Good afternoon! Here is my sermon from this morning! It is the first in a series on the Epistle of James. God bless you and your families! Pastor Karen *** “Consider it nothing but joy!” Meditation on James Chapter 1 Aug. 4, 2013 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings! My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Let the believer who is lowly boast in being raised up, and the rich in being brought low, because the rich will disappear like a flower in the field. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the field; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. It is the same way with the rich; in the midst of a busy life, they will wither away. Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved. Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. … If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1, selected verses) *** “My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy!” So begins the body of the Epistle of James, which we will read and discuss during worship over the next 5 weeks. Why study James? One good reason is that the Christian Church has in its history often ignored, overlooked, forgotten, misunderstood, and even outright rejected this ancient letter. Some have gone as far to say that James is part of the “junk mail” of the New Testament (Scot McKnight, 9)! Martin Luther hated James, calling it a “right strawy epistle.” He believed the letter contradicted the apostle Paul’s teachings and placed too much emphasis on the law and works, with not enough emphasis on faith. Modern scholarship, however, notes differences between Paul and James’s style and teaching, but also similarities, particularly in the emphasis on the need to not only know God’s law, but to keep it! Paul in Romans 2:13 says that it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous but the doers of the law who will be considered righteous. But who was James? Sadly, we don’t know for sure. The name “James” pops up more than 40 times in the New Testament! This may have contributed to the Church’s reluctance to view his letter as Holy Scripture. The Epistle of James was not included in the Bible until the Council of Hippo in 393 A.D. Scholars more recently have narrowed the candidates for James’ identity to four possibilities. Some say he could be James the son of Zebedee, one of the 12 disciples, who was also the brother of the apostle John. But most have eliminated this James because of the earlier date of his death and the content of his letter. It is more plausible that the author was James, the brother of Jesus, who was not one of the disciples. James’ teachings resemble some of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Epistle of James has language and structure that are similar to a letter in Acts 15 attributed to James, the brother of Jesus. James, the brother of Jesus, was the leader of the Jerusalem Church in the early 40s. He was a peacemaker, known and respected for his wisdom. He listened to Peter, Paul and Barnabas’ arguments at the Jerusalem Council that God’s salvation had been opened to Gentile believers, without the need for circumcision. Then James decided in their favor. The Council accepted James’ decision, without quarrel. Thus, the brother of Jesus steered the Church to make one of its most pivotal decisions and weather one of its first controversies. The other two possibilities for James’ identity include someone writing the letter for James, the brother of Jesus, or someone else entirely, whom the scholars do not know about. For our study over the next 5 weeks, we will stick with the majority view and assume that James, the brother of Jesus, was most likely the writer. The exciting news that goes along with this assumption—and one more good reason to study James—is that if the brother of Jesus is the true author, this letter could be “the earliest Christian document we have” (Scott McKnight, 2)—older than even Paul’s letters, which were thought to be the oldest writings in our entire New Testament. Perhaps the best reason for studying James is that it is as relevant to the Church of the 21st century as it was in the Church of James’ time. Today’s Church, the Body of Christ around the world, is still struggling to be the Church; it is embroiled in conflict and controversies. It is still struggling to hold onto and live out its faith in the loving manner Jesus calls it to live amidst trials, sin, and temptation. *** In the first chapter of the epistle, James stresses the importance of commitment, submission and obedience to the Lord. If we are, like James, a servant of God and Jesus Christ, then our attitude and our lives will show it. The word translated as “servant” in James’ greeting is doulos, which is more accurately “slave.” Doulos means being in total bondage to the authority of another. James urges us to consider trials as “all joy” because of what they will produce in us—an enduring faith. This is the first of 14 instances in James’ letter of the Greek word pistis—faith. What is needed during trials is wisdom, but God will generously give wisdom to all who seek Him in faith! Doubt will render prayer ineffective! Temptation doesn’t come from God; it comes from one’s own desires and gives birth to sin. Then James, ever the peace-seeker, takes aim at conflict in the church by attacking ungodly conversation. As usual, he softens his attack with affectionate, familial language. “You must understand this, my beloved: Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness.” He later says that those who do not bridle their tongues are deceiving themselves if they think they are religious. What will give us power to rid ourselves of anger and wickedness? The “implanted” Word of God. That means we should be reading and studying Scripture until it becomes firmly rooted in our hearts and minds. Only then will we be equipped to be doers of the Word—not merely hearers. What are the good works Christians are called to do? Acts of lovingkindness and generosity. These acts, like every good gift, come from above! “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father,” James concludes, “is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Let us pray. Lord God, we thank you for speaking to us through your Word that is always relevant, in every time and place. Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ whom you sacrificed so the world may be saved through Him. Thank you that in Christ we may come to You boldly to confess our sins, and be cleansed and restored to right relationship with you and one another. Forgive us, Lord, when we are stubborn and want things our way. Implant your word in our hearts and help us to obey. Mold us into your humble, loving slaves. Grant us peace in the knowledge that our lives are not our own and that we belong to you! Teach us how to have godly conversations with each other—to be quick to listen and to listen more, to be slow to speak and speak less, and never to give in to angry speech. Help us to be doers of the Word and grant us your wisdom and joy during times of trial, when you are building in us a faith that will endure. In Christ we pray. Amen.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 17:55:23 +0000