The book of James in the New Testament Chapter 1:
The Book of James is a favorite book in the Bible for me.
Believe it or not here on the Back Roads we think on these things and ponder them!
We have been in many services where God has been present and we have been fortunate to see many people come to Christ over the years. Ye must be born again! This is the message we want each and every one to understand! Without this you can not live in the presence of God.
Come on by and travel down a Back Road and lets be friends and discuss the book of James!
The book of James in the New Testament Chapter 1:
In the beginning of this book James is speaking to the 12 tribes of Israel. He addresses them as the “twelve tribes which are abroad”. James address this letter to the Twelve Tribes of Israel and says, “Greetings”. . Like an old friend would do you. A personal touch.
Verse 1: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
2: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3: Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4: But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Sometimes we find it hard to count it a joy when we fall into temptation. It is a difficult task to over come the temptations that the world and Satan can throw at us sometimes but as we walk with God in his light and understanding we become stronger and more reliable on his guidance and less on our own. When we fall into temptation and over come, it make us stronger knowing that God has the ability to strengthen us through the spirit so we can be over comers! We must have patience to allow God to work his plan in our lives! If we are to over come and want nothing we must be patient and wait on Gods plan to work!
5: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6: But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7: For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8: A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Here we have James addressing the Twelve Tribes on wisdom! If any of you lack wisdom ask God for it! God is not a respecter of persons! God will grant you the wisdom you seek if you truly seek it! Many say they want wisdom and understanding but never read the scriptures! Ask in faith believing that God will do as he says! If you lack faith you will not receive the wisdom of God!
We call it wishy washy here on the Back Roads! A wishy washy person can not be counted on to do as he or she says and therefore no responsible job is given to them! They might do the job right and they might not! Probably not! It is the same with the wisdom of God, if it is given to an individual they are expected to handle it in a Godly manner and not reckless as to the distribution of it!
Wisdom is to be sought after and shared but if shared with those who are not serious it will fall on deaf ears and be useless! If you are not sincere in seeking the wisdom that comes from God, don’t waste your time; You will not find it!
9: Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
10: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
11: For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
You can be a rich person and still be Godly but it is more difficult as you don’t have to rely on God for your needs to be met as much as the poor man does. Here James compares the life of a rich man to the the flowers of the field and grass. He is warning us of the shallowness of being rich in this world as compared to the riches of God! Our life is like the flower and grass that grows for a short season. They bloom and are beautiful in their glory but when the sun rises and scorches them, they loose their beauty and fade away. We are only here for a short time, we need to make the best of it.
12: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
The ultimate goal of every christian! To obtain the crown of life! Promised to those who love God! We will have to endure temptation here but on and on it will be rewarded! The Crown of Life! What a marvelous thought!
13: Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15: Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16: Do not err, my beloved brethren.
When we read this set of verses it put us in a place of self examination. For God does not temp man with evil! We are tempted when we leave the presence of god and walk on our own! If you are walking with God you can’t be tempted either, for God can not be tempted with evil! We are tempted when we go solo! Out on our own! Walking apart from God! this is when we are tempted!
We are born into sin and raised in it! Sin is what makes us all have to go to our grave. If we lived above sin we would not have to die! Sin bringeth forth death! All have sinned and come short of God’s glory! Knowing this and telling this to the Church James admonishes them not to err!
17: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
This is a verse that amazes me! It thrills me and keeps me coming back for more! Every good and perfect gift is from above! How great is that! We need to understand that in this life God loves his children and wants to bless you with his wonderful and perfect gifts! There is no variableness nor shadow of turning! God in true in all his ways and his giving is unrepentant!
18: Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
19: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21: Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Of his own will he beagat us! He wanted to create man! In his image and likeness he created him! After his own image and likeness! My, God was pleased with his plan and work. How proud is a father when someone chirps up and says, that boy of yours is a chip off the old block. he looks and acts just like you! It sure makes a father proud!
James it telling the Church that they are the first fruits of Gods work in the Church! You are a kind of firstfruit of the spirit! You are the example, the leaders to go forth and proclaim the Gospel of Truth! You are the leaders and it has not changed any in all these thousands of years! We are still the first fruits, the proclaimers of the Gospel, the leaders of the lost to bring them to Jesus!
Pretty simple that the wrath of man has nothing to do with God’s righteousness.
Put away everything that hinders us and receive Gods salvation! His word is true and it can lead and will lead you to Christ for your salvation. There is no other name given whereby you must be saved!
22: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23: For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25: But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
If we only hear the word and never do as Jesus commands we are deceivers of ourselves! Yes, we deceive ourselves. There are literally millions of people who deceive themselves daily in all walks of life so why not the Church also! People will be people. the Church has those who only listen and show up to be seen like all other events in life. Sad but true!
But the person who not only hears the word but applies it to their life will be blessed in their deed. I have know people who are good Christians and it just seems that everything they do works out in great ways! This is the results of following God and giving him credit for all his blessings!
We cannot do anything of ourselves nor can we receive anything of ourselves! Every good and perfect gift comes from God! Are you blessed in your deeds?
26: If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
27: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
This is a powerful piece of scripture and drives home the point without any reserve! If a man acts like he is religious and cannot control his tongue, he is deceiving his own self and he has no true religion. Again, it is easy to deceive ourselves in thinking we are doing all we can when we are really only doing a small part. If you tell yourself a lie long enough you will begin to believe it. Be careful not to deceive yourself into thinking you are more than you are.
Pure religion and undefiled before God! What a statement! Pure and undefiled before God! This is a thing all Christians should strive for; to stand before God pure and undefiled! Amazing, James tell us how to present ourselves before the Father as pure and undefiled! Find those who are less fortunate and help them! Bring them to God through Jesus. Be doers of the word and not hearers only! Keep yourselves unspotted from the world! Walk with God to stay away from the temptation. Remember, God can not be tempted with evil! If you walk in the presence of God you will not be tempted with evil!
I hope you have enjoyed my insight on the 1st chapter of James. I have always been partial to this book. I love them all but this one always seems to speak to me. It is a very powerfully written letter and full of wisdom that comes only from God the father! I will be posting the rest of the book of James in the following weeks and giving my understanding of the scriptures he presents to the twelve tribes of Israel!
Walk with God and you will stay in the light!
~Blessings~ to y’all and may you be filled with His spirit!
Thank you for stopping by Back Roads Living
