Kress Biblical Resources :: Outline

James Detailed Outline

Heavenly Wisdom for Persevering in Your Faith—even in the Midst of Severe Trials (Jas 3:13-4:10)

1. Introduction (Jas 1:1)
   1. The author
      1. His given name
      2. His glorious position
         1. A slave of God
         2. A slave of the Lord Jesus Christ
   2. The audience
      1. Who they were
      2. Where they were
   3. The address
2. Cling to God’s wisdom in the midst of your trials, rather than your own (Jas 1:2-15)
   1. Rejoice in the divine purpose of your trials (Jas 1:2-4)
      1. The call you must heed—see trials as pure joy (Jas 1:2)
      2. The concept you must embrace—knowing that trials produce endurance (Jas 1:3)
      3. The constancy you must pursue—let endurance mature and perfect you (Jas 1:4)
   2. Request divine wisdom to endure your trials with joy (Jas 1:5-8)
      1. God promises wisdom to the one who asks in faith (Jas 1:5)
      2. God does not promise anything to the one who is doubleminded about wanting to endure with joy (Jas 1:6-8)
         1. The prerequisite for receiving wisdom (Jas 1:6a)
         2. The picture of one who wavers (Jas 1:6b)
         3. The problem of having a divided mind (Jas 1:7-8)
   3. Remember that a poor believer has more to boast in than a rich man who only has his temporal possessions (Jas 1:9-11)
      1. The lowly brother has an exalted position (Jas 1:9)
      2. The wealthy man has only temporal possessions (Jas 1:10-11)
         1. The irony: the rich man can only boast in what will end in humiliation (Jas 1:10a)
         2. The illustration: a flower dries up and dies and has no lasting beauty (Jas 1:10b-11)
   4. Recognize the purpose and source of your trials (Jas 1:12-15)
      1. The blessed purpose and result of testing is genuine faith and the crown of life (Jas 1:12)
      2. The blameworthiness of temptation is not with God (Jas 1:13)
      3. The bottom-line source of temptation is our own desire (Jas 1:14)
      4. The birth of sin comes from pregnant desires that carry us away (Jas 1:15)
3. Cling to God’s goodness and grace in the midst of your trials (Jas 1:16-18)
   1. Cling to God’s goodness (Jas 1:16-17)
      1. Remember that you can be deceived by circumstances (Jas 1:16)
      2. Remember that God is always good, in all things, at all times, in every way (Jas 1:17)
   2. Cling to God’s grace (Jas 1:18)
      1. Remember God’s grace in your personal salvation (Jas 1:18a)
      2. Remember God’s grace in the future salvation of a multitude (Jas 1:18b)
4. Concern yourself with obedience to God’s Word in the midst of your trials (Jas 1:19-27)
   1. Listen to God’s Word rather than lash out in anger (Jas 1:19-21)
      1. Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger (Jas 1:19)
      2. Be concerned about doing God’s business, God’s way (Jas 1:20)
      3. Be careful to repent of sin and receive the Word of God (Jas 1:21)
   2. Live God’s Word rather than merely hear it (Jas 1:22-27)
      1. The precept: live in light of the Word of God—and don’t be deceived (Jas 1:22)
      2. The picture: look in the mirror and take to heart what you see (Jas 1:23-24)
      3. The prize: living in freedom of God’s Word brings blessing (Jas 1:25)
      4. The points to consider: the freedom of God’s Word limits your speech, enlivens your compassion, and excites your desire for holiness (Jas 1:26-27)
5. Cultivate genuine love, rather than favor the wealthy over the poor (Jas 2:1-13)
   1. The precept: do not hold your faith with an attitude of personal favoritism (Jas 2:1)
   2. The picture: two visitors—one dressed in fine clothes, the other dressed in dirty clothes (Jas 2:2-3)
      1. Two visitors in the assembly (Jas 2:2)
      2. Two very different responses (Jas 2:3)
   3. The points to consider (Jas 2:4-13)
      1. Think about the previous illustration—you become a judge with evil motives (Jas 2:4)
      2. Think about God’s general dealings with men—He exalts the lowly and rejects the proud (Jas 2:5-7)
         1. Does not God lavish grace on the poor who love and trust Him? (Jas 2:5)
         2. Do you not recognize that you do the opposite when you dishonor the humble and pander to the proud who take advantage of you? (Jas 2:6)
