James: 2
Martin Luther wasn’t very fond of the book of James. In fact, that’s putting it mildly! Luther actually declared that James did not belong in the bible—precisely b/c of the passage we’re about to look at: Jas 2:14-26. Luther believed that this passage contradicted Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith. But does it really?
To me, James is basically offering a different view of justification by faith, viz., that faith and works are 2 sides of the same “salvation coin.” Eternal life is only given to people who place their faith in Jesus—that alone justifies a person before God. But that said, those who have genuinely done so, will live a life of good works: not b/c they’re trying to be saved—they already are (!)—but b/c good works simply and naturally flow out of a genuine faith in Christ, the way fruit tree naturally produce fruit. Hence, the NT teaches that good works verify the genuineness of someone’s profession of faith in Christ (cf. Matt 7:21-23).
With most (all?) churches, conflicts are always an issue; James addresses conflict in 3:1-4:12. There are 4 planks to what he says. 1st, watch what you say (3:1-12; cf. 4:11)! Words are powerful. Remember in Genesis 1: how did God create the universe? He “spoke” it into existence. God now sustains the universe with his . . . “word” (Heb 1:3). John calls Jesus the . . . “Word” (John 1:1). Words are powerful! James says we are capable of doing great things with our words: can bless and encourage people, thereby enabling them to do great things. But we are also capable of doing great harm with our words: we can curse people and discourage them so that we in effect hinder them from achieving the things they could/should. Thus, in conflict we need to watch what we say to people.
2nd, James says watch your wisdom (3:13-18)! Not all wisdom is from God. Yes, God does offer wisdom (Jas 1:5; cf. the book of Proverbs); and his wisdom always leads to virtue (Jas 3:17). Satan, however, also offers people “wisdom,” a wisdom that might seem wise or good in the moment, but in time it proves to be demonic and chaotic (Jas 3:15-16).
3rd, James says watch your desires (4:1-9)! In conflict a person can be overcome with the wrong types of desires—sometimes obviously wrong, but sometimes not so obvious. Wrong desires can lead a person to compromise their relationship with God. 4th, James says to walk in humility (4:6-10). Humility involves submitting to God in order to resist Satan (Jas 4:6-7), and walking in a penitent spirit (Jas 4:8-9). Question: Given how much James talks about Satan (3:6, 15-16; 4:7), what does this suggest about the extent to which Satan can influence Christians?
James goes on to offer some of the implications of a Christian worldview (4:13-5:6). Christians should always allow for God’s sovereignty in their planning (Jas 4:13-17)—not to do so is sheer arrogance; Christians who are wealthy should treat the poor graciously (5:1-6); and Christians should be mindful of and be looking ahead to the Lord’s coming (5:7-11). Here James calls once again for patience and “endurance” (Jas 5:11; cf. 1:2-12).
In his final exhortations, James returns to the topic of speech, saying not to take careless or rash oaths (5:12). And just as he began his letter talking about prayer (1:5), he concludes it by talking about prayer. He says to pray always (Jas 5:13), and to pray for the sick (Jas 5:14). The “prayer of faith” (more literally from the Greek in 5:15) is not simply praying with faith (something we obviously should do). James is actually talking about something much more specific: praying according to God’s sovereign, revealed will. In other words, knowing what God’s specific will is in a matter and praying it back to God: this is what Elijah did (Jas 5:17-18). How do we know this? B/c when you go back to the story in 1 Kings, the bible says that God told Elijah that he was going to make it rain (1 Kgs 18:1)—so, Elijah prayed for rain (1 Kgs 18:42-44), i.e., he asked God for what God had just told him he was about to do. God said it, so Elijah prayed it! That is the “prayer of faith” James is talking about: praying according to God’s sovereign, revealed will (cf. 1 John 5:14-15).
With this things in mind, let me close our short survey of James with some questions:
- Do you pray as you ought? Why not?
- Have you ever prayed over a sick person for God to heal him/her? What happened?
- What do you think keeps Christians from praying the “prayer of faith”?