The Epistle of James: Christianity in Blue Jeans

You can take a pretty good measure of a man when he has made a mistake or in this case just left something unclear, his willingness to come back and to make it right and to clarify.

And I really appreciate what our pastor did this morning. Thank you so very much brother, that shows true humility and very, very appreciated.

Let's go to the Lord in a word of prayer and we will begin. Father, we're so very grateful for this time that you've given to us and we pray that as we go now to your word, we pray that we would learn more of you through learning more of your word as we embark upon this journey in the book of James.

We pray that it would indeed have its decreed effect in our lives, that we would be able to live out our lives in a very practical way in an everyday kind of sense of a life of obedience that brings honor and glory to Christ as we learn more from this inspired letter through your

Holy Spirit to us and it's in Jesus' name that we pray, amen, amen.

Well Rob and I have been discussing what I would do as far as filling the pulpit when

I have opportunities to preach, would I just pick up where Rob left off in the book of John the previous

Sunday or me do something a little bit different and we kind of landed on me doing something a little bit different.

So I am going to, as I have opportunities to fill the pulpit from time to time, we will be going through the book of James together, we'll be going through the book of James.

This will be just an overview and an introduction but the overall theme of this journey with you will be

James, Christianity in Blue Jeans, Christianity in Blue Jeans, that will make more sense to us as we go along.

So as we begin our journey in the book of James I invite you to turn in your copy of God's word to Matthew.

Where else would we start as we start a journey in the book of James but Matthew, right? Please go to Matthew chapter 12 and as you're turning there

I want to give you a little bit of background to the book of James. First let's consider the authorship.

Well obviously it was written by James but there's four different James in the New Testament, two of whom are not possibilities for the author of this book.

The first one is simply James, father of Judas and we don't know anything about this

James, he's mentioned only for the purpose of distinguishing this particular

Judas from the more well known and more infamous Judas Iscariot. So James, the father of Judas, that Judas is not

Judas Iscariot, it's mentioned only once in Luke chapter 6 verse 16 and nothing else is said of him, we don't know who he was so he's not a possibility.

And then there's James, son of Zebedee. James son of Zebedee is the brother of the apostle

John, he was called along with John in Matthew chapter 4 by Jesus as they were mending their nets to be his disciple.

Now this James is the prominent apostle in Jesus' inner circle,

Peter, James, and John, one of the witnesses of the transfiguration in Matthew chapter 17.

So he might seem like a good candidate at first because he certainly does have the character qualifications to write a letter inspired of the

Holy Spirit, authoritative, but this could not be our James either because he is the

James who is mentioned in Acts chapter 12 verse 2 as one who was killed by Herod, put to death by the sword, and this happened before the book of James was written.

So even though he had the qualifications he could not possibly be the author of this book.

And by the way, ponder that, that James was put to death by the sword next time you hear someone say,

Jesus will make your life better, he'll give you a better, more comfortable life, and it's not the case with the disciples and with the apostles.

So those two James are not possibilities. Two James, however, are. The first is

James son of Alphaeus. Now this James is rather obscure, not much is known about him, he's mentioned a few times, but not likely well enough known to have written an authoritative letter with his name attached to it, so I don't think that that is our

James either. The fourth James is James the half -brother of Jesus.

This is our James, the half -brother of Jesus, and of course we say that he is the half -brother because Jesus was conceived of a virgin.

Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus, but after the birth of Jesus, then

Mary and Joseph had other children the old -fashioned way. So James is the half -brother of Jesus.

This is our James. This is the author of the book of James. I want us to talk a little bit about the home life of Jesus and James.

Jesus had at least four half -brothers. Have you ever thought about what that home life would have been like?

We've all heard of civil rivalry. You know, well, if any of you have ever had an older brother or older sister, where am

I? My older brother is stronger than me. My other older brother is faster than me.

My older brother gets all the privileges. Can you imagine saying, my older brother is the son of God?

Can you imagine that? This would have caused civil rivalry to be sure, sibling rivalry.

More on that in just a moment. Now, James, of course, did not understand who his brother was.

Jesus' siblings, and Jesus had at least six siblings, he had four half -brothers and at least two sisters, possibly more, but at least two.

They would not have understood who Jesus was. Mary and Joseph did, but his siblings did not.

