Apparently, the Jewish believers to whom James wrote tended not only toward conflict and jealousy but also toward condemnation and judgment. Justice, not judgment, is what God requires. Upright, righteous relationships are essential to spiritual growth. James gives the answer to verse 5 in verse 6 with the answer of grace. Then, James provides pointed advice for justice in verses 7-9, and the advantage of humility (v. 10).

The world is in conflict with the Father, the flesh fights against the Holy Spirit, and the devil opposes the Son of God. Pride is Satan’s great sin, and it is one of his chief weapons in his warfare against the saint and the Savior. God wants us to be humble; Satan wants us to be proud. A new Christian must not be put into places of spiritual leadership or they “may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6, ESV).

God wants us to depend on His grace (“But He gives more grace”), while the devil wants us to depend on ourselves. Satan is the author of all “do-it-yourself” spiritual enterprises. He enjoys inflating the ego and encouraging the believer to do it their own way. In spite of Jesus’ warnings about Satan’s plans, Peter fell into the snare, pulled out his sword, and tried to accomplish God’s will in his own way.

Here, then, are three enemies that want to turn us away from God: the world, the flesh, and the devil. These enemies are leftover from our old life of sin (Eph. 2:1–3). Christ has delivered us from them, but they still attack us. How can we overcome them? How can we be the friends of God and the enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil? James gives us three instructions to follow if we would enjoy peace instead of war: (1) Submit to God (v. 7); (2) draw near to God (v. 8); and (3) Humble yourselves before God (vv. 9-10).

Fights, quarrels, lust, hate, envy, pride, and sin are words that stain this portion of James’ letter like inkblots. In stark contrast with the closing words of chapter 3, “a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.,” chapter 4 opens with “fights and quarrels.” James confronted this despicable behavior with valor. Furthermore he gave clear advice on how to quell the storms that are so detrimental to spiritual growth and maturity. A believer must turn hatred into humility, judgment into justice, and boasting into belief.

The appearance of conflict among the followers of Jesus stirred James to intense indignation. The severity of his tone in verses 1-6 is accented by the absence of the words “my brethren” or “my brothers,” which James used so frequently in other parts of the letter. He revealed the cause of conflict, outlined the consequences of conflict, and proposed a cure for conflict

A key to the right talk is the right thought. The tongue is contained in a cage of teeth and lips, but it still escapes. It is not intelligence that keeps the lock on that cage; it is wisdom—a wisdom that is characterized by humility, grace, and peace.

Up to this point, James had been focusing on human deeds and their sources within the heart. In this section, while retaining that focus on deeds, he introduced insights on the transcendent sources of good and evil from which various deeds emanate. The two chief categories of reference in this entire passage are a friend of God and a friend of the world. Anticipated in the declaration that the evil of the tongue is ignited by the evil of hell (3:6), the chief question to be posed to James’s hearers was, Which wisdom is guiding you, the heavenly (v. 17) or the hellish (v. 15) variety? This third part of the body of James’s epistle alerted them to their interpersonal warring, to the peaceable wisdom among them, and to the source for correcting their warring desires.

Wisdom was an important thing for Jewish people. They realized that it was not enough to have knowledge; wisdom was necessary to be able to use that knowledge correctly. All of us know people who are very intelligent, perhaps almost geniuses, and yet who seemingly are unable to carry out the simplest tasks of life. They can run the biggest projects but they cannot manage their own lives! “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight” (Prov. 4:7, ESV).

James continued to exhort the people in the assembly who wanted to be teachers of the Word (James 3:1). It is not enough simply to stand before the people and say words; you must have something to say. This is where spiritual wisdom comes in. Knowledge enables us to take things apart, but wisdom enables us to put things together and relate God’s truth to daily life.[1] All of us have heard preachers and teachers who say many good things, but who somehow miss the heart of God’s message and fail to relate truth to everyday life. It is this kind of “knowledge without wisdom” that James is writing about. He is contrasting true wisdom and false wisdom in three different aspects.

Every Christian is tempted and sin each and every day, and we all must admit that “we all stumble in many ways” (v. 2). It seems that sins of the tongue head the list of struggles. The person who is able to discipline their tongue gives evidence that they can control their whole body. They proves that they are a mature person.

