Tiago 2
Kent Hughes · Citado em PreceptAustin
Tiago 2
Hughes quips "The man almost glows! (Cf. Acts 10:30.) How great he looks with his Caribbean tan and the white linen Gatsbyesque suit and the panama. We are impressed! (James: Faith That Works - Page 87) Charles Swindoll - In the ancient Near East, it was customary for people of great wealth or nobility to wear jewel-studded garments of fine fabric like silk. Their garments announced that they were influential, powerful people who could change your life with the nod of their heads. (Insights on James, 1 & 2 Peter - Page 49) A T Robertson on gold ring (chrusodaktulios) - The word occurs nowhere else, but Lucian has chrusocheir (gold-handed) and Epictetus has chrusous daktulious (golden seal-rings). "Hannibal, after the battle of Cannae, sent as a great trophy to Carthage, three bushels of gold-rings from the fingers of Roman knights slain in battle" (Vincent). D Edmond Hiebert has an interesting note on rings in the ancient world - The wearing of a ring was customary among the Jews (Luke 15:22), but in Roman society, the wealthy wore rings on their left hand in profusion. A sign of wealth, rings were worn with great ostentation. There were even shops in Rome where rings could be rented for a special occasion. No doubt this ostentatious practice also spread to the provinces and would be known to James's readers. The practice of wearing rings as a manifestation of luxury and display invaded the churches. Clement of Alexandria (c. 155-c. 220) in his Paidagogos felt it necessary to urge Christians to wear only one ring because it was needed for purposes of sealing. The Apostolic Constitutions (c. 381) warned Christians against fine clothing and rings, since these were all signs of lasciviousness. (Commentary on James) William
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Hughes comments that "James views such an action (SHOWING FAVORITISM) as deliberate and ugly. It is not merely an excusable lack of courtesy, but a scandalous breach of God's love." (James: Faith That Works - Page 12) John
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Hughes comments that "It may seem like James is making a "big deal" out of the rather common sin of favoritism—"everyone does it." But he isn't, for favoritism indicates the tilt of one's soul. Christians who practice favoritism are flagrant lawbreakers. James has made favoritism a notorious sin, listing it with murder and adultery....Lives of favoritism are lives in jeopardy (ED: SEE THE THOUGHT BELOW - JEOPARDY MEANS "a source of danger; a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune"). What is our attitude in our heart of hearts toward the poor, toward other races, toward the uneducated? Do we favor the privileged? These are the questions of a moral theologian who is concerned that we have a real faith (ED COMMENT: "REAL FAITH" VERSUS "FALSE FAITH" IS THE MAIN SUBJECT OF THE REMAINDER OF THIS CHAPTER. THUS IN THIS CONTEXT THE PRACTICE OF THE SIN OF FAVORITISM RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GENUINENESS OF ONE'S FAITH. THIS WOULD ALSO EXPLAIN WHY JAMES HAD GONE TO SUCH GREAT LENGTHS TO POINT OUT THAT IT IS A SERIOUS TRANSGRESSION, NOT A TRIVIAL MATTER TO BE IGNORED! IT IS NOT BE "SWEPT UNDER THE RUG" BUT "PUT UNDER THE BLOOD!"). (SEE James: Faith That Works - Page 100) (Bold added) 🙏 THOUGHT - LET ME REPEAT A COMMENT FROM James 2:9 - "But habitual, blatant partiality (present tense) is a serious sin."
