The Letter of James

I have a quick note for y’all this week. My plan for Sunday Bible Study is going to take a new direction. I want to stay with the "building a biblical worldview" theme, but do so from a new angle. We are going to study a New Testament book: The Epistle of James.

James had been a somewhat neglected text. For many, the book is sort of an enigma. Sunday, we’ll look at some of the reasons why James has been misunderstood. I believe, thought, the book has critical importance for us in the modern era. The importance of James is connected to believers and politics.

We face civic involvements first-century followers of Jesus did not encounter. Yet, politics was a reality for them as for us. When James wrote his letter, the land of Palestine was on the verge of an upheaval not seen for more than a century. The crisis would lead to a new political reality for Jews in Palestine.

James wrote around 62 AD, and the states of Palestine, as a result of the conflict, would cease to exist as political entities. As well, the upheaval would cause Christians to disperse into the wider world with few left behind in Palestine. This violent revolution, as much as anything, would bring about the final split of Christianity and Judaism. Until the First Jewish Revolt of the late 60s to early 70s AD, Jewish believers maintained a relationship with Judaism as well as with new Gentile believers. After the revolt, Christians would be sundered from the faith out of which they were birthed.

When James wrote, he addressed the political issues of the day. Three major groups were involved in the uprising: traditional, Temple-oriented Jews, the Jews of the land, and the Romans. Pressure was being applied to believers from all three groups. James wanted Jewish believers to know how to respond to the political realities of his day.

The political problems of James’s day were similar to the issues we as modern believers face in America. How do we respond to our political world? How do we function as salt and light in an increasingly hostile and corrupt political environment. Do we identify with a political party or movement? Beyond voting, how deeply committed to political and social change should modern followers of Jesus be?

I believe James provides some answers to these and other questions. We cannot and should not hide our heads in the sand, but we should be very circumspect in how we express ourselves in the "public square."

No doubt, you have been reading or hearing comments about the President’s declaration in Turkey about America not being a Christian nation. Should we accept that statement, or take the alternative view?

I hope you’ll be with us this Sunday and the several weeks following as we look into James to find wisdom for our modern day struggles.