Resisting the Temptation of Anger

Exegesis

I. James 1:19-25

II. The exhortation of James to Christians to avoid anger and to live actively accordingly to the principles of their beliefs as Christians.

III. In these verses, James states that anger is not aligned with God’s righteousness but rather with the wicked wrath that leads souls away from God. He argues that one must act according to the Word of God. If he professes to be a Christian but does not act in accordance with Christ’s teaching, he will not be blessed.

IV. The text begins with a command for understanding (1:19). It urges followers to listen rather than rush to speak or to get angry (1:19-20). The text focuses first on the need for patience. It is suggested that through patience and meekness, understanding comes (1:21). It continues by urging followers to not only hear the Word of God but also to do as the Word commands (1:22-25).

V. The literary genre of the text is of the wisdom literary genre. It corresponds with the later exhortation in James that faith without works is dead (James 2:26). It also aligns with other reminders in Scripture that faith must be demonstrated in a labor of love and charity toward others (1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 13:3; Galatians 5:6). This text is distinctive in that it stresses the virtue of patience and insists that understanding through patience is a predicate for being able to do and not just hear the Word.

VI. The text is non-narrative but it is situated within the context of a chapter that focuses on the association between faith and wisdom, and why those who resist temptation are blessed. The chapter closes with a description of what religion is, pure and simple: purity and charity summarize it. The text itself addresses the conflict between receiving the gospel and implementing it one’s life. James indicates that he who hears but does not do will not be blessed (1:25).

VII. The NRSV states: “But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.” The GNT by contrast puts it this way: “But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you will be blessed by God in what you do.” Likewise, the NLT states:  “But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” The NRSV provides a literal translation of the phrase “law of liberty” whereas the dynamic translations of the GNT and NLT emphasize that God’s law is one that sets one free, the connotation being that it frees one from the snares of the devil. This is unclear or at least only implied by the literal text.

VIII. There are no significant disagreements between this text and other ancient manuscripts.

IX. The short phrase “those who look at themselves” (1:23) is from the Greek word that means “at the face of his birth.” This phrase is therefore is an indication that one is forgetting the nature of the face with which he was born, i.e., one’s fallen nature. The mirror connotation suggests that one only sees externally the nature of one’s surface self. He who does not act according to the principles of God, however, is ignorant of his spiritual nature.

X. This text comes from the first chapter of the epistle, so no full passage precedes it. However, the preceding verses emphasize the generous act of giving, which is the nature of God—He is the giver of all things (1:17-18). The passage that follows emphasizes the practical aspect of religion. It indicates that one who professes religion but does not know how to hold his own tongue from slanderous remarks is one whose religion is useless (1:26). Interpreting the text in this setting allows us to see that a Christian is meant to give to others just as God gives to him.

XI. The passage that follows this text in the next chapter warns followers against partiality (2:1-13) and again emphasizes the practicality of religion by reminding followers that faith without works of charity is “dead” (2:14-26). Interpreting the text in this setting allows us to see that a Christian must live his faith in the sense that he must show love to all people. There is not to be any reservations of love. To withhold love is to be ungodly.

XII. The entire context of the book can be understood best from the historical perspective. James emphasizes practical wisdom in this text by suggesting that the followers not be hypocrites.[footnoteRef:1] The Jews were at odds with the Romans. James wanted to emphasize that the Jewish Christians to whom the book is written were meant to be different from the Romans and the world, which cared not for the poor. Again and again throughout James admonishes them to put their religion into practice with respect to the poor (1:26–27; 2:1-4; 2:14-19; 5:1-6) and to separate themselves from the ways of the world (1:26-27; 2:11; 3:13-18; 4:1-10). [1: Carl R. Holladay, A Critical Introduction to the New Testament, 2 volumes (Nashville: Abingdon, 2005), chapter 22.]

