Sermon Text: James 1:1
Below is a sermon manuscript from January 5 2024. Watch the sermon here.
Introduction
The other day, my son was misbehaving, and we corrected him. His response was, “But I can’t help it. The Bible says we all sin. I will sin; there is nothing I can do about it.” My little man was advocating the ancient false teaching called antinomianism. This is the belief that the commands of God no longer apply to us. It teaches something like the idea that we are saved by grace through faith, and any calls to holiness are legalistic and too much of a burden on people. I was able to gently help him understand that although we do sin and will struggle with sin, we also have the Holy Spirit who helps us and guides us. And there is a difference between someone who stumbles and someone who persists in sin. Those who love God desire to follow his way. Because we are saved from the consequences of our sin, we will want to be free from the practice of sin. His understanding wasn’t too much grace, but it was not enough grace. Grace is not an antonym for obedience but how obedience can come through imperfect people. James shows us the importance of obedience in the Christian life, not as the foundation for our salvation but as an outflow of that saving faith.
James, a Servant of God
Who is James? We will look at the doctrine of Scripture later this year and discuss the dual authorship of Scripture. Each book, while having a human author, also has divine authorship. Because of this, we can see consistency and unity in the Bible as a whole, even though there are many human authors. Still, it can be helpful and give us insight into the human authors. God used their individual personalities, writing styles, and backgrounds, and knowing the human author can be helpful as we make sense of the book. For the book of James, there have been a few suggestions as to the author. The Greek for James is Jacobus, or Jacob. But many modern European languages have the word James because the Latin rendering Jacomus developed alongside Jacobus – the two names having the same root.
While that’s nice trivia, perhaps, who is this Jacobus? The prominent view throughout the history of the church is that it is James, the brother of Jesus. We know that he was a leader in the Jerusalem church. In the early church, he is called James the Just “ because of his personal righteousness and his passion to promote righteousness in others.[1]” He’s singled out in Acts 12:17, and in Galatians 1:19, Paul identifies him as an apostle. But James does not appeal to his apostolic authority here. He also doesn’t appeal to his relation to Jesus. Some claim these omissions prove it is not really James who wrote the letter but is only written under his name. But the omissions themselves are evidence to the contrary. Why omit authority if you are trying to pass off as one with authority? Further, the idea that fake letters would have made their way around the church is farfetched in the historical context, as Doug Moo quotes Donelson, “No one ever seems to have accepted a document as religiously and philosophically prescriptive which was known to be forged. I do not know of a single example.”[2]
James defined by Spiritual relationship, not physical relationship
But why does James not mention his physical relationship to Jesus or his apostleship? I agree with Craig Blomberg, who writes, “James is implying that his familial relationship to Jesus gives him no extra authority, while his addressees would have already known of his role as chief elder in Jerusalem. Instead, he wants to stress that he is a fellow slave to God in Christ, just like his readers.[3] It’s a little like Penn State football; it’s about the name on the front of the Jersey, not the back of the Jersey.
This is consistent with Jesus’ own teaching. Remember his words from Matthew 12:48-50,
“48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”[4]
What is interesting is that his brother, James, came to faith later in life. Here was one who walked alongside Jesus, but it doesn’t appear that he had saving faith until after the resurrection. Mark 3:21 says, “Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”[5]
And John 7:5 says, 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.[6]
This may be why Jesus entrusts the care of Mary to John, who is closer to Jesus at the time than James because of his faith. It also may be why James is singled out in 1 Corinthians 15:7 to show that this was when he came to faith.
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.[7]
Godly leadership is service not celebrity
James could have name-dropped. He could have asserted his credentials. That is not necessarily a bad thing. We see Paul defending his apostleship and identifying himself as such. But for Paul, that was often when his authority was under attack. Even then, we see he gave his credentials to the Corinthian church as the fruit of his ministry and his own personal sufferings. He also identifies himself as a servant, along with Peter. James was a leader in the church. The book of Acts records him asserting himself when necessary. And here, he chooses, along with others, to identify himself as a servant.
Servant here is slave. Some of your translations will have a footnote on the term in James 1:1. While footnotes are not part of the Biblical text itself, they can be helpful in understanding. Here, the ESV has an explanation in the preface for why they chose the word servant as an English translation for the Greek word “doulos.” I won’t read the section this morning, but would encourage you to do so.
