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James 1:1, James a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
I came across something weird in the hall the other day. I thought it was a little piece of carpet, but upon closer inspection I saw it was a church centipede, which is a house centipede in the church. I picked it up assuming it was dead. Upon closer inspection, I noticed some of its spindly legs were moving. It was alive. There’s a huge difference between something that’s dead or alive. If you poke it and it moves, it’s alive.
Turn to the famous letter of Jacob – or better known as James. We’ve entitled our study in James “Living Faith” because James is well-known for distinguishing between a living faith and a dead faith. A living faith moves. A dead faith just sits there. Even when you poke it, it doesn’t move. James is going to poke us with the truths of God’s Word in his five short chapters. If we move, we have a living faith. If we just sit there, our faith is dead and worthless. That’s what James tells us in James 2:20, in his typical no-nonsense style, “Are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” James and Paul agree that we’re saved by faith alone, but never by a faith that remains alone. James would not be happy with the “Free Grace Movement” that says you can have Christ as Savior, but not necessarily as your Lord. Genuine, God-given faith in Jesus Christ is alive and moves in response to God’s Word.
Will the Real James Stand Up?
Four men with the name James are mentioned in the NT: James the son of Alphaeus, also known as James the less – imagine living with that name, meaning short or young; James the father of Judas, not Iscariot; James the brother of John, son of Zebedee who was martyred by Herod in Acts 12; and the fourth James was the Lord’s younger brother and writer of this epistle. In case you were raised to believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary, Mark 6:3 says, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” The Epiphanian Theory is that Joseph was a widower and brought these children into his marriage with Mary. The Helvidian Theory, which squares with Scripture, says Mary actually bore these children after Jesus was born. These were not His cousins since they had the same mother. So Jesus had four half-brothers and more than one half-sister. James’ brother Jude wrote the epistle of Jude and identifies himself there as the brother of James (Jude 1). So Jesus had two half-siblings who actually wrote Scripture.
Just for a moment, imagine growing up in the same family as Jesus, eating at the same table, sleeping in the same room, and working in the same carpenter’s shop. And the striking thing is, James did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah until after His resurrection (John 7:5). First Corinthians 15:7 says, “Then he appeared to James.” Our James was not an Apostle, although he did become a pillar of the church in Jerusalem. By the time you get to that great church council meeting in Acts 15 to deal with the issue of the Gentiles and the Mosaic Law, James is the leader of the church in Jerusalem.
How Did James Identify Himself?
James could have introduced himself as, “James, the Lord’s brother. I grew up with Him so listen up.” No, the Greek reads like this, “James, of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, a slave.” First, James wants you to know he is writing representing the triune God. And he puts them first before identifying himself as a slave. James writes under the inspiration of the Spirit and acknowledges the triune God. And notice how he identifies his older brother, “the Lord Jesus Christ.” He describes Jesus as “our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” in James 2:1. The entire gospel is wrapped up in those three words: “Lord” meaning deity; “Jesus” or Savior; and “Christ” or Messiah, the anointed One. James doesn’t deal with a lot of theology, but he begins by letting us know this is all about Christ. As we read and study James, realize the shadow of the cross falls across every line James writes.
James calls himself a bondservant or “doulos” (slave) of the triune God. You’ll remember in the Old Testament (Exodus 21:6) when a Jewish master was to release his slave and the slave didn’t want to leave, the master brought him to God and then to the door post and pierced his ear with an awl. This action confirmed that the slave belonged to his master permanently. Here James identifies himself as the permanent slave of God and the Lord. James is saying he is totally, joyfully, and willingly surrendered to his God. Mary described herself the same way in Luke 1:38 when Gabriel informed her of her coming virgin conception, “Behold the slave of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.” Christ himself humbled Himself and took on the form of a slave to the Father in Philippians 2:7. James knew he’d been purchased by the blood of Christ, that he wasn’t his own. He belonged to God and there was no higher honor, no higher freedom than to be a slave of Christ. Neither James nor Mary would ever say the popular mantra, “My body, my choice.” They would say, “My body belongs to God. I am subject to His will.” You are either a slave of sin or a slave of God (Romans 6:15-23). As believers, we are all slaves of our sovereign and loving Lord.
