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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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CONCLUSION TO
JAMES (James)
2-20-13 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. SUMMARY OF JAMES’ READERS’
PROBLEMS A. James has been an
incredible study, not only for the strong language that he used, but also
because his words are relevant for today. B. James was writing to a “scattered” (Jm
1:1) and “battered” (Jm 1:2) church that experienced severe persecution.
Sometimes persecution strengthens the church, but sometimes it can have
devastating spiritual effects. The latter seems to be the case for James’
readers. The harsh treatment, loss of property, and exile proved to be too
much for them. As a result, instead of turning to God, they turned bitter,
and multiple spiritual problems ensued. 1. Falling
into temptation (Jm 1:13) 2. Harmful favoritism (Jm 2:1) 3. Unruly tongue and speech (Jm 3:8-10) 4. Bitter jealousy and selfish ambition (Jm
3:14) 5. Lack of godly wisdom (Jm 3:13-17; 1:5) 6. Quarreling and fighting (Jm 4:1) 7. Friendship with the world (Jm 4:4) 8. Boasting and self-confidence (Jm 4:13-16) 9. Complaining and judging (Jm 5:9) 10. Dishonest speech (Jm 5:12) C. Unfortunately, James’
letter applies to today’s churches. Today’s churches do not struggle with
being scattered, but they do struggle with being split.
Church splits are not only common, but there are books and actual ministries
designed for the prevention, survival, and recovery of church splits. We all
know the cause of church splits is the people in the church pews. So the real battle takes places in the hearts of brothers
and sisters called in the love of Christ. If there are not problems in the
congregation, then there are problems within a Christian marriage or the
Christian home. It appears as though James has today’s churches and
Christians in view. II. SUMMARY OF JAMES’ APPEALS A. THE APPEAL TO THE EVIDENCE
OF FAITH 1. Though
James deals with many problems in the church, he makes a major argument for
Christians to consider the evidence of their faith. In Jm 2:26 (2:14-26),
James makes the somewhat controversial statement, “faith without works id
dead.” 2. Though James would agree with the
theological concept of salvation “by faith alone in Christ alone,” he is also in agreement that “saving faith is not alone.”
Theologically, works are to accompany true faith and faith that is not accompanied by works is not necessarily genuine.
James was not alone in his theological understanding. He is joined by the
other writers of the NT, including Jesus (Jesus - Mt 3:7-8; 5:16; 7:21; 13:18–23; Jn 8:30,
31; 15:6; Paul - Tit 2:14; 3:8; 3:14 cp. Mt
3:7, 8; 5:16; 7:21; 13:18–23; Jn 8:30-31; 15:6; Peter - 1Pe 1:15-16; 18; John
- 1Jo 3:1-10, 11-18; 3:19-4:6; 4:7-21; 5:1-5). 3. Though James was theologically correct, his main appeal was
practical. The believers to whom he wrote were struggling spiritually to say
the least. To add to this, they seemed quite content to justify their
behavior. Their behavior was wrong as well as their personal justification of
it. 4. James proves that no Christian is
theologically correct in justifying sinful behavior. For James to say that
they had no works to evidence (Jm 2:18) was for him to say that they were
living sinfully and contrary to God’s expected
desire for every believer. 5. Works or evidence of faith is not only an
important aspect of the Christian life, but also the litmus test for genuine
faith. To justify sinful behavior, was in essence to justify failing the
litmus test of genuine faith. James spoke the practical truth and it did
indeed have holy shock value. They were to come to their senses and repent of
their sin and begin living in a way becoming of genuine faith. 6. We see the same faulty thinking in
today’s church. Call it Easy-Believism or Pseudo-Christian Liberty; many
today are quite content to justify their sinful behavior. When in all
reality, according to James, they are justifying failing the litmus test of
genuine faith. If they are true believers with genuine faith, then they are
boasting that they can please God while having sinful behavior and giving no
evidence. B. THE APPEAL TO THE SIN
NATURE 1. James did
not ignore the existence or struggle of the believer’s sin nature. He
correctly named it as the source of all spiritual problems, including
quarreling and fighting (Jm 4:1). 2. Sin and temptation come to the believer,
not from God (Jm 1:13), but from the believer’s own sinful nature. Giving in
to sin and temptation is the same as giving in to the sinful nature (Jm
1:14-15). 3. To justify sinful behavior by blaming God
or others is to ignore that the problem resides from within. In fact, all
their problems stemmed from their sinful nature, from which, springs sinful
attitudes, sinful speech, and sinful actions. 4. The church today has embraced similar
ideas along with human psychology to attempt to address personal and
corporate problems. A difficult task indeed, especially when the sinful
nature or personal responsibility is never addressed. 5. Our problems must be
linked to the sinful nature if the believer is going to be able to
come to a true solution. It will be a solution that comes
from the principles of Scripture, which address sinful attitudes, speech, and
behavior of the believer. 6. The believer can have a degree of victory
over sin through the Holy Spirit and such victory will be the evidence of
genuine faith. C. THE APPEAL TO OBEDIENCE TO
THE WORD 1. Just
knowing the source of problems was not enough for James. His readers had to
be willing to put the solution of biblical principles into practice. James
appealed to them to be “doers of the Word” (Jm 1:22-25). Obviously,
James’ readers had heard the Word and may have continued to sit and hear the
Word preached, but it was having no apparent effect upon their lives. 2. Some in today’s church may attend church
and maybe even sit through a sermon, but they take God’s Word as another mere
voice among many. Some even prefer their ministers to preach light “feel
good” sermons to strong biblical teaching. Paul spoke that this would take
place in latter times (2Ti 4:2-4). 3. Believers must honor God and the
authority that comes from His Word (Is 66:5). Being a “doer of the Word” is
not optional for the genuine believer. He is to receive God’s Word with
humility so that it becomes implanted into his life (Jm 1:21). This is the
“wisdom that comes from above” (Jm 3:15-17) and putting God’s Word into
practice is the solution for all of man’s problems. As the believer persists
in this, it is an evidence of his genuine faith. D. THE APPEAL TO CONFESSION
AND PRAYER 1. A sign of
genuine faith is not necessarily one who perfectly bridles his own behavior
so that he never sins. Rather, it is one who attempts to
walk in accordance to the Word, but when he fails, he shows genuine
faith by confessing his sin to God and others who he may have offended. With
all that James addressed in his letter, it is easy to see that these
scattered Jewish believers had many offenses toward one another. Therefore
they were to confess their sins to one another (Jm 5:16). 2. Spiritual healing would take place in
problem churches and problem people if they could humble themselves and
confess their sin to one another. In fact, it is very often the beginning of
a solution to church splits. 3. In addition ,
James’ readers were to deal with their problems through prayer (Jm 5:16b).
The context applies prayer to their struggle with sin, sinful behavior toward
one another, and obedience to the Word. 4. James was so much an example of the
discipline and power of prayer that his long hours of intercession produced
callouses on his knees like camels (“camel knees”). 5. Prayer is still the solution for
believers in the church today regardless of their problems. We must pray for
ourselves, our behavior, struggle with sin, obedience to the Word, and
becoming people of prayer. We must also pray for the spiritual health of others. 6. It is quite easy to see a spiritually
healthy believer or church with genuine faith, they are the ones humbly
obeying the Word and walking around with callouses on their knees. |
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