1 / 5

James: From Unbelieving Sibling to Believing Servant

James: From Unbelieving Sibling to Believing Servant. James 1:1. James & the Church. A beloved epistle early on James avoids deep doctrinal issues and goes straight to the heart Christian character + Godly wisdom = Genuine faith A faith devoid of “works” is a faith devoid of life

nelia
Download Presentation

James: From Unbelieving Sibling to Believing Servant

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. James: From Unbelieving Sibling to Believing Servant James 1:1

  2. James & the Church • A beloved epistle early on • James avoids deep doctrinal issues and goes straight to the heart • Christian character + Godly wisdom = Genuine faith • A faith devoid of “works” is a faith devoid of life • Living faith is one that has an effect on behavior • There is no room for complacent Christianity • Martin Luther on James: “an epistle of straw” • No significant mention of Jesus or the gospel • No mention of the Holy Spirit • Contradicted Paul’s “salvation by faith” teaching and instead taught “salvation by works” • Luther placed it after Revelation in his German Bible • Luther should have read James in light of the Sermon on the Mount rather than Paul

  3. James & Jesus • James sounds strikingly like Jesus, especially the ethical exhortations of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7) • Much of James reflects Leviticus 19 which served as the heart of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount • Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are echoed 21 times in 5 chapters of James! • Just as Jesus emphasized the practical nature of faith, James is intensely practical as it helps us grow in our faith • “Faith said must correspond to the life led” • It’s easy to claim faith, it’s harder to live it • Just as Jesus emphasized community, so too does James • Just as Jesus emphasized individual faith, so too does James • The Christian community is only as faithful as its individual members

  4. James 1:1 • Which James? Most likely the brother of Jesus who was once an unbeliever (John 7:2-5) • Prominent leader in the Jerusalem church (Acts 15; 1 Cor 15:7; Gal 2:9) • While he could boast as the brother of Christ, he is content to be his “servant” • This stings in a world hung up on titles as signs of social standing • Jesus’ Lordship is mentioned in the same breath with God implying Jesus’ divinity • James no longer views Jesus simply as his brother but as his Master, Messiah, and God • Addressed to Christians scattered by God throughout the world to be “salt and light” • “Greetings” – James begins this letter like his previous one (Acts 15:24)

  5. Summary • Just as James calls himself the servant of God and Christ, we should remember that the greatest in the kingdom is the one who serves (Mark 10:42-45) • We, like James’ original readers, are scattered throughout the world while our ultimate citizenship is in heaven • God reminds us not to be too comfortable in this world • A word on “practical” • Relevance with today’s social norms or reinforcing our own cultural values • James is impractical: 1) counter-cultural, and 2) challenges our assumptions at every turn • If we feel comfortable with the teaching of James, then we have probably misunderstood it • The church is to be a counter-cultural community that models living, active, dynamic faith

More Related