The Book of James: Practical Wholeness.

Vertical, I am so excited to start this semester together. One of the things that God has placed on my heart is to begin to teach the Word on a verse-to-verse basis. We, as Christians, need to become Bible literates. We need to know the whole counsel of God. When we don’t, we tend to get an inaccurate idea of God’s character. Often I am humbly by seeing how the Word of God so perfectly complements each other.

Man I’ve been very stressed this week because I want to make sure that I do the best that I can to teach you accurately what the Bible says. I am still learning but we will do this together. My hope is that you continue to grow in your full understanding of the Word of God and allow it to convict and transform you by the power of God.

I choose to go with the book of James for several reasons:

- Easy to read and understand plainly.

- Short read (read the whole book in one sitting)

- Extremely practical and applicable to us today.

Overview of the Book

Written by Jesus’ brother. Matt 13:55 “55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?”

James was probably not a believer until after the resurrection (Apologetics- embarrassing details):

John 7:5 “5 For not even his brothers believed in him.”

1 Cor. 15:7 “7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

However, James became a pillar in the first church:

Acts 15:13,19 “13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me… 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,”

Galatians 2:9 “9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

This book is considered a book of wisdom in the New Testament, just like the book of proverbs. However, it is still a letter. James is writing to THE church. James 1:1 “1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.”

That word “dispersion” is very important because following Stephen killing in Acts 7 the Bible says that Acts 8:1 “...on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”

Many jews that became convinced that Jesus Christ was the awaited Messiah, because of this they were persecuted and begin to be scattered outside their homeland. This persecution cause many to begin to share about Jesus in their new context.

Acts 11:19-21 “19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.”

In turn, this same Messianic Jews, who believed in Jesus, began to experience different trials. Christians were not being martyred, but they were suffering social pressure.

Have you ever experience social pressure? This book is for you.

There are two major themes that I see in this book when dealing with social pressure: wisdom & humility.

Is a “letter is filled with the teaching of Jesus. No other letter of the NT has as many references to the teaching of Jesus per page as this one does. It is not that James quotes Jesus directly, although he sometimes does (see in 5:12), but he normally simply uses phrases and ideas which come from Jesus. His readers would have memorized much of the Lord’s teaching, so they would recognize the source. Most of these phrases come from the teaching of Jesus now in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5–7) or Luke’s Sermon on the Plain (Lk. 6). There is no better example in the NT of a church leader taking the Lord’s teaching and applying it to church problems. The letter of James, then, becomes a model for the modern church on how to apply the teaching of Jesus.” Peter H. Davids,

James emphasis practical Holiness & Faith that works based on humility.

Now that I have given you an overview of the book. I want to go back and look just at Jame 1:1. I believe that this verse is foundational for the rest of the book. The reality is that we can read the book of James and miss the main point that is highlighted in the scriptures.

Main Point: A true surrender to Christ is marked by a servant attitude towards God & others.

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

Doulos: “a person who is legally owned by someone else and whose entire livelihood and purpose was determined by their master.”

Becoming a servant of God is not automatic.

James grew up with Jesus.

Coach Drew Illustration?

(2021 NCAA Championship)

James had to experience the risen savior.

Becoming a servant of God is the first step to submitting to the practicality of the Word. (James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”)

Granting the authority that belongs to God.

Daily surrendering to His Lordship.

Becoming a servant of God demands holiness and humility.

Committing to the value of His word.

Committing to the Sovereignty of His ways.

Isaiah 55:6-9 “6 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Have you experienced the rise Savior?