Well, I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James, the epistle of James. If you're using the Pew Bible, that can be found on page 1199, so 1199 in the Pew Bibles. We consider just a single text this evening, just a small text here. James chapter 1 verse 1, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, greetings. I want to begin tonight by asking you a question, how serious do you take your faith? How serious do you take your Christian faith? this evening we begin a study through the book of james james like all the books of scripture is a fascinating book it's a short letter but although short james is full of wisdom exhortation encouragement and challenge i would summarize the book with the title i gave to this sermon tonight, James, A Life of Faith. The book is about a life of faith, the life of the Christian faith, the life of a person who genuinely trusts in and follows Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. James, the letter written to impress upon Christians the need to genuinely live out the ideals of our wonderful Christian faith. And so I want to consider with you tonight this short greeting by working through three points with you. First, the application of James. Second, the author of James. And third, the audience of James. The application, the author, and the audience. First, the application. As I've been saying, James is a very challenging book. I think it's a challenging book generally and for every generation that reads and studies it. But I think specifically today, we might find this book especially challenging. Given the challenge that this book poses to the kind of cultural Christianity that is prevalent among Christians in our country today. And what do I mean by cultural Christianity? Well, what I mean is the kind of Christianity that people subscribe to only in name. Cultural Christians are nominal Christians. They're Christians only in name. They call themselves Christians not because they have faith in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, but because Christianity is part of their family tradition, part of their cultural tradition or their shared practices. Their families claim to be Christian and practice traditional Christian practices. And so they, too, take up these practices, and those practices lead them to consider themselves Christian. And so cultural Christians may go to church regularly. They may know all the right answers to catechism questions. They may have even professed faith. but the reasons they do each of these again is not because they have faith in jesus christ but because they're expected to it's what their family expects them to do it's what they're expected to do by their social circles you see such christians are not led by a deep-seated conviction and faith in jesus christ the beliefs and principles of christianity isn't even all that important to such cultural Christians. It's not the teachings, the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that are significant or important, as much as the social connections, the practices that serve to bring them together with other people. Let me give you an example. I think many Jews in the first century were something of cultural followers of the God Yahweh. Their lips were close to him and yet their hearts were far from him i think this was the case for the man the rich young ruler who asked jesus really the million dollar question how may i inherit eternal life when jesus answers and presses him to follow christ with genuine faith the man walks away sad i think we see cultural followers of yahweh in the way that the crowds responded to jesus christ it was obvious if you've read the gospel it's obvious that the majority cared only about what jesus could do for them i would make the case that this was also the case for the person of nicodemus nicodemus a pharisee or a jewish leader of god's covenant people and yet when jesus speaks and refers to the necessity of being born again in order to see the kingdom of God, Nicodemus is confused. He's puzzled. And Christ even graciously further speaks of being born of water and spirit, referring to Exodus 36 and 37, and yet still Nicodemus, the Pharisee, the leader of God's people, is puzzled. I think all of that is the case because cultural Judaism was prevalent among the Jewish people in the first century and sadly I think we see similar things in Christianity today now please don't misunderstand what I'm saying I'm I'm not saying that or I'm not simply speaking of Christians outside of the reformed tradition that there are only cultural Christians outside of reform congregations there are many cultural Christians today even within the reformed tradition see brothers and sisters christianity is not a culture it's a belief biblical christianity is based upon jesus christ and the genuine faith that a person has in christ let me give you an example of this of what james how james is trying to address express such unfaithful faith, such faith, fake faith. Turn with me to James chapter 2, James 2, 14. If you're familiar with the book of James, then you'll know that in James chapter 2, he begins to speak about faith and works. And James says there in the beginning at verse 14, what good is it, my brothers if someone says he has faith but does not have works can that faith save him what is it that james is is speaking about here what is he talking about is it is it justification not at all james is talking about the kind of faith that can save a person he's talking about true faith he's talking about genuine faith versus nominal faith that's james concern in this book in this letter he's concerned with faith that is genuine that's his concern throughout this book as one commentator puts it the goal of James is to promote a life consistent with faith in Jesus Christ the goal of the letter of James is to promote a life consistent with faith in Jesus Christ. That's why I titled my sermon this evening, James, a life of faith. That's the application of the book of James, a life produced by faith, the kind of life which is born from genuine faith in Jesus Christ. And with this goal in mind, it's easy to see why the book addresses the topics that it does topics such as trials wisdom doubt relationships between rich and poor not just hearing god's word but being doers of it practicing it taming the tongue impartiality the application of the law true religion active faith wisdom worldliness brotherly love, boasting, prayer, illness, and a number of other very practical matters to the Christian life. James is trying to promote a life consistent with faith in Jesus Christ. And this is probably also why the structure of the writings that James has here consists of short little statements and sayings. Statements and sayings which are easily compared to the statements and sayings of the literature, of the wisdom literature found in the Old Testament. For example, James 1, 27. