James 1:13-14 says: Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire (ESV). The NIV translates epithumia as “evil desires”, although whilst… Continue reading “Temptation comes from our own desires” What does James have to say about sin, desire and temptation?
Tag: James
Submitting to one another and learning love languages
My friend Steve Kneale has written a very helpful article here about how we learn to experience love across cultures. In his article, he picks up on how the concept of “love languages” has often been misunderstood and misused. Steve, observes that too often, people talk in terms of what their “love language” is meaning… Continue reading Submitting to one another and learning love languages
Faith at work, teaching James
Over the past couple of months I’ve been sharing my teaching notes for the Epistle of James. You can now read it all in one place via the latest Faithroots’ E-Book All of the resources on Faithroots are available free of charge to help make theological resources accessible to as many as possible, particularly those… Continue reading Faith at work, teaching James
Life Together
Reading James will also remind us of the corporate dimension to our faith. This is not a letter to be read and applied individually in the privacy of your own home. I should apply what it says to my own life but I should also, all the more, see it as something written for whole… Continue reading Life Together
Self Examination
Far from sitting in contradiction to the rest of the New Testament, particularly Paul’s epistles, the letter of James can be seen to compliment and flesh out both Paul’s teaching and that of Jesus. James offers us a vision of the practical Christian life with obedience to God flowing out of and demonstrating our faith… Continue reading Self Examination
Faith, prayer and healing
So, how are we to respond to our trials? What does real, living faith look like? Well, James has been showing us that real faith is trust in God which is put into action. This affects how we speak to and about one another, it affects our attitudes and actions towards each other. But faith,… Continue reading Faith, prayer and healing
Patience as a better way
How do you respond to hard times? The temptation, and the one that the richer members of James’ audience had fallen for, is to look after yourself at any cost. The motto of such people is “Let everyone else suffer, I’m not so weak.” So, difficult times encourage exploitation as we seek to protect our… Continue reading Patience as a better way
The fate of the rich
Wealth was often seen as a mark of blessing in the ancient near east. Even today, we can confuse success with God’s favour. A look at the text (read James 5:1-6) The invite to the rich is repeated, they are summoned to come but not to celebrate and receive, rather to weep and mourn as… Continue reading The fate of the rich
A different kind of invite
Frequently in Scripture, there is a sense that people are summoned, called. Sometimes they are invited to come and receive good things from God, at other times they are summoned to give an account for themselves and to face judgement and consequences. It is in the latter sense that James issues an invite or summons… Continue reading A different kind of invite
Boasting and the future
As we move towards the end of the letter, James is continuing to help us to see what true faith is all about. Read James 4:13-5:20. Faith can easily be confused with confidence and so there is a warning against boasting. This is particularly given to the wealthy who may be tempted to go around… Continue reading Boasting and the future
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