Chronological Life Application Study Bible 2nd Edition - Flipbook - Page 11
DIVIDED KINGDOM
930–586 BC
EXILE
586–538 BC
RETURN & DIASPORA
538–6 BC
about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are
rich should boast that God has humbled them. They
will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot
sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops
and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way,
the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing
and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown
of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not
say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do
wrong,* and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us
and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful
JESUS THE MESSIAH
6 BC–AD 30
THE MESSIAH’S PEOPLE
AD 30–present
actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth
to death.
16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.
17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down
to us from God our Father, who created all the lights
in the heavens.* He never changes or casts a shifting
shadow.* 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us
his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his
prized possession.*
Listening and Doing
JAMES 1:19-27
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You
must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow
Jas 1:13 Or God should not be put to a test by evil people. Jas 1:17a Greek from above, from the Father of lights. Jas 1:17b Some manuscripts read He never changes,
as a shifting shadow does. Jas 1:18 Greek we became a kind of firstfruit of his creatures.
wise person chooses the most likely reason
and proceeds to take action.
(2) It is divine. God’s wisdom goes beyond
common sense. Common sense does not
lead us to choose joy in the middle of trials.
This wisdom begins with respect for God,
leads to living by God’s direction, and results
in the ability to tell right from wrong. James 3
describes that wisdom at length.
(3) It is being like Jesus. Asking for wisdom
is ultimately asking to be like the Messiah.
The Bible identifies Jesus as the “wisdom of
God” (1 Cor 1:24; 2:1-7).
Jas 1:6 We must believe not only in the
existence of God but also in his loving care.
This includes relying on God and expecting
that he will hear and answer when we pray.
We must put away our critical attitude when
we come to him. God does not grant every
thoughtless or selfish request. We must have
confidence that God will align our desires
with his purposes. (For more on this concept,
see the note on Matt 21:22, p. 1457.)
Jas 1:6 A person with divided loyalty is not
completely convinced that God’s way is best.
He treats God’s Word like any human advice
and retains the option to disobey. He vacillates
between allegiance to subjective feelings, the
world’s ideas, and God’s commands. If your
faith is new, weak, or struggling, remember
that you can trust God. Then be loyal by committing yourself wholeheartedly to God.
Jas 1:6-8 If you have ever seen the constant rolling of huge waves at sea, you know
how restless they are—subject to the forces
of wind, gravity, and tide. Divided loyalty
leaves a person as unsettled as the restless
waves. If you want to stop being tossed
about, rely on God to show you what is best
for you. Ask him for wisdom, and trust that he
will give it to you. Then your decisions will be
sure and solid.
Jas 1:9 Faith in Jesus brings a new dignity
to the poor and not-so-influential people
of this world. That dignity is most apparent
among believers, where there are not (or
should not be) any class distinctions. All
believers share the distinction and dignity
of being changed by the gospel and being
charged with the mission of taking that same
Good News to the rest of the world. Believers
know they have dignity before God because
Jesus died for them. Mary, the mother of
Jesus, is a great example of this truth. The
dignity that she displayed when she realized
what God had done for her is seen in her
prayer of praise, called the Magnificat (Luke
1:46-55). Whatever our social or economic
situation, James challenges us to see beyond
it to our eternal advantages. What we can
have in Jesus outweighs anything in this
life. Knowing him gives us our high position,
where we find our true dignity.
Jas 1:9-11 The poor should be glad that
riches mean nothing to God; otherwise these
people would be considered unworthy. The
rich should be glad that money means nothing to God because money is easily lost. We
find true wealth by developing our spiritual
lives, not by developing our financial assets.
God is interested in what is lasting (our
souls), not in what is temporary (our money
and possessions). See Mark 4:18-19 for
Jesus’ words on this subject. Strive to treat
each person as Jesus would.
Jas 1:10-11 If God is not impressed by
wealth, power, and status, why should we
be? How sad it is when people invest their
lives in gaining possessions that are merely
temporary. When you set your goals, remember that God is deeply interested in what is in
your heart. Treasure him first, and what you
gain will endure for eternity.
Jas 1:12 The crown of life is like the victory
wreath given to winning athletes (see 1 Cor
9:25). God’s crown of life is not glory and
honor here on earth but the reward of eternal
life—living with God forever. The way to be
in God’s winners’ circle is by loving him and
staying faithful even under pressure.
Jas 1:12-15 Temptation comes from evil
desires inside us, not from God. It begins with
an evil thought and becomes sin when we
dwell on the thought and allow it to become
an action. Like a snowball rolling downhill, sin
grows more destructive the more we let it have
its way. The best time to stop a temptation is
before it is too strong or moving too fast to
control. (See Matt 4:1-11; 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Tim
2:22 for more about escaping temptation.)
Jas 1:13-14 People who live for God often
wonder why they still have temptations.
Does God tempt them? God tests people,
but he does not tempt them by trying to
seduce them to sin. God allows Satan to
tempt people in order to refine their faith and
to help them grow in their dependence on
Jesus. We can resist the temptation to sin by
turning to God for strength and choosing to
obey his Word.
Jas 1:13-15 It is easy to blame others and
make excuses for evil thoughts and wrong
actions. We use excuses like these: (1) It’s
the other person’s fault. (2) I couldn’t help
it. (3) Everybody’s doing it. (4) It was just a
mistake. (5) Nobody’s perfect. (6) The devil
made me do it. (7) I was pressured into it.
(8) I didn’t know it was wrong. (9) God is
tempting me. A person who makes excuses
is trying to shift the blame to something or
someone else. As a believer, accept responsibility for your wrongs, confess them, and
ask God for forgiveness.
Jas 1:17 The Bible often compares goodness with light and evil with shadow and
darkness. (For other passages where God is
pictured as light, see Ps 27:1; Isa 60:19-22;
John 1:1-14.)
Jas 1:19 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. Put a mental stopwatch
on your conversations, and keep track of
how much you talk and how much you listen.
When people talk with you, do they feel that
their viewpoints and ideas have value?
Jas 1:19-20 These verses speak of anger
that erupts when our ego is bruised: “I am
hurt”; “My opinions are not being heard.”
When injustice and sin occur, we should
become angry because others are being
hurt. But we should not become angry when
we fail to win an argument or when we feel
offended or neglected. Selfish anger never
helps anybody.
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