James 1:1-12 *
Majoring in the Minors: St.
James of
Dear Friends in Christ,
In the book of Hebrews we are told to consider the lives of those faithful believers and spiritual leaders who have gone before us and imitate their faith. That’s what we’ve been attempting to do for the last couple of months through this summer sermon series devoted to the minor festivals of the church. As we’ve been spending time with some events and people that might not be on the “A” list of our Christian consciousness, we’ve learned important spiritual lessons that we can apply to our lives as 21st Century believers.
This morning we will be considering a faithful Christian from whom, once again, we can learn an awful lot, both from his example and the letter that bears his name. It will be our privilege today to contemplate the life and the legacy of
ST. JAMES OF
The very first thing we must do is identify this man. So we need to spend just a little time doing some Bible history…
There are at least two, possibly three, other men named James in the Bible. James the son of Zebedee (and brother of John); James son of Alphaeus; and James the Younger. Many believe the last two refer to the same person. If that’s the case, then both of these men named James were members of Jesus’ Twelve Disciples.
The James we’re talking about today is a different man. To distinguish him from the disciples, he is sometimes
called “James of
But we’re not done yet. James of Jerusalem also has two other names by which he is sometimes referred. A designation not found in the Bible but that comes to us from church history is “James the Just.” This name is more of a personal description and obviously speaks of his Christian character. James was a man of devout faith. We’ll be talking about that shortly.
However, the name by which he is perhaps best known and which is found in the Bible is “James, the Brother of our Lord.” What exactly that means has been thoroughly discussed by theologians and historians from early on.
Some will say James is the brother of Jesus in the sense of a “step-brother;” that he was the son of Joseph by a previous marriage and a former wife. Others would say the word “brother” in the original language can have a wider meaning and refer to any kind of relative. They then consider James to be, say, a cousin of Jesus.
These kinds of interpretation are possible, but in truth are driven more by man-made doctrines than Scriptural proof. You may or may not know that at some time already in the early centuries of the Church the idea was embraced that Mary remained a perpetual virgin even after the birth of Jesus (this, for example, is the official teaching of both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church). If that were the case, we could see the reason for seeing James as a cousin or a step-brother. But we are never told about Mary’s perpetual virginity in the Bible...
So the clearest and most basic understanding of James being the Brother of the Lord would suggest that James was part of the natural family born to Mary and Joseph after the miraculous birth of Jesus. That would make James and Jesus “half-brothers” (in the sense that they came from the same mother) who would have grown up in the same family.
While this is most likely the case, the Gospels also indicate that the brothers and sisters of Jesus did not come to understand Him or put their trust in Him as the Savior until after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. While He was with them they apparently interpreted His statements and actions as that of an irrational man and, at least on one occasion, came to the conclusion that He had lost His senses. That would explain why at the cross Jesus didn’t hand the care of His mother over to one of her other children, but to the disciple John.
However, after His resurrection from the dead things changed. According to 1 Corinthians 15, the Risen Christ paid a visit to his skeptical half brother. James came to understand at that time that Jesus was indeed the Son of God and Messiah He claimed to be. And from then on James became one of the most significant leaders in the early Christian Church…
Thus ends our Bible history lesson.
While James may have various names and claims made about his family relationship to Jesus, one area that is never in dispute is his Christian character. I believe there are three Christian characteristics we find exemplified in James that we would do well to not only appreciate, but with God’s help, to imitate. All three of these Christian characteristics come through in the first verses of the Book of the Bible that bears his name, the Letter of James. They show James to be a man of 1) practice, 2) prayer and 3) perseverance when it comes to living His Christian faith.
As to the first, a striking characteristic of the Book of James is that it is a very practical book. James assumes that we know the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and understand that it alone is the motivation for the Christian life. This is a key to understanding everything James tell us. From that assumed Gospel foundation he then provides us with counsel, divinely inspired advice and encouragement to live our lives in such a way that brings God glory.
