◄ James 1 Devotional Commentary ►

James 1:1

James was a half-brother of the Lord Jesus and could have boasted of their close family relationship or identified himself as a great leader of the Christian church. He was chairman of the Jerusalem council which started to lay the foundational doctrines of Christianity, but James did not boast of his parentage, position, or pedigree, but identified himself as a bondservant of God - a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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James 1:2

Many believers think that our Christian life should be problem-free and devoid of trials, and yet Jesus warned that in this world we will have tribulation, while Paul also reminds us that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God.

James also wanted to explain that our personal trials are a test of our faith and the daily difficulties we face in life help to develop our Christian character and mature our read more...

James 1:3

So much in the Christian walk seems to be diametrically opposite to all that the Word of God says, and the suffering that we face in this world is no exception. We are told in many places the reasons and benefits of suffering, and are given many examples of people who faced severe trials in their lives, but who came through as gold. It may be Satan who throws suffering our way in an attempt to bring out the worst in us and shipwreck our faith in the Lord, but it read more...

James 1:4

Whether we are faced with fleshly temptations that rise up from our old sin nature or testing trials that come from above, we know that God takes all things and weaves them beautifully together for good, to those that love God and are called by grace through faith in Christ, according to His good purpose.

But how often we desire a life that is free from trouble and swimming in happy blessings. How often our pleading prayer is for read more...

James 1:5

It has been said that a knowledge of one's own ignorance is the beginning of wisdom and that recognising our lack of wisdom is a prudent step towards understanding. Scripture qualifies this by reminding us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and that a knowledge of the holy brings understanding.

Life is full of pitfalls and snares, and we often make wrong choices, but it is comforting to know that no matter what read more...

James 1:6

The epistle of James was sent to Christians who had been scattered abroad as a result of persecution. James knew that the human response to the difficulties and dangers we face in life can either cause us to doubt God's goodness or increase our trust in His sufficient grace. He knew that disbelief in God's goodness and power during times of great problems and pain means a man or woman is unstable in their faith, resulting in them being buffeted and bruised by the read more...

James 1:7

Every child of God is called to mature in the faith and grow in their spiritual life... and throughout the New Testament we are taught that maturity in the faith is tested and established through trials and tribulations. If we are to grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are bound to go through various difficulties and dangers, trials and tribulations.

Peter reminds us that the testing of our faith is more read more...

James 1:8

We are told in Hebrews that without faith it is impossible to please God. Firstly, we must trust Him for salvation by grace through faith in Christ's finished work at Calvary. Secondly, as born-again Christians we must continue to believe in the truth of His Word, to trust in His many precious promises, and to have faith that He hears and answers prayer.

In his epistle, it seems that James is taking us on a spiritual journey. He read more...

James 1:10

There is much in Scripture that talks of money and wealth. We are not to store up riches on earth but to lay up treasure in heaven. We are exhorted to fix our hope on God Who supplies all things lavishly for us to enjoy. We are to not to place our trust in the uncertainty of this world's fleeting affluence, but in God's eternal promises to us.

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James 1:11

As with all the apostles, the dear desire of James is to see all believers in Christ maturing in their faith, growing in grace, trusting God unwaveringly, and developing an ever-increasing faith in His gracious provision and sufficient grace. And yet he knows from experience that the Christian life, for both rich and poor, is full of trials, tribulations, difficulties, and distresses.

It is for this reason that James encourages read more...

James 1:12

It is trials and tribulation in the life of a Christian that refines our trust in God and increases our dependence upon the Lord. The personal difficulties and dangers that we face in our everyday life, and our reaction to the distresses and despair of others is often the determining factor of whether we hold fast to what we believe of Christ's sufficient strength OR whether we allow seeds of doubt to darken our hearts to the goodness of God. And when we doubt, we read more...

James 1:13

How quickly and easily God is blamed when we suffer some calamity or fall into sin. God should not have allowed this to happen, we murmur. God made me like this, so it's His fault, is our accusation. I couldn't help it, is often the excuse we make, when we fall into temptation and sin. But all the misery of the world, and the evil with which we are surrounded is rooted in sin, and whether it is self-inflicted or comes from the hands of another, never let it be said read more...

James 1:14

When we are tempted to sin, we must not forget that temptation never comes from the Lord but has its root in sin. Temptation comes to us through the outer enticements of the world and the inner lusts of the flesh. If we give into temptation we sin, but when we resist sin's evil bait, God turns that temptation into a meaningful trial which He uses for our greater good and His own glory.

Temptations and trials are the opposite sides read more...

James 1:15

All that is evil is of the devil and all that is good is of God. God will never tempt a man to sin, for God hates sin and cannot look upon sin, but God will often use temptation in a man's life to test his faith, patience, and perseverance, and the one that endures the test will glorify God.

Temptation to sin must never be seen as a sin. Christ Himself was tempted yet He never sinned, and we too can be tempted but do not need to read more...

James 1:16

We are warned in many places in Scripture not to be deceived, especially in the area of testing, trials, and temptation. We are not to be deceived about the source of sin and its consequences, and we are to be particularly careful of being led astray from the truth of God's Word into justifying our own, self-authenticated, ungodly acts and lustful pride. Instead, we need to take personal responsibility for our own words and actions.

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James 1:17

God is good, and in the beginning He created the visible light of the sun, the moon, and all the heavenly bodies. He gave them for warmth, heat, and to brighten our pathway on earth. He also gave them to serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. Everything He did and everything He created was good - very good, and He chose to make man in His own image and likeness and to make man His personal representative on earth. 

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James 1:18

In the beginning, God created man in His own image, but man rebelled and all his progeny were imputed with sin. They became sinners by nature, estranged from God, and without hope in the world.

In these end times in which we live, God in His grace sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sin so that all who believe in Him might be made new creatures in Christ and become part of a new creation. And with each passing day, we are read more...

James 1:19

In this passage, James was writing to warn believers against self-deception. He gives them (and us) some practical, good advise on our conduct, in particular the way we speak, the way we hear, and the way we get angry. 

First, James encourages us to be quick to hear. Too often in a conversation, we are just waiting for the other person to finish speaking so that we can jump in with our point of view or words of wisdom. In the read more...

James 1:22

In his epistle, James outlines the relationship between faith and works. He recognises that there are some that profess to be Christians who do not have a saving faith, but he is also aware that there are those that have a genuine saving faith but show little or no outward evidence of their justification. And so he admonishes all genuine Christians to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

James seeks to distinguish between read more...

James 1:24

The first chapter of James is dealing with the subject of trials that are sent by God to strengthen our faith and sharpen our Christian resolve. It talks of temptations that come from the enemy, designed to trip us up or shipwreck our faith. James is teaching that God is the Author of all that is perfect and good and should never be blamed for the problems of life, for He is the One Who makes all things work together for the eternal good of those that are fitting read more...

James 1:25

Not a day should go past without the believer in Christ checking him or herself to make sure that they are in the faith and not tossed about by every doctrinal 'wind-of-change'. There should be a regular examination of one's biblical principles to ensure that we are not straying from the path of righteousness, becoming embroiled in legalist practices, or claiming that our liberty in Christ is a licence to sin.

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James 1:27

There is a saying that Christianity is a relationship and not a religion, and in many respects this it true, but perhaps it would be more accurate to state what the Bible says - that Christianity is: "The only pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father."

Paul often writes about the "Jewish religion" and warns against the "religion of angels" as well as "self-made read more...