Victorious Surrender
June 4, 2021 at 11:07 am | Posted in James | 1 CommentTags: commentary on James, fighting, James 4, prayer, selfish prayer, spiritual faithfulness, Sunday School lessons on James, worldliness
James Chapter 4 describes three kinds of wars: wars between Christians; wars within ourselves; and war against God.
Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
James 4:11-12
There is a way to disagree without being disagreeable. As we develop the gift of discernment, we learn to observe our brothers and sisters in Christ with an attitude of love rather than sinful judgmentalism. It is easy to fall into the error of thinking that our judgment (like God’s) can not be wrong. God has appointed us to be many things, but “God-like judge” is not one of them. We must examine ourselves to determine if we have a tendency to be judgmental without knowing all the facts.
Normally wars between Christians are a result of the wars in ourselves.
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
James 4:1
First comes dissatisfaction with what we have, and a desire to have what we don’t have.
Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
James 4:2
Then comes the idea that the reason we don’t have it is because someone else has it.
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
James 4:3
When we finally get around to asking God for it, we have forgotten the original reason we wanted it in the first place – which was so we could satisfy our lusts, not glorify God. However, God hasn’t forgotten, so He says no.
Beware of selfishness when praying. When you catch yourself praying selfishly go back and examine the reason why you are praying for these things in the first place.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
James 4:4
Are you asking God for the resources to help you be unfaithful to Him? As parents, we want our childern to obey because obedience is for their own good. However, it is possible to be influenced with a selfish motive in this area, too. We don’t want to feel the guilt that would come if we allowed them to be hurt. We need to remember the real reason that we want them to obey, and to avoid being hurt, is that we love them. When you truly love someone, you want that person to be well, AND you don’t want anything to hinder your closeness to him or her. God considers friendship with the world to be adultery committed against Him. It separates us from the fullness of fellowship and presence of the One Who truly loves us.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
James 4:8-9
God says this because He loves us and He wants to lift us up to Himself.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
James 4:10
There is no winning the war against God – EXCEPT – in a twist of supreme irony – when we surrender. This is the only war you win by surrendering.
For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
James 4:14-15
When we recognize God as our King – after we have truly surrendered – then He proves His trustworthiness.
Hold Your Tongue
May 17, 2021 at 4:01 pm | Posted in James | 3 CommentsTags: Christian speech, commentary on James, communication, James 3, Proverbs 10, Psalm 12, Sunday School lessons on James
This may sound overly simplistic, but Christianity involves communicating. In Bible times there was no email or texting, obviously, but the Bible itself, and the narratives, historical accounts, poetry, Gospels, and epistles that make it up are not picture-books. It is full of words. Growing in maturity in Christianity can involve a great deal of talking and written communication: teaching; fellowshipping; defending our faith. The “tongue,” in Bible language, is often a stand-in word for verbal communication.
As Americans (at least until very recently) we like the idea of freedom of speech, but, as Chrstians, we need to be aware that our tongues can be given too much freedom. With our tongues we can praise and worship the Lord. We can pray. We can be used by the Holy Spirit to lead someone to Jesus. We can change a child’s life by telling him we love him. HOWEVER, we can also: trash someone’s reputation; talk someone into destroying his life; or break someone’s heart. Generally speaking, communication is a good thing; manipulation is not (Psalm 12:3). Our tongues can communicate a blessing from Heaven – or spark a fire from hell!
In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
Proverbs 10:19
For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
James 3:2
The tongue can get the whole body into trouble. Has your mouth ever written a check your body couldn’t cash? Little boys begin squabbling on the playground, and, after exhausting their supply of about three really bad names, there is nowhere to go but fists.
Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
James 3:3-4
Bits and rudders are small, but they steer big things. Our unredeemed flesh is like a wild horse: it wants to buck and kick and be what it thinks of as “free,” when, in reality it is in bondage to our fallen sinful condition apart from Christ. The world is like the waves and wind that affect a ship: they try to blow it off course. Tongues have to be held tight. Only Christ can really control our tongues. They steer us, and they have the power to destroy. A little spark from the tongue can start the human-conflict equivalent of a forest fire.
