How can we bless God and curse mankind made in His image and likeness? James exposes the sinfulness and hypocrisy of our words, their power and destructiveness, and their need to be transformed by the gospel.

Application Questions

1. What are some ways that you are too casual with your words?
2. How have you seen words in your life (yours or other's) be destructive?
3. Are there ways your tongue produces hypocrisy in your life? How?
4. How does the gospel, God's Word spoken to you, give you hope in this area of life?

What is faith, and how does it work? James confronts us with a hard truth: faith without works is dead. And underneath his argument, he teaches us about the nature of faith. Far from something you just say, feel, or think, faith is a trusting response to God that always leads to a changed life.

Application Questions

1. What are some different ways people define the word“faith” ? What do you think James would say to those different definitions?
2. Why do you think James wants so badly for us to know that faith without works is dead?
3. If faith never stops growing, how vibrant is your faith right now? Is there anywhere that God is calling you to grow that you are resisting or ignoring?

We all love others. As Christians we know it's our call to love our neighbor as ourselves. And all of us do so, one way or another. But James'concern here isn't that we might not be loving others, his concern is with the selection of who we choose to love. We tend to be selective with our love. We don't loveallof our neighbors as ourselves. We loveselectneighbors as ourselves. But in light of the gospel, under the law of liberty, God has a better way.

Application Questions

1. Who can you point to as examples of people you are striving to“love as yourself” ?
2. In what ways might you be loving these people selectively, and conveniently avoiding loving others?
3. Do you tend to think of this kind of“selective love” as sin? If not, why not?
4. How does the gospel and the“law of liberty” motivate you to love others and show mercy without partiality?

When we think of“worldliness” we normally think about drunkenness or adultery. But James shows us that worldliness also means living according to the world's system of showing partiality. But showing partiality on the basis of wealth, or race, or ethnicity, or able-bodyness, or nationality, is evil. It elevates the glory of the world and undermines the glory of God, and it undermines the power and beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must repent and ask God to help us see people the way He sees people, made in His image, precious souls in need of a Savior.

Application Questions

1. Where do you see partiality in your own heart?
2. How does partiality in your heart undermine the glory of Jesus?
3. In what ways are you more compelled by the glory of this world than the glory of Jesus?
4. How can the gospel of Jesus Christ destroy partiality in your heart?

James teaches us that authentic Christian living is based on humbly receiving what God has said in his word. But how do you know if that's what you're doing? James shows us that receiving God's word means not just hearing it, but putting it into practice in our lives, such that we see a lifestyle that mirrors God's values and priorities.

Application Questions

1. Why do you think it's so tempting to hear what God says but not do it? What are some ways we rationalize it?
2. What does it look like for God's Word to function as a mirror in your life? How could you practically grow in remembering that throughout the day?
3. Why do you think James included our words, our relationship to the needy, and our relationship to worldly values as part of“true religion” ? Which comes the easiest to you and which is the most challenging?
4. How does the gospel teach us that Jesus'commands are a “law of liberty” ? How does that motivate you to be a doer and not just a hearer in all of these things?

Anger in our hearts doesn't bring justice to our circumstances, nor does it produce godliness in our lives. The reason is that in our anger our hearts are not submitted to God above all. God's solution to this problem is for our hearts to receive His Word with a posture of humility, so that our lives can be transformed.

Application Questions

1. What does anger look like in your life? Horizontal? Vertical? Hot? Cold?
2. How can you identify whether your anger is righteous or unrighteous?
3. Why does your posture towards the Word of God affect your posture towards others and your circumstances?
4. What would change in your life if your heart and life were submitted to God's Word?

James teaches us about the goodness of God, and how we often doubt it—especially in times of trial. When we look closely, we find ourselves caught up in a lie about God's goodness, and therefore caught in a web of control, anxiety, and distraction. But James teaches us the truth—God is good, all the way down—and shows us the evidence of that goodness: the new birth, though the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Application Questions

1. What are ways you doubt God's goodness in your life?
2. What are some of the good gifts from God you see in your life?
3. How does it encourage you to know that God is unchanging?
4. How does the gospel and the new birth deal with your doubts about God's goodness for you? How can you bring that to bear on your life this week?

Whenever we experience a trial, temptation always follows close on its heels. As a result, we tend to assume that the trial is the source of the temptation. Our kids'disobedience tempts us to be angry. The size of our home tempts us to discontentment. The response of our roommate tempts us to bitterness. But James teaches us that this is not where temptations ultimately come from. Temptation is caused by something far more internal.

Application Questions

1. What do you tend to blame temptation on? What do you most often assume is the cause of your sinful thoughts, behaviors, or emotions?
2. What are some of the“over-desires” that most often fuel your self-serving choices?
3. How have you seen the indulgence in your temptations lead to death?
4. How is the gospel the key to remaining steadfast under trial?
5. How can you practically be reminded of the glory of the gospel in the moments when you face temptation?

James gives us examples of trials we face when he brings up“lowliness” : having little money, little power, and little social standing. He also discusses the rich, who enjoy more power, comfort, and respect. But James turns things upside down: he encourages the low to boast in their high position, and the rich to boast in their low position. He does it because he is aware of eternity, and what it holds for those who trust in Christ—and he wants us to be aware of it too.

Application Questions

1. What are some things in your life that you boast in?
2. How could thinking of eternity change the way you look at your circumstances, whether “lowly” or “rich” ?
3. What are some ways you will be tempted to boast this week? How can you boast in Christ instead?

As we try to navigate life in our fallen world, we are constantly confused by the situations we find ourselves in. We don't know what to do. We don't know where to turn. We don't even understand the reality of what's happening. Thankfully God gives us the lens of wisdomthrough whichto view the world, which provides clarity and an accurate picture of reality. But wisdom can seem like a difficult (if not impossible) virtue to attain. In our passage today, James teaches us the one sure-fire way we can all gain the wisdom we need. And the amazing thing is, it's a lot simpler than you'd think.

Application Questions

1. In what situations or suffering do you currently need wisdom?
2. What can help you practically remember who you're talking to when praying?
3. How often do you simply ask God for wisdom?
4. What would it look like to take time to think and listen with the glasses of wisdom on? What keeps you from doing so?
5. What keeps you from acting in the confidence of wisdom?