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  Long Island Abundant Life Church 長島豐盛生命教會

James 1

11/24/2012

 
Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

Introduction to James and Trials
Some introductory info on James with a few thoughts on chapter 1 to follow:

"AUTHOR

    A.      The traditional author is James (Hebrew, “Jacob”), the half-brother of Jesus (one of four, cf. Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Acts 1:14; 12:17; Gal. 1:19). He was the leader of the Jerusalem Church (A.D. 48–62, cf. Acts 15:13–21; Gal. 2:9).
      1.      He was called “James the Just” and later nicknamed “camel knees” because he constantly prayed on his knees (from Hegesippus, quoted by Eusebius).
      2.      James was not a believer until after the resurrection (cf. Mark 3:21; John 7:5; Jesus appeared to him personally, I Cor. 15:7).
      3.      He was present in the upper room when the Spirit came on Pentecost (cf. Acts, recorded in 2:1).
      4.      He was married (cf. I Cor. 9:5).
      5.      He is referred to by Paul as a pillar (possibly an apostle, cf. Gal. 1:19) but was not one of the Twelve (cf. Gal. 2:9; Acts 12:17; 15:13ff).
      6.      In Antiquities of the Jews, 20:9:1, Josephus says that he was stoned in A.D. 62 by orders from the Sadducees of the Sanhedrin, while another tradition (the second century writers, Clement of Alexandria or Hegesippus) says he was pushed off the wall of the Temple.
      7.      For many generations after Jesus’ death a relative of Jesus was appointed leader of the church in Jerusalem.
      8.     There are two other men named James in the NT apostolic band. However, James, the brother of John, was killed very early in A.D. 44 by Herod Agrippa I (cf. Acts 12:1–2). The other James, “the less” or “the younger” (cf. Mark 15:40), is never mentioned outside the lists of apostles. The author of our epistle was apparently well known.

LITERARY GENRE

    A.      This letter/sermon reflects a knowledge of wisdom literature, both canonical (Job - Song of Songs) and inter-biblical (Ecclesiasticus about 180 B.C.). Its emphasis is practical living—faith in action (cf. 1:3–4).

    B.      In some ways the style is very similar to both Jewish wisdom teachers and Greek and Roman moral itinerant teachers (like the Stoics). Some examples are:
      1.      loose structure (jumping from one subject to another)
      2.      many imperatives (54 of them)
      3.      diatribe (a supposed objector asking questions, cf. 2:18; 4:13). This is also seen in Malachi, Romans, and I John.

    C.      Although there are few direct quotations from the OT (cf. 1:11; 2:8, 11, 23; 4:6), like the book of the Revelation, there are many allusions to the OT.

    D.      The outline of James is almost longer than the book itself. This reflects the rabbinical technique of jumping from subject to subject in order to keep the attention of the audience. The rabbis called it “pearls on a string.” [1]

In reference to chapter 1, I would encourage you to read and understand verses 2-18 as a whole, not as separate topics.  Not everyone would agree with me on this, but I think there is much sense in understanding it this way.  The subject is introduced in the beginning - trials - and then differing issues that arise from dealing with trials are addressed:

1.  How do you have wisdom in trials? (vv. 5-8)
2.  Trials and poverty in life aren't a punishment -riches will fade. (vv. 9-11)
3.  Persevering and understanding the difference between temptation and trial (vv. 12-15)
4. Be thankful for every gift from God - even the gift of suffering and trial (vv. 16-18)

Understanding this passage as a whole gives chapter 1 a lot more coherence and reduces the weirdness of addressing trials twice in a short section of seemingly unrelated topics.  If all of these relate to trials in some way, the passage makes more sense as a whole.  It also makes the final part both make more sense and also makes it more challenging.  Everything God gives is a gift, including the difficult of trials.  Anyway, you can feel free to disagree with me on this, but understanding the passage through this lens makes it much more understandable I think.

Questions?  Comments?

[1] Robert James Dr. Utley, vol. Volume 11, Jesus' Half-Brothers Speak: James and Jude, Study Guide Commentary Series (Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International, 2000), 1, 3.
Andrei
11/24/2012 03:28:44 pm

It was an encouragement to read this passage... the reminder of trials as something that brings about our growth.

Question about verses 26-27.. in the sense that it is being talked about here, what does it mean to be 'religious'? Because I always think about how being 'religious' is viewed at from the secular perspective... does it mean the same thing here? Should Christians these days view themselves as 'religious'? For some reason, I feel like 'religious' is one of those words that pastors and/or the church would frown upon or something.

Kevin Kuo
11/26/2012 07:45:01 am

The ESV uses religious however other versions use religion or a combination of both. Your question actually highlights the use of the word religion. For a long time in American culture and Western society as a whole the people were dominated by Christianity. So we are only recently becoming more sensitive to other religions. However the Christianity practiced during this time was more of a cultural Christianity instead of genuine faith. During James' time there were many different religions. So what James is saying is that we should avoid cultural or lip service Christianity which does nothing more than put a label on yourself. Instead true Christians should heed God's word and act on the teachings of Christ. When you are changed by Christ your actions will be readily noticeable to others. That is really what is meant by salt and light of the world. And I do not mean to be like a doomsday preacher on a soap box preaching of the end times, although it may be true and it serves as a better reminder for the believer, for a non-Christian his message is feels more like a human cheese grater. Instead of religious I think maybe for modern language we may use righteous. It has less of a phony stain on it only because too many people were called religious when they were clearly not.

greg
11/27/2012 03:59:27 am

Thanks!

greg
11/27/2012 03:59:11 am

The word "religion" is pretty frowned upon right now. Basically "religion" is the systems and traditions of belief. The thing people get down on is "mere" religion. If its nothing more than traditions and duties to you, that's a problem in Christianity. Christianity IS a religion - it has beliefs, traditions, and systems - but it is also MORE than that - it is a relationship with God. What James is saying here is that if you say you believe something but there is no evidence of it, you're deceiving yourself. He elaborates on that theme in chapter 2. Kevin had some good thoughts too.


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