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Now, it's difficult not to find such pithy statements fascinating and extremely practical but in addition it's difficult not to find them very challenging see just ask yourself when was the last time you visited orphans and widows in their affliction for many of us that's probably a difficult answer to answer in the affirmative right and james says here true religion or pure undefiled religion is the kind that does that very thing i'll be the first to admit prior to being a minister i don't think i ever visited an orphan or a widow and so james is very practical but he's also very challenging the book is not overly theological it's not overly theoretical it's practical and again it's practical and challenging because it's promoting a life that is consistent with faith in Jesus Christ so as we embark upon this study it's going to be difficult not to be at times convicted over what this letter and book says it's going to be difficult not to be challenged by this book. But that's okay. That's a good thing. Conviction is a good thing. Conviction is the Holy Spirit's way of telling us that something is wrong, that we are missing the mark that God calls us to. And that conviction should then lead us to confession. To confess our sins to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and to find forgiveness in Him. And then after finding forgiveness in him to get back up and lead and strive to live a life that is consistent with faith in him because we are not nominal christians brothers and sisters we're christians who ourselves desire to live the lives that james calls us to in this book lives consistent with faith in christ well that's the application of this book let's let's turn secondly to the author. Verse 1 says, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. James begins the book by identifying himself. Now, the majority of us are probably accustomed to writing emails. But when we write an email, I'm guessing you probably generally don't put your name at the beginning of your message unless maybe the person you're writing to doesn't know who you are. We today generally put our names at the end of the letters or the emails that we write. Well, let me ask you, do you include at the end, after your name, anything that describes who you are? James here describes who he is, doesn't he? He does that. It's a short point, short statement. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this doesn't tell us all that much about him, really. It doesn't really tell us who he is. You might say this maybe tells us more of what he is. He's a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, again, this doesn't tell us much of who he is, though, specifically. But maybe that's on purpose. A case might be made from the Christian perspective to not focus so much on who you are as who you are in Christ. You're a Christian. An adopted son or daughter of God Most High through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. Maybe that's what James is doing here with this short statement of who he is. Now, for our intents and purposes as readers trying to understand and interpret this text of Holy Scripture, it would be helpful to know who the author is specifically, right? Is this James, the brother of John, the sons of Zebedee, one of the twelve disciples, along with John and Peter, who made the three men of the inner circle of Christ, the one who famously asked, along with John, his brother, if they could rule with Christ on their right and on their left? Or is this James, the son of Alphaeus, who was also one of the twelve disciples, but to whom the New Testament says very, very little about? Or is the author here, James, the half-brother of Jesus, who eventually, after the resurrection of Jesus, goes on to believe in Christ? If you recall, Jesus had half-brothers and sisters, half-brothers and sisters because they would have been the natural-born children of Joseph and Mary. These brothers and sisters were mentioned a few times in the Gospels, for example, Mark 6, 3, where after Jesus was teaching in the synagogue in his hometown, people were shocked by his teaching and they asked, where did this man get these things? What's the wisdom, what is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us? Now the testimony of church history tells us that the author of this epistle is in fact James, the half-brother of Jesus. And although recent scholarship might dispute that fact, I think there's really no good reason to dispute this. You see, given the way James identifies himself here in this short-pointed statement, it would seem he assumes that his readers would know who he is by simply stating his name. This means that the author was known well within the church. And this rules out James, son of Alphaeus, since the New Testament doesn't say much about James. He probably wasn't a prominent figure to write a letter and just sign it with his first name. I think that's especially true since when James, the son of Alphaeus, is mentioned in the New Testament, it's almost exclusively along with the son of Alphaeus identifying him. Now, that doesn't rule out James, the son of Zebedee, as an option. But most scholars believe that James, the son of Zebedee, died too early in church history to write this letter. If you recall, James, the son of Zebedee, was murdered in Acts 12 by Herod