“If any of you lack wisdom”; “if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer “, “if any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue”, let him carefully study the book of James These possibilities are listed among others that might apply to some of the brethren at the time this book was written, and they might apply to some of us today The use of the word “IF” in these cases suggests the idea that perhaps these failures were not general in that day, and possibly they do not apply to the majority of us today But, although the word “IF” narrows the possibilities of such failures, there is still the probability that to some extent, we may lack knowledge, be a hearer and not a doer of the Word, and fail in some instances to bridle our tongues.
The apostle James does not mention faults and stop there He tells us how we may correct them It is well to consider these one by one in the light of the Epistle of James.
Wisdom “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God and it shall be given him But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering” (James 1 5,6) Those that waver are double-minded and unstable The use of the word “double-minded” is unusual and interesting We have references in Scripture to two minds, carnal and spiritual “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8 6) To be double-minded is to waver between the two It is sometimes difficult to perceive the full significance of being carnally minded We think of “carnal” as being wicked, and believe that if we do not have wicked tendencies we are not carnal and must therefore be spiritually minded The comparison should be turned about, there are only two minds and if we are not spiritually minded, then we are carnally minded Our danger of double-mindedness can arise from undue preoccupation with material welfare While being desirous of spiritual knowledge and the rewards that it will bring, we may have our minds and thoughts centered on the financial and other rewards of this life. In speaking of this danger, we have examples given by James. “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 . . . so shall the rich man fade away in his ways” (James 1.9-11).
The points that James makes are these: Men cannot approach God in single-mindedness nor trust Him whole-heartedly if their essential concern is in material well-being. Instead of spending his days bemoaning his humble lot, let the brother of low degree rejoice in the high calling he has through Christ And instead of glorying in his wealth, let the rich brother reflect upon the insight given to him concerning the end of that wealth and its possessors, and seek instead after everlasting treasures. Even if we ask God for wisdom with singleness of mind, do we just pray to be wise and wait for a miracle? Certainly not Wisdom can come only by obtaining knowledge, and knowledge can be procured only by studying the Word of God. We should pray for understanding, that what we read and hear and study will be instructive and will be understood by us, and thereby continue to increase our wisdom, until, finally, we may be “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2nd Timothy 2:15).
Ask with Faith
James also tells us what the manner of our asking should be. It must be done with faith ” . . . The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5 16) The prayer must be effectual or adequate; it must be fervent, that is, with warmth of feeling It must be by a righteous man How can we qualify when we are told, ” . . There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3 10) Fortunately, we do not depend on our own righteousness ” . . . Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3.6) Likewise, if we believe on Him who justifies the ungodly, our faith is accounted to us for righteousness.
To overcome the lack of wisdom we must first, with an attitude of righteousness, ask God for it through effectual, fervent prayer. Then, by study, we must endeavor to bring about the answer to this prayer, knowing that whatever knowledge we acquire will come as a gift from God James makes this very definite by stating “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.
” (James 1 17). He goes even further and shows that wisdom is a special gift He says. “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (Verse 18). We are begotten with the Word of Truth. By this we receive sufficient knowledge for baptism, and thus are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of Incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (1st Peter 1 23) Christ is the initial, individual firstfruit, and it is those who are Christ’s at His coming that will constitute the multitudinous firstfruits These are begotten by the will of God through the Word of Truth In one way or another they must be hearers of the Word from the very beginning, and continually thereafter.
Be Doers
This brings us to our second point from the Epistle of James ” . . Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1: 22) It is understandable that others sometimes deceive us through trickery or dishonesty But it is difficult to deceive ourselves We know what we should do and we certainly know how well we are doing it, or if we are doing it at all. James gives us an example of the man who deceives himself ” . . . he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” (Verses 23,24). Is that a true statement of our lives? We can look into our own thoughts and minds and know exactly what our weaknesses and failings are, and see what needs to be corrected. If we go our way, forgetting what manner of persons we are, and do what we should not, as James says, we deceive ourselves. It is possible to rationalize almost anything in our own minds. We have no one to give us a strong argument or show us where our ideas are wrong At first we reason to ourselves the right and wrong of an idea or thought. If we want to do something, we gradually move that way in our thinking, until finally we deceive ourselves that it is all right.
We are all hearers of the Word, and through this we obtain knowledge. We do not need to be told how we can be doers Some have the idea that their deeds must be spectacular; that they must consist of preaching and other proclamations of the Truth; that if they are not qualified for these duties they cannot be doers. If any are of this mind let them consider the many and varied ecclesial duties: the work of the Sunday School, the follow-up of radio and campaign contacts, and assistance to others. We can all find some way in which we can be doers. It will not require much searching. James shows us in Chapter 2, verses 14 to 20, that works are the test of our faith. He says:
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 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 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, 0 vain man, that faith without works is dead’?”
All hopes and expectations of future glories are based on faith. But without works this faith is useless, for as James also writes: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).
Control of the Tongue
The third point referred to in the writings of James is this: “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” (James 1:26). We are known as a religious group, and all of us would like to be among those that seem to be religious. But all of our religious endeavors can be cancelled by our tongues. The failure to control our tongues is such a critical point with James that he wrote an entire chapter concerning it (Chapter 3). In one place he says: ” . . . If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2). In verses 8 to 10 of the same chapter he states: “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison . . . Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
We agree with James that the tongue is our weakest point. It is good to keep this always in mind, and think before we speak. We remember the prayer of the Psalmist: “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, 0 Lord, my strength and my redeemer” (Psalms 19:14). Even though James tells us of the weakness that can make our religion vain, he also gives us the test of pure religion, which is . . . “To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
The consideration of the epistle should not end with these reflections, but should take us to James’ exhortation on patience, which is particularly applicable at this time. “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:7,8).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One