James 1:1

I've thought for a number of years that it would be interesting to go through the epistles alongside the book of Acts and study them chronologically. If you look on the other side of that handout, the timeline of the book of Acts, you'll notice that we are right at the point in the book of Acts where the council at Jerusalem takes place, specifically in Acts chapter 15. This is right in the middle of the history of the book of Acts. Just before that was Paul's first missionary journey, which we've studied over the last several weeks as Paul planted four churches in the region of Galatia. He will ultimately write his first letter, the letter to the Galatians, to them.

You'll notice that the book of James was written somewhere between 46 and 49 AD. I wanted to take a brief detour to talk about the book of James so that we can understand the context in which these letters were written. This exploration brings great clarity to your understanding of the New Testament, and you'll begin to see the reasons for why these letters were composed.

So, if you would, move from Acts chapter 15 to the right to the book of James. It's located right after the book of Hebrews and just before the book of 1 Peter. It's interesting that James is near the end of the New Testament in your Bible, but it was actually the first letter written to the church. This raises the question of why it was placed there. Dr. TV, in his book on Bible mysteries, discusses the placement of the letters and provides a very good explanation. However, I believe it is beneficial to study these texts in their chronological context.

From the time I started going to Calvary Chapel when I was about 11 years old, I have been told that context is king. A text without a context is a pretext. Therefore, we must understand the context of what is happening in these passages. We will take the time, as we go through the book of Acts, to cover these letters. Half of the New Testament letters were written during the time that the book of Acts was unfolding. The book of Acts begins with the ascension of Jesus into heaven and the birth of the church, and it ends while Paul is in prison in Rome during his first imprisonment.

And so it ends in about A.D. 63 and covers about 33 years of history. You can look on the timeline that I've given you. You may want to keep that in your Bibles to give you an idea of where we're at in the story and what's going on at that time.

This book, the Book of James, is a letter that was written to believers from a Jewish background. There are several factors that, when combined, help us understand that this is likely the first book to be written, the first letter in the New Testament. If you're taking notes this morning, the first thing that singles this out as a very early letter is that there is no mention of Gentile believers or their relationship to Jewish Christians.

In Acts chapter 10, Peter went to the house of Cornelius and preached the gospel to Gentiles. Those were the first Gentile converts, and that happened around 39 or 40 A.D. Afterward, he returned to Jerusalem, where they had a discussion about what was taking place, as recorded in Acts chapter 11. Somewhere between that time and the Jerusalem Council that occurred in A.D. 50, James penned this letter, primarily writing it to Jewish believers who were scattered.

Notice what he says in James chapter 1, verse 1: "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. Greeting." You will remember that during that period, as described in Acts chapters 8 and 9, persecution arose and began to push Jewish Christians out of Jerusalem and into the surrounding areas. This was exactly what Jesus had wanted to happen in the first place. He told his disciples in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts."

First, persecution began to push Jewish believers out of Jerusalem and into the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria. Additionally, as we read through the other chapters after chapter 10 in Acts, we see that there was a famine in Jerusalem. So severe was the famine that Paul and Barnabas had to take some funds from Antioch down to Jerusalem to support the church there. This famine also contributed to pushing the believers out into the surrounding regions: Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts.

James writes this letter primarily to them. There is no mention of Gentile believers here. This does not mean that there weren't any Gentile believers, but primarily, the church at this point was made up of Jewish converts to Christianity. The second reason that supports an early writing of the Book of James...

James uses the Greek word "synagogue" when referring to the assembly of the body of Christ in James chapter 2, verse 2. He says, "For if there come unto your assembly," which is the Greek word "synagogue." The Jewish meeting place was the synagogue. He also uses the Greek word "ekklesia," which is translated as "church" or "gathering" in the New Testament. There is this assembly, the synagogue.

The third reason is that James does not mention the council at Jerusalem that happens in Acts chapter 15, or the year AD 49. He doesn't mention that, and yet he was the primary person who oversaw the council there in Jerusalem. It is interesting that there is no mention of it in the book of James, which seems to support the fact that it was written prior to that event.

The fourth reason is that when you read through the other letters of the New Testament, nearly every other letter has a fairly systematized theology. The theology, the doctrine, and the teaching of the church were fairly systematic, especially under the Apostle Paul. When you read through the book of Romans or Galatians and Ephesians, you see the way that they present the truth of God in a systematic manner. In contrast, the book of James has been called the Proverbs of the New Testament. It jumps around. In fact, if you've read through or studied the book of James, you may have found it difficult to outline because he kind of just machine-gun fires truth at you in a very powerful way, but it isn't very systematic.

