James 1

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

JAMES
- Author of the Epistle of James
- Half-brother of Jesus: He did not believe Jesus was LORD until AFTER Jesus's resurrection (James was not one of those at Jesus' feet at the cross)
- A Jew: Hence, he wrote this epistle to fellow Jews. Just as Romans was written to Gentiles but is also a letter for the Jews, we, Gentiles, can glean much from this letter to the Jews as well.


JAMES STRESSES OUR WALK WITH JESUS
James does not quarrel against Paul in terms of the phrase, "the just shall live by faith." He stresses that being saved is only the beginning. What have we done with our salvation? That is his key question.


Paul stresses faith in the eyes of God. James stresses faith in the eyes of men. We are not called to be gift inspectors (Corinthians). We're called to be FRUIT inspectors. Jesus spent more time talking about our walk, about our integrity as Christians, than about technical issues (such as pre- or post-Tribulation Rapture). This is what James continues to stress in his letter: Our walk with Jesus.


Thus, James does not stress huge doctrinal teachings. He stresses PROOF that we are saved. He stresses our LIVING as Christians. He stresses Christian ethics.


OVERVIEW OF THE EPISTLE OF JAMES
James 1: Victorious Faith 
James 2: Manifested Faith 
James 3: Controlling and Energizing Faith 
James 4: Submissive Faith 
James 5: Patient and Expected Faith 


James deals with the nature of faith and in turn deals with the nature and character of God. Faith is the starting point of Christians which should be manifested in deeds. Our ultimate goal is the maturity of our character. 


MAINTAIN OUR DIVINE VIEWPOINT (James 1:2)
When we go through a trial, it is not evidence of God's displeasure. We should not making such an assumption. 


Consider Job's suffering. It was a test of his trust in God. Could he maintain the divine viewpoint? Could he trust God enough to know that somehow there was meaning to all of his suffering and that was God's business? It not so much about why the innocent suffer but about maintaining the viewpoint.

This is the idea that James is trying to point out here: Especially when we suffer, remember and maintain the divine viewpoint.


Temptation does not mean tempted to sin. It means testing of faith. Think of it as this: Everyday, God asks us if we trust Him. It isn't that we are joyful when we are Suffering but that we are joyful because we know that as long as we are in Christ, no harm can come to us. When we suffer, it may be God's way of preparing us for future ministry. Here, Missler used his own personal experience. When he was successful in the corporate world, he could not effectively connect with those who are less fortunate. However, after he went through a rough bankruptcy deal, he had to deal with all the difficulties and live through them personally. Being dependent on God, he now can connect with "average joes," making his ministry to them much more effective.

The idea is maturity and the development of a strong Christian character. When we face difficulties, we lean on God. We don't blame God, because we don't understand, because we don't see the bigger picture. We lean on God because we trust God.


James 1:5
Psalm 39:5-6 
Psalm 90:12 
This life is short. So, seek wisdom. 


James 1:12
James mentions the Crown of Life. There are at least 5 types of Crowns:
1. Crown of Life: Martyrs crown (Revelation 2:10) 
2. Crown of Rejoicing: Those who rejoice at the 2nd coming of Christ (1 Thesselonians 2:19) 
3. Crown of Righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8) 
4. Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:4) 
5. Incorruptible Crown (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Corinthians 5:10): Those who stand before the BEMA seat judgment


LORD, KEEP ME PURE!


James 1:13
Again, temptation here means testing or trial. Jesus taught us to pray: lead us not into temptation. That is, don't leave us to our own dangerous ways that would expose us to the pressures of the enemy of our souls.


Inspiration:
We often pray about the things I want or done for me or done to me. We often forget to pray for the things done BY "me," that "I" do not sin

James 1:14
We are not tempted by God. We are tempted by the strength of our own lustful desires. We deceive ourselves by our craving for self-satisfaction, self-gratification. 


Drawing away/dragged away: This is a hunting term. It suggests the act of being dragged away by a predator. 


The real danger to temptation is sin leading to death. We thus need to reconcile our death to sin in deeds by turning to life in God (Romans 6:11-13).


Proverbs 23:7 
The heart is where it's at. We may do or say nice things, but if our heart is not in it, then it's all a waste.


Jesus interprets the 10 Commandments in His sermon on the mount. The Commandments spoke of measurable sins. Jesus takes those on and focuses on the condition of the heart. 


When James prays, he not only prays for others to not sin. He prays also that he himself would not sin! "Do not just put up a wall of fire between me and the bad guys but also WITHIN me!" 


Psalm 25
What we should be praying, therefore, isn't just, "Lord keep me safe," but, "Lord keep me pure!" James stresses spiritual maturity. How mature are we? Well, how much do we hate sin? When we hate sin as much as God does, we are getting close. 


EVERY GOOD THING COMES FROM GOD


James 1:17
We don't want to err by falling to temptations, but we also don't want to be deceived by the gifts given to us either. EVERY good thing comes from God. Not some. Not a few. EVERY. We are not the ones behind the good. We are the RECEIVERS. 


James 1:18
Ephesians 2:8-9 
Even the faith that saves us is a gift from God! Jesus is our first fruits, and we are to be his first fruits. 

QUICK TO LISTEN, SLOW TO SPEAK, SLOW TO ANGER


James 1:19
Quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry: Measurements of maturity. This can also be considered as the theme of this letter. 