As far as they knew, Jesus was just, you know, another kid like one of them. You imagine growing up in that household, you know, somebody broke the vase, well, it's not

Jesus' fault. Jesus didn't do it. Somebody didn't clean their room, well, it's not Jesus' fault.

Somebody didn't take out the trash, well, we all know Jesus is not the one to blame. Can you imagine growing up in that kind of a home?

Can you imagine being around sinless perfection, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year?

You want to talk about sibling rivalry, that would have been it. That would have been it.

Perfect behavior, however, demands perfect love. Perfect behavior demands perfect love.

Undoubtedly, his brothers and sisters were jealous. How could they not have been? As far as they knew, he was just another kid.

But Jesus never did anything to foster that kind of sibling rivalry or jealousy.

Jesus never responded unkindly. He was perfect. Matthew 12, now,

Matthew 12, let's begin looking at this in verse 46. Matthew 12 is a pivotal chapter in the life and ministry of Jesus.

The religious leaders finally rejected Christ. And when

I say finally, I don't mean in the sense that their rejection was overdue. I mean they rejected him finally in the final sense for the final time.

They sealed their own fate with the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

They made the claim that Jesus was doing his signs and wonders by the power of Satan, and that is ascribing the works of the

Holy Spirit of God to the works of Satan, and that is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

It is the unforgivable sin. From time to time, people have approached me and they've said,

Justin, I'm worried that I may have committed the unpardonable sin, blasphemy of the

Holy Spirit. Dear friends, if you're worried that you have ever committed that sin, that's a sure sign that you haven't, because if you had, you wouldn't be worried about it, okay?

So if you're worried about it, that is a sure sign you have not done it. But these religious leaders did that very thing and they sealed their fate.

And many people sadly blindly followed these foolish religious leaders.

They just took them at their false word. They were not being good Bereans. They were not searching the scriptures daily to see if these things were so, and by doing that, they were in danger of sealing their own fate.

Let's look at Matthew chapter 12, verse 46. While he,

Jesus, of course, while he was still speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and brothers were standing outside seeking to speak to him.

These were not Jesus's cousins per the Roman Catholic Church. Roman Catholic Church says, these were not

Jesus's brothers and sisters. They weren't his siblings. No, these were his cousins. The Roman Catholic Church does this to perpetuate their false doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary was not only a virgin when Jesus was conceived and born, but that she remained a virgin.

And so the Roman Catholic Church says, well, these siblings, they weren't really his siblings. They were just his cousins.

But that's not true. Matthew chapter 13, verse 55, actually names

Jesus's other brothers. He had James. He had Joseph.

Of course, his father was Joseph. So I guess kind of like a Joseph Jr., apparently. Simon and Judas.

And Matthew 13, 55 also references his sisters, plural. So at least two of them.

All four gospel writers affirm that Jesus had siblings.

All four gospel writers use the Greek term for brother, adelphos or adelphoi in the plural.

And there is a term that the gospel writers could have used for cousin, anepsios, if that's what these siblings were, if they were indeed his cousin.

They would have used the word anepsios, but they didn't. They used the word for brothers. These were his siblings.

So after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph had other children the old -fashioned way.

Look at verse 47. Now, someone said to him, behold, your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to you.

The Holy Spirit in his infinite wisdom knew that a false religious system by the name of the

Roman Catholic Church would soon arise and would distort the gospel, diminish the deity and exclusivity of Christ.

And so the Holy Spirit made certain that all four gospel writers made specific and undeniable reference to the fact that Jesus had siblings, brothers and sisters.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches the perpetual virginity of Mary because they hold that she herself was born of a virgin.

You've heard of the term immaculate conception. A lot of people think that the immaculate conception refers to the conception of Jesus.

It does not. In the Roman Catholic Church, the immaculate conception refers to the conception of Mary.

They believe that Mary was born of a virgin. They believe that Mary was sinless.

In fact, they believe that Mary never died. They believe that Mary was just assumed up into heaven, that she ascended into heaven just like Jesus did.

They make her a co -redemptrix with Christ, that Jesus is not our only redeemer,

Mary is too. She's a co -redemptrix. Never mind that 1

Timothy 2, verse 5 says, for there is one God and one mediator also between God and men, the man

Christ Jesus. The Roman Catholic view of Mary elevates her to a status that she never had.