Besides those four things, I think one of the most telling clues about James writing as one of the early letters is his correlation to the teaching of Jesus Christ. In Matthew chapter 28, when Jesus commissioned his disciples, he said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." He added, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The early church's teaching was primarily built upon what they had been taught by Jesus.

When you read through the book of James, you'll find that there are at least 26 references to the Sermon on the Mount, which is found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, and also recorded a little bit in Luke chapter 6. That great teaching that Jesus gave to his disciples early in his ministry is heavily leaned upon by James, who refers to it frequently in his letter. I want to take just a moment and look at some of these references. In Matthew chapter 5, I will read some of the passages from Matthew.

Keep your finger in James and look at the passages in James. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says in verse 10, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." He continues, "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my name's sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

So, Jesus teaches that there is joy in the midst of trials and blessing in the midst of persecution. James echoes this in James chapter 1, verse 2, where he writes, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials."

Again, in Matthew chapter 5, verse 48, Jesus gives a teaching that is powerful and hard for many to handle. He says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." James reinforces this in James chapter 1, verse 4, stating, "But let patience have her perfect work in you, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing."

In Matthew chapter 7, verse 7, Jesus says, "Ask, and it shall be given unto you." James, in James chapter 1, verse 5, adds, "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally and without reproach, and it shall be given."

In Matthew chapter 7, verse 11, Jesus states, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask?" James reiterates this in James chapter 1, verse 17, saying, "Every good and perfect gift comes from above. It comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

Thus, Jesus instructs us to ask, and our Father in heaven will give us these good things. James also affirms that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven.

In Matthew chapter 5, verse 22, Jesus says, "I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment. Whoever is angry with his brother without cause, and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council, and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."

This command against anger is picked up by James in James chapter 1, verse 19, where he writes, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. For the wrath of man works not, or does not produce, the righteousness of God."

Jesus also said in Matthew chapter 7, a very powerful passage in verse 24, "Therefore, whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. And everyone that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was its fall."

Here, Jesus is speaking about being a doer of the word, doing the things that He has taught. Notice what James says in James chapter 1, verse 22: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in the mirror." He goes on to elaborate on this idea, emphasizing the correlation between the teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount and the teachings of James in his first letter.

In Matthew chapter 7, verse 21, Jesus said, "Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and have we not in your name cast out devils, and in your name done many mighty works?' And then I will profess unto them, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

James picks up on that teaching in verse 26 of chapter 1, stating, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridles not his tongue, he deceives his own heart, and his religion is vain. Pure religion, and undefiled before God the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

In Matthew chapter 5, verse 3, Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." James, in chapter 2, verse 5, echoed this sentiment: "Hearken, my brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to them that love him?" This teaching highlights the idea that the poor in spirit are the recipients of the kingdom of God.

Furthermore, in Matthew chapter 5, verse 19, Jesus said to His disciples, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven." James, in chapter 2, verse 10, continues to build on these themes.

He says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all." Jesus gave a command against murder in Matthew chapter 5, verses 21 and 22, saying, "If you're angry with someone without cause, you're in danger of the judgment." James says in James chapter 2, verse 11, "For he that said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder." Now, if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, you will become a transgressor of the law.

Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," in Matthew chapter 5, verse 7. James said in chapter 2, verse 13, "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy, and mercy rejoices against judgment." In Matthew chapter 7, verses 21 through 23, we already looked at the passage there. Jesus talks about worthless faith. It says in verse 21, "Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father, which is in heaven." Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and in your name cast out devils, and in your name done many wonderful works?" And I will say, "Depart from me, I never knew you."

James chapter 2, verse 14 states, "What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith, and has not works? Can faith save him?" If a brother or a sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," notwithstanding, you give them not the things which they have need of in their body, what does it profit? Even so, faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone. "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." You believe that there is one God; you do well. The devils also believe and tremble. "Will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

James goes on to speak of two illustrations from the Old Testament, from Abraham and Rahab the harlot. Jesus said in Luke chapter 6, verse 44, in the Sermon on the Mount, and also in Matthew chapter 7, "You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?" Notice what James says in James chapter 3, verse 12: "Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? Either a vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh."