While it is hard to nail down precisely the connotations at play here, we can say that this is likely a humble posture of James. Something that is helpful for all of us to think about. Later on, James is to say that not many are to be teachers. Here, he gives a qualification to those in authority within the church. Those who are leaders in the church should be servants. David Nystrom says it like this,
Only those who did not desire personal power could be trusted with authority within the church. Of course, this should not be confused with a strong sense of call. The issue here is integrity and purity of motive. James is a leader because God has placed him in that role, and he has recognized and accepted it; he is not a leader because he desires personal power. James, then, speaks as one with authority, but as one with the mind of Christ, the servant of all.[8]
Too often, we see those in church leadership who are more motivated by personal praise than sacrificial service. While not everyone is called to positional authority within the church, we are called to hold those in leadership accountable. We also need to be aware that these qualities are qualities that all Christians should pursue. Each of us is called to take up our cross and follow Christ. Each of us is called to bear the burdens of others. We serve a King who came not to be served but to serve. What does this look like in a local church? For us, it means that each of us matters. There are people right now who are serving King Jesus by helping out in the sound booth and on the camera. There are people this morning who made coffee and opened the door for others. There are those who help lead worship and who are rocking babies and teaching children.
James, a Letter for You
Original audience: Jewish Christians outside of Israel
James is often lumped with what is referred to as the general epistles. By that it means the letters that don’t have a specific audience in mind. It’s like handing out your Christmas cards with “friends and family” on them. There is an audience, perhaps, but you’re not going to include specific references that only certain friends or people in specific locations will understand. Unlike many letters, James doesn’t address a specific audience in a specific location. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have an original audience. After all, we do see that the letter is addressed to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. What does this mean? Remember that there were twelve tribes of Israel. The language “in the dispersion” is similar to Peter’s address to the elect exiles. So this may be a reference to the “Jewish-Christian congregations somewhere outside of Israel, toward the eastern end of the Mediterranean basin, perhaps in Syria.”[9]
All Scripture is for All Christians
You might think, well, what does that have to do with me? Here is the neat part. When we understand the original audience, it doesn’t limit the application of Scripture, but it helps us better understand it so that we can apply it well. All of Scripture is for us, too. In fact, when we think about how this letter is addressed, we see both a reference to Jewish-Christian congregations that have dispersed, but even within that is a hint to all Christians. Why? Because even in the Old Testament, the twelve tribes were beginning to point to something beyond themselves.
Some argue that is why there is a curious absence of a further description here in James. While many references to the twelve tribes say “of Israel” or “of Jacob,” here we don’t have that. That may be opening the door for a wider understanding of the term. This would be similar to Peter’s use of elect exiles. It expands the idea beyond ethnic Israel or Jewish Christians to the multi-ethnic church. Why say all of this? Because the ambiguity is instructive. While this is a letter to Jewish Christians, it is a letter for all Christians. While there was a specific focus, the general focus seemed to be there as well. This is helpful for us as we read through this letter. As we read about situations, often general, we think about applications. We can easily shift our minds to people who are struggling with that particular issue, but we also need to remember that the letter is not just for them but for us. Be careful of finding application for others and missing application for yourself. Be careful of reading the letter as if it is for another audience, a different kind of Christian, and not you.
It’s not just for Carol and Carl, it’s for you.
James, an anti-theological letter?
We are always in danger of emphasizing one thing to the detriment of another
If you have been attending for any period of time you know I am not a big fan of the idea of balance when it comes to our understanding of the Bible. Now, the idea of balance is trying to address a very real issue, but often, it is not balance that we need but a clearer understanding of seemingly competing ideas. A common way this is seen is through God’s transcendence and immanence. Transcendence is the idea that God is beyond us, bigger than us, he cannot be contained to our finite understanding or world. Immanence is the idea that God is very near to us, he is with us and knows us. Some can emphasize Immanence and miss the idea that God is beyond. The solution is not to downplay that God is near but to gain a firmer understanding of God as great. We never have to ease up on the immanence gas pedal but – still pressing – also press down on the Transcendence pedal. The idea of grace and works can be similar. We can have a great understanding that we are saved by grace through faith. But we can lose the importance of Christian discipleship. For the correction, we shouldn’t downplay salvation by grace through faith but recover and understand the importance and place of obedience in the Christian life.
