Commentary: James 5:1-12

James 5:1-6

¹Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. ²Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth eaten. ³Your gold and silver have corroded and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. ⁴Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. ⁵You have lived on the earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

The Love of Money

Perhaps you’ve heard it said by many that the Bible says that money is the root of all evil. If you instinctively find yourself agreeing that this is what the Bible says then you have allowed yourself to be deceived. When people quote “money is the root of all evil” they’re actually leaving out the most important part of the quote. This concept is derived from 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” So you see, money is NOT the root of all evil, it is the LOVE OF MONEY that is “a root of all kinds of evil”. Remember this lesson from Romans 14:14, “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself…” Money is not unclean or even evil. We cannot talk about money as though it is sinful in and of itself. Money is, after all, an inanimate object that has been given a purpose through the workings of humanity. In our society, as in most societies both ancient and modern, money is very important. It is important in the sense that virtually every organization requires money to run and be effective in their purpose. Even charitable organizations need money to function. Schools need money to function. Businesses need money to function. Fine arts centers need money to function. Local festivals need money to function. Churches need money to function. Practically everything in our society needs money to operate effectively within its target community. This is a fact of life that we cannot get around. That being the case, we desperately need a good, Biblically grounded foundation in how we conceive of money, how we spend money, and how we give our money.

In order to conceive of money properly you must first realize that money does not exist to first serve your purposes. All capital that you have is first intended to serve the purpose of God. Someone may immediately object to this by saying, “If God is truly all knowing, all powerful, and all present, what possible need could He have for money?” The reality is that God has no need of money. Though God has no need of money, our society functions in an economic arena. In an ideal world we would have no need for many different kinds of societal systems. The basic idea of Communism was to try and create a society like this. The ideal goal of Communism was to create a society that was classless, stateless and based on common ownership of the means of production. It sounds great on paper but in reality it didn’t really work out so well for the former Soviet Union. There were a number of inherent flaws in the system. As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, ideal systems very rarely work out because no one really has the same set of ideals. As far as economy goes, there are many different kinds of systems in the world (capitalist, corporate, natural, socialist, etc.). None of these are God-engineered systems but they still all exist under the permission of His sovereignty. They are man made systems in which different societies function. That’s the reality of our fallen, sinful world. Therefore everyone, including church bodies, needs money to effectively operate within its respective economic system. The difference in a church body should be the focus of what that money is serving. In some church bodies their budget is serving the purpose of God. In other church bodies their budget is really serving their own desires. Again, this is not because money is inherently evil but rather because it is the love of money that produces all kinds of sinfulness within us.

A Warning to the Rich...and To Us All

Verses 1 thru 6 of James 5 can be easily lost on us if we don’t have the proper focus. The opening line can make you think that this section of James doesn’t really apply to you. “Come now, you rich…” You may stop reading right there and say to yourself, “Well I’m not rich so I guess this part doesn’t really have any relevance to my life.” Such an interpretation could not be more flawed. It is true that James is addressing the rich but the lesson embedded within these verses has universal application. For those who love money, rich or not, there are terrible consequences. After all, you don’t have to be rich to love money.

Verse 1: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.”

Universal Application: Those who love money will find that the only things that will come upon them are an array of miseries. But why? Money is something that buys “temporaries”. Money buys temporary happiness. Money buys temporary comforts. Money buys temporary friends. Money buys temporary esteem. Money buys temporary importance. Money buys temporary social standings. Many of the things that money can buy usually end in some kind of misery. Happiness that is derived from worldly things will usually end in disappointment or resentment. The creature comforts of worldly things will fade once the newness of it has gone. You can see a pattern emerging in the worldly things that money can bring you. The harsh reality is that of all things that money can provide you with, the one essential thing that you need is the one thing that money cannot get for you. That essential is God. Money cannot buy God. You cannot “purchase” grace in the same sense that you can a yacht. Therefore, those unfortunate souls who love money love only what is fading from this world. How true it is to say that misery awaits such as these.

Verse 2 and 3: “Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire.”

