James 1:2-11

The book of James has been variously considered an Epistle, a sermon to be read in churches, a form of wisdom literature, and a moral exhortation. These categories are not mutually exclusive and there are some elements of all of these in the book of James.

The author is obviously James; he identifies himself in the first verse. There were several James at this time James, the son of Zebedee; James, the Apostle John’s brother; James, the son of Alphaeus; James, the father of Judas; and James, half-brother of Jesus. It is widely believed this James is the brother of Jesus.

James was a leader in the church, probably the Bishop at Jerusalem who convened the council in Jerusalem that determined the requirement for Gentiles to be a part of the church.

James was not an early believer but came to faith in Jesus as Savior either at Jesus’ crucifixion or His resurrection. He was called “James the Just” which testifies to his Godly life. 

The historian, Eusebius, says that he was beaten to death with a club after being thrown from the pinnacle of the temple.

James is a practical ‘How to live the Christian life” book written to Christians who were scattered everywhere. It deals with several matters of practical concern to help us grown in our Christian experience.

• Perseverance
  • Turning trials into triumph
    • The term trial or testing as it means from the original language means testing from without to help us grow or testing from within that causes us harm.
  • Testing from without (James 1:2-11)
    • Count it all joy when you meet trials (James 1:2)
      • There is an outlook
        • It is not a matter of “if” but “when”
      • There is an attitude
        • Joy
        • God has something in store for you and it is for good
    • Know or understand (James 1:3)
      • Testing is for the purpose of growth
    • Let (James 1:4)
      • This suggests a yielded will
        • The goal is to lack nothing
        • How do you get there?
          • God’s work for us – salvation
          • God’s work in us – sanctification or growth
          • God’s work through us – service
    • Ask (James 1:5)
      • A believing heart
      • How are we to ask?
        • Confidently
        • Nothing wavering
      • For what are we to ask?
        • Wisdom
      • The aim
        • To handle testing properly