It denigrates the deity and exclusivity of Jesus Christ. Was Mary sinless?

We'll consider Mary's own words in Luke chapter 1, 46 through 47. Mary, immediately after the visitation of the angel

Gabriel who told her that she would give birth to Jesus, Mary cried out this.

She said, my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God, my savior, my savior.

If Mary was sinless, she would have no need of a savior. And yet she says, my soul rejoices in God, my savior.

Please know, dear friends, that the Mary of the Roman Catholic Church is not the

Mary of the Bible. The Jesus of the Roman Catholic Church is not the Jesus of the

Bible. Verse 48, but Jesus answered the one who was telling him and said, who is my mother and who are my brothers?

Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? Now, his mother and his brothers were standing there wanting to speak to him, and he says, who is my mother?

Who are my brothers? At first, this might seem like a slight to them.

It was not, not at all. In fact, Jesus was here affirming that the most significant, the most meaningful, the deepest relationships that we as Christians have are not necessarily with members of our own blood kin.

The most important relationships that we have are spiritual relationships.

I will be Kathy's husband for as many days as God gives me on this earth or as he gives her on this earth.

But you know what? One of these days when death do we part and we're in heaven, I'm not going to be her husband anymore.

She's not going to be my wife anymore. So I'm only going to be her husband for a short time.

She's only going to be my wife for a short time. But you know what, dear friends? I'm going to be her brother in Christ for all of eternity.

She's going to be my wife, excuse me, my sister in Christ for all of eternity.

Our most important relationships are not necessarily familial, they're spiritual.

When we are saved, when we are converted, we are adopted into the family of God.

We become children of God by adoption. We become members of the family of God.

Becoming a Christian may cost you familial relationships. It may do that.

But know, dear ones, if you are a Christian, you have family members all around the world.

You have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world. That is one of the tremendous blessings that has been mine as an evangelist, is getting to travel around the world and preach in different countries.

And I've been in 33 different countries now preaching. And it does not matter where in the world

I am. It does not matter what culture I'm in. It doesn't matter how much or how little the people have.

It doesn't even matter what language is spoken. And you know what? It certainly does not matter how much or how little melanin we have in our skin.

When I am with like -minded brothers and sisters in Christ, there is an instant bond.

There is an instant fellowship. There is an instant love there. I love these people.

And they love me because we're family. We have been adopted into the family of God.

Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? The family of God. The family of God.

Look with me in John chapter 2, excuse me, John chapter 7, verses 2 through 5.

John 7, 2 through 5, it says, now the feast of the

Jews, the feast of booths, was near. Therefore his brothers said to him, to Christ, leave here and go into Judea so that your disciples also may see the works which you are doing.

For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself publicly to the world.

For not even his brothers were believing in him. This was no statement of affirmation.

Jesus' brothers were chiding him. They were being very sarcastic. You think you're all that?

Well, Jesus, take your show on the road. Take your show on the road and see how people receive you.

Let's see your stuff. They were chiding him. This was very sarcastic. It shows you how deeply his own siblings did not believe in their older brother.

And this, by the way, dispels the apocryphal tales that you find in the Roman Catholic Church.

A lot of times, well, when Jesus was a little boy, he made a pigeon out of clay, and the pigeon came to life and flew away.

You may have heard stories like that. That's not true. He didn't do any of those things. His own brothers and sisters did not believe him.

In fact, in Mark 3, verse 21, it says that Jesus' siblings thought that he was out of his mind.

They thought he was crazy. They thought he had lost it. Practical application of this for us, dear friends, sometimes members of our own family are the hardest ones to speak the truth to.

Members of our own family are the hardest ones to speak the truth to. Jesus said that a prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and among his own countrymen.

Sometimes members of our family will hear the same thing, but they've just got to hear it from someone else besides us.

Sometimes familiarity brings contempt. Charles Spurgeon says the same sun that melts the wax also hardens the clay.

Jesus' siblings had grown up with him, and they had contempt for him. There is a danger, to make an application of that, there is a danger in what is called cultural

Christianity. So many people, and I'll say this especially from the south where I'm from, in Mississippi in the

Bible Belt, there's a danger of familiarity of the gospel, as counterintuitive as that might sound.