And fresh water. We see this time and time again through the passages of the Book of James, which correlates closely with the Sermon on the Mount. This indicates that the early Christians, including James, were preaching and teaching the very same things that Jesus himself taught there. There are many references—26, to be exact—to the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of James across these five chapters, as he seeks to exhort, encourage, and challenge these early believers. These are very practical words from the Apostle James.

James is an interesting character. As you study this man, you find that he was the brother of Jude, the author of the last letter of the New Testament, just before the Book of Revelation. Jude was the half-brother of Jesus. Yes, Jesus had earthly half-brothers. Mary and Joseph had children after Mary had Jesus by the Holy Spirit. I know that might challenge some people's thinking today, but he had brothers.

The interesting thing is that Jesus' brothers, including James and Jude, did not believe that he was the Messiah while he was preaching and teaching in Galilee and Jerusalem during the Gospel period. In fact, we see in John chapter 7 that when Jesus' brothers were preparing to go up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, they actually mocked him, saying, "If you are the Christ, then show yourself at the feast. Go up and show yourself." They were mocking him. At one point, Jesus' family, including James, thought that their brother Jesus was nuts. They went to try to protect him because they feared that the things he was saying would get him killed.

Yet, James becomes the author of the first letter written in the New Testament and eventually the overseer of the church in Jerusalem. Why? Because he saw the risen Lord, as James tells us. How powerful would that have been? This man, James, grew up in the city of Nazareth with Jesus, the Christ. He got to see Jesus' life, including the parts that aren't written in the scriptures. I would assume that it would be somewhat difficult to be the younger brother of Jesus, whom we know was sinless. You know, you do something stupid, you break something, and your mother Mary comes in and says...

James, what did you do? It wasn't me; it was Jesus. Now, James, we know that's not true. He had watched Jesus grow and observed Jesus' ministry from a distance. He was not one of the disciples during the time that Jesus was preaching, teaching, and healing. He became a believer and a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, after Jesus rose from the dead.

Notice what James says in James 1, verse 1, in his introduction to his letter. He writes, "James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ." How many of you have older brothers? This is a powerful statement if you're a younger brother. James identifies himself as the servant of God. The word "servant" there is the Greek word "doulos," which actually means "slave." The early Romans in the first century understood slavery quite well; more than 60% of the population of the Roman Empire were slaves.

James states, "I am the slave of God," but not only of God the Father, but also of the Lord Jesus. He doesn't say "Jesus of Nazareth"; he refers to Him as "the Lord Jesus Christ." The word "Lord" is the Greek word "kurios," which means the master, the owner, the head of a doulos, the slave. James places himself in that position, saying, "I am the servant, the slave, of the master, the Lord Jesus," who is also the Christ. He is the anointed one, the Messiah of the Old Testament.

Honestly, that verse alone could warrant a Bible study, but we're not going to delve into that. James, the servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, writes to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting them.

As we study through the other epistles of the New Testament, such as Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Romans, you'll notice that the introductions to the letters that Paul writes are much more elaborate than James'. James is much more to the point. He introduces himself as "James, the servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ," addressing the twelve tribes which are scattered. We have already discussed these twelve tribes being scattered, but he is writing to Christians who converted to Christianity.

From Judaism, they have scattered throughout other parts of the world. This letter was written to them very practically, to address the things they were facing in their lives at that time. It is important, when approaching a letter in the New Testament—one of the epistles, of which there are 21—that we consider the letter in its context. We should not break it apart and analyze it verse by verse, parsing the Greek and examining it from every angle. Instead, we should read it as if it were a letter sent to us in the first century.

We will take a few minutes to read through the five chapters of the book of James, just as it may have been read 2,000 years ago when the letter was received by a church or a gathering, perhaps in a Jewish synagogue, where they were followers of Jesus the Christ.

Read with me, if you would, James chapter 1, verse 1: "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting."

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this: that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally and abradeth not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, not wavering; for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made low, because as the flower of the grass, he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withers the grass, and the flower thereof falls. Then the grace of the fashion of it perishes. So also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

Blessed is the man that endures temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted that I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away.

Of his own lust, he is enticed. When lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will, He begat us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, for the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. And be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. He beholds himself, goes away, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was.

But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seems to be religious and bridles not his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring and goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment, and you have respect to him that wears the gay clothing and say unto him, "Sit thou here in a good place," and say to the poor, "Stand thou there" or "Sit here under my stool," are you not then partial in yourselves and become judges of evil thoughts?

Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to them that love Him? But you have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme the worthy name by which you are called? If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, thou shalt love.

Thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well. But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, "Do not commit adultery," said also, "Do not kill." Now, if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, you are become a transgressor of the law.

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy that has showed no mercy, and mercy rejoices against judgment. What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith and has not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or a sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say to them, "Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled," notwithstanding you give them not the things which they have need of in their body, what does it profit?

Even so, faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, "Thou hast faith, and I have works." Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God; you do well. The devils believe and tremble. But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac, his son, upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him as righteousness," and he is called the friend of God. You see how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only.

Likewise, also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

My brethren, be not many masters or teachers, knowing that you shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man and able also to bridle his whole body. Behold, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which, though...

They be so great and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very small helm or rudder whithersoever the governor lists. Even so, the tongue is a little member, and it boasts great things. Behold how great a fire, or how great a matter, a little fire kindles! The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among the members that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell.

For every kind of beasts and birds of the air, and serpents and things of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed of mankind, but the tongue can no man tame. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith we bless God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries, either of vine, figs? So can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of the good conduct or conversation of his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above; it is earthly, sensual, and devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. From whence come wars and fighting among you? Do they not come from hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? You lust and you have not. You kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. You fight and war, and yet you have not because you ask not.

And you ask and receive not because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts. You adulterers and adulteresses, know you not that friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will make himself a friend of the world is an enemy of God. Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy"? But He gives more grace.

Wherefore, he says, "God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.

Speak not evil of another, brethren. He that speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you that judges another?

Go to now, you that say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get great gain," whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. For that, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." But now you rejoice in your boastings. All such rejoicing is evil. Therefore, to him that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, your garments are moth-eaten, your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. You have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you, is kept back by fraud; it cries out, and the cries of them which have reaped entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived in pleasure on the earth and have been wanton. You have nourished your hearts as in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed the just, and he does not resist you.

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman, or the farmer, waits for the precious fruit of the earth and has long patience for it until he receives the early and the latter rain. Be also patient; establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draws nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge.

Stands before the door, take my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering, affliction, and patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. You have heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, and the Lord is very pitiful and tender of mercy.

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath. Let your yes be yes and your no be no, lest you fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. If he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. It rained not on the earth for the space of three years and six months. He prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Brethren, if any man of you do err from the truth and one convert him, let him know that he which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. I'm sure as we were reading through that and looking at all the verses in whole, you probably saw some more that came from the Sermon on the Mount.

James says in James 3:18, "The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." James said in James 4:2, "You lust and you have not; you kill and desire to have, but you cannot obtain. You fight and you war, yet you have not because you ask not."

Jesus said in Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asks receives, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks it shall be opened."

In James 4:4, James said, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will make himself a friend of the world is an enemy of God." Jesus said in Matthew 6:24.

No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate one and love the other, or else he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

James said, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." James also said, "Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep," speaking to those who had departed from the Lord and given themselves over to the riches of this world. Jesus said, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."

James warned, "Speak not evil of another, brethren. For he that speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. For there is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you that judges another?"

Then there is the verse that many non-believers like to throw back at Christians all the time. In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus says in verse 1, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, it shall be judged against you. And with what measure you meet, it shall be measured to you again." He continues, "And why do you behold the speck in your brother's eye, but consider not the beam in your own eye? Or how will you say to your brother, 'Let me pull out the speck from your eye,' and behold, there is a beam in your own? You hypocrite! First cast out the beam of your own eye, and you shall see clearly to cast the speck out of your brother's."

James said in James 4, verse 13, "Go to now, you that say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and continue there, and buy and sell for a year,' whereas you know not what the morrow will bring." Jesus said in Matthew 6, verse 34, "Take no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow shall take thought of its own. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof."

James speaks woe to the rich in chapter 5, verse 1. He says, "Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you." Jesus, in Luke chapter 6, verse 24, said, "But woe to the rich, for you have received your consolation in this life."

James also said to the rich, "Your riches are corrupted, your garments are moth-eaten," echoing the words of Jesus in Matthew 6, verse 19, where He says, "Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon the earth, where moth and rust do corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt."

Neither do thieves break through and steal. In James chapter 5, verse 6, he says, "You have condemned and killed the just." These wicked men had condemned and killed the just, no doubt a reference to them killing Christ, the Messiah.

