Faithful Living - Studies from the Book of James
James 1:1 - by Pastor Jack Anderson
Introduction The book of James is the most practical New Testament
epistle. This letter remains as relevant today as it was when it was written. Why?
Because the themes that James addressed are timeless.
What is the first thing we do when we receive
a letter? Most of us look at the bottom of the page to see who signed it before
we read it. In ancient days the author would sign his name at the top. verse 1
" James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ"
The opening words of this epistle are perfectly straightforward and yet
powerfully significant.
Straightforward-
--because they follow the common practice at the time which was to commence with
the signature of the writer.
Significant— because they tell us a number of things about the
Author—even more important because this signature is part of the inspired word
of God which lives and abides forever. We must ever be mindful of this wonderful
truth! It is James who is writing! It is God who is speaking.
Illustration. The Puritan Preacher Thomas Watson gave this advice
concerning the Bible. —"Read the scriptures not only as history but as a
love letter sent from God to you".
If we take this approach we will never fail
to reap rich dividends in our study of the Word. Let us, by way of
introduction, take a look at the author.
His
Description of Himself
"James a Servant—
James— who is this James? Traditionally the authorship has been ascribed to the
Lord’s half brother.
Mary and Joseph did have other children! I want you to see them and their reaction to their
half brother Jesus in the early days of His Ministry. Mark 6: v 3—6
Mark 6:3 is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses,
and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here
with us? And they were offended at him.
We can see that Jesus was the big brother in
the family; but he was a source of embarrassment to them! They were offended at
Him.
Mark 6:4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and
among his own kin, and in his own house.
I think that this is one of the saddest
things that Jesus ever said. Jesus, the Son of God, lived in
Mark 6:5 And
he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick
folk, and healed them.
Mark 6:6 and he marveled because of their unbelief.
It is clear that James and the rest of the family
did not believe in Christ during His earthly ministry. But, after the Lord’s
death on the Cross-and after His resurrection, some thing wonderful happened to
James.
1 Cor. 15—The Apostle Paul speaking of the witness’s
resurrection of Jesus
-v 5 And that he was seen of Cephas,
then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above
five hundred brethren at once after that, he was seen
of James then of all the apostles.
James came to know Jesus, not only as his
earthly brother but also as His Saviour and Lord. The living Christ became real
in his heart.
James grew to such stature in Faith that he
became the undisputed leader of the Church in
When Paul --came to
In fact he is referred to as "Camel
Knees|, because of the calluses formed by spending so many hours on his knees
before God. I do not think that there is one of us who has knees like James
because of the time spent in Prayer.
What a transformation the Grace of God in
Salvation made on his life. Tradition also tells us that James was stoned to
death for his faith in Jesus.
Having met the Man let us take a
closer look at how he introduces himself.
"James a Servant--
Now, because of his rich heritage – some
might have expected James to introduce himself—as an Apostle- as the Leader of
the big
This is James speaking—you cannot do without me-- look at the impression I
have made in the Church. You could not get along without me
If you should ever be foolish enough to feel
that you are indispensable to the work of the Lord, just, get a bucket of water
and place your finger in it, and then draw it out and see what impression you
have really made.
James simply refers to himself as "James a
Servant"
The word means, "Slave". James says, "I am a slave of God
and of the Lord Jesus" Slavery was a common social feature in Biblical
times.
Under the influence of Roman law—a Slave was
considered to be a person who was owned by another! One without any rights
whatsoever!
A personal piece of property, which belonged
to another, and his owner could dispose of him, as and when he so desired. A
Slave was one who was in subjection to the ownership and the authority of his
master.
This, alone, makes it remarkable that James
should introduce himself as a slave! Not as an Apostle and the half brother of
Jesus. I am James-- a Slave.
In describing himself as such, he chose to
use the Greek word " Doulos
A Doulos – was a slave, who had
completed his term of service and could have been set free by his master’s
control.
However, after considering everything in the
world with all its opportunities, the slave concluded that he was better off
with his master, and became a doulos, by choice. He chose to serve the one who
first chose him. His ear was then pierced to signify his new standing.
This mark was called in the Greek—"Stigmata"
The Apostle Paul—used this word in Gal 6:17, when he said Gal 6:17
From henceforth let no man
trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. ( the
stigmata) of Jesus.
When people saw the Duolos walking
down the street, they would note the mark on his ear and say "What a
wonderful master he must have!"
"He could have been free", but he
has chosen to stay with his master. James considered himself to be a slave of
the Lord Jesus. Having been bought with a price, he could never say no to his
Master.
The secret of success in the Christian life
is to find our position as Slave, as a doulos, to be servants of Jesus Christ, for we
are His possession.
1 Cor
6:20 for ye are bought with a price: therefore
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Illustration--- An incident occurred one day at the slave market in
Southland during the days of Slavery. A fine young man was placed in the
block for sale. Among the many bidders there was an English man who outbid the
rest of the interested bidders.
When the deal was complete, the young slave
was very angry with his new master for buying him as a slave, when slavery had
already been abolished in
Then his new owner turned to him and said
"Son I have not bought you to be my slave I have bought you to set you
free".
Overcome with emotion the young man said
"Sir I will be your
willing slave forever".
James was content to be a servant- a
slave. The Apostle Paul writes in ---
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the
grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God
hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
1. We are owned by God
He has bought us from the slave market of
sin—He has chosen us; a slave cannot choose his master- Jesus said—
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, He goes on to say I have chosen you for service and ordained you, that ye
should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:
It was C.T. Studd—the famous missionary who said, "
I had known about Jesus dying for me—but I had never understood that if
he died for me, then I did not belong to myself. When I came to see this truth
it did not seem so difficult to give up all for Him".
