Introduction to the Epistle of James

And I got this recorder going so praise God for those that did not make it today. This will be a blessing to them. But beginning a study of the book of the Bible is something like preparing for a trip.

I was thinking about this and I said, you know before we prepare for a trip. Everyone likes to know where you going. Number one and Second second is what you can expect to see along the journey. So with that in mind We're going to begin this exposition Through this little practical powerful convicting book and I would like to give a two-part series of a survey.

There's a lot to be said here. So I'm gonna speak as fast as I can because there's a lot of territory on the covers. I would suggest if you do have pen and paper. I'm not going to be able to go to a lot of scriptures and read them out.

But I'm gonna give you the chapter in the verses. I think you can look them up in your devotional time. It would be very enriching to your soul.

I.

Didn't have a chance of so many verses a scripture to go to. I didn't have time to go to the references myself. I wished I could have but there's so much it has to be said in this backdrop in this overview in this survey.

But on this introduction through the general epistle of James to give us a detailed overview. And this is what why I broke it down into two parts. So perhaps The best way to launch into a study like this through the epistle is to answer four key important questions.

And these are my points here, and we're going to look at this today and Lord willing next week. We're going to look at a little bit more detail in this so we're going to we're going to. There's gonna be a lot of territory covered today.

So I need the the help of the Holy Spirit and before I pray let me give you my points. First of all we're going to look at who was James who was James. Second we're going to look at to whom did James write to whom did John James, right?

The third point I would like to present is why this is a good one. Why did James write this epistle? What was his motive? What was his purpose? What was his reason for it? So we're going to look who was James to whom did James write and why did James write this epistle and fourth.

This application and I'm going to probably get a lot about. I'm gonna hit about five essentials. On application here, and this is going to give it application here, and I think the fourth would be. Where it's going to really hit home to us, and I'd like to cover.

On the fourth point how can we get the most out of studying this epistle? How can we get the most out of studying this epistle as we study this together by the way? I've studied the the book of James many times, and I've gone through it.

It's positionally verse-by-verse and Every time I study God's Word. There's always a gym I always pull out and by God's help, and I see something I didn't see there before. No matter how many scriptures, you know and you can know about them by memory and you can study it meditate on it.

God the Holy Spirit always has something to reveal to us a rich gym. Hey, and that's that's the beauty of it isn't it that when you dig into God's Word, and you study it. It the Holy Spirit helps us as we study and meditate and ponder on it.

It brings it to life doesn't it and this is something we've never seen before. And that's why I've given each and every one of you An outline. I got the outline to give John MacArthur the credits on that.

The outline is a series of tests. You'll see that all the way through the whole book. It's a little bit more darker print if you see it and also you see which I love is the parallels that you see in the epistle of James to the Sermon on the Mount and He James is constantly alluding to that we will look at that as well.

So it's very practical. This is a very practical book and It's it's very convicting a very very convicting and I think and as I was contemplating on it I said, you know Lord a lot of us is here in the book of James trials.

We need the test of how to pray more fervently. There's there's testings constantly. We always has to Lord help us to guard our tongue. Keep us unspotted from the world. We see all these things. So we're gonna look more into that.

Later into the service. So first of all Turn with me to this wonderful physical James and we're gonna look at just one portion of one verse is the introduction and the introduction James 1 1 and I'm only cover just 1 a that's the first part of it.

He begins the greeting actually to the 12 tribes. And he says this he begins James a Bond servant or I should say a bond slave in the original a do-loss a bond slave of God. And of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad.

Greetings, let's pray our father is We look into your word this morning, I pray Lord that your Holy Spirit would so help us and guide us and lead us Into the path of righteousness here before us because your word is absolutely pure and perfect.

It's the perfect law of Liberty as James says and we will be looking into it as a mirror beholding ourselves. How we really are and this is very very convicting because when we really see who we are as you see this.

It's brings us low. And father that's the way it should be. We should be low and you're high and lifted up. So father right now I would pray that your Holy Spirit would give us a right knowledge of who you are and the right knowledge of who we are.

Fill us each father give us give us the anointing that comes from above that's pure Holy that holy anointing so father help us as we embark on this new study. However long it takes father, we just ask that your Holy Spirit would just give it and give us The eyes to see the ears to hear the heart to perceive and to understand and Lord most of all help us to apply this.

That we would just not be hearers of the word but to be doers. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. But first of all, let's look at the first point. We begin our journey by Who was James who was James the first verse of this epistle introduces us to the human author of this epistle in James 1 1 a James it says a bond servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the way that he introduced himself.

To.

The twelve tribes which are scattered abroad and in which he wrote the letter. But in spite of his great prominence and he had great prominence within the church at.

