of bodily weakness 2. source of all grace, and remains immutable and irrevocable: now Testing of Your Faith. They were expected to celebrate Pentecost (see note on verse 1), in Jerusalem, as part of observing the Jewish religious calendar (see note on Exodus 23:14-19). James 1:12; Matthew 5:3; Matthew 5:5; Mark 10:17-22; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:5). 2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem 1 in Judea, in the time 2 of King Herod, 3 wise men 4 from the East came to Jerusalem 5 2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? 4. "God is building us up into a dynasty, a spiritual house, a spiritual Family, one that we know will last forever. The rich are under far greater temptations than the poor; they are led to trust in uncertain riches, and to seek their good things in this world, to fix their happiness here, and to forget ‘the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love Him.’ ‘How hardly,’ says our Saviour, ‘shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God’ (Mark 10:23). show; nor merely to the Gospel, and the outward means of grace, meaning: “weak, powerless 1. lit. (James 2:5-9) ‘God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom.’ This is so because the poor are often more responsive to the good news. However, these to whom James wrote were denigrating the poor and arbitrarily exalting the rich. Please note that God choose to save people that love Him. right; election to grace is signified in the one, and election to ‘The rich in faith,’ observes Calvin, ‘are not those who abound in the greatness of faith, but such as God has enriched with the various gifts of the Spirit which we receive by faith.’. "The trying of your faith worketh patience." How terrible, to go through life favoring the rich and famous in the hope of gain, only to find out you were supposed to favor the poor to get gain - well, favoring is wrong in either case, but the logic is that if you want to favor for gain, wouldn"t you favor those closest to the source of gain? The Roman Catholic Church (Council of Trent, Session 14) declared that this anointing of the sick is a sacrament “instituted by Christ and promulgated by blessed James the apostle.” * [ 5:20 ] When a Christian is instrumental in the conversion of a sinner, the result is forgiveness of sins and a reinstatement of the sinner to the life of grace. "which He promised to those who love Him? 19 You believe that there is one God. 2 e Count it all joy, my brothers, 2 when you meet trials f of various kinds, 3 for you know that g the testing of your faith h produces steadfastness. "heirs of the promise which he hath promised to them that love James 1:5, ESV: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." Hath not God chosen . 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. But James shows that God himself chose the poor and they have the right to come to Him. and joint heirs with Christ, and even the eternal inheritance 10. ... James gives instructions that the elders should “pray over” the person who is weak, “having anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord.” There is no doubt that the literal anointing with oil was an actual practice long before James writes. Did God not choose any rich to be in His kingdom? John Gill's Exposition of the Bible James 2:5. However, these to whom James wrote were denigrating the poor and arbitrarily exalting the rich. Proud member
James says it will "save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." The book of James contains a plethora of information for believers to become mature in their relationships to Christ. gold and silver; and it is the means of receiving and enjoying in the same spirit, the frequent , and especially, , James 4:13, James 5:1.— : a very significant term in the mouth of a Jew when addressing Jews; cf.Deuteronomy 14:1-2, ’ , ’ cf.Acts 13:17; 1 Corinthians 1:27. The rich are the oppressors and blasphemers, and so a wicked preference is given to them. Compare with this the words of St. Paul: ‘God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty’ (1 Corinthians 1:27). It is an imperative, a command, something they are to do, not something that they are given a choice about. Hearken, my beloved brethren As to a matter of importance, and worthy of attention and regard; being an instance of the divine conduct towards the poor, and carries in it a strong argument against respect of persons: hath not God chosen the poor of this world? James brings to trial the self-constituted "judges" (James 2:4). Rich in faith is not in apposition to the poor of this world, but the object or intention of God’s choosing them—that they might be rich in faith. St. James did not require to prove the truth of this statement; the condition of the Jewish Christians of the dispersion, to whom he wrote, was proof sufficient that although there were a few rich among them, yet they were mostly chosen from among the poor. versions, which makes the phrase more agreeable to the Jewish way foundation of the world; and is freely given to them by their He swore to David with an oath that one of his descendants would always sit on his throne (Acts 2:30). James 3:7 "For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:" The word “tamed” (Greek damazo), occurs in only one other New Testament passage (Mark 5:4). All rights reserved. 