James 2

Introduction:

The author of the book is James was written by the half brother of Jesus, not to be confused with the disciple James

James grew up in the same household as Jesus, they shared the same mom, yet James was a skeptic of Jesus

It’s believed that James came to faith when Jesus appeared after His resurrection

James: went onto leading a church in Jerusalem

Date of Writing: The book of James is probably the oldest book of the New Testament, written perhaps as early as AD 45, before the first council of Jerusalem in c. AD 50. James was martyred in approximately AD 62, according to the historian Josephus.

The Book of James is very practical and I would say the theme of this book is Spiritual maturity

1. (V1) Do not hold the faith of our Lord with partiality

a) Do not hold the faith: The glorious faith we have, the faith of our Lord

Jesus Christ should never be associated with partiality  (discrimination or the literal translation is favoritism)

The glory of the Lord is for the rich or the poor

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

John 10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

b) In context: Remember the times they are living in

The time of this letter were filled with prejudice and hatred based on class, ethnicity, nationality, and religious background.

In the ancient world people were routinely and permanently categorized because they were Jew or Gentile, slave or free, rich or poor, Greek or barbarian, or whatever.

Ephesians 2:14 “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,”

Jesus Christ broke down the separating wall

One of my first memories of going to church:

-My mom managed a credit union and one of her employees was a Christian who invited her to church

-It was an all black southern baptist church

-One of the first things I noticed was my mom and I were the only two white people

-But remember how welcoming and loving they were to us, they didn’t hold their faith with partiality

-They didn’t judge me on basis of skin or anything else. They knew I needed Jesus

1.1 (V2-V4) An example of the kind of partiality that has no place among Christians.

Assembly refers to a synagogue where Jews would meet

Back in those days, the people would show their wealth by the jewelry they wore

In Roman society the wealthy wore rings on their left hand

There were shops in Rome where you could rent the Jewelry

a) James makes the distinction between two different types of people, the rich and the poor

The rich was told to sit in the nice seat and the poor was told to stand over there

I remember hearing a message and I was convicted on how spending my time. I wasn’t living for the Lord, I was living for myself surfing as much as possible, when I wasn’t surfing I was body surfing, and when I wasn’t body surfing I was working on my tan.

I remember going to the church I had been attending for a few months and I asked if they needed help with anything.

I moved a few things, it took a few minutes and then the pastor asked me for court card so he could sign off on my community service.

I was wrongly judged based on my appearance

Looking back on this experience I am thankful because it gave me a new perspective of not judging a book by its cover

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””

David’s seven older brothers were stronger, more experienced, and more qualified by human standards, yet God chose David to be the King

God sees the heart

1.2 (V5) Poor on earth but rich in faith

a) Though people may be poor, they are rich in faith

The persecuted church comes to mind, although they may not have the material things, their faith makes them rich

It’s a valid argument to say they are possibly stronger in faith because they exercise more than the person who has material things

b) If God has chosen the poor, who are we to speak against it?

c) We have a promise for those who love God

When life is challenging, its good to remember the beautiful promise of eternity with Christ

1.3 (V8) The royal law

a) Fulfilling the royal law we do well

What is the royal law?

The Royal Law is anchored in the commandment found in Leviticus 19:18, “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against any of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD” .

This commandment is reiterated by Jesus Christ in the Gospels, where He identifies it as the second greatest commandment, following the command to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37-39).

1.4 (V10-13) Whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble at one point he is guilty of all

a) Adultery, murder, and showing partiality are all sin

2. (V14) Faith without works is dead

James asks a very important question: If someone says they have faith and does not have works, are they saved?

One of the greatest tactics of Satan comes in a lie that says, I say I have faith and then I can go back to living my life in whatever manner I choose

James will answer that question for us in verses 14-26

a) James wrote to Christians from a Jewish background that discovered the glory of salvation by faith.

The Jews understand works, as they were required to follow 613 commandments according to the Torah

As the Jews came to faith in Christ, they went to the other extreme of thinking that works didn’t matter at all.

James did not contradict the Apostle Paul, who insisted that we are saved not of works(Ephesians 2:9).

James merely clarifies for us the kind of faith that saves.

2.1 (V15-16) Words with no action are of no value

Telling a hungry naked brother to go be filled and be warm does no good

You could even argue its unloving

2.2 (V18) I will show you my faith by my works

The evidence of our salvation is our works or by the way we live our life

When I see someone proclaim Christianity, yet their is zero evidence the natural tendency is to question their salvation

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

2.3 (V20) O foolish man, that faith without works is dead

Why is James calling them foolish? Because he’s theology is confused in thinking his faith without works saves him

Matthew 7:26 ““But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:”

Matthew 7:21 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

2.4 (V22) Faith was working together with his works

Abraham was justified by faith long before he offered Isaac (Genesis 15:6). But his obedience in offering Isaac demonstrated that he really did trust God.

His faith mixed with works made him perfect according to verse 22

2.5 (V25) Rahab the harlot justified by her works

Rahab demonstrated her trust in the God of Israel by hiding the spies and seeking salvation from their God (Joshua 2:8-13).

Her faith was shown to be living faith because it did something. Her belief in the God of Israel would not have saved her if she had not done something with that faith.