2. We Owe to God.
1 Cor 4:7
For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive?
When we consider what we owe to God, the list is endless.
Life,
All that we have has been given to us form
the storehouse of the Grace of God. Naught have I gotten but what I’ve received
by Grace.
Not your own to Him you owe
All your life and all your love
Live that you His praise might
show
Who is yet all praise above
Every day and every hour
Every gift and every power
Consecrate to Him alone
Who hath claimed you for His own.
His
Description of Himself "James a Servant--
His Conception of His Saviour.
"James a servant of God and of Jesus
Christ"
Though James was content to call himself a slave; he did have a high
conception of his Master. As a true servant of Christ, he testifies to the
deity of Jesus as the Son of God.
Thomas Manton says in his
commentary—"that even as they stand these words show Jesus as an object of
equal honour with the Father—And as the Father is Lord
so Jesus Christ is God". James no longer sees Jesus as his half brother!
He sees Jesus as the Christ and co-equal with God.
John 5:23 That all men should honour the
Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father, which hath sent him. They are not of God who denies the Deity of Jesus
Christ and His equality with the Father.
1) James refers to Jesus as
Lord.
He acknowledges the Lordship of His Saviour—We do not make Jesus Lord—God made him Lord. Rom 10 9 That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved.
When you received Christ as your Saviour, you
received Him as Lord of your life--
If Jesus is your Lord, then you have no right
to set up the rules for your conduct.
If He is absolute Lord and Master of your
life, then He is the One who sets the agenda for your life.
This word Lord
was not just a courtesy title, which James used, for it is the same Greek word
(Kurios)-- which Thomas used
when he saw the Risen Christ-
Jesus said—Thomas put forth your hand and put
it into my side, and be not faithless but believing.
And Thomas answered and said"
"My Lord and my
God"
1. James refers to Jesus as
Lord.
2. James refers to the Lord
as Jesus.
Now, if the word Lord points us to Deity—the name Jesus points us to His
humanity. The name Jesus—means Saviour.
The Name Jesus means, "The Lord is Salvation"
The angelic message to Joseph concerning Mary –was, that she
would bring forth a son and His name would be called Jesus for He would save
His people from their sin.
This great Truth links
Every redeemed soul worships and praises
Him.
Jesus is the Name we Treasure
Name beyond what words can tell
Name of Gladness Name of pleasure
Ear and heart delighting well
Name of sweetness passing measure
Saving us from sin and hell
1. James refers to Jesus as
Lord.
2. James refers to the Lord as
Jesus.
3. James refers to Jesus as
Christ.
The Messiah, the anointed One. For a period of 400 years the Prophets had been
silent—but in the person of Christ, the prophetic jigsaw fell into place.
The whole of the New Testament endorses the
cry of Andrew "We have found the Christ"
Through His Birth, life, death, burial,
resurrection, and His ascension—Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecy and
promises, which God had made through the Old Testament revelation.
It was Walter Chalmers
Smith who penned the lovely words
"Earth for Him had groaned
and travailed
Since the Ages first began
For in Him was his the secret
That through all the ages ran
Son of Mary, Son of David
Son of God and Son of Man"
This was James’ Conception of Jesus!
It was a high and a lofty one.
Friends—when we lift the Saviour high, then
like James, we bring ourselves low as a slave in obedience to Him, and in
appreciation of, who he is, and what he has done for us.
Thus the book James is the most practical
letter in the New Testament in relation to Christian living today. Let us keep
in mind that James was well qualified to write this book on Christian
behaviour, for he had the privilege of living in the same home as Jesus for
almost thirty years.
He had seen Christianity lived out before his
very eyes—he had observed the life of Jesus and, when we read his book, we find
that Jesus is reflected on every page.
James is saying, "I saw the life lived
and here is the way the Lord wants us to live. f some
of our family were to write a book, which was based on the way we lived
Christianity, I wonder what the book would be like.
His
Description of Himself
"James a Servant--
His Conception of His Saviour.
"James a servant of God
and of Jesus Christ"
His
Compassion for the Saints
to the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad, greeting.
Who are these Tribes? Well this is a reference to
After Stephen was stoned to death outside of the lions gate of the
city of
God permitted this test of the
James wrote this letter to Christians who had been dispersed. He wrote to those who had to
leave their homes, and loved ones.
However under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit he was
also writing to us, because in one sense all Christians are dispersed and
scattered as seed among the Nations. We are living today as exiles from our
heavenly home.
Thus the letter of James is directly from God
to us, for behind the hand of James is the hand of God.
James wrote his letter to those who were under persecution in order to teach
them how to deal with stress and the pressure of difficulties.
There were Saints who were wrestling with how
to live out what they believed.
Christians today, also face stress and
trials. We can learn form the book of James how to react. These Saints—had felt—
The Pressure of the hand of
Satan
They were aliens and strangers on earth.
Jesus was their Saviour and Satan was their Enemy. So it is with us today.
Every attack on the believer and on the Church comes from the hand of Satan.
The Preserving hand of God
James 1:12 Blessed
is the man that endureth temptation: for when
he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised
to them that love him.
John 16:33 In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Scattered and hard-pressed they might have
been! But they were held in the
loving preserving hand of their God and Saviour.
So it is with every believer.
With My Saviour ever near to
guide me
I am safe whatever betides me
From the storm and tempest He
will hide me
In the Hallow of His hand
In the Hollow of His hand
I am safe whatever may betide
me
In the Hollow
of His hand.