Is James making a mistake by connecting sins of the tongue with sins committed by “the whole body”? No, because words usually lead to deeds. During World War II, there were posters that read “LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS!” But loose lips also wreck lives. A person makes an unguarded statement and suddenly finds oneself involved in a fight, conflict, or argument. Their tongue has forced the rest of their body to defend themselves.

Never underestimate the guidance you give by the words you speak or do not speak. Jesus spoke to a woman at a well, and her life and the lives of her neighbors experienced a miraculous change (John 4). Peter preached at Pentecost and 3,000 souls came to salvation through faith in Christ (Acts 2).

Our words can start fires. “For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife” (Prov. 26:20–21, ESV). In some churches, there are members or pastors who cannot control their tongues, and the result is destruction. We are all aware of these stories of pastors or preachers causing harm to the church because of their verbal abuse, spiritual abuse, or the things they have said that is not spoken of in the Spirit of God. But once the pastors are removed or the slanderous congregants leave (or are forced to leave), a beautiful spirit of harmony and love takes over.

The basic problem of self-deception and double-mindedness raised in chapter 1 is at the root of the problem with inactive faith confronted in chapter 2. James returned as well to the theme of the tongue, which appeared in 1:19, 26. There bridling this organ and controlling one’s speech are chief marks of Christian wisdom. When believers do not exercise whole-hearted faith, they fall prey to their own lusts (1:14) and begin to justify themselves and to blame God for their temptations (1:13). The problem of the tongue, or speech, extends throughout the rest of the letter in the warning against slandering (4:11), empty boasting (4:13), and grumbling against others in the fellowship (5:9).

In this second part of the body of James’s letter is found one of the most poignant teachings on the sinful forces lodged within human nature. The tongue proves to be a source of greatness, either great good or great evil. Speech has a great affect upon its hearers, even when it is making empty claims (cf. 2:14, 20). The boasts of inactive faith may prove that faith to be useless, but the tongue is active in other ways, even cursing those who frustrate selfish desires. In this portion of James, the tongue is presented as the key to self-control for a virtuous life of faith. Bring the tongue under control and the whole self can be guided into well-doing. Beginning and ending this part by addressing “my brothers,” James developed an argument for the maturity of speech and its relation to the entirety of the Christian life.

James has introduced us to two kinds of faith that can never save the sinner: dead faith (the intellect alone), and demonic faith (the intellect and the emotions). He closes this section by describing the only kind of faith that can save the sinner—dynamic faith. Dynamic faith is faith that is real, faith that has power, faith that results in a changed life.

In the context of James’s letter faith must not be allowed to boast in self-sufficiency (cf. 2:7; 3:14). For James mere faith was an empty boast that masked great evil. Faith is trust in God alone, but it must be whole-hearted and produce good deeds based on the mercy of God. Faith without deeds is a hoax of the double-minded. It can and surely must be discussed because it is not honest about what it is actually doing, such as playing favorites and withholding mercy. Faith is always active, either producing good deeds in agreement with God or in producing evil deeds in deceptive contradiction of him.

James described this true saving faith. To begin with, dynamic saving faith is based on the Word of God. We receive our spiritual rebirth through God’s Word (James 1:18). We receive the Word and this saves us (James 1:21). “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17, ESV). James used Abraham and Rahab as illustrations of dynamic saving faith since both of them heard and received the message of God through His Word.

Faith is only as good as its object. No matter how much faith a person may generate, if it is not directed at the right object, it will not accomplish anything. “I believe” may be the testimony of many sincere people, but the main question is, “In whom do you believe? What do you believe?” We are not saved by faith in faith; we are saved by faith in Christ as revealed in His Word.

Dynamic faith is based on God’s Word, and it involves the whole person. Dead faith touches only the intellect; demonic faith involves both the mind and the emotions (v. 19); but dynamic faith involves the will. The whole person plays a part in true saving faith. The mind understands the truth; the heart desires the truth; and the will acts upon the truth. The men and women of faith named in Hebrews 11 were people of action: God spoke and they obeyed. Again, “Faith is not believing in spite of evidence; faith is obeying in spite of consequence.”

