Sermon: "Grow Up"

Scripture: James 1:1

Introduction:

How do you prepare to go on a trip to a place that you have never been before, especially if it is far away and quite different from where we live? I have thought about that question, particularly as I have prepared to take some mission trips. Long before Rachael and I took a mission trip to Nicaragua., we spent some time learning about the people and the land where we were going. I studied some of their history, customs, and looked at some maps. I wanted to know about them so that I would have a better idea of what to expect so that I could be better prepared for the task of teaching. In preparing to take mission groups to Mexico I have also studied and made advance preparations. Having some awareness of what to expect can make at trip more enjoyable. Perhaps many of you have done that even when planning to visit a new place on vacation.

We might compare beginning to study a book in the Bible to preparing for a trip. Because of all the great things I want us to see on this journey and because we will take a few side trips for a number of special occasions along the way I expect us to be on this trip through James for a few moths.. To help prepare for this trip today, I would like us to consider three questions.

I. Who Was James?

The James I am asking about here is the James who wrote this letter. He is so identified in the first verse. While James is a popular name today it may have been even more popular two thousand years ago. It was a form of the Old Testament name, Jacob. You may recall that in the New Testament we read of several men who had the name of James. Let us consider a few of them.

  1. James, the son of Zebedee, the brother of John. He was a fisherman, called by Christ, to follow Him, Matthew 4:17-22. James and John were nicknamed by Jesus, "Sons of Thunder" for their impulsiveness. This James was the first disciple to give his life for Christ. He was killed by Herod in A.D. 44. Acts 12:1-2 which was probably before the letter of James was written.
  2. James, the son of Alphaeus. He is another disciple, but little is known about him. Matthew or Levi is also spoken of as a "son of Alphaeus", so perhaps they were brothers. There is no indication that he was the writer of this letter.
  3. James, the father of the disciple, Judas. We know even less about this man. This particular Judas is called the son of James to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot.
  4. James, the brother, actually the half brother of Jesus Christ. I believe that it is most likely that he is the author of this letter. In Matthew 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3 we read that Jesus had brothers and sister through His mother Mary and her husband Joseph. James and the other brothers did not believe Jesus was the Son of God before He rose from the dead. In I Corinthians 15:7 we see that Jesus first appeared to James after the resurrection. Then James was convinced that Jesus was the Savior and he shared this good news with his siblings. At Pentecost we find Jesus' brothers praying with the disciples in the Upper Room. He was a leader of the Church in Jerusalem and moderated the church conference spoken of in Act 15. This James was called a pillar of the church in Galatians 2:9. According to tradition he was martyred in A.D. 61 or 62. He was so hated by the Pharisees because of his strong testimony for Christ that he was thrown down from the temple and beaten to death. James, was a leader, a deeply spiritual man of prayer, sometimes called camel knees because of spending so much time on his knees on prayer. He was also called James the Just. As an unbeliever he must have listened to Jesus' teachings. In the letter of James there are many references to Jesus' teachings, especially the Sermon on the Mount.

    Who is James, the writer of this letter? I believe he is the brother of Jesus.
II. To Whom Did James Write?

James also answers this question in verse 1. He tells us that he is writing to the twelve Jewish tribes in the Dispersion, literally the Diaspora. That is the Jews who lived outside of Palestine. Recall that there were twelve tribes of the Jews, but at this time many of them were living outside of their promised land. On the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after Christ had risen from the dead, Peter preached to Jews gathered together from many nations.

The verse talks of those which are scattered abroad. The Greek word carries the idea of scattering seed. During the times of persecution Jewish believers were also scattered. This enabled them to sow the seeds of the gospel in many places.

Many times in this letter addressed the recipients as brethren, probably to indicate brothers as Jews. Since James was also acknowledged as the leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem, he may have also been thinking of Christians, brother and sisters in Jesus Christ, scattered around the world.

III. Why Did James Write?

We found at least part of the answer to the previous questions from the first verse of this letter. In the weeks ahead we will deal with this question in greater detail. We see that these Christians were having problems in their personal lives and within their church fellowship. Permit me to mention some: going through difficult testings, temptations to sin, some favoritism of the wealthy, competition among people within the church, failure of many to live what they professed to believe, lack of control of the tongue, gossip, lying, divisions, fighting worldliness, and disobedience.

These are similar to many churches today. While there were many specific problems, most of them were related to a common cause, spiritual immaturity. Christians were not growing up. Many had begun their relationship with Jesus Christ, they had been born spiritually, but remained as spiritual babes. They were not growing up.

James used the word perfect, Greek, telios. It means mature and complete, but not sinless. There also seems to be a great need for Spiritual maturity in the church today. It seems to be the mistaken idea of many that after baptism, confirmation, and church membership that they do not need the church to grow up. Some churches are more like playpens for babies rather than workshops for adult. Christians of all ages need to feed on God's word and grow up spiritually. Think about it, a number of the problems that James deals with are characteristic of little children who need to grow up: impatience in difficulties, talking, but not living the truth, lack of control of the tongue, fighting, envy, collecting material toys, etc.

Conclusion

As we embark on this trip through the letter of James I think it has been good to ask three questions: Who Was James? To Whom Did James Write? Why Did James Write? I believe that James the brother of Jesus wrote this letter for Christians all over the world to challenge us to grow up in Christ.


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28 April 2009 cew