Book of James Quiz: Part 2

1. James 4:1-2 diagnoses the root cause of fights and quarrels among believers. What does he say causes them?

1. Economic inequality in the church — those with more always oppress those with less
2. Pride and the refusal to admit when you are wrong — fights continue because neither party will humble themselves
3. Theological disagreements and differing interpretations of the law
4. Your desires that battle within you — you want something but don't get it. You kill and covet but cannot have what you want, so you quarrel and fight

2. James says that even when people do pray, they don't receive. What reason does he give?

1. 'When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures'
2. They are not praying in accordance with God's will — self-directed prayer achieves nothing
3. They have not yet made peace with those they have wronged — unreconciled relationships block prayer
4. They pray with doubt — not trusting that God will answer their requests

3. James 4:4 makes a stark either/or claim. What does he say about friendship with the world?

1. 'You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God'
2. Love of the world crowds out love for God — you cannot serve two masters
3. The world and God are in opposition — those who are friends of both end up loyal to neither
4. The worldly person and the godly person cannot truly be friends — their values will always ultimately divide them

4. James 4:6-10 contains a rapid series of commands about humility. Which of these is NOT one of them?

1. Confess your sins to one another and pray for each other
2. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you
3. Resist the devil and he will flee from you
4. Submit yourselves to God

5. James 4:7 says 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you.' What must come before this in the same verse?

1. 'Be alert and of sober mind — your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion'
2. 'Pray without ceasing — it is prayer that gives you strength to resist'
3. 'Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes'
4. 'Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you'

6. James 4:11-12 warns against speaking against fellow believers. What specific wrong does he identify in such speech?

1. Criticism of fellow believers is a form of pride — it assumes your own righteousness and their sinfulness
2. Slander destroys the reputation of God's image-bearers and damages the witness of the church to the world
3. Speaking against others is a form of idolatry — you are placing your own opinions above God's word
4. When you judge the law and speak against a fellow believer, you are not keeping the law but sitting in judgment on it — and there is only one Lawgiver and Judge

7. James 4:13-17 rebukes a specific attitude about the future. What attitude is he addressing, and what does he say is the appropriate response?

1. Anxiety about the future — worry shows a lack of faith; trusting God means releasing tomorrow to his care
2. Boasting about future plans ('Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business') — instead say 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that'
3. Planning for old age instead of investing in God's kingdom — James calls this faithless worldliness
4. Saving money for the future as a substitute for trusting God — the parable of the rich fool applies here

8. James 4:17 closes the section with a memorable statement about sin by omission. What does it say?

1. 'If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them'
2. 'Neglecting the poor is as serious before God as committing active violence against them'
3. 'The sin you plan in secret is no less sinful than the sin you commit publicly'
4. 'To know the truth and not live by it is the greatest form of hypocrisy'

9. James 5:1-6 contains a fierce prophecy against wealthy oppressors. What does he say has happened to their wealth?

1. 'Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days'
2. Their treasuries have been emptied by the very servants they cheated, as God's justice works through natural means
3. Their wealth has attracted foreign invaders who have plundered them — it is the prophesied judgment of God
4. Their wealth has been swept away in divine judgment and they cannot recover it

10. What specific crimes does James accuse the rich landowners of committing in James 5:4-6?

1. Bribery and corruption of the legal system, selling inferior goods at premium prices
2. Forcing workers into debt bondage, charging excessive interest and taking houses as collateral
3. Hoarding food during famine while the poor starved, and using political influence to avoid taxation
4. Withholding wages from their workers, living in luxury and self-indulgence, and condemning and murdering the innocent who are not resisting them

11. James 5:7-11 urges patience while waiting for the Lord's coming. What agricultural analogy does he use?

1. A farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains
2. A farmer who plants his field in spring, tends it through summer heat, and waits patiently for the harvest rains
3. A gardener who prunes the vine in winter, trusting that the spring will bring fresh growth and abundant fruit
4. A shepherd who waits through winter for the spring grass so his flock can graze after months of hardship

