Zaph Naph Paaneah

Colossians elaborates on James mention of a perfect work, lacking nothing.

These trials are God working in us to complete the good work He has begun.  What does it mean to count it all joy in these trials?  It means that our love abounds rather than growing cold when the trials come, it means approving things that are excellent rather than letting our ego get in the way, it means being sincere and without offense rather than becoming political and vengeful, it means being filled with the fruits of righteousness rather than a long list of petty grievances.  It means being able to see that Paul being arrested by a corrupt Roman government and imprisoned actually worked out to the furtherance of the gospel, made others more bold to speak the gospel, and the gospel is being preached more than ever before.  Paul tells us in the book of Philippians how we can count it all joy.

James tells us that we are blessed if we persevere in the trials, and that we will be blessed in our deed if we look intently into the perfect law of liberty.  What are these blessings?  I go back to Genesis to look at the seven blessings that Abraham was blessed with in the covenant, I look at the six chapters of Ephesians which goes into great detail about these 6 blessings, the entire book of Ephesians explains what "all the spiritual blessings" that we have been blessed with are, and I relate this to the book of James.

Two reviewers discuss James, one contends it is only for the 12 tribes and since they are lost it is not very relevant today.  The other gives a more generous view of James to merit inclusion in the New Testament.

I address this, I also spend a lot of time in this episode addressing the incident that Paul recounts in Galatians with Peter and those coming from James, and I also discuss the incident in Acts where James tells Paul to make a sacrifice according to the OT.

Someone asked what to do if the pastor is talking about them behind their back.  I felt that we should go a little deeper into the verses "resist the devil and he will flee from you"  as well as James is a servant of God and the Lord Jesus, and also the charge to not slander brothers and sisters.

Chapters 4 and 5 are my favorite chapters in this book and also the most difficult to share. To me this book is circular, as soon as I finish chapter 5 I feel I am ready to start chapter 1 again and this time I can aspire to "count it all joy".

This portion of James (chapters 2 and 3) reveals that the wandering sheep are the canary in the coal mine revealing a serious problem.  Rescuing them rescues us all.  This also reveals why the US school system is a dismal 18th in the world and what the solution is.  There are some potentially incendiary truths revealed in this portion so please no snippets as quotes, James presents this truth in a way that avoids the wrath of man but rather results in peacemakers reaping righteousness.

This is the first episode in a 5 part series.  I share my experience as a high school teacher using the book of James.  I will go verse by verse through James to see if he can help me to "count it all joy" which is his first requirement.  He gives me the promise in this first chapter telling me what I must do so that "this man shall be blessed in his deed".  He focuses me on what I should be investigating and on "the perfect work" that I am to do.  I hope to be true to James in showing you my faith by my works.

Reviewer 1 — It states clearly that it's written to the twelve tribes, not you us, or 2000 years up the road, when the tribes are lost, but maybe can still help us deal with life challenges today. But James was clearly a practicing Hebrew.

Reviewer 2 — [In response] yes indeed James writes to the scattered Jews, but his message is not to return to Moses and the Jewish traditions, but to a holy life before God in the context of that diaspora. As such, James has a broader message to all NT believers, and that's why it was included in the canon of scripture.

My response — I get to help people’s lives with what I do, and I love it.  That has not changed in 2,000 years.  Showing your faith by your works hasn’t changed.  Being a doer of the word and not a hearer only, deceiving yourselves, has also not changed.  Faith without works is dead is still true today.  It does state clearly in the first verse that it is written to the 12 tribes scattered in the world, but the last verse says just as clearly “if anyone among you wanders from the truth”.  This is the gospel.  For God so loved the world that He gave us His own son that whoever believes would be saved.  We are all one, there is no Jew or Gentile, we begin the book seeing 12 tribes, at the end of the book we see it is to anyone who wanders from the truth. For a very long time I have heard other people tell me that the Bible doesn't say that, to me that is just the waves washing across the boat as you sail into the wind.  The Lord said that if you have a little faith you will say to this mountain to be taken up and cast into the sea.  That is what I want to experience and I don't care if others think that this was 2,000 years ago, that He was talking to Jews, or whatever excuse they give.