James (Life Application Bible Commentary | LABC)
Overview
The book of James addresses practical issues that are as current as this morning’s newspaper. The faith that Christians claim must be demonstrated in every situation and circumstance of life-at work, at home, in the neighborhood, and in church. Trials and hardships are not obstacles to faith, but opportunities for spiritual growth. Knowing God’s Word is not enough. That knowledge must be applied to our everyday life. Study James and discover what it means to live for Christ in the real world.
About the Series
The Life Application Bible Commentary series provides verse-by-verse explanation, background, and application for every verse in the New Testament. In addition, it gives personal help, teaching notes, and sermon ideas that will address needs, answer questions, and provide insight for applying God’s Word to life today. The content is highlighted so that particular verses and phrases are easy to find.
Each volume contains three sections: introduction, commentary, and reference. The introduction includes an overview of the book, the book’s historical context, a timeline, cultural background information, major themes, an overview map, and an explanation about the author and audience.
The commentary section includes running commentary on the Bible text with reference to several modern versions, especially the New International Version and the New Revised Standard Version, accompanied by life applications interspersed throughout. Additional elements include charts, diagrams, maps, and illustrations. There are also insightful quotes from church leaders and theologians such as John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley, A. W. Tozer, and C. S. Lewis. These features are designed to help you quickly grasp the biblical information and be prepared to communicate it to others. The reference section includes a bibliography.
Top Highlights
“we are to choose to be joyful in situations where joy would naturally be our last response.” (Page 5)
“James is not encouraging believers to pretend to be happy. Rejoicing goes beyond happiness. Happiness centers on earthly circumstances and how well things are going here. Joy is God-oriented rather than event-oriented because it centers on God and his presence in our experience.” (Page 5)
“Quick to listen and slow to speak should be taken together as sides of the same coin. Slowness in speaking means speaking with humility and patience, not with hasty words or nonstop gabbing. Constant talking keeps a person from being able to hear. Wisdom is not always having something to say; it involves listening carefully, considering prayerfully, and speaking quietly. When we talk too much and listen too little, we communicate to others that we think our ideas are much more important than theirs. James wisely advises us to reverse this process. We need to put a mental stopwatch on our conversations and keep track of how much we talk and how much we listen. When people talk to us, do they feel that their viewpoints and ideas have value?” (Page 31)
“The truly wise person demonstrates his or her understanding of Christ by the way he or she lives.” (Page 84)
“In summary, James’s message is: ‘You don’t have what you desire because you don’t desire God.’ James is preparing us for a crucial lesson: Until we look at all of life, including our strongest desires, from the perspective of God’s plans and priorities for us, our life will be constantly hounded by the awareness that we do not have.” (Page 93)