1. In verse 22 the phrase is to "BE a doer of the Word". Note that it does not merely say "DO the Word." In other Words, acitng upon the truth s of the Scriptures should be your life. It should be the title of your life.
2. A common fault among the leaders of James' day was to dive into a spiritual argument and even presume to speak on behalf of God. Verse 19 warns agains this, and concludes that quick speech leads to arguments, which leads to anger. This is also a common fault among many Christians today - not being able to learn to keep our mouths shut at times.
3. Verse 5 is especially powerful. God gives generously without finding fault. This is amazing. The word is oneidizo and means reproach or throwing something back in one's face. I believe this means an "I told you so" attitude, among other things. I like this verse , because when I come to God and ask for help, He's not going to stretch it out into a "time out" session and harp on my weaknesses; I am pretty aware of them as it is. rather, His loving benevolence causes me to praise Him even more.
4. Verse 25, "the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom" and acts upon that freedom will be blessed. If we could only get this point locked into our hearts! The Christian who studies and understands the law of love knows that he will serve Jesus not out of the system of the Law, but the service of Love - and his service will be even more intense!
How many times have I run into people - even Christians - who grate against the idea of serving God for no other reason than they don't want to be told what to do! I will hear complaining and vacuous arguments about the "fear of rules." The Christian feels that rules and regulations (yea, even the very mention of the words) emits an unknown evil in the presence of the Christian. What tripe!
My wife Jill has a need for medication and tells me I must get to the pharmacy before 7 p.m. because that's when it closes - she has given me a strict rule on beating a deadline. Do I complain? No - because I love her! It doesn't even seem like a rule.
When I played football as right guard and was told by our coach that the movement on the line was at the three count - did I complain? No, because I loved football and respected our coach, and I wanted to be a football player. I was more than willing to get on the field and follow the guidelines.
Christians, are you getting the message here? Re-read all the points above one more time. Think. Quit complaining and grow up.
