James Chapter 1

James 1

King James Version

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

James presents wisdom not as something gained merely through age or experience, but as a gift from God that equips us to live rightly and make sound choices. True wisdom begins with a heart that fears the Lord and trusts fully in Him (Proverbs 9:10). It’s not earned through life’s hardships alone, but given generously by God to those who ask in faith (James 1:5). God never withholds wisdom from His children. However, when we rely on our own understanding and leave God out of the equation, we quickly find ourselves on unstable ground and heading for trouble (Proverbs 3:5-6).

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:

10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

When we surrender to temptation and allow our sinful desires to take root, sin is conceived. And if that sin is allowed to grow unchecked, it leads ultimately to spiritual death (James 1:15; Romans 6:23). Sin never stays small—it always aims to dominate and destroy. What begins as a moment of weakness can end in complete ruin if we do not turn back to God in repentance.

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

God, our heavenly Father, is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). His heart is inclined to bless His children, and He delights in pouring out His goodness. Yet many struggle to trust Him fully, even when His blessings are clearly present. Often, the issue lies not only in our ability to receive His gifts but also in our unwillingness to respond to His Word. It is one thing to hear Scripture—it is another to obey it. Far too many store up biblical knowledge without allowing it to transform their lives. James makes it clear: authentic faith is not merely spoken or thought—it is lived. True religion, in his eyes, is seen in daily obedience, active compassion, and a life that reflects the character of Christ (James 1:22, 27).

23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.