The Book of James

The Book of James is the earliest written book of the New Testament. It was probably written around 50 AD. It was written by James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ.

Before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, James and his brethren, interestingly, dismissed the claims of Jesus’s deity.

John 7:3–5 “His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.”

James did not believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but something happened to him that happens to every born-again believer.

1 Corinthians 15:7 “After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.”

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to James, and that appearance opened James’s eyes to who his half-brother was. No person is ever saved until they meet the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

Think of Saul of Tarsus. The same thing happened to him that happened to James. He was on his way to Damascus to arrest and persecute more Christians, but he met the resurrected Christ, and he was changed forever.

1 Corinthians 15:8–9 “And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

From his conversion forward, Saul of Tarsus was a changed man, and so was James as James occupied a leading position in the Church at Jerusalem.

Galatians 1:19 “But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.”

When listing the pillars of the early church, Paul listed James first.

Galatians 2:9 “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”

We know the significance of Peter and John, but Paul lists James first as being one of the pillars of the early church. That is really an incredible compliment. Dear friend, the resurrected Lord changes lives. He changed James’s life. He changed Paul’s life. He changed my life. Has He changed your life? _______________.

In Acts 15, James is the leader and chief spokesman at the very important Jerusalem Council.

If you want to know how a controversy in the church is to be handled, read Chap. 15 of Acts, and it was James who led the efforts.

The intended audience for James’s letter is listed in the very first verse of the letter.

James 1:1 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.”

James was written to Jewish Christians specifically, but to all Christians generally.

Now, here is an interesting little note when you look at the language of the New Testament which is Greek.

We notice the word “scattered” in verse 1, and we immediately think of Jews being dispersed all over the globe, but in the Greek, that word used that is translated scattered means “scattering seed.”

James wrote to Jews at a very difficult time as Jewish Christians were being persecuted severely by other Jews.

Acts 8:1 “And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

Because of persecution, those in the Church at Jerusalem were scattered abroad, but I want you to notice what the Bible says about them.

Acts 8:4 “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”

Yes, the Church at Jerusalem was scattered because of persecution, but everywhere they went they scattered seed. It is a tremendous statement of their faithfulness. The greatest compliment Beech Grove Baptist Church could ever receive is that we are a church that scatters the seed everywhere we go in the world.

These Jewish Christians were being persecuted by Jews and Romans.

They were more than likely very poor, deprived of the ability to work because of their faith and allegiance to Jesus Christ. They were literally risking it all to serve Christ. What about us? Would we serve Christ if it meant us losing our ability to make a living? Would we serve Christ if we were being persecuted? Be careful how you answer. God is listening. Most of us are lax in our service, and we are not being persecuted as those Jewish Christians were being persecuted. Have you and I matured enough in the faith to withstand the persecution that all who live Christlike lives will face?

2 Timothy 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

The Bible clearly states that if we are living godly lives in Christ Jesus that we will suffer persecution. If you are not experiencing persecution, you need to examine your level of godliness.

Did you know that persecution and spiritual maturity go hand-in-hand?

Romans 5:3–5 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

I was telling Hope the other day as I was typing this that a lot of Christians make a mistake when they especially study the New Testament.

For example, every book of the New Testament were written within a 10-year period of time except for John’s writings. What Paul says about spiritual maturity and persecution in Romans is magnified and explained in the other writings of the New Testament. You really cannot read the books as stand alone books. They are all connected with a unified message for the Church.

Now, as we go through the Book of James, we will discover that these Jewish Christians were not perfect. They were having problems in their spiritual lives and in their church fellowship.

Some in the church were failing to live the life they professed to believe. Believe this or not, some of them were even having trouble controlling their tongues.

Worldliness and disobedience were such a problem that some became physically ill.

They do not appear to be much different than we do, do they? By the way, if you polled all true Christians today about what God might do to them for worldliness and disobedience, most of them would not believe that God would make them physically ill for their worldliness and disobedience.

All the problems these Jewish Christians were having were rooted in their spiritual immaturity.

Do you know what’s wrong in the church today? Most of the members are spiritually immature. Now, it is one thing for Madilyn Rodgers and Lexi Adams to be spiritually immature. That is to be expected, but it should also be expected that Mitzie Goff should be spiritually mature or at least maturing.

These Christians James addressed simply were not advancing; yes, they were saved, but they were not progressing in becoming more Christlike.

To that end, James uses the word “perfect” many times.

Perfect in the Bible means to mature or complete. As James describes a perfect man, he is referring to a Christian who has matured in the faith, who has grown-up in the faith.

In every church, there should be Christians at different levels of maturity. The big problem is that in many churches there are too many “babes” in Christ even though those babes could have been saved for 30 years.

John describes the different levels of spiritual maturity that should be found in the church. John says that there are little children, young men, and fathers in the church.

When a person is first saved, no matter the age, he or she is as a little child. If that child is obedient to the word of God, through persecution, that child will mature into young man and eventually into a father in the faith. It does not happen overnight, and it will not happen at all if your Christian journey is marked by disobedience.

The obvious picture that John and James both paint is that all Christians should mature in the faith.

As we go through James and look at the problems that arise from spiritual immaturity, you are going to quickly realize that spiritual immaturity is destroying the church’s power and influence today. Too many churches are playpens for babies instead of workshops for adults.

Hebrews 5:11–14 “Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

There comes a time when all Christians should mature.

I want you to notice issues James addressed, and see if they are issues today.

Impatience in difficulties

Talking the talk but not walking the walk

No control of the tongue

Fighting and coveting

Materialism

Does that not sound like churches today?

There is a solution to those issues, and as we look through James, we will see that spiritual maturity is made possible by:

The Word of God

The Holy Spirit

An Honest Examination

Obedience

Preparation for Tests and Trials

Patience