What comes through loud and clear in the Book of James is that Christianity is more than the acknowledgement of certain theological truths; it is a new way of life that is to be practiced. In the opening words of our text “James the Just” describes himself as “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” He was a man who joyfully practiced his faith, and he asks that we do the same. Because we have the same Savior and we know the same Gospel that he did.
If we wanted to compress the Book of James into a single thought or question, it might be something along these lines: Based purely on circumstantial evidence that could be gleaned from the way we conduct our lives and are viewed by others, if the world we live in accused us of being Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict us?
Someone once said (if I knew I’d give them credit, but I don’t): “It is easier to attain a beautiful system of theology than to become a beautiful saint.” That’s what James wants us to think about. He wants us to realize that Christianity is not a compartment in our lives; it is the spirit (worked through the Holy Spirit) that permeates every portion of our lives. It is not to be equated with a one-time event (like the day of our baptism or the day of our confirmation) as if something has been conferred upon us that can never be lost, but an ongoing daily practice. Paul put it this way: Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we do it all to the glory of God.
At this point perhaps we can clear up a misconception. Maybe you’ve heard it reported somewhere along the line that Martin Luther did not approve of the Book of James and thought it might not even deserve to be one of the books of the Bible because, in his estimation, it taught salvation through works rather than salvation through faith in the work of Jesus Christ. He thought that James and Paul (who wrote such clear and glorious Gospel expressions in Romans and Galatians, for example) were kind of fighting against each other.
That was true in his early years. But in his later years he came to understand things differently. He didn’t see James and Paul fighting against each other face to face, but rather back to back as allies fighting against a common enemy who came from two sides. For those who thought salvation was performance based, Paul said no, it is based entirely on Christ. But for those who thought Christianity was nothing more than an intellectual exercise that had no bearing on life, James said, no, true faith reveals itself in its actions.
James was such a man, otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten the name James the Just. As one who practiced his faith, James is an example to us.
In our text several verses speak of prayer. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. Here James tells us to pray for wisdom and to pray with confidence.
James himself was a man of prayer. There is a curious but revealing piece of
information about James from an ancient writer named Hegesippus. He talks about how devoted James was to the
Lord and to the Lord’s people and how he “went
alone into the temple and prayed in behalf of the people, insomuch that his
knees were reputed to have acquired the hardness of camels’ knees.”
How’s that for a nickname? Old camel-knees. Maybe not over-complimentary, but it speaks volumes about the emphasis and the value he placed on prayer. Which is a good reminder for us.
For Jesus’ sake and on account of His work we are now in a right relationship with God. We see Him as our Heavenly Father; He sees us as His blood-bought children. For all who know Christ as their Savior, eternal death has been replaced by eternal life.
And one of the present, practical joys of that right relationship
is that we can easily, freely and confidently talk to our Heavenly Father. And perhaps that’s the simplest definition of
prayer that we might ever come up with:
talking to God. Because of the
saving work of Jesus – which is what we mean when we talk about “praying in Jesus name” – we can
actually speak to God.
Think about this. We have immediate, direct access to the Creator of the Universe – and His line is never busy. We can pour out our hearts to God with the assurance that He hears us. Think about this and we can come to only one reasonable conclusion: What a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer!
It is a privilege James understood and exercised daily. As such he serves as an example for us.
Finally, James was a man of perseverance. It was not easy being a Christian in the First Century. Besides the regular trials and tribulations that come from living in a sinful world, physical persecution was common. Accounts of his death vary, but all of them agree that James was martyred for his belief in Jesus Christ sometime in the year AD 62.
So James walked the walk when he tells us in the final verse of our text: 12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. He reminds us that trials are a part of life on planet earth. At times they test our faith, not to break it, but to make it stronger as we rely more on God and less on ourselves. And, most importantly, they are temporary and will soon give way to the eternity of glory that awaits us.
And that’s where we’ll meet up personally with James with all the other Christians we’ve been considering throughout this series of majoring on the minors.
So may the example of James – a man who practiced his faith, a man of prayer, and a man of perseverance – encourage us in our life of ongoing discipleship. Amen.