Universal Application: There is nothing permanent in this world. Your computer will eventually get old and possibly stop working altogether. Your furniture will wear down and possibly break after a certain period of time. Your clothes will become faded, get ripped, get stained, become too small, become too big, or you’ll eventually throw them away, put them in a yard sale, or donate them to a cause. Your TV will someday lose its quality and you’ll get a new one. Shoes will get old and nasty and need replaced. Look at how much we have that will one day be nothing at all (which is almost everything). We often do things thinking that they are forever. Some things may endure for the full capacity of our own lifetimes but that does not make them immortal. I’m sure that the Romans felt like their empire would endure forever but did it? We must not put our faith in things that are fading. If we do such things will only consume us with the sickness of greed and inspire within us to do all kinds of evil.

Verse 3 (cont.) and Verse 4: “You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.”

Universal Application: Some might read this and say, “So does that mean it’s bad to lay back a little retirement money, or money for my kids college, or save up money for a rainy day?” Well, to answer this question we must examine the example James gives us in verse 4. In that example a person is guilty of illegally withholding money from people who were owed it for services that they had rendered. This is a selfish hording of money to no doubt serve some kind of selfish desire. So the question that you should be asking in conjunction with these verses is, “Do I desire money to serve the purpose of me or the purpose of God.” In James example it is obvious that the person guilty of fraud wanted money only for selfish ends. This could very easily describe any person at any time at any point in their life. Even if we’ve never committed “fraud” it is still very easy for us to use money in a sinful way.

Verses 5 and 6: “You have lived on the earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.”

Universal Application: Verses 5 & 6 are, in many ways, a culmination of many of the things that I’ve already said. Self-indulgence, over-indulgence, and acting as a lawgiver and a judge are all things that infect our hearts with sinfulness. Therefore, do not indulge yourself with luxury for the sake of self-pleasure. Gorging yourself with such things are empty pursuits. Do not consume more than a person needs (this one hits very close to home for me). As it regards food, America is a super sized nation. As someone who struggles with weight, I know this fact all too well. So when I hear something like “you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter” I find myself hanging my head with shame at my own sinfulness. Yet again it also convicts me to pursue righteousness rather than unrighteousness.

James 5:7-12

⁷Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. ⁸You also, be patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand. ⁹Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold the judge is standing at the door. ¹⁰As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. ¹²But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Suffer With Patience

James is ending his letter in a similar fashion to the way that he began it. James opened this letter by saying, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” In verses 7 through 11 James is offering some further perspective on how we can “count it all joy” when we encounter the suffering of various trials in our lives. The keyword here is patience. We live in a society that does not truly endorse the concept of patience. Our society is all about “high speed” things. People are so consumed with busying themselves that the commodity of speed has become more valuable in the lives of many. If there is some invention in the world that can help us split our time in half we want it. Convenience and ease are great things. However, such concessions can also have a negative impact on our perspectives. In verses 7 through 12 James is revealing a biblical perspective on what God-centered patience looks like.

Verse 7: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.” This one statement is perhaps one of the most important statements in the entire letter of James. It may seem ordinary and unremarkable at first glance but consider for a moment what James is really saying. The question is often asked, “Why doesn’t God do something about…” you fill in the blanks. One reason that people often refuse to accept God as God is because they can’t understand why an all knowing, all powerful God would let certain things in the world continue to go on without doing anything to stop it. To such people this paints a very illogical portrait of God. Therefore, since the actions of God do not often equate themselves to solid rational foundations as outlined by the constructs of humanity, many people simply take this stance: “If the choices of God do not equate themselves with good logic, then that must negate the very existence of God.” This belief is symptomatic of the reality that most people see their treasure as only here on earth. This is exhibited by the fact that they seem to think that God will forever hold his wrath and that no judgment will ever come against the wicked. The idea is usually summarized like this: “If the wrath and judgment of God has not yet come against the world, why should we believe that it ever would. There is no evidentiary proof that it will be coming soon. There is no concrete evidence that would suggest that it will manifest itself in even the far away future.” All such thinking illustrates the fact that people who hold such beliefs have no concept of what it means to have God-centered patience.