12. James 5:10-11 gives two Old Testament examples of patience. Who are they?

1. Abraham and Moses — both waited decades for God's promises to be fulfilled
2. David and Elijah — both suffered deeply before God delivered them
3. Joseph and Jeremiah — both were imprisoned and rejected before being vindicated by God
4. The prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord, and Job — whose perseverance we have heard about and seen the Lord's outcome

13. James 5:12 gives a short but important command about oaths. What does he say?

1. 'Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear — not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple yes or no. Otherwise you will be condemned'
2. 'Let your yes be yes and your no be no — anything more comes from the evil one'
3. Make oaths carefully and keep them faithfully — a broken oath is a serious sin before God
4. Oaths are forbidden in the kingdom — speak the truth and no oath should be necessary

14. James 5:13-14 gives instructions for prayer in different circumstances. What does he say for those who are in trouble, those who are happy, and those who are sick?

1. All three should pray — but the sick should also call the elders and confess their sins, while the troubled should seek a brother to pray with them
2. James does not distinguish — all circumstances require prayer and he treats them as one principle
3. The troubled should cry out to God; the happy should give thanks; the sick should pray for healing and trust God's will
4. The troubled should fast and pray; the happy should praise God publicly; the sick should call the church elders to pray over them and anoint them with oil

15. James 5:15 makes a bold promise about the prayer of faith. What does it say?

1. 'And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven'
2. 'Pray and anoint with oil, trusting God's will — he may heal in this life or in the life to come'
3. 'The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective — God will hear and respond to genuine faith'
4. 'Whatever you ask in my name will be given — claim the healing in faith and it will be yours'

16. James 5:16 contains the famous command about mutual confession. What does it say?

1. 'Confess your sins before the congregation so that the church can hold you accountable and pray for your restoration'
2. 'Do not hide your sin — bring it to light by confessing it to a trusted brother or sister who will pray with you'
3. 'Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective'
4. Confess your sins to God through a priest or elder — for God has given them authority to pronounce absolution

17. James uses Elijah to illustrate the power of prayer. What remarkable fact does he note about Elijah?

1. 'Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain'
2. Elijah prayed under a juniper tree in total despair — and God answered his prayer for death with a meal and a new commission
3. Elijah was the greatest prophet of Israel — his prayer was effective because of his unique spiritual standing before God
4. Elijah's prayer on Mount Carmel called down fire from heaven — this is the model for praying with bold faith

18. James 5:19-20 closes the letter with a focus on restoring a wandering believer. What does James say the one who brings back a sinner from wandering accomplishes?

1. 'Remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins'
2. They demonstrate the kind of faith James has been describing throughout the letter — faith that acts
3. They fulfil the law of love and earn a reward in the coming kingdom
4. They reflect the character of the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost sheep

19. The letter of James ends with no personal greeting or farewell — it closes abruptly with verse 20. What does this suggest about its literary form?

1. James died before finishing the letter and it was completed by a disciple who used his notes
2. James was writing a sermon or homily in letter form — the absence of a farewell section is consistent with a document intended as a general exhortation rather than a personal correspondence
3. The abrupt ending is intentional — James wants the last thought (restoring wanderers) to be the reader's final impression
4. The ending was lost in transmission — the original letter had a conventional Pauline-style closing

20. Martin Luther famously called James an 'epistle of straw.' Why, and how do most scholars respond to his concern?

1. Luther doubted James's apostolic authorship — most scholars respond that the letter's early date and Palestinian context strongly support James the brother of Jesus as the author
2. Luther thought James contradicted Paul's teaching on justification by faith — most scholars respond that James and Paul are addressing different problems: Paul combats earning salvation through works; James combats a false claim to faith that produces no transformation
3. Luther thought James overemphasised community over individual salvation — scholars argue James is addressing corporate responsibility, not denying personal faith
4. Luther thought James was poorly written — scholars today disagree and rank it among the most literary books of the New Testament