A Guide to Practical Living: Insights from the Epistle of James

Copyright 2015 William Golson Jr.

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ISBN: 978-1-4907-6659-1 (sc)

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1   Let’s Meet the Man

Chapter 2   The Testing of Faith

Chapter 3   The Easy Way Out

Chapter 4   Do Want to be Blessed?

Chapter 5   Spiritual Incompatibility

Chapter 6   What Kind of Faith Saves?

Chapter 7   Oral Inconsistencies

Chapter 8   Wisdom that is from Above

Chapter 9   Moving Towards Harmony and Holiness

Chapter 10   Don’t be too Confident about the Future!

Chapter 11   The Misery of Wealth

Chapter 12   Patience and the Lord’s Return

Chapter 13   The Power of Prayer

Chapter 14   Controlling the Atmosphere

Chapter 15   "Pursuing Wanderers

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It has been my privilege for more than 27 years to pastor and preach to the membership of True Light Baptist Church. During this time as I have prayerfully attempted to address their needs, God has faithfully spoken into my life as well. I have grown in wisdom and benefited through the opportunity to address relevant issues biblically. This compilation of sermons is influenced by the circumstances, situations, and opportunities of those who have allowed me to share in resolution of their challenges.

My deepest thank goes out to those who have contributed in their own way to the context of this work, my loving and supportive congregation, and those who have allowed me to be a part of providing counsel in their lives. I am thankful to have been a part of their lives. Ointment and perfume delight the heart, and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel. (Proverbs 27:9)

Thanks to my staff (Sable Golson, Bonne Tootle, and Jeanie Draper) who diligently ensure that I have the time to do what is needful and are always willing to do whatever it takes to make their pastor look good.

I dedicate this work to my dear mother who went home to be with the Lord (June 2015). Whatever I have become is a result of having come from good seed, and having been nurtured along the way by a true example of a saintly mother. Her wisdom, example of righteous living, and love for the Lord have been and will continue to be my guide and strength. My parents, William and Maldoshia, were married for over 68 years and gave their full support for my ministry.

In addition, I dedicate it to my wife, Melvia Jo who has helped me to understand the meaning of being a husband and father and allowing me to be her pastor. Thanks to my children Melody and William III, who have endured, in the arena of raising them to adulthood, my often-misguided attempts at parenting, but who in spite of my mistakes, by God’s grace; have grown to be godly individuals of whom I proudly boast to be my children. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate (Psalm 127:3-5). Thank you.

INTRODUCTION

The Epistle of James is the how-to book of the Christian life. It is one of the most practical books in the New Testament because it offers instruction and exhortation to Christians who are experiencing problems. Additionally, it was written to help us understand what it means to mature as Christians. Though not universally agreed upon, the evidence is strong that James is one of the oldest books in the New Testament.

All believers need to have as a goal to achieve spiritual maturity. As we read the epistle, we discover that these Jewish Christians were having some problems in their personal lives and in their church fellowship. They were going through difficult testings’. They were also facing temptations to sin. Some of the believers were catering to the rich, while the rich were robbing others. Church members were competing for offices in the church, particularly teaching offices. One of the major problems in the church was a failure of many to live what they professed to believe. Furthermore, the tongue was a serious problem, even to the point of creating wars and divisions in the assembly. Worldliness was another problem. Some of the members were sick physically because they were disobeying God’s Word, and some were straying away from the Lord and the church.

As we review this list of problems, do they appear to be much different from the problems that beset the average local church today? Is not worldliness a serious problem? Are there not Christians who cannot control their tongues? It seems that James is dealing with very up to-date matters. He was not discussing an array of miscellaneous problems; all of these problems had a common cause—a lack of spiritual maturity. These Christians were simply not growing up.

Spiritual maturity is also one of the greatest needs in churches today. Too many churches are playpens for babies, instead of workshops for adults. The members are not mature enough to eat the solid food that they need, so they have to be fed milk. God is looking for mature men and women to carry on his work, and sometimes all he can find are little children who cannot even get along with each other. If Christians would just grow up, they would become victors instead of victims.

James is a common name in the New Testament. The accompanying phrase could have described any Christian, suggesting that this particular James must have been a church leader who needed no further introduction. Four men named James are mentioned in the New Testament:

• James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John (Matt. 4:21), a disciple and apostle of Christ

• James, the son of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3), called the Less or the Younger, also one of the apostles

• James, the father of an apostle named Judas (Luke 6:16)

• James, the half-brother of Jesus, traditionally called the Just (Matt. 13:55)

James the Just was the leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:3; Gal. 2:9) and seems to be the most probable author of this epistle. If he was the author, it is noteworthy that he did not mention his relation to Jesus in this letter.

