Tag Archives: Epistle of James

James Teaches About the Misuse of Riches, James 5

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This is my installment for the Blogger Small Group post (on chapter 5) and there is still time for anyone to join in if they like (see Blogger Small Group Rules/Guidlelines). Right now we are five weeks into a study on James, not need to try and catch up, just start in the same place we are and post your opinions.

Re-reading the book of James over the last few weeks has been great. James always has a real world perspective and he never holds any punches. This week was James, Chapter 5, and I thought the first section was quite appropriate for the holiday weekend we just had over here in the U.S.

This is going to be a shortened version this week since we were out of town all last week but that is probably a relief over last week.

From the Book of James, Chapter 5

In this chapter James breaks up the text into two sections. The first section titled, Misuse of Riches, and the second section titled Exhortation, meaning a call to take some kind of action. Then he ends in prayer with some great examples.

Misuse of Riches, (5:1-6)

This section brought it home for those of us living here in the United States. Perhaps that is because we just had Memorial Day weekend over here, but I think even the poorest or less fortunate over here have riches that people in other countries couldn’t imagine as a part of their normal routine of life, or riches.

Sometimes I think we (as Americans) put so much emphasis on material items that we do miss the focus of how to use some of these items to further the kingdom of God. This first section talks about how much we have, yet we use it for purposes that will fade away anyway.

3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is (E)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!

In the NIV it refers to metals that have rusted and tarnished. Even gold and silver tarnish and are some of the most sought after metals still today. This storing up in the last days, to me, is referring to greed. How much is enough for us, how much do we actually need. Scripture tells us His salvation does not tarnish or rust.

Exhortation, (5:7-20)

I love the title to this section. Exhortation.

ex·hor·ta·tion [noun]: an utterance, discourse, or address conveying urgent advice or recommendations.

That sums up the book of James. An urgent advice or recommendation. James tells us to be patient and he then gives us the essence of patience, (v7-9), do not complain, strengthen your heart, and wait for the coming of the Lord.

James then gives us examples of patience in verses 10-13 and he ends in a prayer. This prayer is something that I have underlined in my Bible before. The need to be sensitive to others needs, and the importance of confessing our sins.

Something I take great comfort in when reading the last section is verse 16-17.

16 Therefore, (AO)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be (AP)healed (AQ)The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

17 Elijah was (AR)a man with a nature like ours, and (AS)he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for (AT)three years and six months.

The great Elijah, was a man with a nature like ours. A nature like ours refers to the fact that he was a sinner as well. But he prayed. The bold effect above is my doing, not scripture. That is the key to me and I love that verse. The effective prayer can accomplish much, wow.

Changing Conflict into Humility, James 4:1-17

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This is my installment for the Blogger Small Group post (on chapter 4) and there is still time for anyone to join in if they like (see Blogger Small Group Rules/Guidlelines). Right now we are four weeks into a study on James, not need to try and catch up, just start in the same place we are and post your opinions.

You really have to love how James just cuts right to it and is so direct. I think this is somewhat lost in our world today. If we are direct, we usually end up offending someone or worse. But, this week, we read James, Chapter 4, and he was direct.

From the Book of James, Chapter 4

James gets right to it with this chapter, so I will dive right in. This chapter can be broken up into three pieces, (1) Changing Conflict into Humility (4:1-6), (2) Changing Judgment From Us to God (4:7-12), and (3) Changing Boasting into Believing (4:13-17). I will take these three sections and discuss each below.

Changing Conflict into Humility (4:1-6)

James can be so practical, he gives us a cause of conflict (v.1-2), a consequence of conflict (v.3-4), and then a cure for conflict (v.5-6). James seems to cringe at the very nature of conflict between Believers here, and it is something we can all learn from, and remember.

The verse that really stands out to me, is verse 3. I am not a big fan of drive-by, rub the lucky penny of prayer and you will get it kind of thing. Here, James tells us why, when we do ask, we do not receive. It is all in our motives. God knows when our motives are pure and when they are self serving.

3You ask and (D)do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

At the end of this section, James gives us no doubt about the truth at all: GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Even the writers and editors of the early scripture understood the importance and use of CAPS, amazing.

5Or do you think that the Scripture (I)speaks to no purpose: “[a]He jealously desires (J)the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”?

6But (K)He gives a greater grace Therefore it says, “(L)GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

I love the fact that our God is a jealous God. He wants our attention, because He wants what’s best for us.

