Study
1 From the Book of James is: James 1:1-18
A
distinction is drawn in this passage between ‘trials’ (verse 2, 12), which may
have positive effects (cf 1 Pet. 1:7), and ‘temptation’ (verses 13f.) which is
the enticement to evil conceived within the human heart.
1. Verses 2-7,
12. What is our mental attitude to trials to be. What is their purpose and
goal? In trying situations wisdom (cf. 3:17) us be necessary. How in particular
is this wisdom to be obtained?
2. Verses
13-15. What is the origin of temptation, and what are the inevitable products
of yielding to it? How can we avoid being deceived, and gain strength to
overcome?
3. Verses 9-11,
16-18. Contrast the impermanence of men, poor and rich alike, with the
changeless consistency of God our Father. What also is God’s will for us, and
what means does He use to fulfil it? How should these truths influence our
attitude to life?
Notes
2. Verse 17b.
The eternal Source of light is not, like the heavenly bodies, subject to
variation or eclipse.
3. Verse 18. ‘A
kind of first fruits’: the first fruits were evidence that the harvest had begun,
and promise of more to follow.
