James

James

Greetings from Jacob

From Jacob (James),

a servant of God and of the Master, Jesus the Anointed One—

to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

Shalom and favor to you.

Joy in Trials and Completion Through Endurance

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,

when you face trials of many kinds,

because you know that the testing of your trust

produces endurance.

Let endurance finish its work,

so that you may be complete and whole,

lacking nothing.

Ask for Wisdom — Without Doubt

If any of you lacks wisdom,

let them ask God—

who gives generously to all without finding fault—

and it will be given.

But let them ask in trust, without doubting.

For the one who doubts

is like a wave of the sea,

driven and tossed by the wind.

That person should not expect

to receive anything from the Master—

they are double-minded and unstable in all their ways.

The Lowly and the Rich

Let the lowly brother or sister

boast in their high position,

and the rich in their low position—

because like a flower of the field, they will pass away.

For the sun rises with scorching heat

and withers the plant;

its blossom falls

and its beauty perishes.

In the same way,

the rich will fade away

even while going about their business.

Blessed Are the Tested

Blessed is the one

who endures under trial,

because having stood the test,

they will receive the crown of life

that the Master has promised

to those who love Him.

God Does Not Tempt

Let no one say when they are tempted,

“I am being tempted by God,”

for God cannot be tempted by evil,

nor does He tempt anyone.

But each person is tempted

when they are dragged away by their own desire and enticed.

Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin;

and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Do not be deceived,

my dearly loved brothers and sisters.

Every Good Gift Comes From Above

Every good and perfect gift

is from above,

coming down from the Father of lights,

with whom there is no shifting or shadow of change.

By His own will,

He brought us forth by the word of truth,

so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.

Be Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak

Know this,

my beloved brothers and sisters:

Let every person be quick to listen,

slow to speak,

and slow to anger—

for human anger

does not produce the rightness that God desires.

Therefore, rid yourselves of all moral filth

and the excess of evil,

and humbly receive the word planted in you,

which is able to rescue your souls.

Be Doers of the Word

But be doers of the word,

and not hearers only—deceiving yourselves.

For if anyone hears the word and does not act,

they are like someone looking at their own face in a mirror.

They look at themselves,

go away,

and immediately forget what they look like.

But the one who looks into the complete law of freedom,

and continues in it—

not as a forgetful hearer, but as a doer—

they will be blessed in what they do.

Pure and Spotless Practice

If anyone considers themselves religious

but does not bridle their tongue,

they deceive their own heart,

and their practice is empty.

Pure and spotless practice

before God the Father is this:

to care for orphans and widows in their distress,

and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

———

Do Not Show Favoritism

My dear brothers and sisters,

as you hold trust in our glorious Master, Jesus the Anointed One,

do not show favoritism.

Suppose someone enters your gathering

wearing gold rings and fine clothes,

and a poor person comes in wearing filthy clothes.

If you look favorably on the one in fine clothes and say,

“Sit here in a good seat,”

but say to the poor one,

“Stand there,” or “Sit at my feet,”

have you not discriminated among yourselves

and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved family:

Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world

to be rich in trust

and heirs of the kingdom He promised to those who love Him?

But you have dishonored the poor.

Is it not the rich who oppress you

and drag you into court?

Are they not the ones who slander

the noble name by which you were called?

Love Without Partiality

If you truly live out the Royal Law found in the Scripture:

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”

you are doing well.

But if you show favoritism,

you are committing a misstep

and are convicted by the Instruction as one who falls short.

For whoever keeps the whole Instruction

but stumbles at one point

is guilty of falling short of it all.

The One who said, “Do not commit adultery,”

also said, “Do not murder.”

If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder,

you are still a breaker of trust.

So speak and act as those

who will be judged by the Instruction that brings freedom.

For judgment without mercy

will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.

But mercy triumphs over judgment.

Trust That Moves — Not Words Alone

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,

if someone claims to have trust but does not have action?

Can that kind of trust rescue them?

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed

and lacks daily food,

and one of you says, “Go in peace, stay warm and be filled,”

but you do not give them what the body needs—

what good is that?

In the same way,

trust by itself, if it does not have action,

is lifeless.

But someone may say, “You have trust, and I have action.”

Show me your trust without action,

and I will show you my trust by what I do.

You trust that God is one—good!

Even the spirits who oppose Him believe that—and tremble.

Do you want to understand,

you empty thinker,

that trust without action is useless?

Abraham and Rahab: Trust Proven by Action

Was not our ancestor Abraham made right

by action when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?

You see that trust was working together with his action,

and trust was made complete by what he did.

And the Scripture was fulfilled that says:

“Abraham trusted God, and it was credited to him as rightness,”

and he was called a friend of God.

You see then that a person is shown to be right

by action and not by trust alone.

In the same way,

was not Rahab the innkeeper also made right by what she did

when she welcomed the messengers

and helped them escape by another road?

Just as the body without breath is dead,

so also trust without action is dead.

———

Not Many Should Be Teachers

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters,

for you know that we who teach

will be held to a higher standard of accountability.

For we all stumble in many ways.

If anyone does not stumble in what they say,

they are a mature person,

able to keep the whole body in check.

We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us;

we can turn the whole animal.

Or consider ships—though they are so large

and driven by strong winds,

they are guided by a very small rudder

wherever the will of the pilot directs.

In the same way, the tongue is a small part of the body,

yet it boasts of great things.