In Luke 6, verse 37, Jesus said, "Judge not, and you shall not be judged; condemn not, and you shall not be condemned; forgive, and you shall be forgiven." Again, James echoes these words in James 5, verse 9, where he says, "Grudge not against another." In James 5, verse 10, he continues, "Take, my brethren, the prophets who have spoken in the name of the Lord for an example of suffering and affliction and patience."

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, verse 12, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Finally, in James chapter 5, verse 12, he states, "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by earth, neither by any other oath; but let your yes be yes and your no, no."

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, verse 33, "Again, you have heard that it has been said of old time, 'You shall not forswear thyself, but you shall perform unto the Lord your oath.' But I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by earth, for it is his footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King; neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black."

Let your communication be yes, yes, and no, no, for whatsoever is more than these is evil. You see, James, writing some sixteen or so years after the ascension of Jesus into heaven, is still echoing the words of Jesus. If you ever wondered what it was that the early church was teaching and preaching, this is what they were teaching and preaching.

More than that, one of the things you recognize as you read through James, Galatians, or First and Second Thessalonians, or First and Second Corinthians, or Romans, is that they were speaking specifically to the issues that the people of that day were dealing with. We will see this when we get into Acts chapter 15 in just a couple of weeks with the council at Jerusalem. Gentiles are coming to know the Lord in Galatia, and it becomes a big issue.

They have this big gathering in Jerusalem with all the apostles and disciples coming together to discuss how they are going to deal with this, because there was a group of Pharisees who had become Christians that said, "You have to be circumcised to be saved."

Together, they said, "No, that's not really true. You don't have to be circumcised to be saved." Praise God! They decided to send a letter to the Gentile Christians. In that letter, they basically said, "Listen, you are to abstain from sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols. Everything else, follow the Lord. Farewell." That's essentially what they communicated.

Some people have interpreted this to mean that all we need to do is abstain from food sacrificed to idols. They might think that since we don't have that issue today, and if we abstain from sexual immorality, we will be okay. However, it is important to recognize that these Gentile churches, to whom they were writing, were dealing with specific issues. They were writing to people in Lystra, Derbe, and Iconium, where there were great temples to Apollo and Diana. At night, as the sun would go down, temple prostitutes—2,000 of them in the city of Corinth—would come down from the temple into the city. This was part of how they worshiped their false gods, engaging in sexual immorality.

You can see why the early church wrote specifically to address the problems that the people of the day were facing. God's Word is applicable to the specific things that you and I are dealing with today. If I drew up a list and said, "Here are the 15 things you need to do to go to heaven," you would get a pen and check them off. You might check every single one of them, yet still be a glutton or a drunkard. Those issues may not be on the list, and that's the problem with lists. This is even an issue with the Ten Commandments. Many people say, "Well, I've kept all the Ten Commandments," and they think they're okay because they checked off the list.

Yet, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows that we should throw the list out the window. You might say, "I've never killed anybody," and He responds, "Okay, have you ever been angry with someone without cause?" How many of you have driven on the 15 recently and felt angry with someone without cause? Guilty of murder!

Heathens often claim, "I've never murdered anybody; I've never committed adultery." Jesus addresses this by asking, "Have you ever been angry without cause?" If the answer is yes, then you are a murderer. Have you ever looked upon a woman to lust after her? If so, you are an adulterer. Wow! Let's deal with the heart of the matter.

This is why God has given us His Holy Spirit, who is with us, in us, and upon us. As we walk through this life, He directs us. He convicts us on the spot. You don't need to have the list because the Holy Spirit will say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out! What did you just think? That's not right."

You see, the things that I struggle with in my life are very likely not the same things that you struggle with in your life. If I told you the things I struggle with, you might go, "You struggle with what?" And if you told me the things you struggle with, I would go, "Whoa, really? I would have never thought that was sin." Yet it's sin for you, just like James says: whatever is not of faith is sin.

God's word is applicable to us where we're at right now, in the year 2009, on Sunday, the 23rd of August. Jesus came to save us to the uttermost. He didn't only come to change our final destination, although that's great. That final destination, hopefully for most of us, may be a few years out. We still have a life to live here tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Jesus has come to save to the uttermost. That means He wants to transform our lives today, and He does so by His word, by the washing of the water of His word. His Holy Spirit comes and delicately applies God's word to specific areas of our lives and says, "Hey, that's sin." And you go, "I didn't realize it." Well, now you do. Confess it and repent.

