustment and for judgment, asking Him, at the same time, for the patience which is necessary to endure the evil. If, on the other hand, any one is in good spirits and feeling happy over some manifestation of God’s goodness or mercy, the best way of showing his appreciation is to sing praises to His holy name in hymns of thankfulness. We should think of the Lord not only when we are in trouble, but also in the days when we are enjoying His blessings.

Another instruction concerns the Christian’s behavior in case of sickness: Is any one sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the congregation, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick one; and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sin, it shall be forgiven him. Note that the apostle does not expect the elders or presbyters to know of the sickness of a parishioner by themselves, but only by being informed of that fact at the instance of the sick person. Provision is here made for the spiritual treatment of a Christian whom the Lord has laid on a bed of sickness. In a case of this kind the elders were to be summoned to the bedside for the purpose of administering pastoral comfort. This was done by prayer, accompanied with the anointing of the sick person with oil, which was a common Jewish usage. If all this was done in the proper manner, and the sick person showed himself repentant and eager for the comfort of the Gospel, then there would be no doubt as to the efficacy of the prayer made at his bedside. Not only would the prayer of faith on the part of this little assembled house congregation be heard by God in granting to the repentant sinner forgiveness of all his sins, but God would also restore him, spiritually at all events, and bodily according to His good pleasure. Note: Of this unction as a sacrament we find no word in Scriptures. The anointing of which James speaks in this passage, cp. Mark 6:13, was an extraordinary means used in the early Church for the miraculous healing of bodily ailments. This anointing was not done in preparing the sick person for a blessed death, but for the purpose of healing; the forgiveness of sins is not ascribed to the oil, but to the prayer of faith ^■935 .

Admonition to forgiveness and loving intercession:

The forgiveness of sins mentioned at the close of the last paragraph now causes the apostle to add a general admonition: Confess, then, your sins toward one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed. There is not a word here concerning the exclusive right of elders or priests to forgive sins, the statement, on the contrary, being very general. All Christians, in their daily intercourse with one another, have abundant occasion to practise the love which is here spoken of. If any one has harmed his brother by word or deed, he should frankly seek the forgiveness of the person wronged. At the same time intercessory prayer is urged; for the efficacy of such prayer, especially in cases of spiritual need, is so strongly established in Scriptures that its neglect is a matter of deep regret at the present time.

This point is emphasized with great force by the writer: A great power has the prayer of a righteous man in its efficacy: Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed a prayer that it should not rain, and it did not rain on the earth three years and six months; and he prayed again, and the heaven yielded rain, and the earth blossomed forth (and produced) her fruit. The apostle urges the believers to be more instant in prayer, first, by a general statement of fact. If the prayer of the righteous is made with full trust in its efficacy, and therefore brought to the Throne of Grace with all energy, then it has a power beyond the experience of the average Christian in our days. This the apostle proceeds to show from the example of Elijah. Although this prophet of the Lord was a man with the same mental make-up, with the same inclinations and passions which we find in ourselves, yet his first prayer closed the heavens for a total of three years and six months, 1 Kings 17:1; Luke 4:25, while his subsequent prayer opened the heavens that had been closed for so long a time, causing a great rain to come down, 1 Kings 18:41-46, and restoring the soil to such a condition that it could bring forth plants to blossom and to yield fruit. Only few men have learned this lesson of the need and the power of earnest prayer, among them Martin Luther; but the example is still there and urges emulation.

In concluding, the apostle speaks of a special deed of kindness which should be practised by all Christians, and with far greater liberality than is done at the present time: My brethren, if any one among you should err from the truth, and one should convert him, let him know that he who converts a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins. It will happen, time and again, and in spite of all vigilance, that some brother or sister will stray from the accepted truth, from the Word of Salvation. The world is full of temptations, and our own nature is only too weak in resisting evil. If this is the case, however, and one of the other brethren or sisters undertakes to bring back the erring one to the right path, then the thought should encourage such a one during the entire transaction that his action will, by the grace of God, result in saving a soul from death, from spiritual and eternal death. In that event, also, all the sins that were committed by the erring brother will be covered over and forgotten for the sake of the salvation of Christ which was won for just such sinners. Surely this consideration should make all Christians willing not only to exert the utmost vigilance over their own conduct, but to watch also with the brother and sister that may be inclined to stumble and fall. Above all, such charity and patience should rule in the Christian congregation as has its example in the love of the Savior.

Summary

The apostle addresses various admonitions to his readers in view of the nearness of Judgment Day, warning the rich to have the proper regard for the rights of their employees, urging all to show patient endurance in afflictions, distinguishing between the improper and the proper use of God’s name, and admonishing all Christians to practise forgiveness and loving intercession.