JAMES. What was the major theological issue in the early church?

JAMES

What was

the major theological issue

in the early church?

JAMES pre 48 AD?

GALATIANS 48-49 AD ?

Jerusalem Council 49-50 AD

ROMANS 57 AD

EPHESIANS 60 AD

COLOSSIANS 60 AD

PHILEMON 60 AD

Unit TwoUnit Two

JAMES is a

very Jewish book.

JAMES(English)

JACOBUS / JACOMUS(Latin)

YACOUB(Hebrew and Aramaic)

Excerpts fromEusebius

Ecclesiastical History

James the Just

JAMES has a very Jewish concept of repentance.

WHOLE-LIFE REPENTANCE

Social Justice

James reads like an OT prophet

concerned for social justice.

James as a Wisdom Teacher

James reads like an OT wisdom teacher concerned for right living,

right speech, discipline and single-heartedness to God.

James 1:5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without

finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Proverbs 2:6

For the LORD gives wisdom,        and from his mouth come knowledge

and understanding.

James 1:10-11But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed.

Proverbs 11:28Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,

       but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

James 1:19-20My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Proverbs 14:29

A patient man has great understanding,        but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

James 1:27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Proverbs 14:31He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their

Maker,        but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

James 2:1

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.

Proverbs 18:5

It is not good to be partial to the wicked        or to deprive the innocent of justice.

James 3:2

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

Proverbs 10:19

When words are many, sin is not absent,        but he who holds his tongue is wise.

James 3:6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Proverbs 16:27

A scoundrel plots evil,        and his speech is like a scorching fire.

James 4:1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?

Proverbs 29:22An angry man stirs up dissension,

       and a hot-tempered one commits many sins.

JAMES AND JESUS

As a prophet and wisdom teacher, James also

resembles Jesus.

James 2:5

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?

Matthew 5:3

Blessed are the poor in spirit,       for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

James 2:8

If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.

Matthew 22:34-40

Love commandment

James 3:18

Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peacemakers,       for they will be called sons of God.

James 5:2-3Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

Matthew 6:19-20Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves

treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

James 5:12Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.

Matthew 5:34-37Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the

city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes

from the evil one.

Other ‘Jewish’ signs

• Jewish readers

• συναγωγη ‘synagogue’ used in 2:2

• it does not mention the circumcision controversy of 47-50 AD

• pre- 47-50 AD ?

PURPOSE

James encourages oppressed Jewish Christians to persevere in faith and

holiness.

JAMES

BIBLE STUDY

TEMPTATION 1:2-18

PEIRASMOS

1:2-3 TRIAL

1:13 TEMPTATION

SEMANTIC SENSE of PEIRASMOS

EXTERNAL DIMENSION

TRIAL (1:2-3)

INTERNAL DIMENSION

TEMPTATION (1:13)

A TRIAL OF CHARACTER

TRIAL OF CHARACTER

STRENGTHENED FAITH

WEAKENED / DESTROYED FAITH

leads to either …

or

1:13-19 asks …

IF GOD SENDS US A TRIAL,

IS HE TEMPTING US ?

YETZER HARA

THE ‘EVIL IMPULSE’

YETZER HATOV

THE ‘GOOD IMPULSE’

HOLINESS IN JAMES

• ‘ANOTHEN’ 1:17

• NOT FROM US

• FROM GOD

THE LAW 1:19-2:26

HOLINESS IS NOT AUTOMATIC

One must yield to and work with

the implanted Word from God.

FAITH AND DEEDS 2:14-2:26

A LIFE of REPENTANCE

In the Hebraic way of thinking,

repentance involves a life of repentance.

It is not just a one-time event.

SPEECH AND STRIFE 3:1-4:12

A SUGGESTION

OF THE CONTEXT?

ENDURANCE 4:13-5:20