James was known as “James the Just or Righteous” because of his strong devotion to living for his God. He was known as “old camel knees” because of his knee calluses on his knees from spending much time praying. Tradition says he drank no wine, ate no food from animals, and never cut his hair. We’re told that around AD 62 when James refused to deny Christ publicly in Jerusalem, the angry priests pushed him off the temple roof and then clubbed him to death.
To Whom Did James Write His Letter?
“To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.” After Stephen was martyred, there was a persecution of the church. Acts 11:19 tells us that because of the persecution, Jewish believers left Jerusalem and Judea and went north along the Mediterranean border towns and into Asia Minor. James uses the idea of “dispersed” since all the Jews were familiar with the Jewish dispersions in their history. God had dispersed or scattered Jewish believers out into the world to be a living testimony to the reality of Jesus Christ as their Messiah, but they needed instruction on how to live out their faith in the world. So James sent this letter to them.
While James can be direct and hard hitting, he couches all his commands in the love of a fellow brother. Fifteen times he calls them brothers; three times even “beloved brethren.” He wants their best, like any good shepherd. There may be some hard things to say, but always out of the deepest love. He wrote to them around AD 45, the earliest New Testament epistle. Because he doesn’t directly teach the gospel, James had some rough sailing to be acknowledged as part of the canon of the New Testament. Martin Luther even called James a “right strawy epistle,” but still sites it as having full biblical authority. There is no question that James is a canonical book.
What Did James’ Writings Include?
First, notice how he greets his audience: with one word, “Greetings.” That’s James for you, right to the point. And then he plunges right in with his directions. That’s what we like about James. He cuts to the quick. He’s direct with a one-two punch in every one of these five chapters. Expect to have your toes stepped on. James 1:22 in the NLT says, “But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you’re only fooling yourselves.” It isn’t enough to be around truth. A living faith will respond to God’s truth.
Let’s summarize the content of this pungent epistle. If you have a living faith, you’ll be responsive to these commands or directions. Here are twelve areas you can expect God to be working in your life over the next few months as we plow and disk and cultivate and engraft all this good stuff into our lives. These are marks of a living faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
You’ll see God in the trials in your life – 1:2-18. Do you face difficulties with joy, knowing that God is growing endurance into your soul? When you sin, do you make excuses or blame others? Or do you confess that the reason you sinned is because of your lusts?
You’ll apply God’s Word to your life – 1:19-27. When you look into the mirror of God’s Word and see your sin, do you just ignore it or take steps to change? If you’re a hearer and not a doer, you are deceiving yourself.
You’ll love the unlovely without partiality – 2:1-13. Do you lay out the red carpet for rich people and tell poor people to sit way in the back?
You’ll demonstrate your faith with godly deeds – 2:14-26. There are two rotting corpses in the New Testament: works without faith – striving for heaven by your own righteousness, and faith without works — agreeing with the Bible but never living out your faith in progressive sanctification.
You’ll learn to control your tongue – 3:1-12. Nothing gets us in trouble more than that slippery hunk of muscle sitting in your mouth ready to blast off at a moment’s notice. James says if you can get a grip on that slippery thing, you’re a mature Christian.
You’ll grow in godly wisdom – 3:13-18. There is a demonic wisdom and a heavenly wisdom. James describes them for us.
You’ll fight your selfish lusts and submit your heart to God – 4:1-10? Where do anger, bitterness, and resentment come from? How do you win that inner war?
You’ll build up others with your words – 4:11-12.
You’ll honor God in your business pursuits – 4:13-5:6.
You’ll live with the bright hope that the Lord is coming soon – 5:7-12.
You’ll confess your sin as God brings discipline into your life – 5:13-18.
You’ll be concerned about a straying brother or sister – 5:19-20. Let’s pray that God will make these Sunday mornings in James rich and life-changing times. Remember, the shadow of the cross lies across these five chapters. If Christ has purchased you out of the slave market of sin, then you are a slave of Christ. By His grace, through the power of the Spirit, and by a living faith God will work in our hearts, our minds, our wills, our desires to grow and please Him in the details of our lives. Do you have a living faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior? R. C. Sproul in his introduction to James added as his “Corum Deo” this challenge, and I’ll add the same: take some time to read through this brief epistle this week.