God centered patience could be defined as follows: One who clings steadfastly to God centered patience is one who realizes that God has already defeated all the things of this world that run contrary to his will. Sin has been defeated. Satan has been defeated. God has always held true to his promises. Those who have been chosen for adoption as Sons and Daughters of glory will one day see all that God has not yet shown or done in our scope of time. Those conformed to the image of Christ understand that nothing is futile. Those in Christ do not labor in vain. The sufferings of the righteous are not without great meaning. That meaning is pursuing righteousness for the sake of the glory of God. God is glorified in the sufferings of the righteous. Therefore, those who love Christ and desire only the ways of the almighty God do not seek for any kind of worldly renown. They merely seek to do his will. They are most satisfied when God is most glorified. Seeing his glory revealed and his will accomplished is their fulfillment of joy in this life on earth.

The one who is in Christ wants only that which God wants. But that want will not truly manifest itself within the believer until the full depth and magnitude of the sovereignty of God is realized. The believer must learn to throw away unrighteousness. The believer must learn to be an “infant in evil”. Patience, as defined by the Bible, can help any believer do that very thing. I love the example that James gives us in the latter half of verse 7, “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.” If the farmer got over zealous and did not wait for the late rains, then his crop would not be what it could have been. God has already done some amazing things. The early rains of God have come. We can be assured that there are even more amazing things to come. We, as believers, are yet waiting for the late rains. We cannot force these things to take place nor can we demand that God do it sooner rather than later. This would reveal a unique kind of sinfulness in our hearts. Instead, be patient. God will do what he has ordained. It may not happen in our lifetime. It may not happen for another million years. I’m not one of these people who has the audacity to say, “I really think the end times are getting closer…I mean don’t you think so…look at everything that’s going on in the world…I’ve been reading this book series called “Left Behind” and it really has some pretty frightening observations…” It’s sad how easily popular culture can make us forget the resounding truths of the Bible. Why do so many people seem to think that Matthew 24:36 doesn’t apply to them, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the FATHER ONLY.” Review that list. Not only do we not know when the coming of the Lord will happen, the angels (WHO ARE ALREADY IN HEAVEN) have no idea when it’s going to happen, and Christ (the Son…the Word…God incarnate) doesn’t know when it’s going to happen. Only God the Father knows when it’s going to take place. Therefore, STOP TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHEN THE COMING OF THE LORD IS GOING TO HAPPEN…IF THE ANGELS DON’T KNOW…IF CHRIST DOESN’T KNOW…THEN WHAT IN BLUE BLAZES MAKES YOU THINK THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIGURE IT OUT!! You would do better to spend your time doing what James says in verse 8, “You also, be patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

The Coming of the Lord is at Hand

What did James mean when he said, “for the coming of the Lord is at hand”? Many modern day readers of the Bible read this verse and exclaim with pre-doomsday glee, “You see…the Bible says that the return of God is close…closer than we all think.” Consider this: James made that statement roughly 2,000 years ago. The average life expectancy of people in the world today is in the mid 60’s. To put that into perspective, 2,000 years ago is about 29 lifetimes ago for the average person in the world today. I’m not very good at math but I’m pretty sure we could qualify that as a really long time ago. 2,000 years ago is not something that I consider as “not that long ago”. 29 lifetimes ago (assuming that I lived to be at least 67) is not something that I consider as “not that long ago”. In the grand scheme of the universe, 2,000 years isn’t even a drop in the bucket but still…it’s difficult for people who often live less than 70 years to intelligently talk about things in thousand year increments. In relation to the time that we live, 2,000 years really is quite some time ago. We need a bigger perspective of time and it is this: God is not bound by time. We have no reason to believe that time is something that God really values. Humans, however, are constrained by time. As true as that may be, don’t say what James isn’t saying. James isn’t saying that the coming of the Lord is “close” (i.e. some time in the next couple hundred years because God is on a schedule like the rest of us). He’s saying that the coming of the Lord is inevitable. It’s going to happen. That being the case, it’s important for us to “establish our hearts”.

Perhaps the easiest way to say what James meant by saying “establish your hearts” is simply to say “learn to pursue righteousness”. Every human being is staring down the barrel of an absolutely terrifying inevitability. Romans 14:12 describes this inevitability like this, “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Notice that Paul didn’t say that some, a few, a select group, a small portion, only the bad, only the good, or any other exclusive group of people, will give accounts of themselves. ALL will give an account. That completely freaks me out. I think about every stupid thing I ever did in my life, every intentionally sinful decision I’ve ever made, every intentional defilement of God’s commands that I’ve ever committed, and I start to sweat. I have no good response for those kinds of things in my life. However, I can’t change what I’ve done but I can learn what God expects from me, thanks to the Bible, and do everything possible to adhere the rest of my life to those expectations.