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Hughes has a sobering comment on this awesome day in the life of every believer when we will be judged by the law of liberty - This judgment will be no casual prelude to eternity. It will be a solemn time. True, some believers' works will be seen as "gold, silver, costly stones," but others will suffer immense shame for their "wood, hay or straw." Truly, our "work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames" (1 Cor. 3:12-15+). James, the Lord's brother, lived in awareness of this reality, and so commands those prone to favoritism to "Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom" (James 2:12). "Speak" and "act" are present active imperatives: keep on speaking and keep on acting in the reality of the coming judgment. This is sobering grist for spiritual meditation. You do not know my heart, and I do not know yours, but God does. And we are going to be relentlessly and perfectly judged (2Co 5:10+). (See James: Faith That Works - Page 13) Alexander Ross: We shall be judged… not so much by the observance or neglect of this or that external rule as by the degree in which our heart and life have been dominated by the spirit of love. Donald Burdick - Since he is speaking to believers, the judgment to which he refers must be the judgment of believers at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10). (page 1847 The Expositor's Bible Commentary) Warren Wiersbe said "Believers today must find their life and victory in God’s Word. Unless we know what God commands, we can’t obey Him; but if we know His commandments, believe them, and obey them, then His power goes to work in our lives. (ED: BE CAREFUL HERE - THIS ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE LEGALISM. THE TRUTH IS WE CAN ONLY OBEY THEM BY RELYING ON THE SPIRIT'S ENABLING POWER). “And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3+). Obeying the Lord becomes a joyful privilege when you realize that His commandments are expressions of His love, assurances of His strength, invitations to His blessing, opportunities to grow and bring Him glory, and occasions to enjoy His love and fellowship as we seek to please Him." (Bible Exposition Commentary - Old Testament ) David Nystrom: James thus links profession and action (see v. 12). His appeal to judgment is not foreign to the thought of the New Testament. Here is a strong reminder of the true center of the Christian life—the perfect law that is planted within us. It is in actions of self-sacrifice and love for others that the mettle of our faith is demonstrated. In a long passage (Matt. 25:31–46) Jesus makes the claim that the efficacy of faith is demonstrated in acts of mercy (providing for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the ill-clad, the sick, and the prisoner). For both Jesus and James, in other words, the law that is the fulcrum of judgment is the law of love for one’s neighbor. (NIVAC Bundle 8: General Epistles, Revelation - Page 232) Peter gives believers a caution regarding living under the law of liberty (using the same noun eleutheria) - Act (verb added by translators - this verse is a continuation of the sense of the command in 1 Pe 2:13+) as free (eleutheria) men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves (doulos) of God. (1 Peter 2:16+). Curtis Vaughan: Those who make a habit of judging others are inclined to forget that they themselves face a day when God will judge them. (James: Bible Study Commentary - Page 53) THE LAW OF LIBERTY Judged (krino) by the law of liberty (eleutheria) - It is not law that enslaves, but is law that frees, the law of love written on the heart by the Spirit, the law fulfilled not by external compulsion but by inner transformation (Jer 31:33; Ro 8:4). While believers are still called on to obey God's law, the law is no longer a burden but gives us freedom because instead of obeying now out of legalistic constraint, we obey out of love and joy (1Jn 5:2-3+, Jn 14:15+). We obey with thankful hearts because we are free from law's power, liberated by the Gospel and the gift of the indwelling Spirit (power) Who enables us to obey and please our Father (Php 2:13NLT+). In Ezekiel 36:26-27+ (new covenant) Yahweh says "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “(GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY) I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and (OUR RESPONSIBILITY) you will be careful to observe My ordinances." Do this and live, the law commands, but gives me neither feet nor hands. A better word the Gospel brings. It bids me fly and gives me wings. Brian Bell says the Law of liberty is "Not freedom from the obligations of moral law; it is freedom to fulfill the just requirements of the law." Ronald Blue explains why the law gives one liberty - God's Law, because of its wise constraints, brings true freedom (cf. James 1:25+). Disobedience to God's Law brings bondage. (Bible Knowledge Commentary - Page 825) John MacArthur in his comments on law of liberty in James 1:25 has this note - by referring to the Word as the law of liberty, James focused on its redemptive power in freeing believers from the bondage of sin and then freeing them to righteous obedience (John 8:34, 35, 36+). It allows us to serve God not out of fear or mere sense of duty, but out of gratitude and love. One day it also will free us from this world and its corruption; from our fallenness; from our flesh; from temptation; and from the curses of sin, death, and hell (ED: AND FROM THE PLEASURE