Loading…

James is unavailable, but you can change that!

In his commentary on James, D. Edmond Hiebert offers a richly practical study of this letter from Jesus’ younger brother. Hiebert presents insights that are valuable for both the lay person and the scholar that show how, far from contradicting Paul’s letters, James’ passionate pleas for obedience are a grace-filled complement to them.

The attitude called for is to be displayed “whenever you face trials of many kinds.” As Blue notes, “Most people count it all joy when they escape trials. James said to count it all joy in the midst of trials.”8 Here the rendering “temptations” (KJV; ASV) is rather unfortunate and confusing. The context makes it clear that the term (peirasmoi) is not now used with the sense of solicitation to evil but rather in the objective sense of trials. The reference cannot be to inner temptations to sin as
Page 63