Déjà vu: Looking back at James 4:11-12

James 5:9 sound very similar to James 4:11. James 5:9 says, “Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold the judge is standing at the door. James 4:11 (the first sentence of it) says, “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.” In a previous commentary I remarked that the true danger of speaking evil against another or judging another. The true danger in this is that if we commit this sin we elevate ourselves to a status that is only held by God. The remainder of James 4:11-12 illustrates this point. If we judge the law we cannot be doers of the law (see James 1:22-25). By speaking evil against another we make ourselves judges. The flaw in this is that this is an office that is impossible for us to hold. James illustrates this very simple fact in 4:12, “There is only one lawgiver and one judge, he who is able to save and to destroy.” The only true giver of law is God. The only true judge is God. The reason for this is because it is only God who knows how to deliver law righteously and God is also the only one able to judge His law righteously. Human beings naturally pervert law and judgment. God does not do this. So if you try to make yourself a judge (an impossible office for humans) then you yourself will be judged and fall under condemnation by the one true lawgiving judge.

James concludes verse 9 by saying, “…behold, the judge is standing at the door.” Humans often make the mistake of thinking that God doesn’t really know all things done by all people at every place during every time. Again, this is a falsehood of belief. God’s presence, his sovereignty, and his will never take a vacation. To conceive of God as “the judge standing at the door” is merely a way of reminding readers that we should, for no reason, every knowingly allow ourselves to lapse into apathy regarding the pursuit of righteousness. Some people feel insulted by what they feel to be an Orwellian “Big Brother is watching” mentality whenever they hear people say things like “God is standing at the door…SO TURN FROM YOUR EVIL WAYS AND REPENT YOU SINNER!” The simple fact of the matter is that those who love God will feel an increasing reluctance to sinfulness as the fullness of their spiritual maturity begins to flesh out. In other words, as your spiritual maturity grows you will find an increasing desire to pursue righteousness. You will see sinfulness in a new light and it will repulse you. It doesn’t mean that you’ll be immediately free of temptation. It doesn’t even mean that you’ll never commit certain sins again. But you will find that your powers of discernment in regards to what is righteous are being trained, hardened, and turned into steadfastness. Your desire to do that which is unrighteous will diminish. This requires that you let go of selfish desire. In the end selfish desire is generally the root of the problem that most people have in learning how to pursue righteousness. Righteousness requires that you die to what is earthly within you.  Colossians 3:5-10 gives you a very explicit list of what these “earthly” things are. Verse 9 & 10 really punctuate this list by saying, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self, with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

The whole reason that we hold on to ideas like “judgment is coming” and “the judge is standing at the door” is not because we want to scare people into salvation. If you hold a view of salvation like the one I hold (a more Calvinist slant or what I prefer to call a Romans 8:29 slant) it’s impossible to scare people into salvation because that’s not how salvation works anyway. We hold on to ideas like this because we desire to “put off the old self” and its practices. We replace that old self with the new self. The fundamental characteristic of the new self is that it is “being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator (God).” Putting off the old self truly requires a shift in our understanding of what is selfish within us and what needs to die within our personal natures. This kind of “death” is very hard because we must commit ourselves to killing the unrighteous things that plague our lives. This might mean that certain things that we hold very dear to us may need put off to be replaced with a God centered point of view. To better understand this concept I would recommend that every one of you reading this make it a point to put “The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis on your must read lists. It’s very short. You can read it in an afternoon but you could struggle with its challenges for a lifetime. It’s a great book for helping you mature your faith and your understanding of God’s sovereignty.

