With the gospel as the foundation, James lays out ways for us to live our life guided by heavenly wisdom.

James 3:13-18 puts two kinds of wisdom side by side and says, choose. If we choose earthly wisdom which is concerned with self, it will lead to chaos and evil. If we choose heavenly wisdom which is concerned with others, it will lead to peace and purity. The choice seems easy, but James says wisdom from above cannot be attained through human strength, but is a gift from God.

James sounds harsh when he says in 1:26: “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” Chapter 3 begins with a discussion about taming the tongue. Why is James so concerned about the tongue? Because it is a window into our hearts. And so he says that the tongue must be tamed. He also says no human being can tame the tongue. What are we to do?

The royal law shows us how we are to love God and love others.

Life is full of trials. James instructs his readers to count it all joy when they encounter trials because the purpose of the trial is to mature the Christian. To negotiate the trial, Christians need wisdom, and are therefore to ask God who will give it to anyone who asks. In our passage this week, James 1:19-27, he says when Christians contemplate various life trials what they need most is the Word of God which has the power to give eternal life as well as mature them into disciples of Jesus. But Christians aren’t just to hear the Word of God but to do it as well.

Let no one say they are being tempted by God. It is our own sinful desires that cause us to fall into temptation and sin. Let us fight against temptations with steadfastness in our faith in God, who promises to those who love him the crown of life!

James says that life is full of various trials that are designed by God to produce maturity in faith in the Christian. In order to negotiate those trials, the Christian is to ask for wisdom and God will give it generously. One of the most pressing trials is money. For the poor, the trial is believing that God isn’t good. For the rich, the trial is believing that God isn’t needed. The wisdom that God provides the poor and the rich is to glory in the heights of heaven and the depths of rescue, and the grip of money will fade from holding the Christian’s heart captive.