#BibleStudy Questions on James from 1/12
My Sunday school class study of James's letter began yesterday. For as many Sundays as needed we will be exploring the context and content of the practical content the Letter from James.
If you followed my blogs on Hebrews and Acts, you recall the series of questions discussed is posted on Monday and a sampling of the discussion of each question is posted the following Wednesday. That will continue with minor cosmetic adjustments.
If this is your first experience with my blogs, I invite you to copy and paste the questions into a word.docx or download the PDF and fill in blanks or answer questions before next week. We rarely do more than is marked in the text below with a yellow highlight. If you look at the question list, six questions in a class are a lot for a given week.
What follows immediately is a section on the history and background of this book. Here you fill in the blanks. My class has this already. Many of them looked at commentaries to come up with answers for discussion yesterday. I hope you'll explore this practical book along with us.
I'll post our answers on Wednesday.
James
Introduction to the Book
James is one of seven New Testament Epistles that are known collectively as the _____________, or General, Epistles because each is addressed to the _________________________ rather than to a specific group. Ecclesiastical tradition has ascribed the Epistle to the Apostle James, called The Less. Today, however, most biblical scholars suggest that the traditional claim is supported neither by ancient nor by recent evidence. Some believe rather that the author was a __________________ who had a fine command of the Greek language, who apparently knew or had read some of the letters of St. Paul and St. Peter, and who thus probably wrote toward the close of the 1st-century ad. Some, however, hold that the author was a __________________________, and they vary about the date of composition (various points between 70 and 132).
The Church of today feels that the James mentioned in _____________________ is the author. If the author was the brother of Jesus, he would have had tremendous insight into Jesus' early training. We know that he thought Jesus was a bit "off" during his ministry, but he later became a leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14, 15:12-21, 21:17-19).
Although the Epistle of James was recognized as canonical as early as the 2nd century, not all persons then, or later, accepted it without reservation. ________________________, to mention one notable dissenter, objected strongly to the book. He felt that parts of it contradicted the teachings of St. Paul, and he called it an "epistle of straw." In recent years, however, James has been more favorably received.
We got to the second division this week in class.
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What is the main theme? Or, list all the themes you find?
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Skim the book. What words are repeated?
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Compare the following passages of
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2:5 -- 5:3
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2. 1:12 -- 5:10-12
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3. 1:27, 2:14-17 -- 7:21, 25:31-46
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How would you describe this book in one phrase or sentence?
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Agree/Disagree:
In some ways, James is similar to Proverbs.
If you disagree, explain.
If you agree, find two places in Proverbs that support your position.
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James is a miscellaneous collection of moral instructions and exhortations, similar in style to the Book of Sirach and to Jewish Apocryphal wisdom literature. The main themes developed in the Epistle are concerned with _____________________________________. Believers should seek and prefer _____________________________ , ______________________________________ (3:17), ________________________ , and _________________________ (5:15); for ________________________, a _______________________, and _________________ ______________________________ (3:14) always corrupt. Christians with an ___________________________ may endure the ____________________. ______________ by itself, however, is no safeguard in everyday life, for "_____________ by itself, if it has _____________________, is dead"(2:17); Christians must also __________________ by __________________.
This book focuses on Christians as ___________________________________ rather than _________________________________. "James says ___________________- ________________________ than any other writer in the New Testament, but his speech is _______________________________________________________________________ than the speech of any of them." - D.A. Hayes
How is James' letter similar to a letter you would write?
How is it different?
Chapter 1
Verses 1-8
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V1: Opening greeting.
Who are "the twelve tribes scattered among the nations"?
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V2-3: Why "pure joy"?
What does James mean by that?
How do trials test our faith?
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What are some other examples of those who faced trials?
Is there evidence of joy on their part?
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V3-4: What progression of Christian life is illustrated in these verses?
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What do other Scriptures have to say about trials and suffering?
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Why is suffering THE only way to mature?
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V5-8: How does the word "lack" tie vv4-5 together?
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Why is it so nice that God gives "without finding fault"? Can you think of an example of when you got something from a "fault-finder" - how did you feel when you finally got it?
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What does wisdom have to do with facing trials?
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Prayer is a key part of this process what are we to pray for - what does James not suggest praying for?
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What great analogy for doubting is given here?
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What does it mean to be double-minded - what problem does double-mindedness bring?
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Why is faith essential for receiving answers to prayer?
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What is God's single-minded goal for our lives?
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How single-minded are you about achieving that goal?
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Chapter 1
Verses 9-11
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What "high position" could a humble person achieve and why would it be a prideful situation?
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What sort of pride is James talking about?
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What kind of "low position" would a rich person have - how could THAT be a source of pride?
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How is each person's position a potential trial?
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What warning does v11 have for us - according to these verses, is that necessarily the end of the rich?
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Why does James include rich/poor comparisons in a section about trails and perseverance?
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Chapter 1
Verse 12
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What is the promise in v12?
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What other crowns are mentioned in Scripture?
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What other promises encourage joy among trials?
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Word study: TEMPTATION, TRIAL, and TESTING all come from same Greek word-group, but they are not the same.
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Temptation: Ex 20:20, Deut 8:2,16;
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TEMPTATION: Matt 4:1.
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TESTING: Heb 2:10,18, 4:15-16, James 1:2-4. Job 1:6-2:10, 42:1-6.
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Link to PDF file: https://app.box.com/s/insbrueyco8cjne94tnzxtn02iw1t4ui
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