James (12) Grace Then Law

James 4:6 begins: But he gives us more grace. What wonderful and dare I say gracious words.
But you should note that in the verses that follow (7-10), James lists ten imperatives, ten commands.
• Submit yourselves, then, to God
• Resist the devil, and he will flee from you
• Come near to God and he will come near [...]

During the week I was preparing the sermon on the first part of James 4, I came across an extended passage from George Orwell’s 1984 quoted in Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation by James K. A. Smith. (I highly recommend this book.) In the passage, Winston (Smith) and Julia talk [...]

When James writes about controlling our tongues, I am not so sure that he connects with us because we live in a culture and society which prides itself on the freedom to say whatever we want, whenever we want. The idea of controlling one’s tongue sounds so foreign, suspiciously like censorship. And then [...]

In the first part of James 3, the author deals with the second point of his sermon: controlling one’s tongue. This is not the first time James has broached the subject. (see 1:19 and 1:26) And James was not the first writer in Scripture to mention the importance of one’s speech. [...]

The second half of James 2 is probably the most controversial portion of the book. What James writes here has bothered many as it appears to contradict what we read elsewhere in the New Testament. He seems to have a different view of the Gospel than what we find in Paul’s epistles. [...]