There's a danger because if you're kind of raised in a church -going environment, you just kind of automatically think that you're a

Christian. And many people, whether north or south, profess to be Christians, but there's been no change in their lives.

The same sun that melts the wax also hardens the clay. So how did

James come to a saving knowledge of his older brother? Let's look at the conversion of James, the conversion of James, Jesus' half -brother.

Look with me in Acts chapter 1, Acts chapter 1 verses 13 through 14.

Says, and when they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying.

That is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, that's one of our

James's, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, there's another one.

These, all with one accord, were continually devoting themselves to prayer. And watch this, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers.

So Acts chapter 1, this is after the crucifixion, of course. This is after the resurrection. This is the day of Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit was about to fall and the church would be born. And lo and behold, who's there?

James and Jesus' brothers. They're there. Now, just a month and a half before then, they couldn't stand their brother.

They had nothing but disdain for their brother. And yet, here they are in the upper room.

This tells us that at some point, his brothers came to a saving knowledge of Christ.

What changed? The resurrection changed. The resurrection.

1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 7, Jesus appeared to 500 brothers at once, and then he appeared to James also.

That is a tender text. Jesus appeared to 500 people all at once, and then the text says, it makes it very clear, and he appeared to James also.

Singles James out. I believe that this was a private appearance of the resurrected

Lord Jesus Christ to his half -brother James. This was a private appearance. This was a private encounter.

And James saw his half -brother Jesus bodily standing before him when he knew that just a few weeks before, he had been nailed to a tree.

And Jesus made a private appearance to him. This is very tender. I believe that this is when

James got saved, when he was converted. Dear friends, think about this.

None of Jesus' siblings were there at his crucifixion. Not one.

His mother was there, Mary. Joseph was not, and so we surmise that Joseph by this time had already died.

So Mary was there, and then John, who would become an apostle, he was there. But none of his siblings were.

None of them. How much hatred would you have to have for your sibling?

They undoubtedly knew that he was being crucified. Everybody in Jerusalem knew it. Everybody.

But they didn't bother to show up. They just let him die. How much hatred?

How much disdain? And then in such a short amount of time, you go from that to being in the upper room, devoting yourselves to prayer.

That is only a work of the Holy Spirit of God. Only God's Holy Spirit can do that.

Only the Holy Spirit of God. An application of this for us regarding our family members, dear friends, some of our family members will never believe.

Some of them will never believe. In Matthew 10, beginning in verse 34,

Jesus said, do not think that I came to bring peace. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

I came to set father against son, mother against daughter, daughter -in -law against mother -in -law.

And your enemies, a man's enemies, will be members of his own household. Some of our family members may never come to faith in Christ.

And apparently, Jesus' sisters did not because they were not in the upper room.

Now, it's not that they're not mentioned simply because they were women, because remember in Acts 1, it says these with one accord were continually devoting themselves to prayer along with the women.

So women were there, but Jesus' sisters were not there. They apparently did not come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

If you have lost family members, and you have shared the gospel with them, and you have tried to be a good witness to them, a good model of Christian behavior, you've shown them love, please, dear friends, don't think that their lack of salvation is your fault.

Please don't think that you haven't been a good enough witness, you haven't been a good enough model. Jesus' own sisters had the perfect witness, the perfect model,

Christ himself, but they did not come to faith. Some of our family members, however, very well may.

Galatians 1, verses 15 and 16, I love what Paul says. Paul says in Galatians 1, he references his own conversion.

He says, this happened when it pleased God to reveal Christ in me.

When it pleased God to reveal Christ in me. Dear friends, salvation is an appointment.

It is an appointment that cannot be delayed, and it cannot be rushed. There comes a time when it pleases

God to reveal Christ to people. That time cannot be rushed, it cannot be delayed.

And dear friends, if you have lost family members, if you have lost friends, don't think that their lack of conversion is your fault.

Keep sharing the truth with them as often as you have opportunity to do it.

Keep those lines of communication open, keep sharing the truth. Be a good Christian witness to them.

You never know when the light may come on. You never know when the light will come on.

And sometimes the light comes on with people at the most unexpected of times. Sometimes when you think there is no hope, there is no way, there's just no way this person's ever gonna come to faith in Christ.

