James 1:1 – Part II


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Sermon Notes

James 1:1

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. {2 …my brethren,…}

Themes

    • Perseverance in the midst of trials/temptations/sufferings/persecutions
    • Single-mindedness (same mind as our Lord Jesus Christ)
    • Vain v. true religion
    • Proper/God glorifying use of the tongue
    • The Final Judgment as encouragement for right living
    • Absolute centrality of God in the cosmos and in the truly Christian worldview
  • Noteworthiness of its extremely late official acceptance/recognition by the Church – WHY????
    • Uncertainty of authorship????
    • It was loved and used by many heretical groups????
    • It teaches a theology in conflict with justification by faith alone????
    • It is written to a Jewish audience from a Jewish perspective, which presumes familiarity with the OT
    • It contains an explicit and direct confrontation of any kind of sterilized, intellectual, propositional faith, apart from the accompanying fruit of “life practice,” works that demonstrate the truly saving faith of true religion under the absolute lordship of the One True Holy God, Jesus Christ. A faith that works v. one that fails to work/act.