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The Bible Breakdown
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The Bible Breakdown
James 01: Keep Calm and Grow On
Unlock the secrets to a life of wisdom and spiritual growth as we explore the profound teachings of James Chapter 1, often referred to as the "Proverbs of the New Testament." What if the challenges you face could actually be the catalyst for your spiritual transformation? Join me, Pastor Brandon, as we unpack the life and teachings of James, the half-brother of Jesus. From skeptic to leader, James' journey, written between 45 and 48 AD, provides timeless guidance on integrating faith into daily actions and supporting one another in our spiritual journeys.
As we navigate the essence of living a life of honor, we'll discuss how James challenges us to view trials as opportunities for growth, distinguishing between testing and temptation. The episode highlights the importance of unwavering faith, patience, and aligning actions with beliefs—encouraging us to reflect on how our lives honor the salvation we've received. Discover how embracing God's wisdom can transform your focus from self-serving to serving others, and find true freedom through obedience to His word. Let's support each other in becoming the people we are called to be, nurturing genuine faith in the sight of God.
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The More You Dig. The More You Find.
Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today James, chapter 1. Today's title is Keep Calm and Grow On. Keep calm and grow on, and I'm going to tell you I'm really excited about the book of James and we're going to talk about all the reasons why and all the things, including this is actually quite a controversial book of the Bible. We'll get into all that in just a second, but as first, as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share, subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast, make sure you are leaving us comments on the YouTube channel we love hearing about your takeaways and the different things and also make sure you are going to two places Number one, the website, thebiblebreakdowncom, and the Facebook group discussions, the Bible Breakdown discussion. It is amazing and this is one of those books you definitely want to go to those daily devotions. They always do an amazing job for those daily devotions and in this particular book, there's no way that we could cover everything that there is to cover when it comes to the Bible Breakdown, because we could go verse by verse and just stop and talk about each verse for a long time and we still wouldn't get there. So make sure you go to the Bible breakdown discussion and we want to hear some of your takeaways as well. Okay? Because, man, the more we dig, the more we find James chapter 1. You want to open up your Bibles and get to James chapter 1, of course we're going to be reading out of the New Living Translation man, this book right here. There's so many great takeaways that we could take from this, because a lot of people call the book of James like the Proverbs of the New Testament. You know, in the Old Testament you have the book of Proverbs, written by one of the wisest people to ever live, solomon, and he writes all of these wonderful kind of truisms for life, and it's just one thing after another. Well, james is like that, in that it's just one truth after another. So it's going to be really, really cool. In my mind, the overall theme of the book of James is grow in wisdom, grow in wisdom, and so we're going to get into all of that.
Speaker 1:But let me give you some background. As always In the first chapter, we always do some of that. So here's kind of some background information, and then I'll talk to you in a second about why it's one of the more controversial books of the New Testament. So here's the first thing who is it written by? It was written by James, but which James?
Speaker 1:There was a James which was the brother of John, and then there was a James that was not one of the 12 apostles, actually the half-brother of Jesus, and we say half-brother because we know that the mother of Jesus was Mary. But Jesus didn't have an earthly father, he was a heavenly father. All of the children that Mary and Joseph ended up having after Jesus was born. We always call them the half-brother, half-sister of Jesus. There was one of his brothers named James, during the life of Jesus.
Speaker 1:James was not a follower of Jesus, but after Jesus rose from the dead, it says in the book of Acts that Jesus appeared to the apostles and he also appeared to James. Can you imagine what that was like? Imagine your whole life. Your brother said he was something and you didn't believe him, and then they killed him for it. And one day, just a few days after he died for what he believed in, he shows up on your front door. Yes sir, yes sir, I agree, and that's what happened After Jesus rose from the dead. He shows up to James and he's like surprise. I'd love to know what that conversation was like. But of course, instantly James becomes believer and it's on from there. And actually here's something else about James. James was already known in the community. He had a nickname and it was James the Just because he was known to be a very righteous, holy man of God. So when he turned his life over to Jesus and became a Christ follower, it was even more so.
Speaker 1:The other thing is many people think that Peter was the leader of the church in Jerusalem after the church started and all of that. But actually Peter spent a lot of time in Rome and in different places. As a matter of fact, the place where Peter most likely was, when he was telling the story of Jesus and Mark later wrote it down where we get the gospel of Mark was likely in Rome. One of the chief leaders that was actually probably the leader of the church in Jerusalem was James. James was likely the first pastor should we say it that way or leader in the city of Jerusalem. Another thing about him it's just kind of interesting is James was also a martyr. He died for the gospel and the way he ended up dying was they ended up throwing him off of the wall one of the walls of the temple and when he fell to the bottom he didn't die. So they ended up clubbing him to death. It was a horrible death, but he was willing to die rather than go back on the fact that he knew Jesus was the Son of God. So that's who James is.