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
James 3:6
Hot heads make for hot tongues, and untamed animals are a hazard, whereas tamed animals can be a great help.
You Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine
April 28, 2021 at 1:08 pm | Posted in James | 3 CommentsTags: commentary on James, devils, James 2, Jesus Christ, living faith, salvation by faith, salvation by grace, Sunday School lessons on James, theism
The world has come up with a hazy, muddled classification for someone who believes in some type of god, but wants no part of the One True and Living God of the Christian Bible: theist. A “theist” is supposedly a person who believes in some higher being. This is contrasted with a professing “atheist,” who pretends to believe there is no God.
There is no great blessing in being a theist, unless you are truly a Christian. Every devil in the universe is a theist.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
James 2:19
These devils even go so far as to tremble at the thought of the greatness of God, which is more than can be said for most human theists.
The ultimate difference between a true Christian and a theist is the condition of their hearts. Christians have received the gift of regeneration from God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and have been given a new heart that is capable of responding to God’s love, and of producing good works from a God-pleasing motive of true love for others.
Theists may point out that if Christianity is merely professing the idea of faith in God, they can meet that definition with ease. But let us who are truly Christians remember, although we are not Christians because of our good works or any intrinsic merit, certainly God’s gift of saving faith ought to be evident in, and the motivation of, a great many good and God-honoring works.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
James 2:18
Does James Contradict Romans?
April 14, 2021 at 2:30 pm | Posted in James | 4 CommentsTags: commentary on James, commentary on Romans, James 2, Luke 7, Romans 3, Romans 4, saved by faith, Sunday School lessons on James, Sunday School lessons on Romans, works righteousness
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
James 2:14
Does James contradict Romans?
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:28
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Romans 4:5
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
James 2:24
Are true Christians saved by faith (Romans) or saved by works (James)? The short answer is that true Christians are saved by God, but the real question is what is the MEANS of our justification?
Some misunderstandings are caused be a failure to define terms. An Englishman and an American arguing over “football” would need to have an understanding that Americans call English football soccer. A player on my little league team once told me, “Coach, you’re the bomb,” and I wasn’t sure if he meant I was explosive, or if I had done a bad job like a comedian at whom nobody laughs, but it turns out he was saying that I was a good coach. If somebody says, “You rock,” it helps to know if he is referring to an old fashioned chair, an electric guitar, or if he is saying you are awesome. When it comes to “justification,” that term can have different meanings, too, but, theologically, justification is the act of God, Who, by grace, declares sinners who have believed on Jesus Christ, to be righteous. The “method” of this type of justification is by faith, but there is another kind of justification which is seen as being “before men.”
But wisdom is justified of all her children.
Luke 7:35
All “wisdom” is wise by nature, but not all wisdom is recognized as wise until men see the results – the outcome of wisdom’s children after they have followed its way.
The Book of Romans uses Abraham to show righteousness imputed by belief. James uses Abraham to show that belief becomes apparent in action – in obedience – in active obedience.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
James 2:21
Romans uses Genesis 15; James uses Genesis 22. Would Isaac have believed, or would Abraham’s servants have believed, God’s promise if Abraham had not obeyed God by intending to kill Isaac? Salvation – justification in the sight of God – happens by faith. However, justification in the sight of men becomes evident through works. If a professing Christian encounters a person who is hungry and cold, mere faith or belief will not feed or clothe that person. James goes past the outward profession and seeks to describe a complete (perfect) picture of what has really happened on the inside of a person who has trusted Christ unto salvation.
