Easter 4 2025

Sometimes people will pit different parts of the Bible against other parts. Some times this is even done by scholars.

So I might talk to you about the death of Jesus as the things that pays for sin, and someone might accuse me of looking at Christianity through the lense of St. Paul. Or someone might talk about the radical call of Christianity to proclaim the arrival of God’s kingdom, and you might accuse that person of looking more at the specific sayings of Jesus. You may talk about the wisdom gained in following Jesus and like us today you might get the accusation that you are focused on the book of James.

I don’t think breaking the Bible down into these different categories is at all helpful. I believe the 66/72 books of the Bible are teaching one united story. It give us one united call to discipleship in Christ. I think Jesus, St. Paul and St. James are all pushing us in the same direction and we need to read the different authors of the Bible with that in mind.

Yes the different authors seems to have areas of focus or emphasis, put not in a way that excludes each other. We must read Paul remembering the wisdom of James. We must read James remembering the Free grace of Paul. We must read Jesus with all of the scriptures somewhere near to hand.

Unfortunately, during the protestant reformation that produced the Anglican Church, the salvation by Grace alone through Faith Alone, rediscovered by Luther and Guiding our movement, that Faith Alone by Grace alone was being challenged by the Medieval church who would constantly go back James. So much so that Luther got fed up with the book and almost left it our of his German translation…his colleagues said he couldn't just eject books out of the Bible. So he put it at the back.

(The Text) Fortunately in the last 30 years there has been a resurgence in interest in the book of James by Lutherans and other protestant. thinkers. So today we join them as we look into this scripture looking for the instructions of God himself to us as believers.

James the author, Probably Jesus half brother (How?). In charge of the church at Jerusalem.

He writes a book in the style of Jewish Wisdom Literature. Short sayings chalk full of meaning, the sayings in chapter one lay the ground work for those that come next.

He begins “[17] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

You have the words good and perfect describing Gifts from God. Good in that they are morally exemplar, and perfect in that they are complete. We are not good in that we fail moral testing, and we are not perfect in that we are not complete in our sanctifying journey. But the God who give richly to us is both those things.

He is the father of lights, Both Glory and Revelation. And he is unchanging.

BC God is unchanging we can trust he will continues as the giver of gifts and blessing and we can trust that the means of salvations set before us will always suffice. (The immutability of God).

[18] Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

So as God has a will so we have a will, its part of being made in God’s character. But our wills are enslaved to sin. As Genetic sons and daughters of Adam, our wills not behave in rebellious ways, so God out of his will brings us forth. His word, the hearing of it brings about the salvation of God, what James calls first fruits for his brothers and sisters as this was written at the very beginning of the church.

What interesting here is that James is saying something that is very in line with St. Paul, that God is the one who initiates our life in him. That he overcomes our will of rebellion and shows us the Love of God.

[19] Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Now remember that what is the book of James does, is give short sayings packed with meaning, that sometimes tie together and sometimes do not.

We now have a change from the work of God creating believers, to the work of a believer to be quick to listen and slow to speak, and even more, slow to anger.

Remember as believers we are designed to hear God’s word, and we are meant to use the language given by God to praise him. You have language for many reasons, but the highest reason is to Praise God. So be careful with words. And notice that Anger is not absent but arrived at slowly. God gets angry and in his image we should also be angry at the right things.

[20] for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

If you are angry at your own things, the disruption of your own agenda, that does not produce righteousness, but If you are angry with the things that anger God you are probably holding the anger that leads to righteousness. Be angry at what makes god angry

[21] Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

So we looked at an action of God, giving gifts, and action of God, bringing us to faith by his word, then actions of man, quick to listen…finally one more action of man.

Put away filth and wickedness. And in putting that away prepare to be given the implanted word that will save your souls. The father of lights who gives all good gifts will give you this amazing gift of salvation. He is looking for repentance, the setting aside of filth and wickedness. God is acting, and his is giving us the ability to act. let us follow his lead here.