Jerusalem.

At that time and in church history, which stands out in the first verse of this epistle and.

What really?

Stands out more than anything is his character is who he is. It is his humility. That is the very first thing that we see. Why. Because he introduces himself as a bond?

Servant.

Now I want you to think of this for a minute of the various men in the New Testament named James. Only two were prominent enough to have pinned such an authoritative letter.

Now.

First would be James the son of Zebedee son the son of Zebedee he's the brother of John and Second would be James the Lord's half-brother. That's the only two that we can see here. But James as you know in Scripture James the son of Zebedee's early martyrdom in Acts chapter 12 verse 2 Eliminates him as the candidate.

So he's eliminated as being the one who writes this epistle. So this leaves us the half-brother of the Lord Jesus as the author of this epistle James along with the rest of Jesus's brother. And if you remember what it says in the gospel, actually, I have it written down here initially was rejected rejected Jesus Christ According to John chapter 7 verse 5.

It says. For even his brothers did not believe in him. Even his brothers did not believe in him in the early part of Jesus's ministry so later, however James the half-brother of the Lord came to believe in Jesus as Israel's Messiah and his personal Lord his master and.

He.

Says this and such as such was his godliness and his humility and his zeal. That he in his wisdom Let me say that as well that he soon became recognized the head of the Jerusalem Church according to Acts 12 verse 17.

Galatians 2 verse 9 and. Also as I was studying this James held that position until his martyrdom about AD 62. According to Galatians 2 9 the Apostle Paul says James along with Cephas. Speaking of Peter was known as a pillar in the church of the Living God.

He became the leader of the church in Jerusalem and It was James who moderated and led the church conference the council there described in Acts chapter 15 a tremendous tremendous thing that was taking place during a transition of the church.

Acts chapter 12 verse 17 tells us this that when Peter delivered. Well, it was delivered from prison. He sent a special message to James and when Paul visited Jerusalem It was James that brought greetings and a special love offering.

You can read this From the Gentiles according to Acts chapter 21 verses 18 through 19. So even though we have no record and the inspired Word of God the Bible itself About the death of James and how he died.

There is historical facts of tradition that tells us how James was martyred in AD 62. And that's when his martyrdom took place according to tradition now. Scripture does not record this but history does.

The story is told that the Pharisees in Jerusalem hated James's testimony for Christ so much That they had cast him down from the temple and literally beaten him to death with clubs. That's what tradition says and the story also relates that James died and as he was dying He was exemplifying his Lord and Savior praying for his murderers.

He's prayed father forgive them for they do not know what they did just like Stephen the very first martyr of the church. So what kind of man was James? What kind of man was James? Well, I noticed. Again, he does not describe himself as Mary's son.

He could have easily said I'm the son of Mary. And I'm the Lord's half-brother. He could have said that but he chose not to and the Holy Spirit Actually was breathing upon him not to do this because that's the way God is.

God never wants to demand himself to be exalted. God is always to be exalted. Nor does he refer listen to this? You'd have many pastors today and theologians that would love to put their position in there and say I'm the head Pastor, I'm the head honcho.

He would place his position as the head of the Jerusalem Church. He could have said I am the head of the Jerusalem Church. He did not do that. Or did he mention that the resurrected Christ personally appeared to him?

He did not put that. Instead he describes himself as a bond servant a bond slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ says, you know, we're Looking and glancing through the book slave written by the pastor John MacArthur.

He deals with this one thing throughout this book and it's called doulas. That's the Greek bond slave Slave the book slave and actually I don't have time to go into this but in the prayer time during midweek prayer.

We going through that and I wish I was there really it's it's really a great study, but this one Hidden word as MacArthur says is doulas and it depicts a slave a Slave and that's the way James introduces himself.

I'm a bond slave. I'm a bond sir a person deprived of all personal freedom. He is possessed and and By God, he's purchased by God totally and completely under the control of his master. That's a slave.

Not only was he a humble man and he speaks of his humility and his introduction speaks of his humility. I should say He was he was also a deeply very discerning God-fearing Man to gain leadership in Jerusalem Church in such a short time.

God placed him there and his stature is seen in Acts 15. And you can read Acts 15. So it's a very important chapter in the book of Acts because this is where he was able to permit all the factions that was taking Place during the transition of the church To express themselves.

He allowed that to happen. They brought it before the table. It was very controversial it caused conflict within the early church and then he was the man that God used to bring peace and Wisdom drawing a conclusion based on the Word of God.

James was the one that stood up. Now the Apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians 9 5 suggested. He was also a married man along with Cephas. So you could see that he mentions the Lord's brothers. He doesn't mention Necessarily mentions his name, but he mentions the Lord's brothers.

