James 2:1-4

When we come to Christ, we come with baggage. We bring our past with its influences upon our thinking and attitudes. God forgives us of our sins and we are reconciled to him. We call it the new birth, or being born again. It is a new birth in that it is a new beginning and we have died to the old way of living. We still have a problem with the old way of thinking. In Romans 12:2 Paul tells us that we must allow the renewing of our mind to transform us. James is writing to Jewish Christians and he points out they are still hanging on to the old way of thinking and acting. He tells them that their thoughts are evil; they need their minds renewed.

The word that is translated “your meeting” is most often translated as “synagogue”. These new Christians are acting in the same way in their meetings as they used to act in the synagogue. Jesus in Matthew 23: 5-7 describes the Jewish leaders “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries (boxes containing Scripture verses, worn on forehead and arm) wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces…” James is now seeing the same type of behavior among the new Christians. You cannot fault them; their past leaders taught them to think this way. James is trying to teach them a new way of thinking.

James is writing to Christians and he clearly accuses them of having evil thoughts. They are not having evil thoughts because they have evil hearts. They are having evil thoughts because they have worldly minds. If we are going to have thoughts and actions pleasing to god, we cannot allow the world to control or shape our thinking. The Word of Truth must teach us a new way of thinking. Christians need to have the mind of Christ.