         3. Does it not bother you that the wealthy you are pandering to actually blaspheme Christ? (Jas 2:7)
      3. Think about the benefits of mercy and love over human judgments (Jas 2:8-13)
         1. Showing love always fulfills the law (Jas 2:8)
         2. Showing partiality is sin and breaks the law (Jas 2:9-11)
         3. So speak and act as a recipient of mercy, rather than a judge (Jas 2:12-13)
6. Confess your faith by how you live—not just by what you say (Jas 2:14-26)
   1. The proposition: faith without works is dead (Jas 2:14-17)
      1. The probing question: what use is it if someone says he has faith but he has no works? (Jas 2:14)
      2. The practical example: a brother without clothing and daily food (Jas 2:15-16)
      3. The plain statement of fact: faith, if it has no works, is dead (Jas 2:17)
   2. The proof: faith without works is dead (Jas 2:18-26)
      1. A confession of faith is not necessarily proof of genuine faith (Jas 2:18)
      2. A confession of orthodoxy is not necessarily proof of genuine faith (Jas 2:19-20)
         1. Demons have a measure of orthodoxy (Jas 2:19)
         2. Do you recognize that faith without works is useless? (Jas 2:20)
      3. A consideration of two biblical examples confirms that genuine faith is vindicated by actions (Jas 2:21-25)
         1. The faith of Abraham (the Father of the Jews) was vindicated by his deeds (Jas 2:21-24)
            1. The rhetorical question posed (Jas 2:21)
            2. The relationship between faith and works explained (Jas 2:22)
            3. The results examined (Jas 2:23-24)
         2. The faith of Rahab (a Gentile prostitute) was vindicated by her deeds (Jas 2:25)
   3. The proposition restated: faith without works is dead (Jas 2:26)
7. Control your tongue (Jas 3:1-12)
   1. Consider the cost of becoming a teacher (Jas 3:1-2)
      1. Consider the caution, which is a command (Jas 3:1a)
      2. Consider the concern of a stricter judgment and our propensity to stumble (Jas 3:1b-2)
      3. Consider the control of the tongue as a sign of maturity (Jas 3:2b)
   2. Consider the power of the tongue (Jas 3:3-12)
      1. The tongue is little, but incredibly powerful (Jas 3:3-5)
         1. Contemplate the relationship between horse and bit (Jas 3:3)
         2. Contemplate the relationship between rudder and ship (Jas 3:4)
         3. Contemplate the relationship between the tongue and its talk—a forest fire and a spark (Jas 3:5)
      2. The tongue is lethal (Jas 3:6-8)
         1. The tongue is a deadly fire, which is ignited by hell itself (Jas 3:6)
         2. The tongue is deadly predator, which cannot be tamed by the human race (Jas 3:7-8)
      3. The tongue is linked to what is in your heart (Jas 3:9-12)
         1. Consider the folly and hypocrisy of praise for God and the prideful cursing of men (Jas 3:9-10)
            1. Praise for God (Jas 3:9a)
            2. Prideful cursing of men (Jas 3:9b)
            3. Plain hypocrisy (Jas 3:10)
         2. Contemplate the fruit of your speech as an indicator of your heart (Jas 3:11-12)
            1. A fountain can’t send forth both fresh and bitter water (Jas 3:11)
            2. A fig tree can’t produce olives and a vine cannot produce figs (Jas 3:12a)
            3. A foundational reality is that the source determines what is produced (Jas 3:12b)
8. Check the fruit of your wisdom (Jas 3:13-18)
   1. Behavior reveals the origin of your wisdom (Jas 3:13)
      1. The rhetorical question about wisdom (Jas 3:13a)
      2. The revelation of true wisdom (Jas 3:13b)
   2. Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition characterize worldly, demonic wisdom (Jas 3:14-16)
      1. Fallen wisdom is connected to jealousy, selfish ambition, and pride (Jas 3:14)
      2. Fallen wisdom is earthly, natural, demonic (Jas 3:15)
      3. Fallen wisdom results in disharmony and every evil thing (Jas 3:16)
   3. Benevolence, righteousness, and peace characterize heavenly wisdom (Jas 3:17-18)
      1. God’s wisdom is accompanied by the fruit of the Spirit (Jas 3:17)
      2. God’s wisdom promotes righteousness and peace (Jas 3:18)
9. Come to God in humility for the wisdom that produces divine peace (Jas 4:1-10)
   1. Diagnose the source of conflicts among you (Jas 4:1-3)
      1. The source of conflicts introduced (Jas 4:1)