But he mentioned Cephas and we do know that he was he was suggested there as a married man again, according to tradition again. Tells us that he was a man of prayer. We could see that through his writings.

All right in James and this explains the emphasis he places on the importance of prayer in his epistle as I said. So again tradition also says he prayed so much and I've heard this before that his knees were his camel's knees.

Now I've heard that they said he prayed on his knees so much his knees was like knees of a camel. I Couldn't believe that James was a Jewish man. He was reared in the tradition of the wall of Moses as we we would see.

And also we will notice in the study of this epistle James never gives suggestions. Throughout this epistle does it but there's commands. He has a commanding way like a prophet. That speaks he writes with great authority.

Great authority, but yet he is he is a humble man and in this epistle There are over 50 imperatives. 50 imperatives. There may be more but that's what I've come to this study. And he quotes the Old Testament.

Now. This is interesting quotes the Old Testament only five times. Now think of this only five times but there are many allusions to the Old Testament as in this letter. Many many allusions and.

Also.

With 59 commands in an 108 verses the epistle of James has obvious. He's obvious Zealous for the law and the law is good and it's holy. It cannot say we know that. But you see the holiness of God in this epistle just so brought forth.

And but it's brought forth in a practical way. It's in his imperatives James directly communicates to the royal law that speaks of the law of King Jesus. That's the royal law James 2a and He brings that out.

Now, what about the voice of James. I got this wrote down and Under the outline of who was James, but what about his voice now Bible is it seems that we grasp the gospel of James. Like to put it that way.

We also profit by hearing the distinctive voice of James. What kind of voice did he speak with. He speaks with great clarity number one. You see there's clear clear you have no doubt what he's saying.

It's absolutely clear and it's simple. It's pointed isn't it? It hits the heart notice what he said about chapter 3 and I said I'll be honest with you. I'm excited about this study but when I get the chapter 3, I'm going to be wiggling and squirming and and Moving all about because he hits me everywhere there.

And I think it's all of us because we've all sinned our tongue. I mean he respects you still do. But he speaks with clarity doesn't it and he speaks like an Old Testament prophet. Though the book of James is not essentially prophecy.

But when James begins to denounce sin, he can sound like a prophet of old doesn't.

He.

And what kind of example can I give on that. Well when he warns of God's judgment. Will shorten the life of the rich and the lawless. And James 1 11 and James 5 5. He speaks like a prophet doesn't he.

There's warnings. This sounds like a great deal like the prophet out the prophets Isaiah when they when he spoke against such in the book and also the prophet Amos and the scripture references I have in Isaiah's and Isaiah chapter 5 verses 8 and 9 and Amos 5 11 and 12.

An Observant Christian comparing Romans and Hebrews. With James will notice differences between James and the other epistles. For example James neither opens, I'm sorry. No opens nor closes with formal greetings doesn't he makes no references to personal shared history.

Other apostles do that like unlike Paul James claims no authority or rank. Unlike Paul and Hebrews James has little theological argumentation. He doesn't approach this book from like as a theologian would.

He never gets very theological on justification by faith or salvation. Rather, it's a sin. It's a sin here. James sounds more like the prophets speaking like a wise man and contrary and contrast. Paul sounds like a Theologian.

Paul would be the theologian in a sense. James also resembles wisdom and brother Keith was talking about this, but this is very good. It's almost as James and Solomon agree with that wisdom is a gift that we rightly seek from God.

You see this in James. There's wisdom. He speaks of heavenly wisdom. We'll be looking at that. According to first Kings 3 7 and 12 7 through 12 and then James speaks of wisdom in chapter 1 verses 5 through 8.

They also agreed that we can work for wisdom. I Didn't say salvation. I'm talking about wisdom. Something's wisdom. We has to be pursued. We have to go after it with everything we have like gold and rubies, and that's what Solomon says.

James is very similar. Wisdom involves both meditation on Scripture and observation of the world. You can read this throughout the the wisdom literature and in Solomon and.

Proverbs.

Ecclesiastes.

And this is why wisdom often often says and I love this. I wrote three words wisdom says I have seen I have seen. You can you can pick that up in Job 5 3 Ecclesiastes chapter 1 14 Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 10 Ecclesiastes 5 13 Ecclesiastes 6 1 Ecclesiastes 9 11 Ecclesiastes 10 5 and 7 just about through the whole book of Ecclesiastes.

But wisdom not only says I have seen it also says observed. Observed Job 4 8 or wisdom also says do you see in Proverbs 22 29 and Proverbs? 2612 and Proverbs 29 20 a lot of Proverbs there. Wisdom observes the blessings of obedience and the price of disobedience.