Speaker 1:That's the guy who wrote this, and the big idea behind it was don't just believe, grow, let the results of your salvation show to the world. And we're going to get into why that's so controversial in just a moment. Where he wrote it from was most likely from the city of Jerusalem that's where he was leading and it was written between 45 and 48 AD, so just a few years after the resurrection of Jesus. That makes it one of the earliest written documents of the Christian church. And if you want to look at the book of Acts to get a timeframe, it was likely written before Acts, chapter 15. So it was very, very early in the history of the church.
Speaker 1:And why is it important? It's important because, number one, it focuses on practical action, doing something with your walk with God, and, number two, allowing your fruit to show. Now, why was it and why is it still considered controversial? Number one is because it's considered the Proverbs, the New Testament. Number two is because Martin Luther the great reformer, not Martin Luther King Jr, that's the, you know, that's the guy with the guy with the emancipation, not the emancipation. But that's the thing in the 1960s. That's that guy, martin Luther, the guy who spearheaded the Reformation.
Speaker 1:He didn't like the book of James, and the reason why he didn't like the book of James was because his whole thing that started the Reformation was he was saying that salvation is by grace alone. But it looks like James is saying the only way you're saved is if you do good works. And so a lot of people have taken this very interesting idea from the book of James because it appears as though the teaching of Paul, which was inspired of the Holy Spirit, is saying the exact opposite of what James is saying. And which was inspired of the Holy Spirit is saying the exact opposite of what James is saying. And if both are inspired by the Holy Spirit, why is that? Because Paul says that God gave him the revelation that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone. That's it. James says that they're salvation and works. How can they both be right. Here's the reason why. The reason why kind of comes into this idea that they don't work against each other. They work hand in hand.
Speaker 1:One way to describe this is there's two major schools of thought when it comes to salvation. One is what some people kind of flippantly call easy believism or sloppy agape, as they say, and that is all you have to do is believe. It's like Santa Claus Just believe and it's all okay. Just believe. Just believe that Jesus exists and believe that Jesus washed away your sins, and just believe and don't worry about anything else. That's that On the other side is what some people call lordship salvation, which is that you don't just give your head to God, you give everything you are.
Speaker 1:When you are declaring your faith in Christ, you're declaring allegiance in him, you give all of your life over to him, and the result of giving your whole life over to him is that the Holy Spirit comes in, changes your whole life, changes your affections, changes everything about you, so that now you no longer desire to walk in sin. You desire to follow Jesus. That doesn't mean you don't sin. It means now your desire is chiefly to follow God and to follow him with everything. And so lordship salvation is you make Jesus Lord of your whole life, and that's what James is saying you should do. And so, as you see people who think that something's going on here, they have this idea of what some people call that sloppy agape or that, this easy believism, which is the idea of we just believe and there it is. But what Lordship Salvation says, the healthy version of Lordship Salvation, is that the belief I have in Christ is an allegiance I have toward him, and that allegiance will cause me to no longer desire to live the way the world does and to live in sin. But now my desire is to follow Jesus. And so what James does is he comes alongside Paul and he says, hey, we've given our lives to Christ. That's awesome, that is going to produce fruit in our life, so let's grow. That's the goal of what James is saying. So you see, there's no contradiction. It's the next step.
Speaker 1:Let me give you one other example. Then we'll jump into chapter one. Let's say that there are two people and one guy starts hitting the other guy. Guy number one starts hitting guy number two and guy number one says you know what? I'm sorry for hitting you, but he keeps on hitting him. And then he's like you know what? I really am sorry for hitting you, I should stop. And he keeps on hitting him.
Speaker 1:At some point, guy number two is going to say wait a minute. If you're sorry for hitting me, why don't you stop hitting me? And that's what James is saying. He's saying if've given our lives to Christ, well then, man, let's follow him. And if you're not following him, then my question is do you actually believe in him? Do you actually give your allegiance? If you do, then come on, let's follow him. It doesn't mean you're perfect, it just means we follow right. And so that's where they both go together. So I'm giving you that as well, because if you have your Bibles ready, james, chapter 1, james is going to really challenge us, because he's going to say hey, man, you're following Christ, so you need to grow in that faith, you need to grow in wisdom. So let's read this, and he's going to start right out of the gate, just getting up in our business, and let's see what God's word has to say you ready.