Agrippa. And most scholars date this book as being written after that event. And so that leaves James, the brother of Jesus. Now, James, the brother of Jesus, was and went on to be a very prominent figure within the early church. We see this from such passages as Acts 12, Acts 15, Acts 21. He attained a position of leadership in the early church. We also see in Galatians 2, 9 and 2, 12, that he goes on to be called, along with Peter and John, a pillar of the church. All this implies that James, brother of Jesus would have been well known to the church and therefore could be expected to write a letter and simply sign it with his name. Now this doesn't answer the question, why didn't he sign it as James, the brother of Jesus? It might seem to our modern ears peculiar that he didn't do that but i think given the subject matter of this book if james was to identify himself as james the brother of jesus that could easily come across as counter to what this book is all about promoting genuine faith you see maybe james doesn't want to seem pretentious he doesn't want to seem like he's using his familial relationship to jesus as his brother as the reason for his ministerial credentials. Furthermore, what did James' familial relationship with Jesus, what did it play in him coming to faith with Christ in the first place? Nothing. It played no part whatsoever. In fact, one might argue that James' brotherly relationship made it even more difficult for him to acknowledge jesus as lord and savior you see who was jesus to james he was his older brother but in the eyes of his brothers nothing special nothing special just as joseph in genesis was thought of as being nothing special to his brothers think about it we all know how relationships between siblings and our own experiences can so easily turn sour as one commentator asked consider how difficult it would have been being the younger brother of jesus of nazareth imagine growing up in that shadow imagine hearing the things you heard about that brother and that's what we see recorded in the gospel. In John 7, Jesus' brothers mock him. John records that at the Feast of Booths, his brothers say to him, leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may also see the works you are doing, for no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. And then John adds, for not even his brothers believed in him. On another occasion, Mark records in Mark 3 that seeing a large crowd gathered around Jesus, his family go out to seize him because, quote, they were saying he is out of his mind. So it's obvious his siblings didn't believe in him or his ministry. Instead, they believed Jesus was mad or full of himself. Now, can you imagine how heavy that must have been on the heart of Jesus? The disdain of his siblings, too, was part of the suffering that he would have to endure. Jesus Christ was rejected by men, his own brothers included. Remember what Jesus says in Mark 6, A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household. Sad. Tragic. Those who should have been closest to Christ, his own siblings, denied him, rejected him. For those of us who have siblings, maybe you're familiar with something like this. Think of a time when you were misunderstood, misjudged, maybe mocked by those who you loved and should have loved you, by those who were supposed to be closest to you. If you ever had something like that happen to you, you know how hurtful that can be. Well, here is Jesus, not only rejected by the world, but by his own household, his own brothers, his own siblings mocked him, ridiculed him, denied his message, his works, his ministry, his person. Jesus truly, truly suffered. But we're not only reminded of the suffering of Christ when we think of James, the brother of Jesus. We're also reminded of the grace of God, really, when you think about it. Grace was extended to James, the brother of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15, the passage where Paul expounds upon the resurrection, records to us that at some point, at some point Jesus appeared to his brother James. Jesus, who suffered at the hands of his own brother James, appears to him and gives James grace. Listen to 1 Corinthians 15. There Paul says, For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then He appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James and to all the apostles. jesus appeared to his brother james we don't know if jesus appeared to all of his siblings but he definitely appeared to james his brother and in the presence of the resurrected jesus christ grace was given to james and he believed what a beautiful picture what a beautiful display of the grace of god working in the life and heart of a man i think this is likely why james here in the beginning of this book simply calls himself himself james the servant of god and of the lord jesus christ who is james the brother of jesus who is this man well james the brother of jesus the one who denied Christ the one who mocked him the one who ejected him is no longer who he identifies with being he is now James the servant James the servant of God James the servant of Jesus Christ you see what we have in this intro here is a a beautiful picture of God's grace the picture of redeeming grace of God working in the life of James, transforming him, taking him from a sinner and making him into a servant who now acknowledges and believes and trusts in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. See, it was to James' shame that he didn't believe in christ prior to that that familiar closeness to james should have led to faith for him you see james would have been aware of the virgin birth wouldn't he have he would have been aware of the proclamation made by the angel to his brother to his mother and father he would have been aware of all the surrounding details around his brother's birth he would have been aware of the miracles of christ his words his teaching his wisdom james would have been aware of all of it and yet he denied jesus why how could he have done that because of sin because of sin it was the blinding nature of sin that led james and his brothers to reject christ and it was only