See how great a forest is set ablaze by such a small spark.

The Tongue as Fire

The tongue is a fire—

a world of brokenness among the parts of the body.

It stains the whole being,

sets the course of life on fire,

and is itself set on fire by the destructive patterns of this age.*

Every kind of beast and bird,

reptile and sea creature,

can be tamed

and has been tamed by humankind.

But no one can fully tame the tongue.

It is a restless evil,

full of deadly poison.

With it we bless the Master and Father,

and with it we curse people,

who are made in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth

come blessing and cursing.

My brothers and sisters,

this should not be.

Does a spring pour out both fresh water and bitter from the same opening?

Can a fig tree produce olives,

or a grapevine produce figs?

Neither can salt water produce fresh.

True Wisdom from Above

Who among you is wise and understanding?

Let them show it by their good life,

by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

But if you harbor bitter jealousy

and selfish ambition in your heart,

do not boast about it

or deny the truth.

Such “wisdom” does not come down from above,

but is earthly, unspiritual, and driven by the broken spirit of rebellion.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist,

there is disorder and every worthless practice.

But the wisdom that comes from above

is first of all pure—

then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield,

full of compassion and good fruits,

without favoritism and without hypocrisy.

A harvest of rightness is sown in peace

by those who make peace.

* “Set on fire by the destructive patterns of this age” translates the Greek idiom often rendered “set on fire by Gehenna,” referring to the Valley of Hinnom—a place associated with corruption and judgment. Here, it reflects the spiritual ruin caused by untamed speech (see Guideline §5 and §12 on Gehenna and restorative eschatology).

———

The War Within

Where do the battles and fights among you come from?

Are they not born from the cravings at war within your body?

You desire but do not have—so you lash out.

You covet but cannot obtain—so you fight and quarrel.

You do not have because you do not ask.

You ask and do not receive,

because you ask with wrong motives—

to spend it on your own pleasures.

Unfaithful people!

Do you not know that friendship with the world

means hostility toward God?

Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of this world’s system

becomes an opponent of God.

Or do you think the Scripture speaks in vain

when it says that the Breath He caused to dwell in us

longs with jealous love?

But He gives greater favor.

That is why it says:

“God stands against the proud,

but gives favor to the humble.”

Return in Humility

So then,

submit yourselves to God.

Resist the accuser,

and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God,

and He will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you who act wrongly.

Purify your hearts, you who are double-minded.

Let your laughter turn to mourning

and your joy to solemn reflection.

Humble yourselves before the Master,

and He will lift you up.

Do Not Speak Against One Another

Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters.

The one who speaks against a fellow believer

or judges their sibling

is speaking against the Instruction

and judging the Instruction.

But if you judge the Instruction,

you are not a doer of it—

but one who sets themselves above it.

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge—

the One who is able to rescue and to destroy.

But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

Come now,

you who say,

“Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town,

spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

Yet you do not even know

what tomorrow will bring.

What is your life?

You are a mist that appears for a little while

and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say,

“If the Master wills it,

we will live and do this or that.”

But as it is,

you boast in your proud plans.

All such boasting is empty.

So then,

if anyone knows what is good to do

and does not do it,

for them, it is a breaking of trust.

———

The Corruption of Wealth

Come now, you rich—

weep and wail for the misery that is coming upon you.

Your wealth has rotted,

and your fine clothes are moth-eaten.

Your gold and silver are corroded,

and their corrosion will stand as a witness against you

and consume your flesh like fire.

You have hoarded treasure in the last days.

Look! The wages you withheld from the workers

who harvested your fields cry out,

and the cries of the harvesters

have reached the ears of the Master of Hosts.

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence.

You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

You have condemned and murdered the righteous one—

and he did not resist you.

Patience and Endurance

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters,

until the coming of the Master.

See how the farmer waits

for the precious fruit of the earth,

being patient for it

until it receives the early and latter rains.

You too, be patient.

Strengthen your hearts,

because the coming of the Master is near.

Do not grumble against one another,

brothers and sisters,

so that you may not be judged.

Look—the Judge is standing at the door.

As an example of suffering and patience,

take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Master.

Indeed, we call blessed those who endured.

You have heard of the perseverance of Job,

and you have seen the purpose of the Master—

how He is deeply compassionate and full of mercy.

Do Not Swear—Speak Honestly

Above all, my brothers and sisters,

do not swear—

not by heaven or by earth

or by anything else.

Let your “Yes” be yes

and your “No” be no,

so that you may not fall under judgment.

The Healing Power of Prayer

Is anyone among you suffering?

Let them pray.

Is anyone cheerful?

Let them sing praises.

Is anyone among you sick?

Let them call the elders of the gathering,

and let them pray over them,

anointing them with oil in the name of the Master.

And the prayer offered in trust

will rescue the one who is sick.

The Master will raise them up.

And if they have committed wrongs,

they will be lifted from them.

Therefore, confess your failings to one another,

and pray for one another

so that you may be healed.

The prayer of a person made right is powerful and effective.

Elijah was a human being just like us.

He prayed fervently that it would not rain,

and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

Then he prayed again,

and the skies gave rain,

and the earth produced its fruit.

Restore the One Who Wanders

My brothers and sisters,

if anyone among you wanders from the truth

and someone brings them back,

know this:

Whoever turns a wandering one back to the path

rescues them from death

and covers a multitude of wrongs.