XIII. Romans 2:12-16 asserts, like James 1:19-25, that “it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (Romans 2:13). Paul makes the case that those who sin, whether they are adhering to the Jewish law or whether they are Gentiles outside the law, will be condemned by God—for everyone knows what is right and wrong, regardless of their affiliation. This aligns with what James says: a Christian must show his worthiness by demonstrating kindness to others.

XIV. The concept of becoming “perfect” is seen in the Old Testament. In practical terms, James indicates that trial by temptation is a practical way for God to test our commitment to Him so as to develop our perfection. This indication is in the preceding verses (1:12-18) and the exhortation against hypocrisy follows in the text (1:22-27). Practical wisdom is thus associated with practical knowledge of self. Those who deceive themselves are hypocrites and not of God. This compares favorably to what is found in the Old Testament: God’s law makes them perfect because it converts the soul (Psalm 19:7-10). And Isaiah 8:20 states, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Thus, James 1:19-25 reiterates these verses in the Old Testament.

XV. The Septuagint version does not differ significantly from the Greek for this text.

XVI. The text is in the lectionary and is grouped with Isaiah 40: 1-8 1 Thess 1:1-10 and Luke 1:39-45. Isaiah urges one to speak tenderly. Thessalonians speaks about turning away from idols and the world to be one with Christ. Luke speaks about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, who identified Mary as a living tabernacle of God. These are all relevant because they explain the passage in terms of how a Christian should not be worldly but should bless others.

XVII. One social feature of the text is that Christians should not allow themselves to get angry toward others. Because Jews were oppressed at the time, they were likely to feel bitter and to be angry about their situation. Ideologically, the point of the verse is that Christians have an ideology of peace and calmness—not of anger and resentment. The implications of this are that Christians should forgive and be merciful and patient in the practice of their lives even in the face of adversity. Patience is at the core of the spiritual life, James implies.[footnoteRef:2] [2: Wells, C. Richard. "The theology of prayer in James." Criswell Theological Review 1, no. 1 (1986), 90.]

XVIII. The theological dimensions of the text focus on living the Christian faith with the aid of the Word. The Christian obeys the Holy Spirit, which converts the soul to perfection. The wicked resist this conversion.[footnoteRef:3] The Word must therefore be embraced by the Christian and demonstrated in practice if one wishes to be true to the religion he professes. [3: Platt, David. Exalting Jesus In James (B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 17.]

XIX. One exegetical insight from Aymer is that James is urging the Jewish Christians to live according to the Spirit, which gives life. The Spirit is connected to the Word and gives the Word a place in one’s life. To be Christian, one has to embrace both Spirit and Word. This is the major implication of James 1:19-25.

XX. The patristic commentaries confirm that James views the Gospel as a law, like the old law that the Jews followed. However, Christ has made the Gospel the new law. They are to adhere to the new law, which will make them perfect. Their conversion to the new law must come through the practice of love.

XXI. Deeds of Christian Charity (1575) by Pieter Aertsen shows examples of Christian charity, the kind which James is calling for in 1:19-25. People are being clothed and fed and there is no fighting or anger. The painting suggests that this is the kind of love that is needed in the world in order for Christ’s Gospel to make men perfect. The link for this painting is: https://www.wikiart.org/en/pieter-aertsen/deeds-of-christian-charity-1575

XXII. James refers to the law of liberty (1:25). My strategy for explaining how the text is relevant to people in the church today would be to focus on this phrase, as the law refers to the Gospel and liberty to the freedom that the Holy Spirit creates in one’s soul—freedom to avoid wickedness.[footnoteRef:4] Everyone wants to be free, but God emphasizes the only freedom that matters, which is freedom from sin. One can be a slave—or oppressed as the Jewish Christians were—and yet still be free because he lives with the Holy Spirit by demonstrating God’s love. I would emphasize that to people today so that they are not anxious about their own conditions in life but can find the peace that comes with living according to God’s perfect law in the Gospel. [4: Daniel L. Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, third edition (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014), 50.]