      2. The sequence of conflicts explained (Jas 4:2ab)
      3. The silence of God explained in regard to your desires (Jas 4:2c-3)
   2. Determine who you want to be your friend—the world or God (Jas 4:4-6)
      1. Recognize your worldly affections (Jas 4:4)
      2. Realize that your worldly longings are not from God (Jas 4:5)
      3. Reconsider the truth of Proverbs 3:34 (Jas 4:6)
   3. Draw near to God in repentance and humility (Jas 4:7-10)
      1. Submit to God (Jas 4:7a)
      2. Stand against the devil (Jas 4:7b)
      3. Stay close to God (Jas 4:8a)
      4. Scour your hands and hearts (Jas 4:8b)
      5. Sorrow over your adulterous longings (Jas 4:9)
      6. Stay low before God and He will exalt you (Jas 4:10)
10. Control the urge to judge others (Jas 4:11-12)
    1. The command: do not speak against one another (Jas 4:11a)
    2. The consequences of not heeding the command: when you speak against others you are playing God (Jas 4:11b-12)
       1. When you speak against your brother, you are speaking against God’s law (Jas 4:11b)
       2. When you speak against your brother, you set yourself in God’s place (Jas 4:12)
11. Consider your own plans as subject to divine change (Jas 4:13-17)
    1. You do not know what your tomorrow holds (Jas 4:13-14)
       1. The rebuke of presumption and self-reliance (Jas 4:13)
       2. The reality about your knowledge of tomorrow (Jas 4:14)
    2. You do know Who holds your tomorrow (Jas 4:15)
    3. You demonstrate who you hold on to [trust in], by what you say and what you do (Jas 4:16-17)
       1. Boasting in tomorrow’s profit is evil (Jas 4:16)
       2. Being silent about your reliance upon God is sin (Jas 4:17)
12. Consider the consequences of trusting in earthly riches (Jas 5:1-6)
    1. Consider the sorrows of those who trust in earthly riches (Jas 5:1-3)
       1. There will be future miseries (Jas 5:1)
       2. There will be the failure of earthly riches (Jas 5:2-3a)
       3. There will be the final judgment (Jas 5:3b)
    2. Consider the sins of those who trust in earthly riches (Jas 5:4-6)
       1. Withholding pay from those it is due (Jas 5:4)
       2. Walking in wanton pleasure (Jas 5:5)
       3. Willful perversion of justice (Jas 5:6)
13. Cultivate patient endurance as you wait for the Lord’s return (Jas 5:7-11)
    1. The precept: be patient until the coming of the Lord (Jas 5:7a)
    2. The pictures: the farmer, the prophet, the patriarch Job (Jas 5:7b-11)
       1. Patiently wait for the fruit of your labors, like the farmer (Jas 5:7b-8)
          1. A farmer must patiently wait for the fruit (Jas 5:7b)
          2. A follower of Jesus must patiently await His coming (Jas 5:8)
       2. Patiently wait for the vindication of the divine judge, like the prophets (Jas 5:9-10)
          1. Forsake complaining against one another—the divine Judge is coming (Jas 5:9)
          2. Follow the example of the prophets who patiently endured suffering, waiting for the Lord’s vindication (Jas 5:10)
       3. Patiently wait for the Lord’s consolation, like the patriarch Job (Jas 5:11)
14. Carry all of life to the Lord in prayer (Jas 5:12-18)
    1. Speak with integrity in every situation (Jas 5:12)
    2. Seek the Lord in every situation (Jas 5:13-18)
       1. Pray when you are suffering (Jas 5:13a)
       2. Praise God in song when you feel good (Jas 5:13b)
       3. Pursue prayer in times of spiritual weakness or sin (Jas 5:14-16ab)
          1. Call for the elders to pray if you feel too weak to pray for yourself (Jas 5:14-15)
          2. Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another (Jas 5:16ab)
       4. Pray knowing that prayer is unbelievably powerful (Jas 5:16c-18)
          1. The bold statement—prayer is exceedingly powerful (Jas 5:16a)
          2. The biblical support—Elijah (Jas 5:17-18)
             1. Elijah’s person (Jas 5:17a)
             2. Elijah’s prayer (Jas 5:17b-18)
15. Correct the straying brother, and turn him back to the truth (Jas 5:19-20)
    1. The caution: we are all prone to wander (Jas 5:19a)
    2. The concern: we should seek to deliver a wandering brother (Jas 5:19b)
    3. The consequences (Jas 5:20)
       1. Salvation will be mediated (Jas 5:20a)
       2. Sins will be covered (Jas 5:20b)