Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

God willing, I would like to take us through the book of James.

God willing, I would like us to go through the book of James.

This little book is one that has caused me personally to really think of what the Christian life is about.

How we as Christians are to act in our daily lives.

I hope as we dig into this, letter God would bless through it.

Most Biblical scholars or historians consider the author of James to be James the half brother of Jesus.

Although there are other James that are found in the New Testament, James the brother of Jesus is the most likely candidate.

(We will not get into these arguments right now because of time, but there is a lot of information on this).

Chronologically, this Book is considered by many to be one of the first books written in the New Testament, if not the very first book.

The ESV study Bible says that James was probably written in the early to mid 40’s AD.

The Apostle Paul tells us that James is an Apostle

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18 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.

Although James is an Apostle, most biblical scholars would call James, “the first pastor of the Church of Jesus Christ.”

We know that James was the head of the Church in Jerusalem sometime after Jesus ascension into heaven.

But most biblical scholars would call James, “the first pastor of the Church of Jesus Christ.”

We know that James was indeed the head of the Church in Jerusalem after Jesus ascension into heaven.

If we could give one theme to the book of James, I would have to agree with the ESV study Bible when it says that, “The primary theme of the letter of James is to be doers of the Word, and not just hearers”.

This is taken from

I would have to agree with the ESV study Bible when it says that, “The primary theme of the letter of James is to be doers of the Word, and not just hearers”.

(ESV)

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

As we dig into this little book that was written long ago, my prayer is that as the church of Jesus Christ we would be challenged and encouraged through it.

As being a part of Christ’s Church this letter would rock us to the very core.

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-Prayer-

Before we really start to dig into the text, I want to focus on James for a few minutes.

James went from someone who would mock our Lord to a devoted follower, that would eventually lead him to a martyrs death.

James had grown up with Jesus and Jesus was the oldest sibling of the family.

I am sure that James knew there was something special about his brother, but James could not except the fact that Jesus was indeed the Christ.

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Greeting

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Look how James introduces himself to the readers of the letter.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are two really important facts that I want to get out of the first part of this verse.

James says that he is a servant or we could say a slave.

This word “servant” is the Greek word “doulos” which means “slave”

James could have said, “James the Apostle, or James the half brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, or even James the leader of the church in Jerusalem.”

These all would have been correct.

But instead he says, “James a servant or a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

What a transformation that James had went through

James went from a man that I am sure was full of, jealousy or indignation towards Jesus, to a man that loved his Jesus.

He would not leave Jerusalem but would stay and lead others to the same knowledge that God had given him about his Lord.

Look at this transformation of James with me.

Turn to Mark chapter 3.

Turn to Mark chapter 3.

In chapter 3: 1-6 we see Jesus healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath and immediately the pharisees went out and had a meeting to see how they might destroy Jesus.

After this in verses 7-12, we see that there is a multitude of people that are coming to him to be healed of diseases and unclean spirits.

There are so many that Jesus tells His disciples to get a boat for Him to stand in so that the crowed would not crush Him.

We then read in versus 13-19 Jesus twelve closest called Apostles.

In Versus 20-35 is where it gets really interesting.

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20 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.”

James the half brother of Jesus would have been a part of this conversation saying “he is out of his mind”.

They had heard about the reaction of the pharisees in the healing of the man with the withered hand and how Jesus had healed the many with demons and sickness.

James was at a cross road, he had a decision to make.

Choose to follow Jesus as the messiah or choose to believe that Jesus was out of his mind.

C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.

That is the one thing we must not say.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.

He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

You must make your choice Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.

You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.

He has not left that open to us.

He did not intend to.”

C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.

That is the one thing we must not say.

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.

He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

You must make your choice Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.

You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.

He has not left that open to us.

He did not intend to.”

We can see that James had made up his mind that Jesus was out of his mind.

and we can see that the pharisees would make up there minds that he was a devil

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.”

23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.

27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.

Then indeed he may plunder his house.

28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

As C.S. Lewis said there is only The Son of God.

That is the only choice that Jesus gave us.

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.

32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”

33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”