Changing Judgment From Us to God (4:7-12)

Judgment is something that talks to all of us I think. How many ways do we have to judge others. Countless ways. He has red hair, a tattoo, she has piercings, he cusses, she drinks, the list is endless. One thing that God requires is justice, not judgment. Judgment is supposed to be left up to Him, not me.

In this first part of this section, James gives us advice on how to handle judgment of others. Some key words that pop out to me are flee, draw near, purify, and many others, but we are to resist the temptation and try to bring ourselves nearer to God.

11(U)Do not speak against one another, (V)brethren He who speaks against a brother or (W)judges his brother, speaks against (X)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not (Y)a doer of the law but a judge of it.

What is really amazing is how well scripture falls into place with our current lives. The verse above is what we have been studying as a church, and its importance is clear to those of us who tried to use wise words yesterday, but are still trying. Here it shows up again, speak kindly to each other.

Change Boasting to Believing (4:13-17)

James was speaking to Believers when we was talking about boasting. How much of pumping ourselves up is involved with our daily walk? James gives us a great solution to our boasting, change it into belief.

15Instead, you ought to say, “(AF)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; (AG)all such boasting is evil.

But it is the last part of this section that really hits home. I think many times as Believers we try to discover what is sin. What is the definition of is, is (without trying to be to political). I think we tend to try to figure out what is and isn’t sin, and try to ride the line right down the middle. Get as close to it (sin) as we can without going over. This isn’t the intention, I don’t think, but perhaps we all do this to some extent.

Here James tells us. Anything we know to be the right thing to do and we don’t do it. That is pretty convicting to me. Just because we know what is right to do doesn’t mean we always follow through, but now, James tells us, to us, this is sin.

17Therefore, (AH)to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

I can give a real example of what I think he is saying here. Take fasting. Are we commanded to fast. No. But if through our daily walk, we discover that the Lord has put it on our heart to fast, and we don’t, we are living in sin at that time.

This means we have to listen. We may not want to, and at times I know I don’t ask, because I don’t want to know the answer. James here tells us to be careful doing this. Great stuff.

Some Other Posts From the Group

You can always go to the main group page at the top and see all the posts. As of this writing, here are a few that have already posted, be sure to visit their site and comment as well.

There is still room for more and time to jump in at any point.

Update:

I was trying to keep it as short as I could (and you see how long it is), so I didn’t really get to my point very well on going from boasting to belief, thanks for giving me a chance to clarify.

In the last half of the chapter, James is speaking about being boastful. He gives us a statement on boasting (v.13), then tells us how it effects us (v.14), that is “time is not our own, it is God’s”, we need a Godly perspective, no an earthly one (if that makes sense).

Then, James gives us a solution to boasting (v.15-17). We can avoid boastful attitudes by maintaining a Godly perspective (v.14). James to “boast and brag… is evil”, so self-centered bragging (being boastful) needs to be replaced by… belief.

So, the cure for being boastful is belief (or being God centered).

I did a little to much studying on this chapter, probably should have gone a little more with my heart, didn’t mean to confuse.

Wisdom that Comes From Above, James 3:1-12

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This is my installment for the Blogger Small Group post and there is still time for anyone to join in if they like (see Blogger Small Group Rules/Guidlelines). Right now we are three weeks into a study on James, not need to try and catch up, just start in the same place we are and post your opinions.

The section this week really blew me away since we started a new series this past Sunday called Speak, see Acceptable Words in Your Sight, chosen to be James, Chapter 3. Strange sometimes how all different aspects of your life can fit in together with seemingly separated people or topics.

Great choice for this week, and I am already looking forward to the next week. If you would like to join in just visit the link above from Vagabond.

From the Book of James, Chapter 3

This chapter has two distinct sections, The Tongue Is a Fire and Wisdom from Above. I post my a little different, I will look at the section as a whole and not break down each individual scripture, but there are several others on the list who do a GREAT job at a scripture by scripture post.

The Tongue Is a Fire, Chapter 3: 1-12

This section was just incredible since it is our current study series at our church. All about speech, how we talk to each other and to God. In this section, we are told how bad that tongue or our words can be if we are not careful and watch what we say.

I have read the first verse many times, but it is always a wake up call to anyone who thinks being a teacher is an easy job, or is one we should take lightly ourselves. Who are the teachers by the way? Aren’t they someone who other people learn by? Do you write a blog? We need to be careful, we are all teachers of some kind, and to read this:

1 Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment

Now, I am not sure exactly what a stricter judgment is, but that opens my eyes. What I have taken from this verse is that we should be very careful of what we are teaching. Are we falsely leading people with our actions, do we deceive people with using scripture out of context or inappropriately?

