Page 22 - General Epistles (James through Jude) Textbook

struggled to handle those. Hence, the need by James to address them as those were his brothers and
sisters for whom he was concerned.

Now, James encouraged those who were wise and had understanding to demonstrate that. It is true
that he wanted them to speak about how wise and understanding they were. But as we have discussed
earlier, James desires that his audience begin to become DOERS OF THE WORD IMPLANTED TO THEM
but not just listeners (Jas. 1:22).

Heavenly Wisdom (Jas. 3:17-18).
This is the solution to controlling the tongue. How? James notes that if the
Jewish Christians who were scattered among the nations (Jas. 1:1b) were
consistently DOING of PRACTICING the following, namely; Wisdom from
heaven, the tongue would be under complete control. This is ALL PURE.
Then, he describes that with four beautiful adjectives, namely; peace
loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit (cf. Jas. 2:12-
13), impartial, and sincere. Grant R. Osborne’s summary closes James 3 for
us.

Pure refers to “innocence” but here especially “moral blamelessness,” that which allows a person to be
“unstained” and to have a “clear conscience.” Such a person is “free of the moral and spiritual defects
that are the marks of the double minded (1:7, 8; 4:8)” and that produce “the inevitable jealousy and
strife that are characteristic of some in James’s church” (Martin 1988:133–134; cf. 1:27; 4:8; 2 Cor 11:2;
1 Pet 3:2) . . . The second term (“peace loving”) is equally as important as purity, since it becomes the
theme of 3:18. It is the exact opposite of the jealous, combative ambition that leads to the “quarrels and
fights” of 4:1. Jesus said, “God blesses those who work for peace” (Matt 5:9), and the concept occurs
frequently in Scripture (3:18; Ps. 34:14; Isa 52:7; Rom. 12:18; 14:19; Heb. 12:14), connoting both peace
with God and peace between people,
with the latter flowing out of the former. “Gentle” is combined with a peaceful refusal to quarrel in 1
Timothy 3:3 and Titus 3:2; and in Philippians 4:5 it describes a “forbearing spirit” (Weymouth NT) that
connotes an empathetic, considerate, gracious acceptance of others as they are. It involves a willingness
to forgive and an attitude of magnanimity toward others. . . Third, the pure heart is “willing to yield to
others,” in total contrast to the self-centered unwillingness to yield on the part of the ambitious leaders.
. . With Christians fighting over so many theological and practical issues, this should be the practice
today. In the areas of both noncardinal doctrines (see Rom 14:3, 5, 9) and practical life issues (see Rom
14:13–14), “Christians must learn to accept each other and to forge a larger unity that recognizes and
allows such differences” (Osborne 2004:385) . . . “mercy” refers to acts of love and compassion that
reflect the mercy we have experienced from God. This in a sense refers to the gift of helps, the desire to
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show kindness concretely by aiding others.

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