James 1, verse 1. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
The Purpose of Trials
James 1, verse 2. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, James 1, verse 3. knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1, verse 4. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Wisdom for Trials
James 1, verse 5. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1, verse 6. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. James 1, verse 7. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; James 1, verse 8. he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1, verse 9. Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, James 1, verse 10. but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. James 1, verse 11. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
Temptations
James 1, verse 12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1, verse 13. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. James 1, verse 14. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. James 1, verse 15. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. James 1, verse 16. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. James 1, verse 17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1, verse 18. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
The Corrective: Hear and Do
James 1, verse 19. So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; James 1, verse 20. for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1, verse 21. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1, verse 22. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1, verse 23. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; James 1, verse 24. for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. James 1, verse 25. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. James 1, verse 26. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. James 1, verse 27. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.