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
James 2:22
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
James 2:19
If the devil disguised himself, he might be allowed to join most Christian churches today. He believes Jesus is the Son of God. He has known Him for a long time (much longer than anybody in your church). He knew Him before the Incarnation. He believes in the Virgin Birth. He believes Jesus died on the Cross. He believes in the Resurrection. He understands what baptism means and would probably would even do it himself. He would promise to be a good churchman. He would go to budget meetings. He would stand right by the pastor in the congregation. He would join the choir and the band. He would get together with the servant leaders. However, he would not stop causing problems for people. He would not stop trying to hurt the work of God. He would not sincerely bow down and worship Christ as Savior and Lord. He might say he would or make an outward show, but he is a liar.
A dead body still looks a lot like a living body at first glance, but closer inspection reveals the problem. Faith that won’t work looks like dead faith.
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:26
Decluttered Christianity
March 29, 2021 at 2:38 pm | Posted in James | 2 CommentsTags: Biblical religion, commentary on James, James 1, religion, Sunday School lessons on James, Word of God, worldliness
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17
Every good gift (for enjoyment) and every perfect gift (gifts with a purpose) come from God. Therefore, God proceeds to give us practical ways to use these gifts.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
James 1:19
We need to be swift to hear, to be eager to pick up on what God is saying to us through preaching, through the Bible, through others who speak to us, and through providential circumstances.
We need to be slow to speak. New believers shouldn’t try to immediately take center stage in church services. There needs to be much SITTING AND LISTENING before STANDING AND TALKING.
We need to be slow to wrath. Rash anger needs to be controlled and examined before being allowed to vent itself as righteous indignation.
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
James 1:21
This “laying apart” is a determined looking-for and clearing-out of sin and worldliness. Christians are to be like seaworthy ships sailing on the ocean: sealed against the world seeping in, not sinking down into the world, yet out in the world itself. Christians who put too many worldly possessions or concerns into their ship may find themselves sinking down into worldliness. Furthermore, merely cleaning out our ships is not enough. We must re-stock them often with the Word of God. Like the hymnist who wrote “Dwelling in Beulah Land,” we need to be “feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply.”
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22
Not only must Christians be reading the Word, but we must be DOING the Word. When we “consume” the Word of God it becomes part of who we are and it strengthens us.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
James 1:25
We grow in Christian maturity not only by actively serving, but by humbly submitting to God’s Word as we look into it and see both our shortcomings and the freedom given to us in Christ.
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27
There is a popular cliche’ which says that “Christianity is not a relgion; it’s a relationship,” and there’s an element of truth to that, but “religion” is not bad – IF it’s pure and undefiled.
Withstanding Temptation
March 10, 2021 at 3:30 pm | Posted in James | 4 CommentsTags: Biblical patience, Biblical tests, Biblical trials, Biblical understanding, commentary on James, James 1, patience, Sunday School lessons on James, wisdom
James was the earthly half-brother of Jesus, being born to Joseph and Mary through natural conception after Mary’s miraculous conception of Jesus and His virgin birth. The Book of James and the Gospel of Mark were probably the first two books of the New Testament to be written down. James was probably written around 45-50 A.D., approximately 15-20 years after Christ’s Ascension into Heaven.
The first chapter of James discusses two different types of temptation. The first is testing.
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
James 1:2-4
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
James 1:12
The second type of temptation is the solicitation or allurement to sin.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
James 1:13-15
Christians are to “count” it joy when they are tested. Testing produces patience. Patience is a Christ-like response to troubles, which, through practice, makes us more like Christ. “Make me more like Jesus” is sometimes said to be a dangerous prayer. Rejection, loneliness, betrayal, earthly poverty, ridicule, suffering, and experiencing injustice can all make us more like Christ. The crown of life in James 1:12 signifies royalty, joy, victory, and honor.
Chrsistians MUST have patience and Christians MUST have wisdom.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
James 1:5
Wisdom is not knowledge; wisdom is understanding what God would have us to do with knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Remember to ask Him for it, and do not dare to trust yourself or anyone else or the world over God.
Technology is the result of knowledge: that’s an example of the right use of knowledge. But technology can be used for sin: then the result of knowledge becomes, not wisdom, but complete foolishness. Technology used to build a supersonic jet is knowledge, but flying in the wrong direction is not wisdom – it is foolishness.
