James - Just Do It

I learned something very interesting about the Book of James this morning. I knew James was one of the brothers of Jesus and became a leader in the church after Jesus’ death. But, I didn’t know much about the actual content of the book of James. Reading the NIV Introduction of James, I discovered that James decided to write down some of his best teachings and advice and send them to other Jewish believers in Jesus who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. These sayings, quick thoughts, and random ideas formulated this book. 

So, in modern terms, James took his best Tweets, Blog posts, and sermon snippets organized them and turned them into a letter full of wisdom and advice. When we read this book, and now having a little more understanding and perspective of the book, we can understand why it comes across in such a direct and practical way. This book is an instructional book on how to live the Christian life. There is very little theory or general information, and it is chalked full of explicit instruction and do’s and don’ts. I read somewhere or heard in a commentary that, on average, throughout all five chapters that every other verse ends up being a command of some type. So, the entire book of James is summed up in v22 of chapter 1. 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” - ‭‭James‬ ‭1:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I will be diving into the book of James over the next days, not sure how long it will take me since there is so much wisdom and information to process. Today, I am simply going to stay here; do what the word says. I heard a long time ago from a Bible teacher that, for the most part, Christians do not need any more sermons or teachings or knowledge, Christians just need to start doing what they already know. 

This reminds me of The Greatest Commandment. In Matthew 22, Jesus was asked by a local theologian or super religious type, what is the greatest commandment in the Law? 

“Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22:37-39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus responded with the greatest but followed it with the second greatest. So, when we are faced with the concept of really going deeper into God’s Word and want more in-depth teaching and even hear people leaving churches because they do not go deep enough (whatever that means), I am reminded of Jesus' response. It might be a good idea to get good at loving God and loving others before we move onto “deeper” topics and study. 

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” - ‭‭James‬ ‭1:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Please do not get me wrong, or hear the wrong thing here. I love studying God’s word and uncovering insight, understanding, and knowledge. I unpacked this verse the other day from Peter;

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” - ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s critical to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. YES!!! But James hammers home to us the purpose of growing in our knowledge, and it is not to live in our heads like a pithy professor, this knowledge is to spur us into action and to become more like Jesus with our action and our lives. Our knowledge and mind-sets are to set us up to DO SOMETHING! 

James is going to be a great book to dig into and learn from. Lord, as we walk into today, remind us and prompt us throughout the day to take this knowledge and awareness and do something with it. May we be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone you put in our path today.