Testing Your Faith

1[†]James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes who are in the Dispersion: Greetings.

2Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various [†]trials, 3knowing that the testing of your faith brings about perseverance. 4And let perseverance have its perfect work, so that you may be [†]perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and [†]without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith, doubting nothing, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8being a [†]double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

9But the [†]brother of humble circumstances is to boast in his high position; 10and the rich man is to boast in his humiliation, because like [†]flowering grass he will pass away. 11For the sun rises with [†]a scorching heat and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

12Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has [†]been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted [†]by God”; for God cannot be tempted [†]by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully matured, it brings forth death. 16Do not be [†]deceived, my beloved brothers. 17Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or [†]shifting shadow. 18In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be [†]a kind of first fruits [†]among His creatures.

Doers of the Word

19[†]Know this, my beloved brothers. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. 21Therefore, laying aside all filthiness and all [†]that remains of wickedness, in gentleness receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22But become doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his [†]natural face in a mirror; 24for once he looked at himself and has gone away, [†]he immediately forgot what kind of person he was. 25But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in [†]what he does.

26If anyone thinks himself to be religious while not [†]bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained [†]by the world.