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Text: James 1:1
Theme: James is an example to all men everywhere that Jesus Christ changes lives.
Date: 01/22/2023 File: James01.wpd
ID: NT20-01
Tonight we begin a journey through the Epistle of James.
It’s a letter that a lot of folks wish was not a part of the New Testament canon.
You don’t have to read very far into this epistle before we begin to squirm with spiritual discomfort.
I mean, holy cow, the second and third verse tells us: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”
(James 1:2–3, ESV).
Even Martin Luther, the great 16th century Protestant Reformer, said that in comparison to the Gospels and the writings of the Apostle Paul, that the book of James is, “a right strawy epistle . .
.”
What does straw do when your in it too long?
It chaffs, it irritates, it’s scratchy.
Luther had scant use for this epistle because it contains little teaching about the great doctrines of the Christia faith that he so passionately defended.
Luther was right.
The book of James is not a doctrinal treatise.
That does not mean there is no doctrine in it.
It’s just not the theological juggernaut like Romans or Galatians.
It is an intensely practical manual for Christian living.
As he began to pen his letter, James must have thought to himself, “I’ll leave the gospel to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And I’ll leave the weighty matters of doctrine and theology to Peter and Paul.
I’ll write a basic manual for Christian living.”
I’m sure that if James were alive today and writing the same letter his publisher would say, let’s call it Christianity for Dummies.
James is indeed a “how to” book for believers.
Tonight’s message is meant to introduce you to the book of James: More specifically to the author of the book of James.
I. JAMES BEGAN WERE ALL MEN BEGIN
1. he was lost and undone and doomed to an eternity without God
a. the Word tells us that all men everywhere are sinners
“as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10, ESV)
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, ESV)
b. not only are we sinners, but we are sinners by choice
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
(Isaiah 53:6, ESV)
c. we are not sinners by accident
A. JAMES WAS A GOOD MAN WHO WAS WITHOUT THE SAVIOR
1. James grew up in a devoutly religious home
a. there is every indication that his family regularly attended the synagogue of their choice
1) if they had it, he probably attended VTS – Vacation Torah School
b. James learned the Jewish Scriptures and all the required prayers at the feet of a spiritually dedicated and loving father
c. we can also assume that James made the yearly trip to Jerusalem with his family to celebrate the Jewish Passover
2. the spot that besmirches this exemplary life is his rejection of the Son of God
3. his life is a picture of the spiritual condition of many in our very own community today
a. men and women who are good, decent, God-fearing people, who may even regularly attend church, but who are depending upon their own personal character and their own personal goodness to gain them eternal favor with God
b. they have based their salvation on an outward code of behavior and religious affection, and religious rites rather than on a personal faith relationship with the Risen Savior
c. some of you say, “How do you know all this pastor?”
1) because for 18 years I was one of those folks!
4. the case of James is all the more tragic when you consider who he was
a. who was he?
b. he was the earthly half-brother of our Lord, Jesus Christ
1) in Matthew’s Gospel we have the story of Christ speaking at His home synagogue
2) the people – most of whom have watched Jesus grow up – are astonished at the things he says and does
“and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother called Mary?
And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
56 And are not all his sisters with us?
Where then did this man get all these things?”
57 And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”
58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”
(Matthew 13:54–58, ESV)
3) now, did you catch v. 55? — the people asked isn’t this the carpenter’s son ... are aren’t his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas ... with us?
4) so we know from the Scriptures that Jesus had half-brothers, and at least two half-sisters
5) these are not cousins as the Roman Catholic Church maintains
ILLUS.
The RCC goes to great lengths to keep Mary a perpetual virgin — including denying the obvious truth of these verses in Matthew.
Matthew 1:24-25 clearly tells us that Joseph did not sexually know Mary until after the birth of Jesus.
Once Jesus was born they began intimate relations, and the result was at least six more children.
It was a typical large Jewish household.
There is no biblical or historical evidence that persuades us that Mary was the second wife of a much older Joseph who was a widower.
a) when you have unbiblical traditions you have to defend, unfortunately you have to manipulate the clear teaching of other Scriptures
6) if you’re James (or any of the other siblings) Jesus would be a hard act to follow – maybe that’s why our Lord said: A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house, (Matthew 13:57)
c. they other tragic information on James is that he and the rest of the family were scandalized by his teachings and behavior
1) during his earthly ministry his siblings did not believe his Messianic claims
a) in John’s Gospel we hear them taunting him
“After this Jesus went about in Galilee.
He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.
2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.
4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly.
If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.”
(John 7:1–5, ESV)
b) in Mark’s Gospel we see them attempting to restrain him
“Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.
21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.””
(Mark 3:20–21, ESV)
5. over the years there have been several candidates for the authorship of this powerful epistle
a. but almost all conservative scholars agree that the author of this letter was James the half-brother of Jesus
1) after his conversion, James would ultimately become the primary leader in the Christian community in Jerusalem
2) the Apostle Paul tells of meeting with him after his own conversion and call to ministry
“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.”
(Galatians 1:18–19, ESV)
6. James initially was a skeptic, but the resurrection changed everything
B. THE SIN THAT CONDEMNS THE SINNER IS THE SIN OF UNBELIEF
John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” NIV
ILLUS.
Billy Sunday, a famous evangelist of the 1920s, was one never to mince words.
He once told his audience, “If man ever appears as a consummate ass, it's when he denies the existence of God.”
1. we need to remember that it is not any one sin that condemns a man to eternity in hell without God
a. it’s not the adulterer’s adultery that condemns him . . .
b. it’s not theie promiscuous lifestyle that condemns the homosexual ...
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