For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. In Greek mythology the story is told of twin giants, named Otus and Ephialtes. Together they were called the “Aloadae”, after their father, Aloeus. These two enormous brothers were ambitious and aggressive. At one point they even tried to storm Mount Olympus…
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. Many…
This week we’ll bite off a lager piece of James than usual, just because this section contains variations on one common theme. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My…
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. When we arrived home to Brazil, a little over four weeks prior to the time of this…
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. In last week’s devotional we noted…
Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts…
For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Last week we looked at James 3:1, where the author encourages Christians to think twice (or three times…or a dozen times) before taking on the role of a teacher…
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. As we continue our ongoing study of the book of James, we have now transitioned from one subject matter to another. Well…not completely. In a few verses James is going to bring up the concept of works demonstrating…
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. For the past several verses, James has been pile-driving, body-slamming, and otherwise savaging the popular notion that genuine faith can somehow exist without external evidence. By way of review, he has exposed people who espouse such a faulty theology…
But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled…