2. Two things there are which part men from the Gospel: one is angry
impatience, and the other evil lust. Of these James speaks in this
epistle. The former sin, he says, arises under persecution--when for
the sake of Christ the Lord you must give up property and honor, and
risk body and life; must be regarded as fools, as the drudges, yes,
the footstool, of the world. Painful and intolerable to the point of
discouragement and weariness is such a lot, particularly when it is
apparent that your persecutors enjoy good fortune, having honor, power
and wealth, while you suffer constantly. Peter, too, admonishes (1 Pet
3, 10), upon authority of Psalm 34, 12-14: He who would be a Christian
must be prepared to avoid evil and do good, to seek peace, to refrain
his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile, and must commit
himself to God.
In the case of a great many people otherwise favorably disposed toward
the Gospel, it is nothing but persecution which deters and repels them
from it. They cannot endure the injuries and reproaches they must
suffer for its sake. But for the precious holy cross which is laid
upon Christians, and their inability to overcome indignation and
impatience, the world would long ago have been crowded with
Christians. But on account of trials men recoil, saying: "Rather than
endure these, I will remain with the majority; as it is with them, so
be it with me."
3. The second thing to which James refers is worldly
lust--"filthiness," as James terms it. This, too, is a prevailing
evil, particularly with the common people. When they once hear the
Gospel they are prone to think right away that they know all about it.
They cease to heed it and drown in lust, pride and covetousness of the
world, being concerned entirely with accumulating wealth and seeking
pleasure.
4. That these two evils prevail is apparent to the eyes of all men
today. We fear that we shall fare no better than the prophets and the
apostles; these things are likely to continue. Nevertheless, we must
unceasingly exert ourselves in behalf of ourselves and others to guard
diligently against both these evils. Particularly must we not
impatiently murmur and rage against God; we must also show meekness
toward our fellowmen, to the end that wrath everywhere may be quelled
and subdued, and only patience and meekness reign among Christians.
5. As I said before, such seems to be the trend of the whole text. The
apostle gives a reason why we should be patient to the extent of not
allowing ourselves to be vexed with them who injure us, especially
ungrateful rejecters of the Word of God or persecutors of Christians.
The reason he assigns is the debt of gratitude we owe: we are to
remember the great good we receive from God in heaven--"Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father
of lights."