To The Spiritually Fractured

James #1 | James 1:1

TO THE SPIRITUALLY FRACTURED

2020 JUL 19

Let's open our Bibles to the Letter of James chapter 1:1.

Read: James 1:1

Pray:

In Acts ch. 2 a new people of God were formed by faith in the gospel message proclaimed by Jesus' Apostles  the Church was born.

· Of course, all of this took place in Jerusalem when Jews from all over the Roman Empire were in the city to celebrate Pentecost. And for awhile (it would seem) many, many of these pilgrims stayed in Jerusalem to participate in the life of this new movement (as the early chapters of Acts describe it).

· So the early Church was made up of Jewish believers. And eventually, many of these 1st believers returned to their home-regions outside of Palestine  most probably driven by persecution and economics – they took the gospel / the Christian faith with them, and as a result fledgling Christian communities were formed in various locations outside of Palestine (places where fair numbers of Jews were already living).

It's important to understand these early, Jewish Christians didn't see themselves as a different religion – but as "true Israel" ("core Israel") – as those Israelites receiving the fulfillment of God's promises. One of the big themes of the New Testament is explaining how the Christian faith emerged out from Judaism to become the Christian faith (a faith distinct from the Jewish faith).

At the center of the Church's life and growth were the Apostles, who laid the foundations for the Christian faith as Jesus had commissioned them to do.

And most influential were Peter, John, and JAMES. In Galatians 2:9 the Apostle Paul identifies "James, Cephas [Peter], and John" as "pillars" of the Church – even placing James at the head of this list. This (and other accounts in the New Testament) show us that James was a prominent leader in the early decades of the Church  and almost without a doubt the prominent leader of the Jerusalem Church.

Who was JAMES?

Of all the different men named James in the New Testament, the only James that fits is James, the son of Joseph and Mary (and therefore, Jesus' half-brother).

· According to John ch. 7 – James is included with the rest of Jesus' brothers as not believing in him. In Mark ch. 3 James joins with the rest of Jesus' family in trying to prevent him from his ministry because they all think Jesus has gone mad.

· It wasn't until after Jesus' death / resurrection that James believed. The resurrected Jesus even appeared to James (1 Cor. 15:7 tells us).

It is this James who writes this letter, from Jerusalem, to the scattered Jewish believing communities – living outside the land / separated from "HQ" in Jerusalem.

Which is why he addresses them as "the twelve tribes in the Dispersion."

· The "Dispersion" was a technical word used to identify national Israelites who were scattered (dispersed) throughout the world.

· James takes this identification and applies it to these scattered Jewish-Christian church-communities.

From what we can gather in the letter, these believers are:

· beset with trials and hardships / very likely that many of them have been forced into "dispersion" by the persecution that broke out in Acts 8:1 after Stephen was stoned to death / some of them may have lost their homes, livelihoods  the letter begins with rejoicing because of trials / ends with enduring suffering

· = these believers were especially economically vulnerable (contrast between wealth and poverty / rich v. poor / the vulnerable oppressed by the powerful)  one portion of the letter confronts partiality (based on wealth) / as well as a scathing warning to the rich (who oppress)

· they prize wisdom (not Greek wisdom, but Jewish wisdom – the wisdom of the Old Testament Scriptures and other well-known Jewish writings of their day). Having wisdom seems to be their minds the primary qualification for maturity / leadership. James doesn't condemn this prizing of wisdom – BUT he does define it and clarify it!

4 Important characteristics of the letter (to help understand it).

1. James writes early (first).

Of all of the New Testament gospels and letters and Acts – I believe that James was written first, probably the mid-40's AD – making it the earliest Christian document.

This explains:

· Why Jewish-Gentile relationships are not addressed at all. (It is actually written before the Gentile mission launched by Paul and Barnabas from Antioch.)

· Possibly why James doesn't at all discuss organization / structure within the church  in ch. 5 he mentions "elders of the church" (for prayer) / in ch. 2 he mentions

· Why James refers to the Law frequently but not in a way that contrast Law with grace.

· Why James reads like the OldTestament Scriptures more than any other New Testament book.

2. James writes with authority.

James writes to them as "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ."

· By calling himself a "servant" (or slave) James is not just being humble or highlighting that he belongs to Christ.

· "Servant" here is a title that means something like "in the service of God as his representative." (Should be a capital "S.")

· By taking this title, James is saying that his service to God is to fulfill the responsibility to instruct them on God's behalf, with Christ's authority.

A saturation with Jesus' teachings.

· James reflects Jesus' teachings more than any other New Testament author.

· Most of them are indirect (i.e., not a quote) – but some 26 connections can be made between James and Jesus' teachings  including: asking and receiving / anger / the kingdom and the poor / the love commandment / peacemakers / exaltation of the humble / judging others / taking oaths (just to name a few)

· James is so saturated with Jesus' teaching that it simply constantly emerges as he writes.

3. James writes to correct.

The Letter of James has a higher percentage of imperatives than any other writer or book in the New Testament.

James is full of commands – which gives his letter a confrontational tone. And the reason is that James is calling us to account  by confronting what I will call spiritual duplicity (or fracture) i.e.

The spiritually fractured person:

· asks God for wisdom – but doesn't believe God will keep his promise to provide it

· sees trials as temptations God sends to cause them to sin – and blames God for it

· hears the Word – but neglects to do it

· claims to fulfill the Law of love – but discriminates against people

· claims to have faith – but has no works (and when challenged, points to his faith!

· praises God / teaches about God – but with the same mouth curses people made in God's image

· considers himself wise but displays a wisdom from hell

· claims friendship with God – but with the world also

On 2 occasions James calls this person "double-minded" = lit., two-souled = a person who is spiritually and morally fractured.

This spiritual fracture is the THEME of the letter. It is why James writes.

And James writes to us like an Old Testament minor prophet!  calling us to live Christian lives that are whole and undivided / without fracture / without hypocrisy.

James writes to correct us.

4. James writes with a structured argument.

Now, if you've ever read James (and many of you have), you probably felt like James kind of rambled / kind of jumped from one topic to the next.

You're not alone. In fact, some scholars say that James does exactly that: he just stitches together a variety of subjects he wants to talk about into a written "sermon" of sorts.

But, without a doubt – James writes with a structure – all organized around his confrontation of spiritual fracture.

James opens his letter by calling us to endure trials of all kinds with joy because our faith is being matured (1:1-12).

· How one view and responds to trials reveals the duplicity or sincerity of his faith since the duplicitous person views trials as temptation from God (1:13-15).

· In his most explicit theological statement, he presents God as one without the slightest blemish of duplicity in his character (1:16-18).

James then launches into four arguments exposing the nature, tragedy, and absurdity of fractured living:

· hearing the word but not obeying it (1:19-27)

· keeping the Law, but discriminating against people (2:1-13)

· claiming to have faith but having no works (2:14-26)

· blessing God while cursing man (3:1-12)

The argument climbs with two sets of rhetorical questions: "Who is wise and understanding among you?" (3:13) / "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?" (4:1).

· First, James asserts there are two wisdoms (two ways to see life and live) – one earthly, one heavenly (3:13-18).

· Second, he exposes the source of strife as unmet lusts (4:2-3).

Such living is worldly and is enmity toward God, and the letter's argument climaxes with a passionate call to repentance [ 4:4-10... ]

Given this need for humility, James warns the self-sufficient (4:11-17) and the wealthy (5:1-6) and then calls for steadfastness in suffering (5:7-12). Lastly, he exhorts us to pray, deal with sin, and pursue other who wander.

Conclusion: Why James is so significant for our "evangelical culture."