James 1:15

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. The guilty union is committed by the will embracing the temptress. "Lust," the harlot, then 'brings forth sin,' that to which the temptation inclines. Then the particular sin [he hamartia], 'when completed, brings forth death,' with which it was all along pregnant (Alford). "Death" stands in striking contrast to the "crown of life" (), which "patience" brings when it has its "perfect work" (). He who fights Satan with Satan's own weapons must not wonder if he be overmatched. Nip sin in the bud of lust....

15_Then when lust hath conceived_. He first calls that _lust _which is not any kind of evil affection or desire, but that which is the fountain of all evil affections; by which, as he shews, are conceived vicious broods, which at length break forth into sins. It seems, however, improper, and not according to the usage of Scripture, to restrict the word _sin _to outward works, as though indeed lust itself were not a sin, and as though corrupt desires, remaining closed up within and suppressed, were not so many sins. But as the use of a word is various, there is nothing unreasonable if it be taken here, as in many other places, for actual sin. And the Papists ignorantly lay hold on this passage, and seek to prove from it that vicious, yea, filthy, wicked, and the most abominable lusts are not sins, provided there is no assent; for James does not shew when sin begins to be born, so as to be...

12-18 It is not every man who suffers, that is blessed; but he who with patience and constancy goes through all difficulties in the way of duty. Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be not our own fault. The tried Christian shall be a crowned one. The crown of life is promised to all who have the love of God reigning in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves God, shall have its trials in this world fully recompensed in that world above, where love is made perfect. The commands of God, and the dealings of his providence, try men's hearts, and show the dispositions which prevail in them. But nothing sinful in the heart or conduct can be ascribed to God. He is not the author of the dross, though his fiery trial exposes it. Those who lay the blame of sin, either upon their constitution, or upon their condition in the world, or pretend they cannot keep from sinning, wrong God as if...

Verse 15. _WHEN LUST HATH CONCEIVED_] When the evil propensity works unchecked, _it bringeth forth sin_-the evil act between the parties is perpetrated. _AND SIN, WHEN IT IS FINISHED_] When this breach of the law of God and of innocence has been a sufficient time completed, it _bringeth forth death_-the spurious offspring is the fruit of the criminal connection, and the evidence of that _death_ or _punishment_ due to the transgressors. Any person acquainted with the import of the verbs συλλαμβανειν, τικτειν, and αποκυειν, will see that this is the metaphor, and that I have not exhausted it. συλλαμβανω signifies concipio sobolem, _quae comprehenditur utero_; concipio foetum; - τικτω, pario, genero, efficio; - αποκυεω _ex_ απο _et_ κυω, _praegnans sum_, in utero gero. _Verbum proprium_ praegnantium, _quae_ _foetum maturum emittunt. Interdum etiam_ gignendi notion

THEN WHEN LUST HATH CONCEIVED - Compare Job 15:35. The allusion here is obvious. The meaning is, when the desire which we have naturally is quickened, or made to act, the result is that sin is produced. As our desires of good lie in the mind by nature, as our propensities exist as they were created, they cannot be regarded as sin, or treated as such; but when they are indulged, when plans of gratification are formed, when they are developed in actual life, the effect is sin. In the mere desire of good, of happiness, of food, of raiment, there is no sin; it becomes sin when indulged in an improper manner, and when it leads us to seek that which is forbidden - to invade the rights of others, or in any way to violate the laws of God. The Rabbis have a metaphor which strongly expresses the general sense of this passage” - “Evil concupiscence is at the beginning like the t

EXPOSITION JAMES 1:1 SALUTATION. JAMES, A SERVANT OF GOD AND OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. (On the person who thus describes himself, see the Introduction) It is noteworthy that he keeps entirely out of sight his natural relationship to our Lord, and styles himself simply "a bond-servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ." That, and that alone, gave him a right to speak and a claim to be heard. Δοῦλος is similarly used by St. Paul in Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1 by St. Peter in 2 Peter 1:1; and by

THEN WHEN LUST HATH CONCEIVED,.... A proposal of pleasure or profit being made, agreeable to lust, or the principle of corrupt nature, sinful man is pleased with it; and instead of resisting and rejecting the motion made, he admits of it, and receives it, and cherishes it in his mind; he dallies and plays with it; he dwells upon it in his thoughts, and hides it under his tongue, and in his heart, as a sweet morsel, and forsakes it not, but contrives ways and means how to bring it about; and this is lust's conceiving. The figure is used in Psalms 7:14 on which Kimchi, a Jewish commentator, has this note; "he (the psalmist) compares the thoughts of the heart להריון, "to a conception", and when they go out in word, this is "travail", and in work or act, this is "bringing forth".'' And so it follows here, IT BRINGETH FORTH SIN; into act, no

James 1:1. _James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting._ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was an apostle, and he was the Lord's brother, yet he mentions not these greater things, but he takes the lowly title, in which, no doubt, he felt the highest honour, and calls himself «a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.» Happy is that man who serves the Lord, whose whole life is not that of an independent master of himself, but of one who is fully submissive to the divine command. Where is the fiction of the ten lost tribes? He writes to the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad, and gives them greeting, so that this Epistle is first directed to the seed of Israel, and then, as in all things, to all the Church of God, seeing all the saints of God are the true seed of believing Abraham, the f...

SIN SIN (_ See Scofield) - (Romans 3:23). _...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. TRIALS AND THE EXERCISE OF FAITH CHAPTER 1 _ 1. Trials and the power of faith (James 1:1)_ 2. The resources of faith (James 1:5) 3. The realization of faith (James 1:9) 4. The conquest of faith (James 1:12) 5. The result of faith (James 1:16) James 1:1 The first verse is the introduction. The writer is James, but he does not add, as he might have done, “the brother of the Lord.” It would have identified his per