By Sam E. Stone God made covenants with various individuals in Old Testament times, as well as with the nation of Israel as a whole. Before Samuel died, he anointed David as king of Israel. Shortly after returning the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, David was troubled by how things looked. While he […]
By Sam E. Stone In today’s text, James returns to a subject introduced earlier in his letter—proper use of the tongue (see James 1:19, 26). He identifies himself as a fellow believer with his readers. When he warns that teachers will be judged more strictly, James does not mean just “official teachers” (apostles, prophets, […]
By Sam E. Stone Some Bible teachers suggest that Paul and James disagree with each other about the place of faith and works in a person’s salvation. They don’t, however. In today’s text James did not attack Paul’s teaching that a Christian is saved by God’s grace. Instead he corrected what A. T. Robertson […]
By Sam E. Stone Edwin Markham once said, “We have committed the Golden Rule to memory; now let’s commit it to life.” That is James’s point. In this chapter he insists on consistent Christianity. Spiros Zodhiates observed, “Whenever James is about to scold the believers of his day, he likes to preface the scolding […]
By Sam E. Stone Most Bible scholars believe that the James who wrote this epistle is the one who was a brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55). Though he was skeptical of Jesus during his ministry (John 7:5), James was convinced that Jesus was the Son of God after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). James […]