Proverbs 17:28
Proverbs 16:30 
Even a fool who holds his peace is considered wise. 


We need to be aware of how we represent God, by our conduct and by our tongue. 


James 1:20
Deuteronomy 32:41 
Romans 12:19 
We are to be slow to self-righteousness, slow to anger, because vengeance is God's alone! It's not for us to right the wrong individually. It's the Lord's issue. Also, the temptation toward revenge would yield more damage than whatever was done to us! 


PRAY FOR PURITY FROM WITHIN


James 1:21
This is James's world view: Lay aside the evil around us, and accept the truth that is implanted in us.

Salvation of our souls: This is not talking about our redemption from the judgment of our sins, the judgement that we deserve for our sins. This is talking about the purification of our affections which are expressed in our souls' activities (Matthew 7:24-27). What are we really building upon? 


James's point is that we cannot minimize the danger of doing evil. We pray for safety rather than purity, because we don't realize that impurity is dangerous. Yet, impurity is where the true danger lies! Rather than praying what is happening to me or make it stop, pray I do not want to be like that anymore--it is our RESPONSE to events that is the point here. 


LIVE THE WORD


James 1:22


How do we become hearers only? 


1. By becoming relative. By becoming SUBJECTIVE. "I'm not as bad as that person." 


2. By becoming superstitious. To rely on something magical/mystical.


1 Samuel 4:1-11
Israelites thought that if they put the Ark of God in the front of the battle line, they'd win the battle against the Philistines. They didn't. Instead, they lost the Ark to their enemies. Why? Because instead of placing their trust in God, they placed it in the Ark.


We can easily fall into the same folly by doing the same thing, even things that are originally meant for doing good! When we start putting things ahead of God, we become idolaters. The Bible is the Word of God, and the Church is the body of Christ. Both are sacred, yet when we start putting the Bible ahead of following God, when we start putting Church ahead of following God, we are no different than the Israelites who thought the Ark had powers to protect them. (One way of putting the Bible ahead of God is to take Scripture out of context and apply it for personal gain as opposed to seeking God's guidance for guidance; one way of putting the Church ahead of God is being so focused on doing the work that God is no longer in focus--See Jesus's letter to the Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7.)


We need to be careful that our heart remains connected directly with God. Avoid the tendency to ascribe mystical values to things or conditions rather than focusing on our relationship with the Lord.

3. By becoming emotional. 


4. By being more theoretical that obedient.


How do we become doers of the Word?


1. By Looking intently, by searching the Scripture, digging intently. Invest in the word. 


2. By making our time with the Lord a continual and growing relationship, not just a habitual process.


3. By not forgetting the Lord. Learn from the Lord and forget not the lessons learned. 


4. By doing, by applying what we have learned. 


James 1:23-24
If we are not a doer, we are like a man who sees his image in the mirror and then moves forward going about his business not remembering what he looks like. The mirror reflects but does not rebuke. The Word, however, reflects AND rebukes. And so, if we come to understand the Word but do nothing to apply that knowledge, we're treating it as if it was useless. Worse, we deceive ourselves about the very nature and purpose of the Word. 


We cannot cling unto salvation from death while we carelessly persist in sin that kills us.


JESUS SETS US FREE


James 1:25
The Law of God, fulfilled through Christ, is a law of liberty. Unfortunately, we don't tend to think so. We tend to think the Law is restrictive. 


John 8:36
Psalm 19:7-11

1. The Law, through Jesus, prevents us from being trapped in a pit or from falling into a snare set by someone (Psalm 119:85, 110).


2. The Law, through Jesus, keeps us from falling into bondage of an adversary or addiction or sin.


3. The Law, through Jesus, illuminates our path. Walking in the dark, we are cautious because we can't see anything. Walking in the light, we move freely because we see everything.


OUR CONDUCT REFLECTS OUR HEART


James 1:26
Watch our tongue. Control our tongue.


Psalm 141:3-4 
David's prayer is to have rein over his own conduct, because he knew that this was where the greatest risk was. 

"Religion"
- Used 5 times in the New Testament
- "Religious" occurs 2 times in the New Testament
- This word is derived from from Latin, meaning "to bind the back," suggesting that man is bound to God.
- This is a term that refers to a system of faith and practice.
- There are 3 Greek words are translated as "religion." The Greek word used here is the one that means "fear and worship of God, to tremble before God."


TRUE religion (the act of worship and piety toward God) involves 2 developments:


1. Care for others: any Christian who does not exhibit this is DECEPTIVE because he does not reflect God's true desires and thus misrepresents the heart of God. Worse, his pseudo-religious acts become WORTHLESS because it is of no value to God (no heart = no value).


2. Walk holy, separate, and above all uncleanness. This is talking about achieving and maintaining both outer and inner purity. We are children in the world, but we are taught to be NOT of the world. To not become of the world therefore require our ability to maintain our purity.


James is not just a moralist, who preaches endlessly about keeping guidelines to lead a respectable life. James is committed to demonstrate that he owes everything to his King, Jesus Christ. When studying the Book of James, do not miss the forest for the tree. James talks a lot about outward behavior because he believes our behavior reflects our commitment to our King. James's focus is on the purity of our heart. When our heart is pure, our actions would follow. And if our actions are not pure, then we need to check the purity of our heart.


Is there anyone in our lives who doubts our commitment to Christ? If so, Why? These questions are likely the questions asked by James in this epistle.