Verses 19-20: This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
The phrase this you know1 is one word in the Greek and should be translated as a command: “Know this” emphasizing that we need to be attentive to what follows. It stands to reason that this is a command from James, for if the reader already knew, as ‘this you know’ implies, then there would be no reason to divulge the good advice he is about to provide them.
Next, he addresses everyone. Literally from the Greek it is: all men. And as typical in the Bible, all means all. No exceptions to the rule. Ideally, this advice should pertain to all men, believer and unbeliever alike. But here, it mainly applies to believers and their testimony before all men.
James commands that we be quick to hear—that is, to begin at once to become hearers of the word of truth mentioned in v. 18, and to be quick about it, that is, quick with the meaning of being ready and prompt.2 The idea behind being a hearer is that of being a learner and ideally being taught by a pastor-teacher. And as James will state in v. 22, we are to be not just hearers, but doers of the Word. Many new believers are never taught that at the outset, after they have believed in Christ, they need to become a hearer of the Word, so that they can effectively live the Christian life as it is formulated by the plan of God.
He then tells us to be slow to speak, emphasizing that we should not be quick to verbalize our opinions before we know what we are talking about. There must have been a problem with 1st Century believers who were expressing their errant beliefs of what God was doing in their lives regarding the trials they endured. A lesson for us today is never to correlate the events of our lives as something undesirable or even positive until we understand what God’s Word declares.
Finally, we are to be slow to anger. James may well be implying that if we are slow to express our mistaken beliefs, we could avert or slow the impulse of being angry about trials we must endure.
Within the overall context of verses 17-19, James is providing a guide to dealing with various trials: learn God’s Word so that you will not be so quick to blame God for life’s testing. We will then not be so quick to lose our temper, but instead fully realize personal growth through the testing. For James has already stated in verse 3, that by testing we “may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
The Anger of Man
In verse 20 James explains the futility of anger, particularly when we express anger toward a negative situation confronting us. MacArthur maintains that this word anger “describes a deep, internal resentment and rejection, in this context, of God’s Word.”3 James corroborates this when he asserts that in reality anger does not achieve the desired results in the Christian life, namely, the righteousness of God. This is substantiated by the Greek word for achieve, which actually means to work, “accomplish, carry out.”4 In essence it describes the production of one’s labor. Anything in life that a person aspires to produce usually requires work, physical and/or mental. This principle applies likewise in the Christian’s spiritual life in the production of the righteousness of God. The reaction of anger to a trial is counterproductive in fulfilling God’s purpose for us to produce His righteous character.
But what is the righteous character of God?
Scripture reveals that the core of God’s character is holy (Leviticus 19:2), blameless (Deuteronomy 18:13), perfect (Matthew 5:48). There are many other facets of God’s character, but here, James is emphasizing God’s perfect sinless nature that we should endeavor to imitate (Ephesians 5:1). The Apostle Paul instructs how we are to do this:
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1; emphasis added)
For believers to produce the righteousness of God means that they are to be perfect and holy—sinless. Paul tells us how this can be accomplished by cleansing ourselves. First, the believer must confess all personal sins. John tells us that this will “cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). At this point nothing can hinder our relationship with the Lord and therefore we able to understand spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:14-15).
Second, Christ provided the cleansing of His church “by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:26) in order to sanctify His believers—set them apart from sin so that they are holy, blameless, perfect. This cleansing by the word takes place when believers follow Paul’s instruction to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Therefore, the knowledge of God’s Word is indispensable for the believer to produce the righteousness of God. If a believer desires to serve the Lord faithfully, studying His Word is essential. It is something that many believers have very little self-discipline and patience in applying themselves to an intense study of Scripture. But contained in His Word is all that we need in order to achieve His righteousness.
Conclusion
What James is telling us is that anger to trials and testing is not the acceptable response that God desires; it is counterproductive to the divine objective of producing His righteous character and reflecting His glory to others. Thus, James tells us that joy is the only appropriate response (v. 2) and joy demonstrates the spiritual maturity of the believer. David notes the spiritual ruin that anger poses for the immature believer:
Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing. (Psalm 37:8)
[1] Oída in the Greek [οίδα] is a Perfect Active Imperative or Indicative
[2] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G5036
[3] MacArthur, J. (2010). The MacArthur Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, James 1:20 note.
[4] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1957). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 307.
© 2023 David M. Rossi