Fifth Sunday of Easter (2025)

James 1:16-21

My brothers and sisters in Christ, we have for our Epistle lesson a letter that has caused some tension over the years as people read it and tried to figure out how it fit within Holy Scripture. Some have tried to use it to defend the belief that our works are what save us, but that is because they make some fundamental errors as they approach this letter. This has led in turn to many within Lutheran circles shying away from this good letter which encourages us to be doers of the word and not just hearers, that we should not be idle in good works, or reining in our sinful hearts from all malice, lust, slander, and wickedness. So before we look at the letter I want us to understand a few things about this letter.

Exegeting James

James is not Paul.

This first part sounds almost foolish, like of course these two men are not the same. It is important for Paul wrote many of the Epistles in the New Testament, and its easy to take the many letters that Paul wrote and just keep reading through James as though it’s Paul. The Holy Spirit did inspire both and sits behind their words, but if we are to understand why they are not in conflict, we must also remember that the Holy Spirit used both men but didn’t use them as though they were just robots. They also had different audiences, Paul wrote to many gentiles, but

James is dealing with anti-nomians.

What on earth does that mean? Well its folk who set aside the Law of God, and think that they Law has no place. James is taking on folks whose hearts have not been converted and they prevented it from bringing them to life.

They believe the facts are enough.

As long as they have the right head knowledge then they don’t have to worry about good works. This would be like one who has completed confirmation, and has everything memorized, but his heart remains unmoved. The same would be for a person who is baptized, but then goes off and lives in sin, thinking that since I’m baptized I can reject God by my life. If you understand this, it will solve a lot of the supposed difficulties with James. But let us now consider the text.

Good and Perfect Gifts

God provides for His people.

Now this is not as the world sees it. It doesn’t mean he removes all affliction and trial from mankind for there is value in adversity that tempers and tests us and shows us not only our strength. So we are tested by the Lord, to learn to rely on the promises that God has given us through His Son, but there is a line that God does not cross.

God does not lead us into temptation.

That is he will not make sin or evil desirable, and not seek to make it profitable for our sake. When we see that evil is being rewarded in the short term we can rest assured who sits behind that is Satan himself for God does not desire us to engage in evil but threatens all those who practice it. This is why it is vital to know the Commandments, lest we mistake evil for good and embrace the way that leads to death. For the Father sent the Son that we might be saved. I

By the word of Truth, we were born into His kingdom.

This is an important part of James to remember, we are not saved, we are not made children of God, by what we have done, or by what we will do, but rather by the Word. The english translates it as brought forth, but the root word is to be born. So James is not teaching salvation by our works, but by the Word which saves. Now that gives birth to faith, and

Works Flow out of Faith

Those who live breathe.

If you have someone who is alive, then they breathe, if someone loses breathe, their life is going to stop very quickly. So works flow from faith, but they don’t cause faith. Luther was known for using the example of apple and a tree. The tree, that is faith, produces apples, but a tree doesn’t grow from the stem of an apple.

Whatever doesn’t proceed from faith is sin.

You can’t produce any good works unless you have faith. For until we are set free from the powers of Sin, death, and the devil we are firmly in the kingdom of darkness, and destined for hell itself. For when Adam sinned he sold his line, his birthright, his heritage and condemned them all to death. So without faith, which is created by the Holy Spirit through the Word, you have no good works,

For you cannot serve both God and satan.

If you are not born of God, if you have not been brought to life, then you are in Satan’s domain and hell its your end, but for those whom the Word has taken root in their hearts, there is hope not because of our works, but because we have been born again of water and the word. That’s who this letter is addressing those who have received this word and focuses in on

Our Pet Sins

James tackles sins we love and cherish.

Who would love sin, who would love that which brings death, who would cherish these things that are weighing us down to hell itself? Well if we could see them in their evil there would be no issue, but you find here why call we call them pet sins? Because the Law requires that we put them to death. If we have treated them as pets, that is very hard to do.

We should lay aside all immorality.

The commandments call for it, they say you shall, that is to say you will. We all try to justify it by saying that we can get away with it, or that God will permit it, because I’ve been good here, or there, but don’t you think the Israelites thought the exact same thing while they engaged in immorality? Now he addresses a particular sin here.

What does the Bible say about the anger of man?

It does not produce the righteousness of God, which is to say its not of faith. The wrath and anger of man produces wickedness. Where does an unforgiving heart come from? How often does pride ramp result in anger? You may say, well God himself has wrath? Yes he does, but what does the text say, The Anger of “Man” does not produce the righteousness of God, you and I are not God, and whereas we jump to anger and wrath, God shows us great patience and desires our salvation, whereas we desire nothing but vengeance.

Why uproot the gifts God gave you?

Why tear out that word that was implanted in your soul? That you brought you to life, that saved you why let your pet sins destroy the faith that God gave you and decimate that which is so precious? We get used to our pet sins, and like addicts we don’t want to admit that they are actually killing us. But we are to

Be Doers, Not Just Hearers

Faith transforms the heart and mind.

The Will of man is the object of conversion and brings us from death to life, that is the power of God’s Word, that Word preached, that Word of promise given in Baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper that does not leave us in our sins, but brings us to life. For

Repentance is a changing.

It means we begin to walk away from our sins. What sins are those? Well James here lists anger and wrath, but he also says filthiness and rampant wickedness, this means walking away from sins like sex outside of marriage and cohabitation, greed, gluttony, drunkenness, cursing, vulgar speech and the like.

Sanctification isn’t perfect, but ongoing.

We will never be free of sin this side of heaven, but that doesn’t mean we wallow in it, or let the weeds overtake that seed which God has planted in our hearts, we don’t sin put us back in the grave when we have been called forth by Christ.

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It is a daily struggle, and the more we wrestle against sin, the more we will find the need for the forgiveness Christ won on Calvary for you. But we have been brought forth by that Word which was implanted in our hearts, do not let sin choke out that faith which God has given you for Jesus died to save you, and the Father Sent Him to Save you, and the Spirit created faith inside of you that you might live. Do not let Satan make sin seem so sweet that you cannot leave it behind, for his honeyed words will bring about your death. So don’t just let the Word pass through your ears unheeded, but rather let us oppose our sins, that we might see the bountiful harvest that awaits all Saints in heaven. In Jesus name. Amen.