James 1:1-4
This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
God's ultimate goal for each of us is that we'll become more like Jesus day by day. God isn't content with just saving us; He has some pretty incredible restoration plans for you and me (see 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom 8:29. God's restoration plans for all of creation; see Acts 3:21). As this happens, we begin to think, see and love people like Jesus does. We take on God's values, attitudes and character.
God's goal for us is being brought about through His work of 'Sanctification' or better 'Christ-formation'.
The central theme for the book of James is Spiritual Maturity. God wants us to grow up in our faith, become 'perfect' (mature) in our faith. It's the Father's delight to guide us in the process of becoming spiritually mature.
Rick Warren has said it well when he writes: 'God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. Becoming like Christ does not mean losing your personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so he certainly doesn’t want to destroy it!'
The book of James belongs to the wisdom literature of the Bible... (to read on click 'read more' below)
This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
God's ultimate goal for each of us is that we'll become more like Jesus day by day. God isn't content with just saving us; He has some pretty incredible restoration plans for you and me (see 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom 8:29. God's restoration plans for all of creation; see Acts 3:21). As this happens, we begin to think, see and love people like Jesus does. We take on God's values, attitudes and character.
God's goal for us is being brought about through His work of 'Sanctification' or better 'Christ-formation'.
The central theme for the book of James is Spiritual Maturity. God wants us to grow up in our faith, become 'perfect' (mature) in our faith. It's the Father's delight to guide us in the process of becoming spiritually mature.
Rick Warren has said it well when he writes: 'God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. Becoming like Christ does not mean losing your personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so he certainly doesn’t want to destroy it!'
The book of James belongs to the wisdom literature of the Bible... (to read on click 'read more' below)
There is lots of this in the OT, but James is the only book of this kind in the New Testament. Wisdom literature gives us insight and instructions on how to live to please God and how to live successfully. For this very reason, James is one intensely practical book. You will also notice the many imperatives (commands) that James speaks forth with the authority of the Holy Spirit! James rebukes any surface level Christianity by cutting through sham and hypocrisy. James insists that we must walk the talk.
Who was James? James is the half-brother of Jesus. The fact that James only uses his first name is kind of a rock star status thing. He knew that his readers would know which James he was - James the head of the Jerusalem church 48 - 62AD. The Apostle Paul speaks highly of this James; he calls him an apostle in Gal 1:19 (even though he wasn't one of the original 12). Paul called him one of the pillars of the church! James didn't only have a 'rock-star' status among the early christians, like the Apostle Paul, James too was a rock of the church.
James must have been a deeply spiritual man to gain the leadership of the Jerusalem Christian church. Also, take note that despite growing up with Jesus, James never used that as a status badge. The only claim James makes is that in Chapter 1:1 of his letter, that he was 'a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ'. God has complete ownership of him. God owed him nothing, he owed God everything because of Jesus Christ and his completed work on the cross. Further evidence of James' deep spirituality was the fact that tradition said of him, "he prayed so much that his knees were hard as a camels". His deep commitment to Christ was so fierce that the Pharisees hated him...so much so that they had him pushed off the temple and beat him to death.
To whom did James write? James writes to 'to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad' (1:1). At the time of his writing, some estimate that up to 4 million Jews were scattered over the Roman Empire. In the original language of the New Testament, the word 'scattered' had to do with the idea of 'scattering seed'. So God scattered the seed of his people around the Empire, and then used the Christian Jews to scatter the Gospel seeds into hearts and minds.
Why did James write? James writes to Jewish Christians who were experiencing problems in their personal lives and in the life of the new Christian communities of faith. Imagine being a Jewish Christian living in foreign lands. The Gentiles would have caused them grief, and their own country people (Jews) would have rejected them for their following this supposed 'messiah' Jesus Christ.
Here's a little rundown on some of their problems:
These are the type of common problems that the local church in any community around our nation experiences from week to week. And rather than being a collection of problems to deal with, James knew that all these problems had a common root: spiritual immaturity.
The good news is that God our Father wants to grow us in our maturity. He wants us to grow up to be men and women who scatter the seed of the gospel. God will use our faithful work to reap a bountiful harvest.
Questions to ponder:
1. Who was James, and to whom did he write?
2. Why was the early church considered the 'scattered seed?'
3. What is God's goal for us as Christians?
4. What were some of the main problems of James' readers? What was
the common cause of all these problems? What does it mean?
5. It can be easy for Christians to gather together in holy huddles in safe places? Was this God's plan for those early believers? How did God use the persecution they experienced?
