TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ..................................................................................i The New American Standard Bible Update ....................................................... ii A Word from the Author: How Can This Commentary Help You?......................................iii A Guide to Good Bible Reading: A Personal Search for Verifiable Truth ................................. v Commentary: Introduction to James ..................................................................... 1 James 1................................................................................ 6 James 2............................................................................... 25 James 3............................................................................... 38 James 4............................................................................... 48 James 5............................................................................... 59 Introduction to Jude ..................................................................... 75 Jude.................................................................................. 79 Appendix One ............................................................................ 103 Appendix Two............................................................................ 106 Appendix Three........................................................................... 113 Appendix Four............................................................................ 116 Appendix Five ............................................................................ 123 SPECIAL TOPICS FOR JAMES AND JUDE The Number Twelve, James 1:1................................................................. 8 Greek Terms for “Testing” and Their Connotations, James 1:3........................................1 0 Effective Prayer, James 1:7 ................................................................... 12 Wealth, James 1:10 ......................................................................... 14 Human Speech, James 1:26 ................................................................... 22 The Heart, 1:26 ............................................................................2 3 Father,1:27................................................................................ 23 Glory, James 2:1............................................................................ 26 Racism, James 2:1 .......................................................................... 27 The Kingdom of God, James 2:3............................................................... 30 The Demonic, James 2:19 .................................................................... 34 Degrees of Rewards and Punishments, James 3:1 .................................................. 40 Vices and Virtues in the New Testament, James 3:13-18 Contextual Insights............................. 44 Prayer, Unlimited Yet Limited, James 4:3........................................................ 50 Submission, James 4:7....................................................................... 53 Personal Evil, James 4:7...................................................................... 53 Should Christians Judge One Another?, James 4:12 ................................................ 56 NT Terms For Christ’s Return, James 5:8........................................................ 64 Anointing, James 5:14 ....................................................................... 67 Confession, James 5:16 ...................................................................... 69 Intercessory Prayer, James 5:16................................................................ 70 Saints, Jude v. 3............................................................................ 83 “the sons of God” in Genesis 6, Jude v. 6 ........................................................ 85 Homosexuality, Jude v. 7 ..................................................................... 88 Does Any Believer Ever Fall Away?, Jude v. 12................................................... 91 The Trinity, Jude vv. 20,21 ................................................................... 95 Christian Assurance, Jude v. 24................................................................ 98 Blameless, Innocent, Guiltless, Without Reproach, Jude v. 24 ........................................ 99 This volume is dedicated to Steve and Penny Carlile who were such a help in securing our new office space. Our new building was formerly the office of Penny’s father, Charlie Flowers (now with the Lord) who was a godly businessman, an active church member, and motivational speaker. I believe he is pleased that his office is still involved in the Lord’s work! i Here’s what the Lockman Foundation has to say about the New American Standard Bible 1995 Update: Easier to read: }Passages with Old English “thee’s” and “thou’s” etc. have been updated to modern English. }Words and phrases that could be misunderstood due to changes in their meaning during the past 20 years have been updated to current English. }Verses with difficult word order or vocabulary have been retranslated into smoother English. }Sentences beginning with “And” have often been retranslated for better English, in recognition of differences in style between the ancient languages and modern English. The original Greek and Hebrew did not have punctuation as is found in English, and in many cases modern English punctuation serves as a substitute for “And” in the original. In some other cases, “and” is translated by a different word such as “then” or “but” as called for by the context, when the word in the original language allows such translation. More accurate than ever: }Recent research on the oldest and best Greek manuscripts of the New Testament has been reviewed, and some passages have been updated for even greater fidelity to the original manuscripts. }Parallel passages have been compared and reviewed. }Verbs that have a wide range of meaning have been retranslated in some passages to better account for their use in the context. And still the NASB: }The NASB update is not a change-for-the-sake-of-change translation. The original NASB stands the test of time, and change has been kept to a minimum in recognition of the standard that has been set by the New American Standard Bible. }The NASB update continues the NASB’s tradition of literal translation of the original Greek and Hebrew without compromise. Changes in the text have been kept within the strict parameters set forth by the Lockman Foundation’s Fourfold Aim. }The translators and consultants who have contributed to the NASB update are conservative Bible scholars who have doctorates in Biblical languages, theology, or other advanced degrees. They represent a variety of denominational backgrounds. Continuing a tradition: The original NASB has earned the reputation of being the most accurate English Bible translation. Other translations in recent years have sometimes made a claim to both accuracy and ease of reading, but any reader with an eye for detail eventually discovers that these translations are consistently inconsistent. While sometimes literal, they frequently resort to paraphrase of the original, often gaining little in readability and sacrificing much in terms of fidelity. Paraphrasing is not by nature a bad thing; it can and should clarify the meaning of a passage as the translators understand and interpret. In the end, however, a paraphrase is as much a commentary on the Bible as it is a translation. The NASB update carries on the NASB tradition of being a true Bible translation, revealing what the original manuscripts actually say—not merely what the translator believes they mean. —The Lockman Foundation ii A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR: HOW CAN THIS COMMENTARY HELP YOU? Biblical interpretation is a rational and spiritual process that attempts to understand an ancient inspired writer in such a way that the message from God may be understood and applied in our day. The spiritual process is crucial but difficult to define. It does involve a yieldedness and openness to God. There must be a hunger (1) for Him, (2) to know Him, and (3) to serve Him. This process involves prayer, confession and the willingness for lifestyle change. The Spirit is crucial in the interpretive process, but why sincere, godly Christians understand the Bible differently, is a mystery. The rational process is easier to describe. We must be consistent and fair to the text and not be influenced by our personal or denominational biases. We are all historically conditioned. None of us are objective, neutral interpreters. This commentary offers a careful rational process containing three interpretive principles structured to help us overcome our biases. First Principle The first principle is to note the historical setting in which a biblical book was written and the particular historical occasion for its authorship. The original author had a purpose, a message to communicate. The text cannot mean something to us that it never meant to the original, ancient, inspired author. His intent—not our historical, emotional, cultural, personal or denominational need—is the key. Application is an integral partner to interpretation, but proper interpretation must always precede application. It must be reiterated that every biblical text has one and only one meaning. This meaning is what the original biblical author intended through the Spirit’s leadership to communicate to his day. This one meaning may have many