If we MUST have wisdom, from where shall we get it?
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways.
James 1:6-8
James was writing to CHRISTIANS. Unbelievers can ask God for wisdom, but, by principle, He does not respond to those prayers. Christians can access wisdom through prayer, but it must be a prayer of faith. Praying without faith is double-minded – it is testing God to see if He is Who He says He really is. The obligation of praying is not only praying and waiting, but praying and doing. When it comes to wisdom, pray about it. Believe you will receive wisdom. Then do it: apply the wisdom to your knowledge.
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
James 1:9-10
Christians should rejoice in whatever earthly promotions God sees fit to bestow upon them, but they must not covet earthly wealth.
For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
James 1:11
In Heaven the streets may be paved with gold, but the idea is not so much that gold streets are really fancy. It is more that our most cherished and sought-after metal here on earth is the equivalent of mere asphalt in Heaven.
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
James 1:13
Humans have a tendency to shift the blame for our own wrong-doing onto others, and ultimately onto God. The criminal justice system is filled with convicted felons who maintain that they were merely in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people. Even the first man, Adam, blamed God for his sin. Sin is very deceiving, partly because it looks so attractive. It sometimes glitters, but so does cheap glitter. It sometimes has a pleasant odor, but many foods smell delicious until they rot. Sin may look alive, pulsating, vibrant, but it is really dead, rotten, and corrupt underneath.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
James 1:15
Sinful lust is our own fault, and it is the beginning of destruction. It breeds sin, and sin breeds death. Watching and praying are safeguards against the temptation to sin. Staying busy doing good sounds boring and pedestrian and just hard, but it is a very practical and understandable way to keep from doing bad.
Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:16-17
Man has an amazing capacity to take the good things God gives us and twist and pervert them.
The Father of Lights
October 9, 2018 at 3:04 pm | Posted in James, John, Q&A | 18 CommentsTags: Acts 20, Colossians 1, Daniel 5, Genesis 1, James 1, John 1, John 3, John 8, Luke 12, Philippians 2
Question: I can understand why God would be called the “Father of Light,” but why is He called the Father of lights (plural) in James 1:17?
Answer: That’s one of my favorite verses.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17 (emphasis added)
Although the word “light” is found frequently in the New Testament, the plural “lights” is used only four times.
The first time, it is a translation of the Greek word lychnos, which was the generic word for mobile lights. Back in Bible times it would have been used to describe candles or lamps, which could be carried around to light up dark areas or rooms. I imagine it would be the ancient equivalent of our modern flashlights.
Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
Luke 12:35 (emphasis added)
The second time, “lights” is from lampas, meaning torches. These could have been for outdoor or indoor use, including traveling at night, or to illuminate meetings where people gathered after dark. Think of the angry villagers who came after Frankenstein’s monster to terrorize him with fire.
And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
Acts 20:8 (emphasis added)
The third time plural “lights” is used, it is a translation of the word phoster, which has a connotation of objects that burn with their own, self-generated light.
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Philippians 2:15 (emphasis added)
The word you are asking about – “lights” in James 1:17 – is a translation of the Greek word phos, a shorter form of phoster, and which emphasizes lights that are used for the express purpose of revelation – revealing through illumination that which was previously hidden by darkness.
In its context, James 1:17 supports the truth that, although Christians will be tempted severely by the lusts of our own flesh, we may not blame God for these temptations. He – and every gift He sends down to us from on high – is perfectly good, and His immutability makes it impossible that He could fail to do what is right.
Therefore, although I can’t say for certain exactly why the Holy Spirit inspired James to use the plural “lights” when describing our Heavenly Father’s perfection, benevolence, and blessed immutability, I suspect it has to do with all the different types of light – both literal/physical and spiritual/metaphorical – we see in Scripture as coming from, or representative of, Him.
For instance, God is the Creator-Father of all the celestial bodies, including the Sun and the stars which light up the sky both at night, and in the day.