Some believe this letter was directed to all Jews living outside of Palestine, including both Christian and non-Christian Jews. This seems unlikely; however, since James identifies himself as a follower of Christ and refers to his readers as a community of believers (1:18; 2:1, 7; 5:7). Others hold that the salutation is a figurative reference to all Christian churches, represented symbolically by ancient Israel. This too is improbable since the letter contains recognizable Jewish elements. There is also a third possibility, that the readers were Jewish Christians living outside of Palestine. Since this letter was, a circular letter that was passed from church to church, no specific geographical destination is pinpointed. Most of the recipients seem to have been poor and suffering from oppression imposed by their fellow Jews, among whom they were living. Evidently, some of these Jewish Christians had been imprisoned and deprived of their possessions and livelihoods. Under such conditions, they fell into the clutches of worldliness, fought among themselves, favored the rich over the poor, and lost their original love for one another.

James says little about Jesus. He begins his book referring to the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1; 2:1) and anticipates the coming of the Lord (5:7), but that is about it in terms of direct references. Still, James’ message is virtually saturated in Jesus’ teachings (Matthew 5, 6).

The major theological issue in James is faith and works (2:14–26). James is not questioning whether the recipients were genuine believers; he repeatedly calls them brethren, my brethren, or my beloved brethren (2:1, 14). Clearly, these people were exercising saving faith. Thus, what James is discussing is faith that is alone, meaning without works. He calls faith without works dead, indicating that it was faith that was once alive (2:17, 26). For James, works is a natural result of faith. When a person truly believes in something, he or she will act on that belief. With this letter, James was sounding a wake-up call to all Christians: Get your life in line with what you believe!

Contrary to what we might think, not everyone who grows old grows up. There is a difference between age and maturity. Just because a Christian has been saved for 10 or 20 years does not guarantee that they are mature in the Lord. Christian growth is not automatic, as is physical growth. Ideally, the older we are, the more mature we should be; but too often, the ideal does not become the reality. Christian maturity is something we must work at constantly. We must make a concerted effort to achieve an understanding of the truths of God’s Word. Mature Christians are happy Christians, useful Christians, and Christians who help to encourage others and to build their local church. As we study James together, my hope and my prayer is that we will, with God’s help, learn together and mature together.

CHAPTER 1

LET’S MEET THE MAN

James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. (James 1:1)

Apostolic letters, that is, those written by those who were with Jesus from the beginning and who were witnesses of the risen Christ (Acts 1:21, 22) constitute 21 of the 27 books of the New Testament.

James is one of the few books in the New Testament that was not written by an apostle. By nearly all accounts, this was the first book written in the New Testament. It was probably written between 44 and 49 AD, just a handful of years after the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.

The Book of James, as we will see, is incredibly practical. The book addresses many issues that are relevant to life in today’s society. It addresses such issues as authenticity in our faith, temptation, anger, gossip, favoritism, procrastination, dealing with wealth, church leadership, and the list goes on.

James gets immediately to the subject at hand. James defines his spiritual relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ and addresses the Jewish believers dispersed at large.

WHO IS THIS JAMES?

James … (vs. 1a)

As was the custom with letter writing some two thousand years ago, the author of this book, or letter, identified himself at the beginning instead of the end, as we see in letter writing today. However, who was this James who wrote the letter we are looking at? Over the centuries, there have been several theories as to the identity of the author.

James was a common name in New Testament times. This James must therefore have occupied a position of prominence in the early Christian movement, which the use of a single name would distinguish him as it did with the apostle Paul from others with this name. James was assured the readers would know him.

There are names that we immediately recognize with prominent personalities: in the political arena—John F, Barak, Martin, Jessie; in sports—Magic, Kobe, LeBron; and in music—JayZ, Beyoncé, Quincy. At the mention of their name most of us know who they are.

The world knows us by our name. It tells our history—our reputation. Sometimes it can be hard to live up to our name. Sometimes it can be hard to live our name down. However, even though our name ties us to our family name, it speaks even louder of our own reputation. James was that way. His name spoke of his identity in the world.

In the New Testament world James was not an uncommon name, as it is today. In simply stating his name, it is evident that knowledge of him, and who he was, would have been readily accepted and understood.

Four men named James are recorded in the New Testament. The first is James the son of Zebedee and brother of the Apostle John. He was the first apostle to suffer martyrdom being killed by Herod Agrippa around 44 AD (Acts 12:1, 2). The second James was the father of the Apostle Judas (not Iscariot) (Luke 6:16, Acts 1:13). Nothing is known of him. The third was James the son of Alphaeus, also one of the Apostles (Luke 6:15) and is usually identified as James the less (Mark 15:40). His name-drops out of the apostolic record with those mentioned. Finally, there was James the half-brother of our Lord. Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3 records that Jesus had at least four brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas. James was the second son of Mary, the first son of Joseph and Mary. Tradition has assigned this letter to the brother of Jesus. Others would have died or dropped out of sight.

James exercised great influence among Jewish believers. Acts 12:17 records that there was a James who had a