You never know, because that time very well may come when it pleases God to reveal

Christ to them. After James' conversion, not only did

James get saved, but James became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He became the pastor in Jerusalem.

He went from hating his brother to being a pastor of the church in Jerusalem. He presided over the

Jerusalem council in Acts chapter 15. They had a council to try to decide, okay, is salvation by grace alone through faith alone?

Or is salvation by grace through faith plus keeping the law, plus being circumcised?

So they had a council to hash this out, and they came out and said salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

You do not have to keep the law. You don't have to get circumcised. Salvation is all of God's grace.

It's none of us. It's none of our works. It's a monumental decision, and James, the half -brother of Jesus, led this.

By the way, salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, that is the very thing that the

Roman Catholic Church has pronounced as anathema in the Council of Trent that ended in 1563.

The Roman Catholic Church has literally anathematized the gospel. They have on their books, it is official

Roman Catholic doctrine to this day. If you believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, you are anathema.

You will die and go to hell. That is official Roman Catholic doctrine. Acts chapter 21, verses 17 through 18.

Look with me there. In Acts chapter 21, wonderful little insight here.

In verse 17 and 18, it says, after we, of course,

Luke is writing this. Luke is the author of Acts, so Paul and Luke.

After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly. And the following day,

Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. Notice that phrase.

Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. Here we see a plurality of elders.

This is how God has organized his church. He has designed it that all churches are to be led by a plurality of biblically qualified men that we call elders.

Peter, John, and James were the elders. But James was the leader, if you will.

He was a first among equals. James had no more authority than the other elders, but he was kind of the first among equals.

If you're familiar at all with Grace Community Church, pastored by John MacArthur, people, you think of John MacArthur as being the, quote, unquote, senior pastor of Grace Community Church.

Senior pastor is not a biblical term, it's just kind of something we've picked up and started using.

But John MacArthur is, he's an elder at the church, but he has no more authority than any of the other almost 40 or so elders at the church.

So the other elders have just as much authority as does John MacArthur, but John MacArthur's kind of, he's the first among equals.

He's the one that's in the forefront. He does most of the preaching. James was this in the church at Jerusalem.

One of the marks of a healthy church, a plurality of elders, and that's what this church, by God's grace, is moving towards.

So now let us turn our attention to the book of James. Let's look at that. So actually flip with me now to the book of James.

That's just, I wanted you to know some background information and who James is, some of the interesting dynamics there, and how he came to be the author of this letter.

James is the first New Testament book to be written. It was written about the year

AD 45, a year or so maybe on either side, but probably the year AD 45.

It had to be written before the Jerusalem Council because it was never mentioned in James.

Remember that the books in the New Testament are not necessarily in chronological order.

So James was the very first book in the New Testament to be written. And it was written to an audience of Jewish believers,

Jewish believers. Notice what James says in his opening verse. He says, James, a slave of God and of the

Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes who are in the dispersion, greetings.

To the 12 tribes who are in the dispersion. Another way of referring to Israel.

Israel was divided into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom had 10 tribes.

That's what we refer to as Israel. And then the southern kingdom, the two tribes of Judah, that was the southern kingdom.

But kind of collectively here, the dispersion referring to the 12 tribes of Israel who were dispersed.

They were dispersed out from Jerusalem, out from Israel through various invading countries,

Babylonians, Assyrians, Amorites, Hittites, all the Hites, you know, and they dispersed people.

So that's the dispersion. Jews from every tribe dispersed abroad.

That's who James is writing to, the diaspora. Now, one day,

God will miraculously and providentially bring all of these tribes back.

That's what Ezekiel 37 prophesies. God will bring all of the tribes of Judah back to Israel.

And I believe this process began in earnest in the year 1948 when

Israel was recognized as a nation. Dear friends,

Israel is the only country in the history of the planet that ever existed, ceased to exist, and then came back into existence.

Hebrew is the only language in the history of the planet that was ever spoken, ceased to be spoken, and is now spoken again.

Almost like God has a plan for Israel or something, I don't know, you know. Isn't that amazing?

And sorry, dear friends, you know, I'm as patriotic as the next guy, but the

United States of America is not in a covenant relationship with God. There's only one nation who is in a covenant relationship with God, and that is

Israel. So, this reconstituting of the nation of Israel, I believe, began in earnest in 1948.