6. Maybe as you've worked through this study you've remembered the spiritual immaturity of other believers. It's easy to do this, but it's better for us to focus on our own heart and journey! Think of times when you have acted in a spiritual immature way. Take time to repent, confess behaviour, receive God's forgiveness, and change your mindset/choose God's way in future. How would you act if you could have your time or that situation again?
7. What are some troubles that you have experienced lately or are looming on the horizon? Share with others, remembering the special bond of trust and confidentiality shared amongst your fellow believers.
8. Why can dedicated Christians have joy in the midst of trials? What does the testing the of faith achieve in the life of a believer?
9. Take time to bring your troubles to God in prayer. Ask him to reveal to you how he is using them to grow and mature your faith. Give thanks to God that he is never anxious to answer prayer, but anxious to help and answer your prayer in his perfect way.
One more thing! Remember that we build our spiritual maturity (together with the Holy Spirit) on the perfect salvation that Christ has won for us. Without the perfect work of Christ there could be no perfecting of the believers.
Who was James? James is the half-brother of Jesus. The fact that James only uses his first name is kind of a rock star status thing. He knew that his readers would know which James he was - James the head of the Jerusalem church 48 - 62AD. The Apostle Paul speaks highly of this James; he calls him an apostle in Gal 1:19 (even though he wasn't one of the original 12). Paul called him one of the pillars of the church! James didn't only have a 'rock-star' status among the early christians, like the Apostle Paul, James too was a rock of the church.
James must have been a deeply spiritual man to gain the leadership of the Jerusalem Christian church. Also, take note that despite growing up with Jesus, James never used that as a status badge. The only claim James makes is that in Chapter 1:1 of his letter, that he was 'a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ'. God has complete ownership of him. God owed him nothing, he owed God everything because of Jesus Christ and his completed work on the cross. Further evidence of James' deep spirituality was the fact that tradition said of him, "he prayed so much that his knees were hard as a camels". His deep commitment to Christ was so fierce that the Pharisees hated him...so much so that they had him pushed off the temple and beat him to death.
To whom did James write? James writes to 'to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad' (1:1). At the time of his writing, some estimate that up to 4 million Jews were scattered over the Roman Empire. In the original language of the New Testament, the word 'scattered' had to do with the idea of 'scattering seed'. So God scattered the seed of his people around the Empire, and then used the Christian Jews to scatter the Gospel seeds into hearts and minds.
Why did James write? James writes to Jewish Christians who were experiencing problems in their personal lives and in the life of the new Christian communities of faith. Imagine being a Jewish Christian living in foreign lands. The Gentiles would have caused them grief, and their own country people (Jews) would have rejected them for their following this supposed 'messiah' Jesus Christ.
Here's a little rundown on some of their problems:
- Times of difficult testing and temptation to sin.
- Rich were robbing the poor. Believers only catering to the rich.
- Competing for leadership roles in the church.
- Not living what they professed.
- Worldliness.
- Disobeying God's Word, and straying from the church.
These are the type of common problems that the local church in any community around our nation experiences from week to week. And rather than being a collection of problems to deal with, James knew that all these problems had a common root: spiritual immaturity.
The good news is that God our Father wants to grow us in our maturity. He wants us to grow up to be men and women who scatter the seed of the gospel. God will use our faithful work to reap a bountiful harvest.
Questions to ponder:
1. Who was James, and to whom did he write?
2. Why was the early church considered the 'scattered seed?'
3. What is God's goal for us as Christians?
4. What were some of the main problems of James' readers? What was
the common cause of all these problems? What does it mean?
5. It can be easy for Christians to gather together in holy huddles in safe places? Was this God's plan for those early believers? How did God use the persecution they experienced?
6. Maybe as you've worked through this study you've remembered the spiritual immaturity of other believers. It's easy to do this, but it's better for us to focus on our own heart and journey! Think of times when you have acted in a spiritual immature way. Take time to repent, confess behaviour, receive God's forgiveness, and change your mindset/choose God's way in future. How would you act if you could have your time or that situation again?
7. What are some troubles that you have experienced lately or are looming on the horizon? Share with others, remembering the special bond of trust and confidentiality shared amongst your fellow believers.
8. Why can dedicated Christians have joy in the midst of trials? What does the testing the of faith achieve in the life of a believer?
9. Take time to bring your troubles to God in prayer. Ask him to reveal to you how he is using them to grow and mature your faith. Give thanks to God that he is never anxious to answer prayer, but anxious to help and answer your prayer in his perfect way.
One more thing! Remember that we build our spiritual maturity (together with the Holy Spirit) on the perfect salvation that Christ has won for us. Without the perfect work of Christ there could be no perfecting of the believers.
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