OF SIN!). (see James MacArthur New Testament Commentary - Page 85) For believers the law of liberty could be summarized as follows... Freedom is not the right to do as we please. Freedom is the power to do as we should. The law of liberty is related to what Jesus said when He promised "So if the Son makes you free (eleutheroo), you will be free (eleutheros) indeed. (John 8:36+) Douglas Moo: God’s gracious acceptance of us does not end our obligation to obey him; it sets it on a new footing. No longer is God’s law a threatening, confining burden. For the will of God now confronts us as a law that gives freedom (see also Jas 1:25) – an obligation that is discharged in the joyful knowledge that God has both ‘liberated’ us from the penalty of sin and given us, in his Spirit, the power to obey his will. To use James’ own description, this law is ‘planted in’ us and has the power to save us (Jas 1:21). (The Letter of James - Page 22) In John MacArthur's comment on James 2:12 he writes that "The Gospel is the law of liberty because it frees those who place their faith in Jesus Christ from the bondage, judgment, and punishment of sin and brings them ultimately to eternal freedom and glory. It liberates us sinners from falsehood and deception and from the curses of death and hell. Even more marvelously, it frees us to obey and serve God, to live faithfully and righteously according to His Word and by the power of His indwelling Spirit. And it frees us to follow our Lord willingly out of love rather than reluctantly out of fear. In every sense, it is the "royal law" of God (v. 8), the divine and wondrous law of liberty. (James Commentary) Hiebert agrees writing that it "is not a law of liberty because it liberates us from obedience to God's holy Commandments, or as even from a single point in any of them; the Gospel itself and true faith impel us to this obedience." It is a divinely wrought motivation in the hearts of "those who love Him" (James 1:12; 2:5). (Commentary on James) Mitton on the law of liberty - This is the law which operates, not by outward enforcement, but when the love of Christ inwardly constrains (ED: EMPOWERED BY THE INDWELLING SPIRIT). It is part of the freedom of the children of God, which issues in glad and spontaneous obedience to Him, for the sake of pleasing Him Who has done so much for them, and in the glad assurance that what He commands is life's surest guide to deep and lasting happiness." ( The Epistle of James. 1966) Alec Motyer - Man is made in the image of God. Our true freedom depends on discovering how we can give expression to our true nature. How can we live so as to be like him? James answers this crucial question by his startling expression, the law of liberty. bringing together the two things which people think of as opposites, law and liberty! But, as we have seen, the law is the nature of God expressed in commandments. When we obey his commands, then we are living like him. We are in the image of God; the law is in the image of God. When we bring these two together, we are ‘being ourselves’; we are truly free. God’s law describes the life of true freedom; obedience opens the door into the free life. (The Message of James) Hiebert - The genitive "of liberty" is subjective, denoting that this law "gives" the experience of freedom in the lives of those who voluntarily observe it. The definite article with "liberty" "the liberty," points to the well-known Christian freedom from bondage that the believer knows through faith in Christ (John 8:31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36). As he submits himself to its transforming power, this law of liberty works in his life a disposition and ability to do God's will joyfully (Php 2:12+, Php 2:13+). It does not promote antinomianism but prompts obedience without compulsion. In Jas 2:12, the only other place in the New Testament where the designation "law of liberty" occurs, James associates it with the law of love. The believer is not free from the obligation to do God's will as revealed in His Word, but love works in him the desire to do his Father's will. Men are free when they want to do what they ought to do. This is the "splendid paradox" produced by a living faith in the gospel through the indwelling Holy Spirit. (Commentary on James) William
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Hughes - an unmerciful spirit reveals a heart that has not received mercy, but the heart which has been the object of divine mercy will be merciful. This is why the fifth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7+). If we are not merciful we have much to fear, for the beatitude becomes a curse parallel to James' words. The unmerciful will not receive mercy. A terrifying thought! A deeper terror in James' words is this: favoritism is evidence of an unmerciful spirit. The merciful do not ignore the poor in favor of the privileged, but reach out to them. James is saying that a life characterized by discrimination and favoritism indicates a damned soul! This is frightening moral theology from the brother of Jesus. (James: Faith That Works - Page 103) (Bold added) Kurt Richardson seem to be in agreement with Hughes - Failure to show mercy to those in need calls into question whether there has been any true act of repentance in face of God’s mercy. Instead of liberation, the full force of the law’s condemnation falls against those who break the law. (New American Commentary - James - Page 126) If we have shown mercy, then He will show mercy to us; if we have