We see this letter here; he's writing to people who had just been dispersed from their homes in Jerusalem, whether by persecution, famine, or whatever it may have been. They find themselves in the midst of a trial, in the midst of a difficulty. He says, "Count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials or temptations." How many of you are good at that one? Let me give you a little secret. It's actually not a secret; it's in the very next verse. The only way that you can count it joy when you fall into diverse trials is knowing this: that the trying of your faith produces patience. And patience, let it have its perfect work in you, that you may be complete, or perfect, entire, lacking nothing.

You see, there's no possible way that you can count it joy when you enter into a trial, tribulation, or temptation tomorrow unless you recognize and realize that God is doing a work in your life of sanctification by that very trial you're in. There is a breed of Christians today that say, "Listen, you come follow Jesus; everything's going to be perfect. There's no trials." Jesus never said that. In fact, Jesus said, "In the world, you're going to have much tribulation." I don't know how they deal with that verse. "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Paul the Apostle, in Romans chapter 8...

Verse 28 is a verse that many of you know well. It says, "And we know that all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to His purpose." You see, even the difficult trial you might be facing right now, or that you are going to enter into this week, may be what I am saying right now as preparation for that trial you will face tomorrow. God has brought it into your life and allowed it in your life to transform you, so that you would be complete, lacking nothing.

You might say, "Well, I do lack." That's okay. In verse 5, it says, "If any one of you lacks wisdom, specifically here, let him ask of God." The thing we find as we go through trials is that we are lacking, but He is not. God brings us to the place in these trials where we see the lack or the famine of our soul, or whatever it may be, and then we see that God is not lacking. We call out to Him. If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives all liberally to all men and does not upbraid or reproach.

When you call out to Him and say, "Lord, I need wisdom," He doesn't look at you and say, "Well, you know, I don't really like you, Greg." He doesn't say that. He gives all liberally to all men without reproach. He is not a respecter of persons, but He says to ask in faith, because he who wavers is like the wave of the sea, driven and tossed. Some of you find yourselves driven and tossed with unbelief today.

I am so thankful that when Jesus came off the Mount of Transfiguration, He was met by a man who had a son who was severely demon-possessed. The man was crying out to Jesus for help. Jesus said, "All things are possible to him who believes." The man confessed openly, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." You know, Jesus on that day didn't say, "Well, what unbelief? Oh, I'm sorry, I can't help you." He healed that man's son. Why? Because the man confessed it: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." The Lord can help that too. He wants to bring us to that place where we recognize Him as the supreme provider of all things.

In verse 26 of James chapter 1, it says, "If any man among you seems to be religious..." Listen, we live in a religious culture. Even the irreligious in our culture are religiously irreligious. They are more devoted to their cause, their irreligious cause, than many believers. Many of the biggest atheists today are more evangelical than 90% of the church, evangelizing people for their wickedness and their unbelief.

They seem to be religious; they have an air of religion. They look spiritual, high-minded, and heady. People think, "Oh, he must be smart; he's got a PhD or something." I don't know if any man among you seems to be religious and does not bridle his tongue. He deceives his own heart; his religion is vain.

Listen, there are millions and millions of people in our nation—tens of millions of people today—whose religion is vain. That means it's empty; it won't help them on the day of Christ Jesus. It's not even really practical for today, but it certainly won't help them on the day of Christ Jesus. It may not be said of us that our religion or our walk with Christ is vain. We believe in and follow the living Lord who wants to transform our lives.

That's why we're going through the Word of God verse by verse, chapter by chapter. That's why we're going to go through the epistles as we come to them in the Book of Acts. I think it's going to bring a certain level of clarity to the New Testament that maybe you haven't considered before. Hopefully, more than anything, it'll transform our lives. Amen.

Let's stand and pray together. Father, I do thank You that Your Word is truth. Jesus, You said there, as You prayed in John 17, "Father, sanctify them by Your truth; Your Word is truth." You are able to cleanse us and transform us by the renewing of our minds as we yield ourselves to Your Spirit to go through Your Word.

So, Lord, as we've dismissed from here in just a moment, I pray that You would take Your Word by Your Spirit, plant it deep in our hearts, and cause it to grow in such a way that it would produce fruit. Those on the outside who don't know You would see our good works and glorify You, our Father in heaven. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

We find ourselves in Jesus Christ. We ask You to be with us as we go through everything. We thank You.