All things I try to keep in mind when we are instructing others, or even writing a blog post. Someone, someday, might actually read that blog post, I hope mine are inline with God’s teachings.

The rest of this section goes on to talk about how the tongue is such a small part of the body, yet, one of the most powerful tools. It can boast, lie, build up, correct, and defile our whole body. The memory scripture we are using at our church this next few weeks is Psalms 19:14

14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Incredible how appropriately it fits here with James 3.

Wisdom from Above

The next section is very interesting and deals with our behavior, specifically with wisdom. Wisdom from here on earth is said to be natural and demonic. It refers to selfish ambition and jealousy, and explains how these things will cause disorder here on earth.

This is one of those verses that we can read, understand, and doesn’t take to much to thought to know what James is referring to here. We all know what these two particular actions can do, yet we all do them anyway. We live here on earth, and ambition is almost a part of our American heritage (for those of us here in the U.S.). Trying to put ones self aside is not easy, but something to strive for each day.

Don’t forget to go read the other group posts and comment there as well. I appreciate your comments and look forward to next weeks lesson.

The Sin of Partiality and Faith and Works, James 2:1-24

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This is my first post for the Blogger Small Group so I hope this is the format as intended for the group. I too am quite fascinated with the scripture reading for this week, chosen to be James, Chapter 2. My wife and I even discussed part of this chapter without even knowing it on the way home from our service on Sunday a few days ago, then I read it.

Great choice for this week, and I am already looking forward to the next week. If you would like to join in just visit the link above from Vagabond.

From the Book of James, Chapter 2

I made the mistake of reading Vagabond’s well thought interpretation and post on James 2 first, I think next time I will write mine out in full, then read everyone else’s. His point was on the basis of discrimination we as Christians have against the homosexual lifestyle. Very interesting comments, never equated these verses to homosexuality but that’s what makes these groups great, so many different opinions makes you think again.

To read my comments rant on his post, go read Blogger Small Group and you will see mine and everyone else’s comments from the Small Group on James 2.

This chapter was broken up into two pieces, The Sin of Partiality and Faith and Works (always a favorite topic among us Believers, huh). I will just take them in two sections. Some I see go verse by verse, I may do that at some point but I like a contextual look sometimes.

The Sin of Partiality

Chapter 2:1-13 This is one of those “sins” we often forget, I think. It is a natural process we try to go through (to be non-partial that is), of choosing who we think is worthy and not worthy. I think in our time, two distinct groups comes to mind. The homeless and family.

With these two groups as the focus, I think the next section fits right in, and it is no coincidence (to me) that the two groups here, are also the focus of the next section. How many times do we as Believers come across the poor, or the homeless type (I say type here because we have drifters around our cities but not many homeless) and we turn a deaf ear to them.

Homeless. I must have a bulls eye on my head because sometimes I feel like I can rarely go to a gas station without being approached by someone asking for money. It isn’t like I am dressed like some high falootin’ business man, I am usually in a t-shirt and jeans. But, I have to stop and think. How many other times have I talked to the person getting gas in the pump across the way, or someone inside getting a drink?

Family. How about family members. This one is a hard one because it hits home I think, but how often do we see the effects of a home that shows partiality to one sibling or another? I think it has been well documented that this sin has a great effect on the later lives of the ones involved in this type of sin, in the home.

We should not show partiality or favoritism to any group or people. If we talk someone at the gas station, we should be blind to their financial situation, and we certainly shouldn’t show favoritism at home.

Faith and Works

This next section is one of my favorites, and one that is used by churches to get people to do something. The key verse in this section to me is verses 24-26, and I love the way the chapter ends.

24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

The body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. What a powerful statement. It is important in how we live this life and what we do.

This is probably one of the most mis-interpreted scriptures as well, at least I hear it taken out of context quite often. What I think this verse IS NOT saying is that we are saved by our works. NO. Many non-believers think you can do good in this life and that will get you to heaven. Wrong. If we read the scripture, it is not by works along. Christ must be involved.

I think this section goes right along with the previous section because it talks about the poor, and the family.

v. 15-16 this clearly shows us that a person in need should have his basic needs met first. How can we offer up the Truth if the person is hungry. The less fortunate of our world, goes right back to the first section on partiality.

v. 21 this is the family section… Abraham was doing an unbelievable work of faith

Ok, so there is my run through on James chapter 2. Let me here your comments below and don’t forget to link back here if you have a comment you would like to share. Looking forward to next week as well.