James 1:1-8

1: James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. 
2: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3:  knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 
4: And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5: But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 
6: But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 
7: For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8:  being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

*** 

James, the Lord’s brother, was the bishop of Jerusalem, and called James the Just. Some believe the James who wrote this epistle and was the leader of the Jerusalem church was not the Lord’s brother but James the Less. However, after researching both sides, this is the more viable opinion.1 It is believed He wrote this letter between 50-60 A.D. and was martyred in 62 A.D. It’s addressed to the twelve tribes—the Israelites—who were scattered abroad. As Paul was called to the Gentiles, James was to the Jews.

He spoke of enduring various kinds of trials and said to consider it “all joy” when they were encountered. This can be more easily done when one knows that the testing of their faith produces endurance, which results in their becoming perfect and complete—not lacking in anything—once endurance is allowed to have its “perfect result.” This gives hope and purpose to the many trials and testing of faith a believer endures.

James said if anyone lacked wisdom to ask God for it. God will generously give it without reproach, but it must be asked for in faith, without doubt. He explained that the one who doubts is like one tossed around by the wind in the sea. To doubt is to be double-minded, unstable in every way. That person cannot expect to receive anything from the Lord.

Speaking to Jewish believers, and possibly Jews who were not believers in Christ, James immediately  addressed the need for unwavering faith in the Lord. As Paul said in Hebrews, one who comes to God must believe that He is—that He exists—and that He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). This is the kind of faith that pleases God, and this is the kind of faith James speaks of here. We must know Him whom we believe in, and know that He desires to be involved in our lives, and to answer our prayers.



1 https://www.gotquestions.org/life-James.html; 
 https://www.gotquestions.org/James-son-of-Alphaeus.html; https://biblehub.com/commentaries/james/1-1.htm, retrieved September 5, 2021
Pavao, Paul. "The Death of James the Just, the Brother of Jesus Christ" Christian History for Everyman. Greatest Stories Ever Told. 2014. Accessed 2/27/2022. 
https://www.christian-history.org/death-of-james.html; https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/jude/1.htm

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