#BibleStudy: Expressions of Faith. Fasten your seat belts! James Ch 1.
This is the first post in the James series. I'm adding a section titled, Express Your Faith this Week. Three interactive activities will help you Pray, Think, and Do what you learned. Let me know how it goes!
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.
James 1:1
James begins his letter in the common manner for those writing on scrolls in the early church.
- Scrolls were rolled as the ink on the parchment or other “paper” dried,
- The opening phrases ended up on the outer turn of the rolled scroll and the conclusion buried in several layers of the scroll.
- It was a common courtesy to identify oneself at the beginning of a letter-scroll so the reader could put the contents in context.
There were many Christians named James in the early church years.
- It is generally accepted that the James writing this letter was a half-brother of Jesus.
It’s significant that James does not mention that.
- He’s more concerned with his Christian credentials than with his DNA.
He lists his primary audience as Jews forced to flee Judea from long before Christ’s birth through the persecution that Christians faced in the First Century.
- We now know these times of exile as diasporas.
Renown pastor, Chuck Swindoll includes these words in his general commentary on the book of James. https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-general-epistles/james
The book of James looks a bit like the Old Testament book of Proverbs dressed up in New Testament clothes. Its consistent focus on practical action in the life of faith is reminiscent of the Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament, encouraging God’s people to act like God’s people. The pages of James are filled with direct commands to pursue a life of holiness. He makes no excuses for those who do not measure up. In the mind of this early church leader, Christians evidence their faith by walking in certain ways and not others. For James, a faith that does not produce real life change is a faith that is worthless (James 2:17).
Express Your Faith this Week
Pray every day. Ask God to open your mind and heart as you read, think, and do throughout this study.
Think. Read the quote by Rev. Swindoll again. What are you doing or not doing that come to mind as you think about Swindoll’s words?
Do. Jot down your thoughts from above in the columns below.
I’m doing this
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I’m not doing this
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Do. Read James 1:2-8. Pretend you are a Christian magazine publisher. James sent you that sample from his letter for consideration in your next issue. Do you accept or reject the submission? Write a response to James explaining your decision.
Recommendation: Accept ______ Reject _______
Rationale
Dear James:
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