That's huge, isn't it? Wisdom observes the blessings of obedience to God's Word and the price of disobeying God's Word. That's what wisdom says. So many people not wise you know why they don't fear God.

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord and the fear of the Lord is to hate sin. That's what scripture says. This brother Keith prayed this morning. Scripture actually teaches us how to fear the Lord and that's why it's important that we Stay in the scriptures and I tell you book of Proverbs and linked with James is a great link.

Because they have a lot in common. James does the same thing. James also I must have paid very close attention to her what our Lord taught. And in the outline that's given to you his epistle. There are numerous allusions to the Lord's sayings particularly the Sermon on the Mount.

There's so many parallels it's incredible and I really believe he He paid close close attention and now in part two next week Lord willing We'll be looking more in detail in this and I'd like to bring that out.

But in the meantime and today We can look you can look at the references given to you on the sheet of paper. That brother Ben put together. Thank you brother Ben for doing that. It's rich in content and it's rich in application.

But also keep in mind that James led the church in Jerusalem during a very very difficult time in history. It was a time of transition as I said. And as you well know transitions can be very very difficult.

It was very difficult for the early church. It was a huge transition. And we don't realize this but such times let me let me touch on this just a little bit such times are all Always upsetting and demanding as you can.

There's so many details. We probably don't know but what scripture gives us it was very it was a very difficult transition. And it caused a lot of problems. There were many Christian Jews in Jerusalem who still held to the Old Testament law.

And that was very serious. Acts 21 20 says this and when they heard it they glorified the Lord and they said to him. You see brother how many? Marriages of Jews there are who have believed and they are all zealous for the law so the temple and its services were still in operation during that time period and The full light of the God the gospel of God's grace had not yet dawned completely.

Paul was breaking some serious ground as the Apostle to the Gentiles and As the gospel first came to the Jew and the transition that was going to the Gentile because of the Jews Israel's rejection of it, but that's the way God worked right and you can read that in Romans 9 10 11.

We have Romans. We have Galatians. We have Hebrews. I want you to think about this and at that time period Paul hasn't written those epistles yet. We take that for granted, don't we? They did not have Paul's epistles at that time period.

So these Jews were saved. But they were still in the shadows of the law moving out into the bright light of the gospel of God's grace and while there are many or should I say where there may have been differences in degrees of spiritual knowledge and Experiences and I like to bring this out because You said you have so many different theologians and pastors today.

I'd like to be in competition with one another but there was never any competition between Paul and James who directed the Jerusalem Church the spirit of competition was not among them. They had the spirit the true spirit of humility and they depended on the power and the leading of the Holy Spirit of God to direct them.

And you have references to that to Galatians chapter 2 verses 1 to 10 well, that's a quick overview of.

Who is James? I?

May cover a little bit more of that next week. Secondly, let's look. To whom did James right. To whom did it James, right? Well, we already know this. And he opens his statement to the twelve tribes which are scattered.

Another translation says. Or disperse.

Disperse.

Abroad scattered abroad or dispersed abroad James wrote to the Jews that was living outside of the land of Palestine. The term twelve tribes can only mean to the people of Israel. That's what it means the people of Israel the Jewish nation.

So he's writing to the Jewish nation. So James in this letter to Christian Jews. These are believing Jews. And at least 19 times he addressed him as brethren. Brethren indicating not only Brothers in the flesh as a Jew.

You're my fellow Jew.

Brethren.

But also brothers in the Lord. Brothers in the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't that important? Heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ. He was connecting that identification with the Lord Jesus Christ. So James was very clear on the doctrine of the new birth in James 1 18.

And there are times when James also addresses wicked. The wicked rich man you say this and he's aren't on them who were not in fellowship with the truth and the truth. The wicked rich for example in James chapter 1 verses 1 through 6.

And let me say this such are tears among we.

They are.

There are tears among the way. But his primary target were to the same Jews in which he teaches and encourages throughout this epistle. So we see this so the epistle of James is first in a group of epistles.

That.

Customary will call the general pistols. Now the general pistols is clustered. James is the first. Then you have first and second Peter then you have first and second third John and Then you have the book of Jude.

Those are the general pistols. So James is the first of that. They're designated as general or should I say this is a word that gets mixed up and misused a lot. But Catholic epistles and what I mean by Catholic it means the word universal.

Universal in the sense that it was not being addressed to one any any particular individual or any particular one church. But to the church as a whole. That's what it's referred to.

So.

That's what the general epistle means. James is a very very practical book and which deals with ethics of Christianity. Rather than just the theology of it. Even though I believe that theology or should you say sound doctrine sound teaching is here.