Those Who Have Suffered Before Us

I once heard John Piper say, “There are better ways to maximize pleasure on the earth than being a Christian.” He’s right. In this same speech I also heard Piper say things like, “Christianity is not the good life!” By that he meant that those who believe choose to suffer much more than they normally would if they knew that Christianity was false. Think about people like the apostle Paul. Consider his life. He spent the bulk of his adult life in prison for the cause of Christ. He was beaten, nearly to death, on more than one occasion. He lived out the end of his life under poverty, hard labor, and the constant threat of death. Suffice it to say that Paul didn’t lead a charmed life. He could have. Remember, Paul was quickly moving through the ranks in Jewish society. He very well could have lived a life of luxury and comfort if he had so chosen. Paul was well aware that there were better ways of maximizing pleasure on the earth than being a Christian. Yet he considered the sufferings of his present condition to be nothing compared to the glory that was to be revealed (see Romans 8:18). The joy of seeing God’s glory revealed was something that Paul considered greater than all the sufferings and the creature comforts of the world.

Examples such as Job were what James had in mind when he said, in 5:10-11, “As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” James again draws our attention to what is key in suffering and that is patience. Patience that realizes that God endures above all things and that God will do all things that He has promised. The Christian must never see futility in suffering because the cross of Christ has changed all that. Therefore, read the accounts in your Bible. See how the saints have suffered before you. Store their examples in your hearts. Let them spurn steadfastness within you. Let God be glorified in suffering and find joy in Him. Not joy that is fueled by earthly desire, but joy that is solely focused on God’s sovereignty.

Oaths

James 5:12 says, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

This is a difficult verse to interpret. In many ways it seems somewhat random. By opening this verse with “But above all” James is alerting us to something very important so we don’t want to make the mistake of glossing over it. There is a range of interpretations to this verse. Some people feel that this verse is saying that oaths, or any kind of promise or agreement, is something that leads to unnecessary systematizing between people. In other words, the varying terms of an oath could be so vast and ranging in certain cases that it is better to just keep things simple. By keeping things simple people tend to avoid the trap of legalism in their agreements. In other words, don’t vow to pay someone back a cash loan. Talking about it or making promises about it isn’t actually paying back that debt. Do what you say you will do. Be honest and timely in paying back that debt. Let the actions of your life prove your trustworthiness. But we quickly run into sticky ground with interpretations like this. Questions come up like, “So if I borrow a dollar from someone I shouldn’t promise them that I’ll pay them back tomorrow? You’re suggesting that I just take the money and then surprise the person when I pay them back? That’s just rude.” People like assurances. People like to know that they’re protected from things like fraud, theft, and natural disasters. I doubt we would find many people disputing the agreement that they have with their insurance company when it comes time to shell out no more than the co-pay for the hospital visit. I doubt we would find many people disputing their contracts with their employer when it comes time for the paycheck to be delivered. Contracts, which are really just oaths on paper, are things that protect us in many ways. We make a number of oaths throughout our careers, and our daily lives, that benefit us greatly. Should we get rid of them?

Whether we like it or not America is, in many ways, a society of contractual obligations. Think about it. If we get a bank loan to buy a car or a house, what do we have to do? We have to sign a contract that says we vow to pay back the money that we owe over a certain period of time. Is this not an oath? How about wedding vows? Are these not also oaths? As parents do you not promise your children certain things? Are you not making an oath to them when you do these things? So what then? Is it the advice of James to never do any of these things? We must be careful with how we treat this verse. If we look at it one way it could be said that we should never make any kind of a promise at any time nor under any circumstance. This would mean that the purpose of calendars would suddenly become a mute point. Never make an appointment because what you’re really doing is making an oath that you will appear somewhere for a meeting. Never plan a location for the date of your child’s birthday ever again because you are making an oath that you will hold an event on a date that has not yet arrived at a certain location. Do you see how silly that all sounds?

To see this passage in James properly we must first consider everything that James has said leading up to this point. James has spent four and a half chapters giving us a portrait for what our lives must look like if we claim that our faith is alive. One of the overriding themes of his letter has been “be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”. In other words, let the actions of your life (your works) be active along with your faith and let those works complete your faith so that you may be proven true to be a friend of God. Therefore, do not merely swear or make oaths for it is in this way that your life will fall under condemnation. What good is an oath with no action? What good is the swearing of allegiance without any real allegiance? What good is an oath without a yes? Who can count on honesty from a person who never deals in square yes’s and no’s? James is calling us back to the lesson of learning to be doers of the word. Let your life be one of clarity. If you can do something for someone then let your yes be true and let your actions prove the worthiness of your yes. However, if you cannot do something for someone then let your no be true and let your actions prove the clarity of your no. In this way your life will not fall under condemnation.