by the grace of god working in his heart that opened his eyes to true faith yes christ suffered he suffered dearly even at the hands of his siblings he suffered for the sins of those very siblings and for all who would call upon his name and that includes you and that includes me christ suffered for us and for our sins. He suffered for us and for our salvation. He was rejected by men and by God so that we would not be rejected by God his Father. Now maybe today because of Christ, because of your belief in Jesus Christ, some of your family now maybe rejects you. That's a sad reality for those who live lives of genuine faith in jesus christ following jesus genuinely means at times that men and women will reject us they rejected him we should expect them to reject us see genuine christians are indeed rejected people or people who are familiar with being rejected and i think that brings us to our third point tonight the audience of this letter god's people have always been familiar with rejection just like our lord and savior and i think that's why james writes and addresses this letter to the 12 tribes in the dispersion we can ask here what does he mean by the 12 tribes or what does he mean by in the dispersion but i think he's simply addressing the rejected people of god people who have no longer a nation people who no longer have a home people who are dispersed across the face of the world certainly the reference to 12 tribes is well known to the refer to the 12 tribes of israel but given what the new testament teaches about how god through jesus christ have brought the two separate people into one new people that there is no longer Jew or Gentile in Christ, but the two have become one. With that in mind, I think it's difficult to imagine James now addressing Jews in this letter or even simply Jewish Christians alone. In addition, the term dispersion had come to be used somewhat metaphorically to refer to believers in Christ, as those who never really feel at home in the world. That's just as Peter used the term, didn't he? In 1 Peter 1, he says, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Puntus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. And this highlights for us, again, Something that God's people have always wrestled with. We're a people without a land, a people without a home, a people without a country or place. God's people are a dispersed people. We are people who are longing for a better country, a better land, a better home, a heavenly home and kingdom. James writes, the people who are dispersed, people who, as Peter says, are exiles, pilgrims, sojourners, and that is indeed what we are. You want to add a description to your signature line in your email? Try that one. Part of the dispersed people of God. That's what we are. that's who we are people without a place to call our own we're people who will never have a place in this world because really we are not of this world we are in christ remember what jesus says if you were of the world the world would love you as its own but because you are not of the world but i have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hates you you see christians we are uniquely the people of god we are a people of faith in jesus christ we like james are servants of god and the lord jesus christ having our identities transformed and that transformation is a distinguishing mark of who we now are as christians we're not home in this world we won't fit into this world the world sees us as different weird peculiar and that goes for you too young people think about that young people as you maybe are tempted to to fit in as you're tempted to strive to be like the other kids in the world. You're not kids of the world. You've been marked off. You're children of the kingdom. You're children of the covenant community. The world won't understand you because they don't understand the Savior that you believe in. see what did the world think of jesus ask yourself that question what did the world think of jesus and however you answer that question is quite possibly what the world is going to think of you it's what the world is going to think of the followers of christ now i'm not trying to cultivate a kind of us versus them mentality but you see christian we need to be careful in this world we need to see through this book and the application of this book that there are all kinds of ways that the world can trip up christians today it's always been the case listen to how james puts it in james 4 do do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with god therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of god but again we are not people of the world we're not just cultural christians we're not people who just gather together and have certain traditions and practices in order to socialize and come together we're not nominal christians christians only in name we're christians and that means that We're people who have been bought with the price of the blood of Jesus Christ. We're people who have placed our faith and trust in a resurrected Savior who lived and died for us and for our sins. And that faith should move us, as this book calls us to do, to live lives of faith. Lives of faith in Jesus Christ. I asked you in the beginning of this message, How serious are you about your faith? That's a question that James is going to pose to us in all sorts of ways throughout the study of this book. He's going to challenge us to no longer see our lives as what we maybe formerly saw them as. About us. For us. Our lives are now about living lives of faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let's pray. Lord, we thank You that Christ came, lived, and died to redeem sinners such as us. And we thank You for the grace that You have given to us, Lord. And we thank You for the wisdom of a book like James, which, yes, Lord, will challenge and push our faith. And maybe it will push us to confession and acknowledge and conviction, Lord. We thank You that when that is the case that we can turn to Jesus Christ our Lord and find forgiveness in Him and again be strengthened to live for Him. We thank You and pray this all in His name. Amen.