Before us in the book of James it is rather seen in a simple shoe letter faith. You saw what I'm saying? You always have doctrine in the Word of God. He teaches doctrine. But in that sense, he brings it to a practical side to us.

That's why we can relate to James so much because it's so practical. You read through that short book. You come out of it and you're thinking wow, I need to be more living this out. Don't you? James bears down hard on some practical issues.

And but the theme throughout this epistle comes to us as a continued series of tests and examinations in every chapter. And you'll see that I love MacArthur's Outline there because it's a test something in every chapter.

You can see that on the outline. So we see the theme of faith coming before us also in the book. And what would you say the thing. I would say the thing would be spiritual maturity. The Lord would desire us to be more spiritually mature right to grow up in the faith in the full stature of Jesus Christ.

But on the look but on the lookout of these things. This leads me to my next point in the third point. Why did James write this epistle? Why did James write this epistle the motive? I think this is a good question.

Each New Testament letter has its own special thing its own special purpose its own special destination. Destination. So Paul wrote the book of Romans to prepare the Romans Christians. This is Paul now the Roman Christians for his intended visit first Corinthians.

That Paul wrote was sent to the church at Corinth to help correct certain problems, right? The book of Galatians was written to a group of churches to warn them against legalism and false teaching. See there's a reason and a purpose and a motive for each why each letter or epistle was written.

So as we read the epistle of James We discovered that these Jewish Christians were having some problems in their personal lives and their church fellowship. There had to be problems there and and the Apostle.

He and he doesn't address himself as the Apostle. Isn't that a neat neat thing? The slave the love slave of the half-brother of the Lord addresses it and Some for one thing we're going through difficult testings.

You see this in chapter 1. Trial of your faith the testing of your faith. They were also facing temptations to sin. We see this some of the believers are catering to the rich. Favoritism was taking place.

Be impartial be impartial while others were being robbed by the rich. Church members were competing with one another for offices in the church. Who who can be the big the big honcho? No wonder he speaks about humility so much.

Particularly in positions of teaching offices and being An elder or whatever you make saying and one of the major problems in the church was a failure on the part of many. To live what they profess to believe.

They talked about it, but that's why he says your words are nothing.

Live it out.

Don't be hearers be doers. Furthermore the tongue Wow was a serious problem had to be a lot of gossip. Even to the point of creating wars and divisions in the assembly. That's pretty much said isn't it?

Worldliness was a problem was another serious problem. I think worldliness is still a problem in the church today. Some of the members were disobeying God's Word and were sick physically because of it some were straying away from the Lord in the faith in the church and.

As we review this list of problems that we see Does it ever appear to be very much different from the church and problems we have in the church today? It's not much different is it? Do we do we not have our churches.

People who are suffering for one reason for another. Why they're suffering? Do we not have members who talk one way and walk another way? We have it don't we are there not Christians who cannot tame the tongue or control their tongues.

Ouch. It hits me. It's all of us doesn't it it seems that James is dealing with very real and up-to-date relevant matters. But James was not just discussing an array of miscellaneous problems. All these problems have a common cause and it's called spiritual immaturity.

Now these Christians simply were not growing up and to the full stature of Christ. This gives us a hint to the basic thing to this letter. And I would think that would be the marks of maturity in the Christian life.

One or two things that are before us now. I bring this because there's a new another view one is that many of the Jewish Christians he was addressing Addressing were not genuine and did not really were born again.

But he is addressing brethren right he is addressing believers. But at the same time there are professing believers, right? That not their their faith is not authentic. It's not the real deal so the tests that James puts before us are put before us or.

Or you could say there was just spiritual infants not growing up among them matured in the faith. No doubt spiritual maturity is one of the great needs of the churches today. James used the word perfect many times several times in the word means perfect complete.

We see it in James 1 4 we see it in James 1 17. We see in James 1 25 chapter 2 verse 22 chapter 3 verse 2 3. Yeah verse 2 and then he speaks of a by by a perfect man in James 3 2. So James did not mean a sinless man, but rather one who is mature balanced.

Come to full stature of Jesus Christ. Now Warren Roosevelt said something good here. I wrote it down and I'm apt to agree with them somewhat, but I'm apt to disagree a little bit and I'll tell you where He says this after and this is himself speaking after over a quarter century of ministry.

And he spent many many years in ministry. I am convinced a spiritual immaturity is the number one problem in our churches. God is looking for mature men and women to carry on his work and sometimes all you can find.

Our little children who cannot even get along with each other. Well, he is right in quote. He is right to one degree there, but there's also another big problem in the church. It's terrorism and wheat.