Notes on James 2

Able Shepherd has provided us with some notes, questions, and discussion points for James 2:

James 1
Rollover question from last week’s study...Why does James never quote Jesus?

James 2
1. What do verses 1 to 13 say about our tendency to form cliques in church?
2. How effective are our churches in welcoming?
3. How do verses 2:1-7 engage with our own cultures approach to wealth and poverty?
4. How could these verse shape our ministry to those in congregation who are involved in business?
5. How might Matthew 25:31-46 change our understanding of this? (See also the account of the widows mite, and treasure in heaven)
6. Does James’ teaching on faith and works in James 2:14-26 conflict with Paul’s teaching on this matter?

Note
a) The issue for James is NOT ‘Can faith save?’ but ‘Can dead faith save?’
b) The issue is NOT between salvation by faith in Christ and salvation by works
c) ‘Dead faith’ (intellectual orthodoxy) cannot save (2:14), is only a verbal thing (‘if someone CLAIMS to have faith’, 2:14) and does not show love (2:15f)
d) Paul and James agree that faith and the obedience proceeding from it are not antithetical but work together. For Paul, what really matters is ‘faith WORKING (same Greek root as ‘works’ in James) through love’ (Gal 5:6)
e) Abraham was justified before God (approved) long before he was shown to be righteous by his offering of Isaac (Gen 15, Gen 22)
f) ‘Faith alone justifies, but faith that justifies is never alone’

For the geeks out there, James can be analysed from a Multiple Intelligence Theory perspective. If you want to know more, let me know!

We will return to some of the above issues again later in James.

Yours in Christ

Able

A visualization of James 1 by Able Shepherd

Able has created for us a verbal visualization of the first chapter of James using http://www.wordle.net - interesting for thinking back on this chapter:

James 1, second half - "Carrying through"

"Carrying through"

Before we read the passage together, I'd like you to think about this question - what do:
- shooting a gun
- taking a photograph
- what a conductor does when conducting the last few seconds of a piece of music

have in common? Hint: these have to do with the very "end" in the sense of "last part" of each of these actions - but also the "end" in the sense of "goal" or "final result", as in "the end justifies the means"

- what does vv 19-20 have to do with carrying through?

- have you had any experiences which are like this man and his mirror, in verse 23? What are the elements of this metaphor?

- type out the whole verse 25 to me in IM.

- we sometimes have a tendency to "objectify" things - what does this word mean, and can we objectify "faith"? Another word, which sounds a bit more hoity-toity - is "reify" - this means, "making a thing out of something."

James - An Introduction

Able Shepherd has kindly provided us with this introduction to the book of James.

James has been controversial for a number of reasons. When reading the book of James, it is a challenge to define what genre of literature it might be. It could be:
a) A letter
Yet when compared to other letters in the New Testament it omits a number of features we might typically expect:
• An introductory blessing
• Personal address / context
• Conclusion
• Doxology
• Emphasis / focus on the cross
• Mention of the Holy Spirit
• Detail about Jesus and the Lord’s supper
• A tightly defined target / receiving body of believers

b) Wisdom literature
Certainly wisdom is an important theme (James 1:5, James 3:13-18), it pervades the subject matter (teaching on themes of faith and perseverance under pressure) and its literary form. Yet there are aspects which do not sit well with wisdom literature:
• It is letter like (even if unusual)
• Usually with wisdom literature, the difference between God’s people and humanity is very slight – in James, God’s people have a distinctive.
• It features an eschatological flavour, which is unusual for wisdom literature.

c) Paraenesis (exhortation / encouragement)
With such literature, and in general:
• The author is unimportant
• The presentation lacks continuity or development
• Links are made by repetition of words rather than by means of real connection of thought (much like a stand up comic can be gifted at making what appear to be random connections)
• The situation addressed is general rather than specific


Notwithstanding this, James is perhaps the most quoted letter in the New Testament. It is popular for three reasons:
a) James introduces many vivid and compelling metaphors
b) It is intensely practical
c) It is quite radical and uncompromising


Most commentators favour either an early date (42-60 AD, if the brother of Jesus wrote it) or a late date between 80-140 AD. General consensus though would seem to favour the early date.