When we look at the book of James, we might see a disconnect from much of the New Testament teaching, particularly the teaching of Paul. Last year, we looked at the book of Galatians, which teaches that we are saved by grace and that if we try to merit our own salvation, we lose it. It is by God’s free gift, not any works of ours. That might seem like a contradiction between a book that says, “Faith without works is dead.” In fact, James emphasizes commands a lot. “With 59 commands in 108 verses, the epistle of James has an obvious zeal for law. In his imperatives, James directly communicates the royal law, the law of King Jesus (2:8[10])”
When we think about this, we might think of it like gasoline and a GPS. Commands in Scripture are like a GPS system, telling us where to go and how to live. But they don’t have the power to motivate. In fact, if all we have is the GPS, we might think that we have in ourselves all that is necessary to live a faithful life. But grace is like gasoline in the engine. Without it, we are spiritually dead. We need gasoline for the engine to run, and we need the GPS system to tell us how to proceed. These are not mutually exclusive but mutually reinforcing. Still, if you try to treat a GPS like gas, you’re not going to get very far, and if you try to treat gas like a GPS, your car will smell.
Not Explicitly Theological, But It’s There
James is not explicitly theological like many books are, but his teaching is based on the foundation of sure theological truths. From time to time we will seek to unearth what remains below while taking care not to turn this book into something it’s not. But even at the beginning of the book, we see an implicit nod to theology.
Serving Jesus Means Serving God
Throughout the book, James adopts an understanding of Jesus that is more than a mere human. Even in the greeting, he introduces himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no distinction in his service between God and Jesus. It is not “I am the servant of God,” and I follow the teachings of Jesus. But the two are related, and the word “Kurios” is used for Jesus.
James’s intent here is most likely the same as in Titus 1:1—to demonstrate that loyalty to Jesus Christ does not undermine loyalty to God; that, in fact, they are one and the same. Balancing the divinity of Jesus Christ with monotheism was no small problem for early Christianity, and the formula James uses constitutes a portion of his answer to this dilemma.[11]
Christ is Lord
Related to this is the idea of Christ’s lordship over all of life. Jesus is referred to as Lord here by James. Christ is restoring all things in himself. He is making all things new, and that includes us. His restoration of our hearts has practical implications for everyday life. Saying “I love Jesus” in our speech should affect how we talk and what we say. Jesus isn’t just relegated to Sunday or when we pray, but Christ is King over all of life. Sometimes, though, we can slip into the limiting mentality. We can think like the little kid song about putting Jesus in a box. Have you ever heard it? It goes like this: “I wish I had a little box to put my Jesus in; I’d take him out and kiss, kiss, kiss, and put him back again.” Now, the most generous interpretation of the lyrics would be that we want to show affection toward Jesus. But the reality is that while Jesus is everywhere at all times, we seek to place him in a box. We try to limit him to when we need him; then we will acknowledge him. Further, to use the analogy in a different way, we can box off parts of our lives and say, “These are not for you.” Perhaps it’s a pet sin that we don’t want to hand over to the Lord.
Conclusion
James is often seen as coming against Paul. I began the sermon by giving an illustration of my son using the idea that we are all sinners and need grace to say that obedience is, therefore, not important or possible. But we can walk in obedience precisely because we have died to sin in Christ. Of course, we will not do this perfectly, but James – even in the beginning – helps us understand that the letter is all of grace. At the same time, James calls us to real faith for real life. It is a faith that is by grace. He instructs us to use our tongue well and also says that no one can tame the tongue.
Our life is one of dependence. That is how we can say with James that we are servants of Jesus. It is only through His finished work that we have ultimate hope. It is what he did on the cross that we celebrate. He lived the perfect life of trust in our place; he said to the Father – not my will but yours be done. He both fulfilled the commands of God and has given us the ability to walk in them. As the modern hymn says,
“Now, Lord, I would be Yours alone; And live so all might see; The strength to follow Your commands; Could never come from me. Oh, Father, use my ransomed life in any way You choose; And let my song forever be my only boast is you; Hallelujah! All I have is Christ; Hallelujah! Jesus is my life.”[12]
[1] Daniel M. Doriani, James, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2007), 6.
[2] Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2000), 20.
[3] Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, vol. 16, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 48.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 12:48–50.
[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 3:20–21.
[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 7:5.
[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 15:7–8.
[8] David P. Nystrom, James, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 36–37.
[9] Blomberg, James, 48.
[10] Daniel M. Doriani, James, ed. Richard D. Phillips, Philip Graham Ryken, and Daniel M. Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2007), 6.
[11] David P. Nystrom, James, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 38.
[12] “All I Have Is Christ | Sovereign Grace Music,” https://sovereigngracemusic.com/, accessed January 9, 2025, https://sovereigngracemusic.com/music/songs/all-i-have-is-christ/.
Boonstra Babble 