I think 1948 got the eschatological clock ticking. So, James, the book, has a very heavy

Jewish flavor because he was writing to Jews. James directly quotes the

Old Testament four times, but he alludes to it and references it almost 40 times.

So, there's a lot of Old Testament imagery, a lot of Old Testament terminology in the book of James.

James mentions a number of Old Testament characters. He mentions Elijah, he mentions

Abraham, Rahab, he mentions Job. James is not an overtly doctrinal book, not like the book, for example, of Romans.

You know, Romans, that's the heavy doctrine, right? James is not like that. James doesn't have a lot of overtly doctrinal themes in it.

It is, however, very practical. James is doctrine applied.

Remember when I began James, Christianity in blue jeans. This is what living the

Christian life looks like. If you want to know what living the Christian life looks like, read the book of James.

James is one of the most often quoted books in the New Testament. So, it's very practical.

So, it's kind of the marriage of doctrine and application. Doctrine, apart from application, is profoundly dangerous.

1 Timothy 4 .16, our pastor Rob has already mentioned it, watch your doctrine in your life closely.

Sound doctrine, holy living. These things must be married.

You can have sound doctrine, you can have head knowledge, you can have all your doctrinal eyes dotted and your

T's crossed, but without holy living, it will profit you nothing.

It will profit you, not only will it not profit you anything, it will make your condemnation greater.

Watch your doctrine in your life closely. James is doctrine applied.

There are 108 verses in the book of James, and within those 108 verses, you will find 59 commands, imperatives, commands.

Do this, do that. James 1 .22, probably the most famous of these commands, but become doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

Doctrine applied. Christianity in blue jeans. James has a higher frequency of imperative verbs than any other

New Testament book, and that by far, the second is not even a close second. The book of James is very concise.

James rarely develops the points that he is making in a lot of detail, very concise.

He kind of, James, he has a tendency to make his point, give the command, and then move on to the next one.

Some have referred to James as the Proverbs of the New Testament. If you were to come up to James, if he were here today, and you were to come up to James and say,

James, I need some advice, here's probably how he would have responded to you.

He'd say, what's your problem? What's the Bible say? Why are we still talking?

That's James' approach. James uses a lot of metaphors, a lot of illustrations.

This makes it easy to understand and apply. He talks about a billowing sea, withered flower, face in the mirror, rudder of a ship, bit in a horse's mouth, destructive forest fires, pure springs of water, corroded metal, moth -eaten clothes, these are all everyday things to which we can all relate.

These are all metaphors used by James, and so it's, even though he doesn't develop his points in a lot of detail, the points that he is making are absolutely unmistakable, absolutely unmistakable.

Christianity in blue jeans. Have you ever wondered, have you ever asked yourself, how much do

I really love? How much do you love God? How much do

I love God? Well, read through the book of James, and you'll get a pretty good idea.

Dear friends, oftentimes we think of love in terms of feelings and emotions, and certainly, feelings and emotions are kind of byproducts of love, but the

Bible does not define love in terms of feelings and emotions and having warm fuzzies.

So if you wanna know how much you love God, don't look to your feelings and your emotions, because feelings and emotions, they ebb and wane.

They come and go. The Bible defines love by obedience, by obedience.

John chapter 14, verse 21, Jesus says, he who has my commandments and does what?

Keeps them, obeys them. He is the one who loves me.

First John two, verse three says this, and by this we know that we have come to know him if we do what?

Keep his commandments, keep his commandments. So if you wanna get an idea of how much you truly love

God, don't look to your feelings and emotions so much. I'm not against them, but they're not always reliable.

Ask yourself this question, how much do I obey God? How much do I obey him? Jesus made an interesting and very telling statement in John chapter three, verse 36.

Don't have to turn there, but if you're taking notes, jot that verse down, John three, verse 36.

Jesus said this, he who believes in the son has eternal life, but he who does not, and we would expect him to say believe, right?

But that's not what he says. He who does not obey the son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

Now we would tend to think of the opposite of belief as unbelief, right? That's what we would normally think of.

What's the opposite of belief? Unbelief. But that's not how the Bible defines it. The opposite of belief, biblically speaking, is not unbelief.

