Sunday Night Bible Study - James Part 1

Good evening and welcome to Sunday night Bible study with Pastor Josiah of Wynton Baptist Church. Today We start our study on the book of James. This is my favorite way to teach just Expositionally going from start to finish through a book of the Bible not skipping a single word.

Not skipping any hard parts or difficult parts would go through the entire book. So this is my favorite way to teach. We haven't done it in a while. So here we go. What we did with Hebrews 13, but not through a whole book.

The Authorship and Background of James

So here we go the whole book of James first off. Let's talk about the writer. Now remember we use the phrase writer because God is the author. Okay, he's the author of every book. But there are writers 40-something writers in the Bible.

James there are four. James's is four people named James in the New Testament. One is the father of Judas not Judas Iscariot different Judas. He's only mentioned once in the Bible. He's almost certainly not the writer of this.

There are two apostles named James. There is James the lesser and then James some people call him the greater John's brother, okay so When we have those two, those are two of the twelve apostles. Okay, James the lesser is probably called James the lesser because he is.

Some people think it's cuz he was younger. Some people think it's cuz he was shorter. In fact, if you watch the chosen you have big James little James, that's likely what it was. That's John's brother.

But then we have James the half-brother of Jesus and that is almost assuredly who wrote this book. How do I know that? Well because James John's brother. Was killed by Herod in Acts chapter 12. Herod put him to death with the sword.

So that leaves almost assuredly James Jesus's brother as the writer of the book of James. Let me tell you a little bit about Jesus's brother James at first. He was an unbeliever. John chapter 7 verse 5 says that all of Jesus's brothers and sisters were unbelievers.

Paul is the one who tells us that Jesus actually appeared to James his brother after the resurrection first Corinthians 15. Meaning that it was him seeing his resurrected brother for him to finally realize that he was more than just his brother.

That he was the eternal Son of God. James was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem. We read about that. In fact, Paul calls him one of the pillars of the churches in Galatians chapter 2. In Acts chapter 15, we see how much pool James has in that.

In Acts chapter 15, there's something called the Jerusalem Council this took place in 49 AD and this is where Paul Barnabas Peter James they were all gathered together because Get this even though Jesus had already said.

They were arguing over whether or not circumcision was necessary for salvation, even though Jesus had already answered that question. So it took a whole council for Paul Barnabas Peter and James to agree that circumcision is not necessary for salvation.

James presided over that meeting because he was the pastor in Jerusalem where the council took place. Since James does not mention that council which took place in 49 AD in the book of James. Many people think that James like me that James was written before 49 AD.

Which means that James or Galatians one of the two of them were the first books written in the New Testament. So when we read the book of James understand that this was written before Matthew Mark Luke John any of that.

James 1:1-8 and the Call to Endure Trials

So this is either the first or second New Testament book written. So what I want to do today is just read and study just for a little bit verses 1 through 8 and then we'll be done James a slave of God and of Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes in the dispersion greetings.

Count it all join my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and Let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives generously to all and without criticizing and it will be given to him. Let him ask in faith without doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

That person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord where he is double-minded man unstable in all his ways. Just want to walk through these eight verses and we'll call it good for today.

Trials, Wisdom, and Steadfast Faith

First off James calls himself a slave of Jesus because he's recognized. He's no longer just his brother to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. James is writing this to Jewish Christians now today when you hear Jew you think of a Rich white person with a funny hat on their head.

That is a religious idea of Jew when we have Jew here. We were talking about ethnically Jewish. The Jews have been dispersed first by a Syria and 722 and then by Babylon and 586 so on and so forth the Romans.

Persecution broke out when Herod killed James. John's brother. Persecution broke out before that when they killed Stephen and stoned him. So they're being dispersed and taking the gospel with them and James is writing to Jewish Christians Throughout the known world encouraging them to endure various trials.

He says count it all joy my brothers. When you meet trials of various kind. Now when you hear that You should think that that makes no sense. Why would you count it joy when you experience various trials?

He says Because the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Now God temps nobody as we read but he does tests. There is something to be said when you speak to a believer who's been a believer for many decades.

Because they are able to look back on their life and see how God has brought them through it. You know it the people that People that appreciate peace the most are the ones who've been ravaged by war.

People that appreciate Food the most are those who have actually been hungry before. I cannot compare to that at all. But I will say when we've gone on mission trips before and let's say we didn't have hot water for 10 days.

Not a long time for most people in the world. But for me, I was not used to that when we got back to the States and I turned on the hot water in my house. I was just like oh my gosh, and I stayed in there for 45 minutes, right?

The testing of your faith Produces endurance steadfastness. One of the marks of a Christian is What can your faith endure? Does it fold at the smallest bit of opposition or can you endure through it? Pastor Jeff often says There are there many people who call themselves Christians whose faith is a mile wide and inch deep.

These are the people when you ask him how they're doing they'll say blessed and highly favored but inside they're full of dead man's bones. They have no substance to their faith because it's never been tested or when it is tested they just have spoiled up.

But count it all joy when it's tested because the testing of your faith produces steadfastness endurance when I was fighting I Always had butterflies before I fought but the moment that I became more comfortable is when I finally realized I've done this a thousand times before.

And this guy in front of me is no scarier than these three guys before. So that whatever I'm about to face I've already faced it before and overcome it. The testing of your faith produces endurance because you can look back and see well God Brought me through a B and C.

So this is no different. The testing of that faith produces that type of endurance but verse 4 it must have its full effect. You can't fold up and run away from it. You've got to face it. It must have its full effect.

So you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom Let him ask of God who gives generously to all and without criticizing you don't be given to him. God doesn't even say I told you so.

You know when someone does you a favor and they hold it over your head for the next six months and you think in your Head that was not worth the favor. If any of you lacks wisdom Discernment, he should ask of God who gives to all generously and without criticizing.

But let him ask in faith because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind all these things from the world just Throw your faith. You read one article you hear one thing about this or that and your faith is just driven about to and throw.

You have no stability because you have not endured trials and during trials is how you face Stability so that when you hear something on the news, you're not freaking out. What's the world coming to? It's coming exactly to the point that God said it was going to.

But that person must not suppose that he'll receive anything from the Lord for a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways and will end here. Jesus said you cannot serve two masters. James his brother is saying the same thing that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

I am really bad at multitasking. Some people are great at it, but I am NOT. When it comes to your master, you cannot be a multitasker. Or Jesus says you will love one and hate the other or hate one and love the other.

He doesn't even say that you'll just moderately like both. It's all or nothing. It's an absolute with Jesus. You will love one and hate the other or you'll love this one hate this one. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways because he's divided.

Christian let us be a people that are single-minded focused on God. Single-minded focus on his word because anything else we will be unstable in all of our ways you have to be committed to God and The greatest showing of that commitment is obedience to him.

And if James is telling you anything else It's this. That if you don't feel like enduring it to do it. Anyway, because when you come on the other side, you will be stable not tossed by the winds and not unstable in all your ways.

We endure trials because we will be refined and come out of it stronger so that when the next one comes We're not as shaken as easily. We'll stop there in verse 8. That is just an intro to the book of James.

We're gonna go through the whole book not skip anything. We're gonna exposit the entire book and go through every word. Love you guys. I hope this was beneficial to you in some way. I will catch up with you guys next week.

God bless.