The Danger of Looking Only Outward
Often times people look at the messages of the Bible and they think first of how those lessons apply to their relationships with other people. James is a perfect vehicle for this kind of thinking. This kind of thinking is what I call “outward thinking”. This kind of thinking is important. It is crucial to know and understand how we interact with those around us who are also made in the likeness of God. James has much to say on this subject. But we would prove ourselves fools if we felt that James was only teaching us about interacting with others in a righteous fashion. James focus throughout his letter is not so much outward centered as it is God centered. James sets that tone from the very beginning by identifying himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. James is serving the purpose of God in this writing. From there, every lesson that James gives us is purely God centered.

Chapter 1
Why would you want to have the full effect of steadfastness upon you? So that you would not lack in serving the purpose of God. If you lack steadfastness in some area of your life, say wisdom for example, then ask God to receive wisdom. Ask not to receive for your own personal glory but rather for the glory of the purpose of God. Realize that God is the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. We exist only because of His will and only for the purpose of accomplishing His will. If you think you are religious, stop and double check yourself. Do you do God’s word or are you merely a hearer that is deceiving himself/herself? Are you keeping yourself unstained from the world? These are all essential questions in helping you know whether or not you are truly a steadfast servant of God or just someone who is riding along because the scenery is nice. While chapter 1 will greatly affect your outward thinking, its first purpose is to turn your mind inward to develop your perception of God-centeredness in your life.

Chapter 2

If you show partiality you are showing yourself to be a transgressor against the law (i.e. an enemy of God). Instead, speak and act as one who is to be judged under the law of liberty. Or do you not realize that judgment is without mercy to one who has no concept of mercy? Do you not know that mercy triumphs over judgment? Are you not aware that by failing to be a doer of the law you show that your faith is dead…and if your faith is dead then do you not realize that your body, which is obviously void of the Spirit, is also dead? The correction to all this means that your entire focus must be shifted. If you are in such a state as the one described in chapter 2 you must break your mind of the me-centered way that you are living. While chapter 2 will greatly affect your outward thinking, its first purpose is to turn your mind inward to develop your perception of God-centeredness in your life.

Chapter 3
The tongue produces within us all manner of unrighteousness because it is, in and of itself, a world of unrighteousness that is inhabited with all manner of restless evils which bring to bear nothing but deadly poison. While we use the tongue to praise the gloriousness of God we also use it to curse people who are made in the likeness of God. How can this be? For the one who loves God these kinds of slander are not natural, much like a spring producing fresh and salt water would be most unnatural. Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition show only that we love disorder and every vile practice of the world. Again, how can this be for the one who loves God? The simple answer: It cannot. What is revealed in this chapter is something dreadful…that we could bear in our lives the kind of evidence that proves we have no love for God’s will. While chapter 3 will greatly affect your outward thinking, its first purpose is to turn your mind inward to develop your perception of God-centeredness in your life.

Chapter 4
Those who desire only for those things that they can spend on their own passions reveal that they are adulterous in their relationship with God. They want God, but they want their own desires more. Do you not know that if you are such a person then you have made yourself an enemy of God? Do you think that He does not yearn jealously over the spirit He has made to dwell in you? The Lord is compassionate and merciful and he gives grace. Yet to the proud he has only opposition to offer whereas to the humble, he gives grace. Therefore, put yourself in a posture of humility (cleanse your hands, purify your hearts, be wretched, mourn, weep, let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom). Let the full weight of your own sinfulness bring you to the realization that you are making choices that align you as an enemy of God. Do not elevate yourselves in status to a place of judge for God is the only one able to give law and judgment. Do not fail in the doing the right thing for if you do, it will be sin for you. While chapter 4 will greatly affect your outward thinking, its first purpose is to turn your mind inward to develop your perception of God-centeredness in your life.

Chapter 5 merely continues this theme. To close out this commentary we will begin breaking down James 5:13-20. James began this letter in powerful fashion, and now he will end it in much the same way. I encourage you to continue to pour over James and consider not only what it means for you and the interaction that you have with the world around you, but also how the letter seeks to re-shape your thinking into God-centeredness.