Nipate
Forum => Controversial => Topic started by: GeeMail on October 01, 2014, 12:10:30 PM
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With the numerous contacts and acquaintances we make every day, how would you know who is your friend? What is the test and taste of our friendship with Jesus Christ?
http://www.absg.adventist.org/2014/4Q/TE/PDFs/ETQ414_01.pdf
[Amendments/edits mine]
The taste of friendship
Read for This Week’s Study:
John 7:2–5; 1 Cor. 15:5–7;
James 1:3; 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10; Matt. 7:24–27.
Memory Text:
“‘You are My friends if you do whatever I command you’”
(John 15:14, NKJV).
We, today, are a long way from the early days of the Christian
church, both time wise and culturally. Thus, we have little
idea of what it was like to belong to the fledgling Christian
movement at a time when many congregations met in homes, and most
believers were Jews persecuted by their fellow Israelites. The letter
of James gives us one of the earliest glimpses of Jewish Christianity
before it disappeared in the fog of Jewish-Christian controversies and
before the marginalization of the Jews by the predominantly Gentile
church of the second century and beyond.
Unlike many of the epistles, it does not seem that some crisis or
urgent need in a local church impelled James to write this epistle.
Rather, it is written to the broader Christian community “scattered
abroad” (James 1:1).
Before we dive into his letter, however, this week we want to try to
learn what we can about the author himself. Some of the questions
we’ll address are: Who was James? What was his background? What
had been his relationship to Jesus? And what position did he hold in
the church?
James, the Brother of Jesus
The author of this letter must have been well known in the church
because there is no more specific information in this letter as to who
he is other than what we find in James 1:1: “James, a servant of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad, greeting.”
Thus, we can narrow down the options of his identity pretty quickly.
Four people in the New Testament are named James: there are two
of the twelve disciples (Mark 3:17, 18);
there is the father of Judas (another of the Twelve but not Judas Iscariot,
Luke 6:16, NKJV)
and one of Jesus’ brothers (Mark 6:3).
Of these four, only the brother of Jesus lived long enough and was prominent enough in the church to have penned such a letter. Thus, we believe that it was James, the
brother of Jesus, who authored this New Testament book.
As a carpenter’s son (Matt. 13:55),
James would have had more educational opportunities than would a common peasant. His letter is among the best examples of literary Greek in the New Testament. Its
rich vocabulary, rhetorical flair, and command of the Old Testament
are surpassed only by Hebrews. Because his name appears first in the
list of Jesus’ brothers, James was probably the oldest son. However, the
fact that Jesus entrusted the care of His mother to John, the beloved
disciple (John 19:26, 27), suggests that His brothers were not Mary’s
own children but the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage.
In the context of Jesus’ ministry, read this verse: “When his family heard
about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out
of his mind’ ” (Mark 3:21, NIV; see also John 7:2–5).
What do these texts tell us about how Jesus had been perceived by His own family? What lessons can we draw from them for ourselves, if indeed
at times we find ourselves misunderstood by those whom we love?
“It was a false conception of the Messiah’s work, and a lack of
faith in the divine character of Jesus, that had led His brothers to
urge Him to present Himself publicly to the people at the Feast of
Tabernacles.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 485, 486.
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Many who claim to be friends of God fail the "taste" of friendship. Neither do they truly befriend Him nor do they do His will.
James and the Gospel
http://www.absg.adventist.org/2014/4Q/TE/PDFs/ETQ414_01.pdf
Unfortunately, perhaps because of Luther's influence (he called it "the epistle of straw"),
many Christians have been unable to see the important
message James's epistle contains. Without diminishing the
contribution Luther made for the church of his day, we must
remember that "the Reformation did not . . . end with Luther.
It is to be continued to the close of this world's history,"
because "grave errors" were perpetuated by the Reformers
and many important truths were still to be revealed.-Ellen
G. White, The Story of Redemption, p. 353.
Thus, the need for the Great Awakening with Jonathan
Edwards, George Whitefield-and the Wesley brothers who
gave birth to the Methodist movement and its emphasis on
the vital role of holiness in the Christian life. The work of
reform continued with the Second Awakening, through
which God raised up Seventh-day Adventists to proclaim
the "third angel's message." This worldwide proclamation
culminates with the Spirit-filled witness of a people who
"keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus" (Rev. 14:12 ) .
Read James 1:3 , 2:5 , 22-23 , 5:15 . How does faith
function in these passages? What do they tell us about
what it means to live by faith? How do they show us that
faith is more than just an intellectual assent to various
propositional truths?
It may come as a surprise to some that James refers to
believing and faith 19 times in this short letter, more than
his references to works and justification combined! In fact,
the importance of faith is stressed right at the beginning of
the first chapter in connection with trials and asking for
wisdom (vss. 3, 6 ) . This shows that James was not only
writing to believers but that he expects them to have a
certain quality of faith. As we will see, the act of believing,
in itself, is of little avail; true faith carries certain
recognizable credentials. That is, true faith will be revealed
in the life and character of the believer.
What things do you do on a daily basis that reveal
the quality and reality of your faith? How can you
show the reality of your faith even in the "small"
things?
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Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.