Chapter 2 Verses 15-16:
When making application of a Bible passage it is wise to always begin with context. James’ illustration of clothes and daily food takes on more significance when we realize that he was writing to a group of refugees—individual’s chased from their homes because of religious persecution. They had faith—faith enough to leave their homes for Christ. They did not have jobs, food, shelter, clothes, or a network of friends. James is telling these desperate, heroic Christians that their faith must continue to be expressed through rallying together in the midst of poverty, instead of saying “every Christian for him/herself.” As each one found a job they were to care for the group and not just say, “I’m sure God has something good in store for you. Just trust Him.”
Chapter 2 Verses 18-20:
“Faith and Works”
(Click Here for PDF Handout with Clearer Chart)
Some of us are naturally thinkers. Others of us are naturally doers. Some of us prefer to emphasize grace; others truth. God does not give us the freedom of balancing one another out. We are to strive for a balanced expression of Christ’s character in each of our lives. This requires self-awareness. Use the chart below to provide some “laundry baskets” to sort out your life. Consider those areas of faith (i.e., trust, knowledge, hope, etc…) in which you are both strong and weak. Do the same with works (i.e., service, humility, sacrifice, etc…).
Faith Works
Strengths
Weaknesses
James 2:22
What does it mean for faith to be perfected (i.e., made complete) through works? I believe it is helpful here to consider the metaphor of a seed. A good seed will bear fruit. If a seed is planted and it does not bear fruit, it was either a bad seed or a pebble confused for a seed. When the seed bears fruit, it results in more seed. Both seed (faith) and fruit (works) begin to flourish. If we hoard or emphasize either to the exclusion of the other, we lose both. If we only stockpiled seeds, they would go bad and we would starve. If we consumed all the fruit, we would have no seeds to plant.
Go back to the chart on faith and works. Play a matching game. Draw a line between a particular expression of faith that motivates a particular work. Do the lines connect between strength-stength, weakness-weakness, or strength-weakness? What aspects of faith are needed to motivate your quadrant of works/weakness? What expressions of works would make your faith weaknesses more tangible?
Introduction to the “Living Our Faith” series.
TOOL: “Using Prayer Time to Cultivate Ministry“
Most people who are married have turned to their spouse and said, “You don’t act this way around anyone else” or “You don’t treat anyone else this way.” Occasionally it is meant as a compliment, but more often than not these statements are meant to infer, “I am getting a raw deal.” There are many explanations for this phenomenon, but in this post we will examine one explanation with two faces—the absence of humility.
It takes great humility and the heart of a servant to live in the area of my weakness for the love and welfare of another. When we are willing to live in our weakness for the benefit of others, God rewards this humility with more grace. This grace is realized when we resist the pride (“I should be good at whatever I do”) and take joy in imperfect (yet growing) service.
In how many arenas can we show favoritism? In verse one James declares favoritism sin. In verse two he begins “for suppose” or “for if.” James is giving one particular example of what God declares wrong. In order to thoroughly apply this passage, we need to think about more than money. We can show favoritism based on money, education, power, attractiveness, personality, sense of humor, family heritage, height, weight, age, race, gender, occupation, and a long list of other criteria.
What was it that would have made James’ readers angry? Why did James’ readers need to hear “be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger”? James’ readers had to flee their homes due to persecution in Jerusalem. They were now in the process of rebuilding their lives. The shock was wearing off and the anger was settling in. This was unfair and wrong. They missed their home and extended family. They were starting over when they should have been getting ahead.
In what ways do Christians frequently think about the will of God that creates a sense of fear? Often we can think of God’s will as a needle in a haystack. There are things we know that are outside God’s will (sin; negative commands; “do not”) and things we know are in God’s will (positive commands; “do”). However, many Christians live in fear of missing something hidden within those parameters (which car, house, job, school, activity, etc…?). Part of the Christian liberty Paul speaks of in Galatians 5 is the freedom (even the responsibility) to choose based upon our God given talents and interests those matters that are not delineated by God’s negative or positive commands.
Where there is slavery, there is a yoke. Where there is a prisoner, there is a prison. This is so much easier to grasp when the bondage is physical, but in Galatians 5 Paul is not speaking of a physical bondage. The “yoke” was made of wood and placed on the neck of an ox, but the yoke made of guilt, fear, insecurity, or doubt (“yoke emotions”) is embedded in the heart of God’s children.
What are some common examples of being “double-minded”? Being double-minded is most often revealed in pursuing good things in unwise or destructive ways. We are pursuing “Godly things” in dysfunctional, self-defeating ways. Then we feel like God let us down (James 1:13). One example would be demanding respect. Respect is a good thing. But once we demand it, respect is less satisfying when we get it. Another example would be begging for love or affection. Love and affection are good things. But once we beg for them, they are less satisfying when we get them. We enter into a cycle of diminishing returns. We feel like we are doing what’s right, but our methods become more severe, desperate, and unwise.
