Scripture
Greetings from James
1This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad.
Greetings!
Faith and Endurance
2Dear brothers and sisters,[1] when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
9Believers who are[2] poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
12God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,[3] and he never tempts anyone else. 14Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.[4] He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.[5] 18He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.[6]
Translation notes (6)
- 1:2 Greek brothers; also in 1:16, 19.
- 1:9 Greek The brother who is.
- 1:13 Or God should not be put to a test by evil people.
- 1:17a Greek from above, from the Father of lights.
- 1:17b Some manuscripts read He never changes, as a shifting shadow does.
- 1:18 Greek we became a kind of firstfruit of his creatures.
14Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
I ruined one of my favorite sweatshirts not long ago. I was writing with a sharpie and accidentally marked on the sweatshirt with it. I had hoped I could get rid of the mark from the sharpie, but nothing I tried worked. Nothing I could do could undo or cover up this mark from my sharpie. The sharpie effectively ruined it. I could wash it and use as much stain remover as possible, but the sharpie mark forever stained and ruined my favorite sweatshirt. On a much smaller scale, that sharpie pen reminded me of what sin does. It effectively destroys life as it was before that sin entered the world. When Adam and Eve chose to give in to sin, that sin effectively changed everything and stained and impacted everything.
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree that God had instructed them not to eat from in Genesis 3, Scripture explains that their “eyes were opened” (verse 7). Sin had entered the world, and from that moment on, they would face the ramifications of that sin. Things would never be the same after this moment. Sin had corrupted everything, and there was no going back. James explains the mark that sin makes in the world in the book of James. James writes that it begins with temptation (verse 14). To be clear, being tempted is not a sin, but giving in to that temptation is a sin. James explains that sin grows when we give in to temptation. Ultimately it leads to death (verse 15). Sin invades and destroys everything. We cannot do anything about it. From the moment sin impacted the world, we needed help because, on our own, nothing could fix our sin issue.
Praise God; He did something when we were stuck in our sin. Romans 5:8 tells us that “Christ [died] for us while we were still sinners.” God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins. Only His blood cleanses us and purifies us from our sin. Because of His blood, we can be purified and made right with God. Praise God for the forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus!
Moving toward action
While sin impacts everything, God is ready and willing to forgive us when we turn to Him. Take a few minutes to confess sin to God. Acknowledge them to Him. Tell Him you are sorry and recognize how your sin impacts Him. Ask Him to help you turn away from that sin and live in a way that honors Him.
Going Deeper
James 1:1-18 (NLT)
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