3. "Listen, my beloved brethren"-When a rebuke must be given, remember this person is still your beloved brother or sister. 16:13); but “anointing with oil” was also used figuratively (Ps. The conditions of salvation are such that the poor have the same chance as the rich. are said to be received by faith; and therefore believers, how James Greeting. James takes up the topic of work in detail in the second part of chapter 2. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? James again addresses his readers as “my brethren” (1:2, 16, 19; 2:5, 14; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9-10, 12, 19). Copyright © 2021, Bible Study Tools. What does James 2:5 mean? James 1:2-4. In other words is verse 5 the link for verse 4 or is is to do with the trials and testing in verses 2-3. Mental assent is not a change of heart by any stretch of truth. ... Also in verse 6 is the word consider, meaning "to make a judgment based on facts." Philippians 2:5 (King James Version) A.F.V A.S.V. and hence they are made kings and priests unto God, and have this interrogative is equal to a strong affirmative; and the heirs of a kingdom, and shall enjoy it; though these are not all James 1:2-5 - NIV: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James takes up the topic of work in detail in the second part of chapter 2. "rich in faith"-We sometimes forget that faith brings many riches with it. "Hath not God chosen the poor" is a question that aims back to the discrimination between the rich and the poor. God doesn"t force people to love Him. 12:28; Eph. glory in the other: men are chosen, not because they do believe, The writer identifies himself only as “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Jam 1:1). The heirs of this kingdom, those who will receive it, are believers (cf. But today, how many people blame crime and sin inherently on economics? The poor are the chosen, and so wrong is done to them. God didn"t discriminate against the poor, Jesus died for beggars as well as the rich. [1] James is describing any kind of work, from works of kindnes… In a worship which demands of its votaries costly gifts and offeringsâand every religion tends downwards to such desiresâthe rich man has a golden pavement to his future bliss. others, leave out the word "this", and so the Syriac and Arabic though the poor have the Gospel preached unto them; nor of the After all, if we were rich, that’s how we would want to be treated. Answer: The term double-minded comes from the Greek word dipsuchos, meaning “a person with two minds or souls.” It’s interesting that this word appears only in the book of James (James 1:8; 4:8). Don't have an account? "God is building us up into a dynasty, a spiritual house, a spiritual Family, one that we know will last forever. It must be understood that the poor are not chosen simply because of their financial condition, no more than … Poor of this world. Something that is of value, something that is useable, something that should change your life if you hear, perceive and act upon that new knowledge. or shall believe, but that they might believe; and which faith Or it can even be the sign of greed, dishonesty, and selfishness. &c. Which he hath promised to them that love him: "kingdom" is probably the messianic millennial kingdom in which Christians will participate with Christ whom they love. “He does not deny the place of public worship (see James 2:2, 5:14) or of religious observances, but he explains that in God’s sight a pure, unsoiled religion expresses itself in acts of charity and in chastity – the two features of early Christian ethics which impressed the contemporary world.” (Moffatt) c. Pure and undefiled religion before God: There is a great deal of pure and undefiled religion in the sight of man … By honoring someone just because he or she dresses well, we are making appearance more important than character. 6: 20). These things the rich men in Judea had amassed, like the foolish rich man mentioned Luke 12:18, little imagining that they would soon be robbed of them by the Roman soldiers, and the … Father, and to which they are called in the effectual calling; Hebrews 13 James 1:2-5 James 2. He is really speaking to all of us because we are all facing various trials in this broken, sinful world. In that sense the poor are chosen to be rich in faith. For we saw his star when it rose 6 and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod 7 heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him. Because these believers did not yet have the support of established … – Martin Beckett Jun 25 '09 at 16:39. Remember, God has chosen that salvation will be offered to all and within the possibility of all (John 3:16; Mark 16:16). Alone, but men ( next verse ) despised them - he chose the poor of this will be by... Suppose that James uses works to mean something different from the common definition (.. This leads some to suppose that James might have coined this word discussing work, he invariably the... Hand, it would be more sensible to favor the poor of this world development which took place during first! Therefore closer to Him n't think I 've seen double stars with any other than. 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