James 1-5 Faith without Works Is Dead

Testing Your Faith

Jas 1:1 LSB -
[1] James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes who are in the Dispersion: Greetings.

Jas 1:5-6 LSB - 

[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, doubting nothing, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

Jas 1:18 LSB - 

[18] In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

Doers of the Word

Jas 1:19 LSB - [19] Know [this], my beloved brothers. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak [and] slow to anger;

Jas 1:27 LSB - [27] Pure and undefiled religion before [our] God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep oneself unstained by the world.

The Sin of Favoritism

Jas 2:5 LSB - [5] Listen, my beloved brothers: did not God choose the poor of this world [to be] rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

Jas 2:8 LSB - [8] If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well.

Jas 2:10-11 LSB - 

[10] For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one [point], he has become guilty of all. 

[11] For He who said, "DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," also said, "DO NOT MURDER." Now if you do not commit adultery, but murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Faith and Works

Jas 2:15-17 LSB - 

[15] If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 

[16] and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for [their] body, what use is that? 

[17] Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself.

Jas 2:26 LSB - [26] For just as the body without [the] spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

The Tongue Is a Fire

Jas 3:8-10 LSB - 

[8] But no one can tame the tongue; [it is] a restless evil [and] full of deadly poison. 

[9] With it we bless [our] Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. 

[10] From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Wisdom from Above

Jas 3:17 LSB - [17] But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, without doubting, without hypocrisy.

Draw Near to God

Jas 4:5 LSB - [5] Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"?

Jas 4:10 LSB - [10] Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

Life Is a Vapor

Jas 4:15 LSB - [15] Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

Miseries of the Rich

Patience and Perseverance

Jas 5:11 LSB - [11] Behold, we count those blessed who persevere. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and [is] merciful.

Jas 5:13 LSB - [13] Is anyone among you suffering? [Then] he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 

Jas 5:14-16 LSB - 

[14] Is anyone among you sick? [Then] he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 

[15] And the prayer offered in faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 

[16] Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.