The opposite of belief is disobedience. He who has the son, he who believes in the son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

You see, dear friends, saving faith is changing faith.

To be a Christian, yes, we must believe intellectually that Jesus is the son of God, that he came to this earth, lived a sinless life, the

God -man, and Jesus willingly laid down his life on the cross, died on the cross, paid the penalty of our sins.

Three days later, bodily raised from the dead. We've got to believe these things. So salvation does include intellectual assent.

But guess who else believes these things just like we do? The demons do. The demons believe these things just as much as we do, and they tremble, but they're not saved.

They're condemned. Oh, they believe it up here, but what do they not do?

They do not obey. The opposite of belief, biblically speaking, is not unbelief, it's disobedience.

And James makes this very clear, and he fleshes it out in very practical ways. Saving faith is changing faith.

First Corinthians chapter six, nine, 10, and 11, as Pastor Rob has referenced it already,

Paul says, do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor revilers, nor drunkards, nor covetous, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Such were some of you. Paul says you were those things, but you're not anymore.

You were a reviler, but you're not anymore. You were a drunkard, but you're not anymore. You were effeminate, but you're not anymore.

You were a homosexual, but you're not anymore. But you were washed, you were justified, you were sanctified in the name of the

Lord Jesus Christ in the spirit of our God. We were washed, we were sanctified, justified.

We're not those things anymore. Saving faith is changing faith.

If you doubt whether or not you truly belong to Christ, Paul says, examine yourself to see if you're in the faith.

Has there been a change in my life? Has my intellectual ascent to the gospel facts, has it changed me?

Do I have new desires? Do I have new affections? Do I love what

God loves? Do I hate what God hates? Do I desire to live a life of obedience to the gospel, to the glory of Christ?

We will see in James how doctrine affects our lives. For example, how does faith relate to trials?

We'll see that in chapter one. How does it relate to temptation? How does it relate to partiality?

How does it relate to our tongues? How does it relate to riches and orphans and widows?

It's Christianity in blue jeans. This is the book of James. And as I close,

I'll bring your attention to what he says in the opening verse, James chapter one, verse one.

James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love how

James opens his letter. James is the half -brother of Jesus.

Notice how James introduces himself. James does not appeal to his familial relationship with Christ.

He doesn't come in, you know, like big man on campus. You know, I am

James. I'm the half -brother of Jesus. I grew up in the same home with Jesus.

He's my half -brother. Oh no, I'm James, the slave of God and of the

Lord Jesus Christ. He knew that his most important relationship with Jesus was not as his half -brother, but was as his slave.

I'm the slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's humility.

That's humility. Saving faith is changing faith.

Has that change taken place in your life? Has there been a time in your life when you have been convicted by the

Holy Spirit of God that you are a sinner, that you have broken God's laws, and because of your rebellion against God, the righteous wrath of God abides on you?

And the only way to have that wrath removed is to repent of sin, turn from sin, and place your trust in what

Jesus did on the cross. You cannot save yourself. Your works are as filthy rags before a thrice -holy

God. But if you will come to Christ trusting him in him alone, if you will come to him empty -handed, if you will come to him seeking not only a savior from hell, but a savior from sin, he will save you.

You will pass from death to life. All things passed away, behold, all things will be made new.

He will give you new desires, new affections, a new heart. You will love what he loves, you'll hate what he hates, and you will desire to live a life of obedience to the glory of Christ, our master, and we his slaves.

Let's close in order. Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you. As we go to it, there's just so many riches and treasures.

Lord, as we ponder the rejection of Christ by his own siblings, his own half -brothers and sisters, and then see, at least among his brothers, this dramatic change.

They go from hating and having nothing but disdain for Christ, not even being there when he was crucified, to calling themselves the slaves of God, the slave of Christ.

Lord, what a magnificent transformation. We marvel at the power of your Holy Spirit, and we pray as the gospel has been presented that your

Holy Spirit would do in anyone who is here this morning who has not yet had that transformation take place in their lives.

I pray that you would convict of sin, righteousness, and judgment, convict of the truth of the gospel, call any lost sheep to yourself, to the shepherd, so that we would live lives of obedience and adorn the gospel with our holiness as we watch our doctrine in our lives closely.