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Genesis 1:14 (emphasis added)
God is the Father of all wisdom, which is symbolized by light, even to the extent that we refer to an exceptionally intelligent person as “brilliant.”
I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
Daniel 5:14 (emphasis added)
God is the Father of Truth itself (Himself).
But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
John 3:21 (emphasis added)
God is the Father of the Light of the World.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
John 1:4-9 (emphasis added)
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 8:12 (emphasis added)
God is the Father of our inheritance, as His children, of light.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Colossians 1:12 (emphasis added)
God is certainly the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and His chosen, redeemed, and sanctified people, and in that sense, among many others, can it be said with joy, reverence, awe, and praise that He is the Father of Lights.
The Relationship between Sin and Disease
October 17, 2017 at 12:49 pm | Posted in James, John, Uncategorized | 14 CommentsTags: 1 Corinthians 11, Biblical Doctoring, consequences of sin, disease, Great Physician, James 5, John 5, sickness, sin
Sin has real consequences, including danger, disaster, and death. One of the simplest, but most insightful, sermon-poems I know goes:
Sin will keep you longer than you wanted to stay
It will cost you more than you wanted to pay
It will teach you more than you wanted to know
And it will take you farther than you ever wanted to go
However, there is another consequence of sin that we don’t always hear as much about, because of the danger of turning it into an abusive, rather than a constructive, warning: disease.
The Bible makes it clear that disease CAN BE the result of sin.
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:14-16
And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
John 5:13-14
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
I Corinthians 11:27-30
All illness is a general result of the curse of sin brought into the world by the fall of Adam, but, of course, not every single disease, infirmity, or health problem is directly caused by the sick person’s specific sin, as is shown in the case of Job and the man born blind, to name just two examples. This means that, while it is probably unwise for us to make judgments about whether someone else’s disease is a consequence of his or her specific sin, it is probably VERY wise to consider our own lives with an eye toward identifying, confessing, repenting of, and forsaking sin as a possible remedy for, or deterrent to, physical disease.
The Deep End 
Judgment in James
August 9, 2021 at 3:15 pm | Posted in James | Leave a commentTags: commentary on James, James, Sunday School lessons on James, The Book of James, The Epistle of James, wisdom, wisdom genre, wisdom literature
One of the types of literature found in the Bible is called “wisdom literature.” Books like Proverbs and Ecclesiates are differentiated from historical or prophetic books of the Bible, in that they contain general principles and precepts set forth for the purpose of revealing and teaching wisdom in connection with a broad range of subjects and areas. These books are found in the Old Testament, and the general consensus is that there are no “wisdom” books in the New Testament. However, if an argument could be made for any New Testament book to fit into the wisdom genre, it would be the Book of James.
James is a deep treasure trove of holy revelation, dealing with topics ranging from our response to temptation, the causes and results of sin, controlling our communication, prayer, and, of course, wisdom itself. Below are links to a series of lessons that will hopefully help believers exercise good judgment as they seek to humbly and obediently walk with Christ:
1. Withstanding Temptation (1:2-17)
2. The Lack of a Good Upbraiding (1:5)*
3. The Father of Lights (1:17)
4. Decluttered Christianity (1:17-27)
5. A Deceitful Marriage (1:22-24)
6. Does James Contradict Romans? (2:14-26)
7. You Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine (2:18-19)
8. Key Words for Bible Teachers: Truth and Type (3:1)
9. Christian Teachers Warned and Watched (3:1)
10. Hold Your Tongue (3:2-6)
11. Why We’re so Difficult (3:13-4:10)
12. Victorious Surrender (4)
13. Proud Humility (4:10)*
14. Lord Willing (4:13-15)
15. The Dash Between Two Dates (4:14)
16. Prayers for Howling, Healing, and Hiding (5)
17. Beware the Fattening Fantasy (5:5)
18. Up for the Count (5:11)
19. The Relationship between Sin and Disease (5:13-16)
20. Prayer as a Means of Grace (James 5:16-18)
*most-viewed lessons in category