il…Let your laughter be turned to mourning. The aorist tense is used throughout perhaps suggesting that these attitudes are to be entered into while the previous sinful behavior is discarded (Moo 147).James throughout the passage of Scripture has stressed the evil tendencies within persons that cause us to sin, but he also recognizes the role of Satan. Diabolos is used to translate sin in the Septuagint. The Hebrew word gives the title ‘Satan’. The two titles are then identical in meaning and suggest that the devil’s primary purpose is to separate humans from God (Moo, 147). The Christian is the to resist this separation. Resisting will cause the Devil to flee from you (Nystrom 230). The Christian should draw near to God instead of giving in to the temptation of the Satan. James insists that God will respond by drawing near to you. It is obvious that James is not talking about salvation, but rather the repentance of those who are already Christians (Law 183) The end of verse 8 states the word double-mind. This word translates dipsychos or ‘two-souled’. James used this reference before in 1:6-8 to characterize the man whose faith was marked by doubting and instability. In the present text, the word brings forcibly to mind the ‘doubleness’ of the Christian who seeks to become a friend of the world (Moo 148).Verse 9Grieve, mourn, wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.The harsh commands of verse 9 echo the language of the prophets. The prophets often used this language of mourning to describe the terrible destruction and disaster that accompanied the judgement of God, but they also used it to call the people of God to repentance. It is the latter sense that James uses this language. James demands of his readers a deep heartfelt sorrow and repentance of sin. This is how James’ command to Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom is und...
