James Chapter 1

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¹ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

² My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

³ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

⁴ But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

⁵ 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.

⁶ 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.

⁷ For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

⁸ A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

⁹ Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

¹⁰ But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

¹¹ 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.

¹² 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.

¹³ 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:

¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

¹⁶ Do not err, my beloved brethren.

¹⁷ 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.

¹⁸ Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

¹⁹ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

²⁰ For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

²¹ Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

²⁵ 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.

²⁶ If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

²⁷ 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.

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View All James Chapter 1 Comments...

Chris's James Chapter 1 comment on 1/25/2025, 6:34pm...

Hello DLHenri-2025. I concur with what Fuji has shared with you & would like to add the following for your encouragement. Yes, the Letter by James, as all other writings given to us, both show us our sin, God's hatred of all things evil (within & without), but also His great Plan of Salvation in & through Himself for lost mankind. If we are truly saved (born again by His Spirit by repentance & hungering after holy & eternal things), then we know that we have been called by God to receive His Salvation & given power to lead this new, special & holy life. Sure, sin will always knock at our door, particularly seeking out weak, vulnerable entrances to cause us to fall, resulting in us even doubting the validity of what God has done in us. And God knows this too well, as Psalm 103:13,14 reminds us. He doesn't expect us to get victory in our strength alone, for we are weak against the enemy of our souls. That is why He gave His Holy Spirit to give us power, direction, even 'a way of escape', if we are truly waiting on Him. And sometimes, this takes time, a long time, to mature & develop the same hatred for anything of sin & spots from the world.

I would encourage you to take time to read through Paul's letter to the Ephesians, & particularly chapters 1 and 2. In there, he clearly affirms the strong & eternal position we have in Christ Jesus, & nothing, but nothing, can alter that. Why? Because you are chosen & He has changed you. The same Paul, when he was severely buffeted to despair of life (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), whether by some sin, doubt or fear, was assured by the Lord that 'God's Grace was sufficient (given in sufficient measure) for him to bear up - God's Strength will be perfected (in Greek, 'completed/accomplished') through Paul's weakness. We can all truly be encouraged by the Promises of God which can be realized in reality. Don't give up dear one, stay true to the Lord in spite of your trials - He never fails - He will not let you down. With prayers.

Fuji's James Chapter 1 comment on 1/25/2025, 1:42pm...

Hello there ! Don't be discouraged ! James is the kind of book that makes even the most devoted Christian examine themselves very carefully . Every time I read it I feel guilty , as if James was looking right into me as he wrote it ! It seems to me that James has listed all my faults and failings and is rebuking me personally . I'm sure this is intentional , it's easy for us to sometimes be a bit self satisfied and pleased with ourselves , imagining that we are better than we actually are . To me , the book of James is there to bring me back down to the reality of who and what I actually am , a sinner , in need of God's mercy and forgiveness every day . It's like a report card that says ' must do better ' and it's addressed to us all , not just you and not just me . Take it on the chin and vow to do better tomorrow , every day !

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