not shown mercy, then He will not show mercy to us. POSB agrees writing that "We shall receive a reciprocal reward for our behavior. God is going to treat us exactly as we have treated others. If we have shown mercy, then He will show mercy to us; if we have not shown mercy, then He will not show mercy to us. And note: there is only one thing that will rejoice victoriously over judgment and that is mercy. The judgment of God is going to swoop down and consume a person who has not shown mercy. Our only hope against the burning fire of God's judgment is mercy. Therefore, we must be merciful in order to escape the terrible judgment of God. (Borrow The Preacher's outline & sermon Bible) mercy should be the mark of the regenerated person. Donald W. Burdick - The reason for responding to the exhortation of v. 12 is that "judgment without mercy" will be the lot of the unmerciful. No doubt mercy is singled out because James has the poor man of v. 2 in mind. Instead of the mercy the man needed, he received cruel discrimination, and that at the hands of professing Christians. The basic principle that underlies v. 12a was stated by Christ himself (Matt 18:33). The recipient of mercy should likewise be merciful. In fact, mercy should be the mark of the regenerated person. If it is present in the believer's life, he will have nothing to fear at the judgment. It is in this sense that "mercy triumphs over judgment." The believer will be able to smile triumphantly in the time of judgment. In the same vein John declares, "Love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him" (1 John 4:17). The presence of love (or mercy) shows that God has performed a work of grace in the believer's heart, making him like Christ. As a result, he can have confidence when he is judged. (page 1848 The Expositor's Bible Commentary) R C H
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Hughes - Of course, there is an upside in his final sentence: “Mercy triumphs over judgment” (v. 13b). A heart full of mercy through faith in the mercy of God “triumphs over [literally boasts against] judgment.” A truly merciful Christian heart looks forward to judgment. The beauty of James’ practical, moral approach to faith is that it cuts through all the religious words and rhetoric. We can fool each other so easily, simply by learning to quote a few Bible verses and slip in some evangelical clichés. We can learn to give a proper Christian testimony and deliver it with apparent conviction, but that does not mean our faith is real. James is saying that real faith is not indicated only by avoiding the big no-no’s like murder and adultery, but by how we treat people, especially the needy. (James: Faith That Works - Page 103) George Stulac: This can be interpreted as a statement about the relative weight of two attributes of God, the point being that God rejoices in being able to overcome his judgment with his mercy. But it is better to take the mercy as human: our showing mercy triumphs over God’s judgment in that it defends us before God’s judgment seat. As Hort describes the image, ‘κρίσις [judgment] comes so to speak as the accuser before the tribunal of God, and ἐλεος [mercy] stands up fearlessly and as it were defiantly to resist the claim.’ Believers, in themselves, will always deserve God’s judgment: our conformity to the ‘royal law’ is never perfect, as it must be (vv. 10–11). But our merciful attitude and actions will count as evidence of the presence of Christ within us. And it is on the basis of this union with the One who perfectly fulfilled the law for us that we can have confidence for vindication at the judgment. (James - Page 131) Dale Allison: One suspects (i) that James adopts the traditional sentiment, that divine mercy trumps divine justice, in order to convey that mercy is what matters most and (ii) that the imitation dei is implicit: if mercy carries the day with God, it should carry the day with human beings. Augustus Toplady puts the great truth of mercy triumphing over judgment into verse... The judgments of Your holy law With me can have nothing to do My Savior’s obedience and blood Hide all my transgressions From view Dear believer who has received divine mercy and now are privileged to dispense mercy as God's representative, take a moment to play and ponder Toplady's beautiful hymn A Debtor to Mercy A debtor to mercy alone Of covenant mercy I sing I come with Your righteousness on My humble offering to bring The judgments of Your holy law With me can have nothing to do My Savior’s obedience and blood Hide all my transgressions From view The work which Your goodness began The arm of Your strength will complete Your promise is yes and amen And never was forfeited yet The future or things that are now No power below or above Can make You Your purpose forego Or sever my soul from Your love VERSE 3 My name from the palms of Your hands Eternity will not erase Impressed on Your heart it remains In marks of indelible grace Yes I, to the end will endure Until I bow down at Your throne Forever and always secure Forever and always secure Forever and always secure A debtor to mercy alone Jamieson echoes this thought - Mercy, so far from fearing judgment in the case of its followers, actually glorifieth against it, knowing that it cannot condemn them. Not that their mercy is the ground of their acquittal, but the mercy of God in Christ towards them, producing mercy on their part towards their fellow men, makes them to triumph over judgment, which all in themselves otherwise deserve. A T