James 1

1 From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To all of God’s people who are scattered everywhere in the world:
Greetings.

Faith and Wisdom

2 My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy,3 because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience.4 Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need.5 But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you.6 But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind.

7-8 Such doubters are thinking two different things at the same time, and they cannot decide about anything they do. They should not think they will receive anything from the Lord.

True Riches

9 Believers who are poor should take pride that God has made them spiritually rich.10 Those who are rich should take pride that God has shown them that they are spiritually poor. The rich will die like a wild flower in the grass.

11 The sun rises with burning heat and dries up the plants. The flower falls off, and its beauty is gone. In the same way the rich will die while they are still taking care of business.

Temptation Is Not from God

12 When people are tempted and still continue strong, they should be happy. After they have proved their faith, God will reward them with life forever. God promised this to all those who love him.13 When people are tempted, they should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone.14 But people are tempted when their own evil desire leads them away and traps them.

15 This desire leads to sin, and then the sin grows and brings death.
16 My dear brothers and sisters, do not be fooled about this.17 Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows.

18 God decided to give us life through the word of truth so we might be the most important of all the things he made.

Listening and Obeying

19 My dear brothers and sisters, always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily,20 because anger will not help you live the right kind of life God wants.

21 So put out of your life every evil thing and every kind of wrong. Then in gentleness accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts, which can save you.
22 Do what God’s teaching says; when you only listen and do nothing, you are fooling yourselves.23 Those who hear God’s teaching and do nothing are like people who look at themselves in a mirror.24 They see their faces and then go away and quickly forget what they looked like.

25 But the truly happy people are those who carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free, and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God’s teaching says. Those who do this will be made happy.

The True Way to Worship God

26 People who think they are religious but say things they should not say are just fooling themselves. Their “religion” is worth nothing.27 Religion that God accepts as pure and without fault is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help, and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence.

James 1

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are of the Dispersion, greeting.2 Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations;3 Knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience.4 And let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing.5 But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.6 But let him ask in faith, nothing doubting: for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.7 For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord;8 a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways.9 But let the brother of low degree glory in his high estate:10 and the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.11 For the sun ariseth with the scorching wind, and withereth the grass: and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his goings.12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him.13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man:14 but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.15 Then the lust, when it hath conceived, beareth sin: and the sin, when it is fullgrown, bringeth forth death.16 Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.19 Ye know this, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:20 for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.21 Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.23 For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:24 for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.25 But he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing.26 If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man’s religion is vain.27 Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.