Just as the law of love gives no excuse for respect of persons, so the possession of faith gives no license to dispense with good works. A believer must not only demonstrate their love by a willing acceptance of others, but they must also demonstrate their faith by responsible aid to others. James went on in his letter to emphasize the expression of true faith (vv. 14-17), to outline the evidence of true faith (vv. 18-20), and finally to cite examples of true faith.

In verses 14-19, James says that faith is more than an intellectual belief in God. If that belief does not lead us to a holy life of righteousness and mercy, it is not a saving faith (Matt 7:21-23). James gives three arguments in support of this truth: (1) faith without works is no better than words without deeds (vv. 15-17). (2) Faith can be neither seen nor verified unless it shows itself in works (v. 18). (3) Even the demons have an intellectual belief in God, but it does not lead to their salvation (v. 19).

Christian love does not mean that I must like a person and agree with them on everything. I may not like the words they use or their habits or agree on how to parent, and I may not want them for an intimate friend. Christian love means treating others the way God has treated me. It is an act of the will, not an emotion that I try to manufacture. The motive is to glorify God. The means to do this is the power of the Spirit within (“for the fruit of the Spirit is love”). As I act in love toward another person, I may find myself drawn more and more to them, and I may see in them (through Christ) qualities that before were hidden to me.

We shall be judged “by the Law of liberty.” Why does James use this title for God’s Law? For one thing, when we obey God’s Law, it frees us from sin and enables us to walk in liberty (Ps. 119:45). Also, law prepares us for liberty. A child must be under rules and regulations because he or she is not mature enough to handle the decisions and demands of life. The child is given outward discipline so that he or she might develop inward discipline, and one day be free of rules.

There is one obvious message to this section: our beliefs should control our behavior. If we really believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that God is gracious, His Word is true, and one day He will judge us, then our conduct will reveal our convictions.

Chapter 2 is really about compassion. The believer who is properly connected to the Bible is also properly connected to the body of Christ. The believer who stands firm in Christ serves with compassion. In chapter 1, James made it clear that true religion finds an outlet in service, a service which demands that a believer learn to accept others without prejudice and to assist others without presumption.

Verses 1-13 of chapter 2 is about not showing favoritism and accepting others. James became increasingly specific and direct in his admonitions and instructions. He was obviously displeased with the inconsistencies among the brethren. He attacked the attitudes these believers displayed toward others and then complained of their failures to act as they should. He first condemned the attitude of favoritism and gave suggestions on how to combat this obstacle to spiritual maturity. We must learn to accept others, whatever their status or class. We must show courtesy to all, compassion for all, and consistency to all. Fairness, love, and faithfulness are the vital ingredients.

In James 2:1-9, we find that age-old rivalry between the rich and the poor. The rich person gets the attention, while the poor person is ignored. The rich person is honored, the poor person is disgraced. How tragic it is when local churches get their values confused and cater to the rich and elite while they ignore, or even reject, the poor and lowly. If fellowship in a church depends on such external things as clothing and economic status, then the church is out of the will of God.

James wanted to help us practice God’s Word, so he gave us a simple test. He sent two visitors to a church service, a rich man and a poor man; and he illustrated how they were treated. The way we behave toward people indicates what we really believe about God![1] We cannot separate human relationships from divine fellowship. “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20, ESV)

Ultimately the key both to responding to trials and resisting temptation is to be found in one’s reaction to God’s Word. Receptivity to the Word, responsiveness to the Word, and resignation to the Word are essential to spiritual growth. One must accept God’s Word, act on it, and abide by it.

Too many people are in that tragic condition in which “hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (Matt. 13:13). They attend Bible classes and church services but never seem to grow. Is it the fault of the teacher or the preacher? Perhaps, but it may also be the fault of the hearer. It is possible to be “dull of hearing” (Heb. 5:11) because of decay of the spiritual life.

If the seed of the Word is to be planted in our hearts, then we must obey the instructions James gives us.

It is not enough to hear the Word; we must do it. Many people have the mistaken idea that hearing a good sermon or Bible study is what makes them grow and get God’s blessing. Many Christians mark their Bibles (a good practice), but the message does not seem to mark them and they fail to impact those around them! If we think we are spiritual because we hear/read the Word, then we are only kidding yourself.

We could spend a lot of time going over these verses, but let’s try to address as much as possible for a short Bible study.