Speaker 1:James, chapter 1, verse 1, says this this letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the 12 tribes, jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings. Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy, for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow Now, once again, we're not going to stop after every section, but, based on what I've already shared with you, that the goal of the Gospel of James is to grow in wisdom and to keep growing. Then we can understand. Now, when he says this, he's saying hey, we're going to go through difficult times. The goal of going through difficult times is meant to allow it to produce growth. So every time we hear all these challenges, he's saying I'm challenging you because the goal is to produce growth. I want you to grow and mature in your relationship with God. Okay, verse five if you need wisdom, ask our generous God and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking, but when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.
Speaker 1:Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. For those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a flower in the field. The hot sun rises and the grass withers and the little flower droops and falls and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life God has promised those who love him.
Speaker 1:And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say God is tempting me, for God is never tempted to do wrong and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions, and when that sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. Don't be misled, brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God, our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts shifting shadows. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word, and we, out of all creation became his prized possession.
Speaker 1:Pause, because it sounds like he's saying something crazy there, because he's saying God never tempts anybody and you're going to wait a minute. What about, like, like Abraham and Isaac, that that seems like something? God wasn't tempting him to sin, he was testing him. God will often test us, but the testing is not the same thing as temptation. Testing is is seeing if what you know is what you truly know. Tempting is trying to entice you to do something you shouldn't do. Does that make sense? Testing is helping us figure out if we know something. Tempting is trying to get you to do something bad. Right, god's never going to try to tempt you to do something bad, which is why, if you ever feel like God is leading you to sin, that's not God, right, god will never try to lead you to sin. Testing is helping you to see if what you already know. God will often test us. He will never tempt us.
Speaker 1:Verse 19,. Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters, you must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. Wow, human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. Wow must do what it says, otherwise you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey. It is like glancing at your face in the mirror. You see yourself walk away and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, god will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be righteous but don't control your tongue, you're fooling yourself. Your religion is worthless. Wow. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God and the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. Man, as you can see, pretty much every verse is solid gold.
Speaker 1:So what can we take from this? Like a truckload, right, but what is one thing we can take, and that is this as you can see, from the very outset, james sets our intention and he says man, don't get discouraged when you get challenged. Don't get discouraged when you go through difficult seasons, when you go through different kinds of trouble. Don't get discouraged when there's challenge in your life, when everything's not going your way. Why? Because it's an opportunity to grow. One of the things we have to make sure to realize is the number one way we grow is not through success. Success is the byproduct of growth. Growth comes through trouble, through friction, through overcoming obstacles. That's how we grow. And so James tells us from the beginning man, we need to grow in wisdom. Well, the way we grow is we conquer these different things.
Speaker 1:And so remember, as we get ready to end our time together, james is walking alongside the Apostle Paul, and the Apostle Paul teaches us that we are saved by grace, through faith. We are not saved by what we do. James is nowhere close to saying we are saved by what we do. He is saying, now that we're saved, let us work on what we do as an act of honor because of our salvation. So I want to ask you this question as we move forward, have you thought recently about am I living in a way that is honoring the salvation that God has given me? Am I living in a way that is honoring to the salvation that God has given me? It's quite an interesting thought to really think about, because if we're not careful, sometimes we kind of compartmentalize our life and we say God, thank you so much for salvation, I'm glad for it, put it over there on the shelf and keep living my life.
Speaker 1:But remember, salvation is not something that's supposed to be part of our life. It is supposed to transform our life. And now, because of the grace of God, to transform our life. And now, because of the grace of God, we have the opportunity to grow in wisdom. We no longer have to see every trouble as the end of the world, but rather we can see it as another step in what God is doing. We have an opportunity to not live for ourselves, but live for others. Now we don't have to be controlled by anger anymore. We can be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to get angry. We can't do any of that on our own. We can only do it by the power of God.
Speaker 1:So when I ask you the question what are you doing with what God has given you? Are you moving forward in your relationship with God? If not, that's okay. I think God's word to you today would be keep calm and grow on. It's time to grow, and we can do it together. Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today.
Speaker 1:Thank you, lord, for the book of James, because it is so challenging and it is so good. And, lord, sometimes we don't like challenge because it causes us to feel uncomfortable causes us to feel that challenge. I'm so very thankful, god, that you only challenge us because you want us to grow. You don't tempt us but, lord, you do test us because you want us to get to that next level and you don't get to pass the class until you pass the test. I pray, god, that you will help us to grow on so we can become everything you've called us to be. In Jesus name, we pray Amen and what God's word says in James 1 chapter 22. But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Remember we obey God's word because God's word is leading us into freedom. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for James, chapter two.
